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THE LARGER TEMPLE SHAKESPEARE
By the kind permission of Messrs Macmillan IS' Co, and W. Aldis Wright, Esq., the text here used is that of the " Cambridge " Edition, In the present issue of the ' * Temple Shakespeare " the Editor has introduced some fetv textual changes ; these have been carefully noted in each case.
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THE WORKS
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SHAKESPEARE
EDITED BY
ISRAEL GOLLANCZ
VOLUME TEN
THE TRAGEDY OF ^s^^P^ HAMLET
MACBETH (M^',S^^^ THE TRAGEDY OF
THE TRAGEDY OF c^^Kl^^S' KING LEAR
WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS, ANTIQUARIAN AND TOPOGRAPHICAL
LONDON J. M. DENT & CO.
ALDINE HOUSE
29 & 30 BEDFORD STREET, W.C. 1904
V. 10 THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH.
Preface.
The First Edition. Macbeth was first printed in the First Folio, where it occupies pp. 131 to 151, and is placed between Julius desar and Hamlet. It is mentioned among the plays registered in the books of the Stationers' Company by the publishers of the Folio as "not formerly entered to other men." The text is perhaps one of the worst printed of all the plays, and textual criticism has been busy emending and ex- plaining away the many difficulties of the play. Even the editors of the Second Folio were struck by the many hopeless corruptions, and attempted to provide a better text. The first printers certainly had before them a very faulty transcript, and critics have attempted to ex- plain the discrepancies by assuming that Shakespeare's original version had been tampered with by another hand.
"Macbeth" and Middleton's "Witch." Some striking
resemblances in the incantation scenes of Macbeth and Middleton's Witch have led to a somewhat generally accepted belief that Thomas Middleton was answerable for the alleged un-Shakespearian portions of Macbeth. I'his view has received confirmation from the fact that the stage-directions oi Macbeth contain allusions to two songs which are found in Middleton's Witch (viz. " Come aivay, come a-way" III. v.; ^^ Black Spirits and ivhite," IV. i.). Moreover, these very songs are found in D'Avenant's re-cast of Macbeth (1674J.* It is, however, possible that Middleton took Shake- speare's songs and expanded them, and that D'Avenant had before him a copy containing additions transferred from Middleton's cognate scenes. This view is held by the most competent of Middleton's editors, Mr A. H. Bullen, who puts forward strong reasons for assigning the Witih to a later date than Macbeth, and rightly resents the proposals on the part of able scholars to hand over to Middleton some of the finest
* The first of these songs is found in the edition of 1673, which contains also two other songs not found in the Folio version.
Preface THE TRAGEDY OF
passages of the play.* Charles Lamb had already noted the essential differences between Shakespeare's and Middleton's Witches. <' Their names and some of the properties, which Middleton has given to his hags, excite smiles. The Weird Sisters are serious things. Their pre- sence cannot co-exist with mirth But in a lesser degree, the Witches of Middleton are fine creatures. Their power, too, is in some measure over the mind. They raise jars, jealousies, strifes, lite a thick scurf o'er life " (^Specimens of English Dramatic Poets').
The Porter's Speech. Among the passages in Macbeth that have been doubted are the soliloquy of the Porter, and the short dialogue that follows between the Porter and Macduff. Even Coleridge objected to "the low soliloquy of the Porter"; he believed them to have been written for the mob by some other hand, perhaps with Shakespeare's consent, though he was willing to make an exception in the case of the Shakespearian words, '■'■ V II devil-porter it no further : I had thought to let in some of all professions^ that go the primose ivay to the everlasting bonfire." But the Porter's Speech is as essential a part of the design of the play as is the Knocking at the Gate, the effect of which was so subtly analysed by De Quincey in his well-known essay on the subject. ''The effect was that it reflected back upon the murderer a peculiar awefulness and a depth of solemnity . . . when the deed is done, when the work ot darkness is perfect, then the world of darkness passes away like a pageantry in the clouds ; the knocking at the gate is heard ; and it makes known audibly that the reaction has commenced ; the human has made its reflex upon the fiendish ; the pulses of life are beginning to beat again ; and the re-establishment of the goings-on of the world in which we live first makes us profoundly sensible of the awful parenthesis that had suspended them."
The introduction of the Porter, a character derived from the Porter of Hell in the old Mysteries, is as dramatically relevant, as are the grotesque words he utters ; and both the character and the speech are thoroughly Shakespearian in conception Q:p. The Porter in Macbeth, Ne-tv Shak. Soc, 1874, by Prof. Hales).
* The following are among the chief passages supposed to resemble Middletoo's style, and rejected as Shakespeare's by the Clarendon Press editors: — Act I. Sc. ii., iii. 1-37 ; Act II. Sc. i. 61, iii. (Porter's part) ; Act III. Sc. v. ; Act IV. Sc. i. 39-471 125-132; iii. 140-159; Act V. (?) ii., v. 47-50; viii. 32-33, 35-75.
The second scene of the First Act is certainly somewhat disappointing, and it is also inconsistent (cp. 11. 52, 53, with Sc. iii., 11. 72, 73, and 112, etc.), but probably the scene represents the compression of a much longer account. The introduction of the super- fluous Hecate is perhaps the strongest argument for rejecting certain witch-scenes, viz.: Act III. Sc. V. ; Act IV. Sc. i. 39-47; Act IV. i. 125-132.
MACBETH Preface
Date of Composition. The undoubted allusion to the union of England and Scotland under James I. (Act IV. So. i. 120, gives us one limit for the date of Macbeth, viz., March 1603, while a notice in the MS. Diary of Dr Simon Forman, a notorious quack and astrologer, gives
1610 as the other limit ; for in that year he saw the play performed at the Globe.* Between these two dates, in the year 1607, " The Puritan, or, the W'tdoiv of Watling Street," was published, containing a distinct reference to Banquo's Ghost — " Instead of a jester 'we'll ha-ve a ghost in a •white sheet sit at the upper end of the table" f
It is remarkable that when James visited Oxford in 1605 he was "addressed on entering the city by three students of St John's College, who alternately accosted his Majesty, reciting some Latin verses, founded on the prediction of the weird sisters relative to Banquo and Macbeth." The popularity of the subject is further attested by the insertion of the Historic of Makbeth in the 1 606 edition of Albion's £ngland. The former incident may have suggested the subject to Shakespeare ; the latter fact may have been due to the popularity of Shakespeare's play. At all events authorities are almost unanimous in assigning Macbeth to 1605- 1606 ; and this view is borne out by minor points of internal evidence. J As far as metrical characteristics are concerned the comparatively large number of light-endings, twenty-one in all (contrasted with eight in Hamlet and ten in Julius Casar) places Macbeth near the plays of the Fourth Period. § With an early play of this period, viz. Antony and Cleopatra, it has strong ethical affinities (vide Preface to Antony and Cleopatra').
The Sources of the Plot. Shakespeare derived his materials for Macbeth from Holinshed's Chronicle of England and Scotland, first published in
*The Diary is among the Ashniolean MSS. (208) in the Bodleian Library ; its title is a Book of Plates and Notes thereof /or common Pollicie. Halliwell Phillipps privately reprinted the valuable and interesting booklet. The account of the play as given by Forman is not very accurate.
t Similarly, in Beaumont and Fletcher's Knight of the Burning Pestle, produced in
161 1 : —
" Wlien thou art at the table with thy friends. Merry in heart andfilVd with swelling wine, r II come in 7nidst of all thy pride and mirth, Invisible to all -men but thyself." X E.g. II. iii. 5. "expectation of plenty" probably refers to the abundance of corn in the autumn of 1606 ; the reference to the " Eguivocator" seems to allude to Garnet and other Jesuits who were tried in the spring of 1606.
§ Macbeth numbers but two weak-endings, while Hamlet and Julius Ctesar have none. Antony and Cleopatra has no less than seventy-one light-endings and twenty- eight weak-endings. It would seem that Shakespeare, in this latter play, broke away from his earlier style as with a mighty bound.
Preface THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
1577, and subsequently in 1587; the latter was in all probability the edition used by the poet. Holinshed's authority was Hector Boece, whose Scotorum Historic vfzs first printed in 1526 ; Boece drew from the work of the Scotch historian Fordun, who lived in the fourteenth century. Shakespeare's indebtedness to Holinshed for the plot of the present play is not limited to the chapters dealing with Macbeth; certain details of the murder of Duncan belong to the murder of King Duffe, the great grandfather of Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare's most noteworthy departure from his original is to be found in his characterisation of Banquo.
(A full summary of theories of The Legend of Macbeth is to be found in Furness' Variorum edition, which contains also an excellent survey of the various criticisms on the characters.)
The Macbeth of Legend has been whitened by recent historians ; and the Macbeth of History, according to Freeman, seems to have been quite a worthy monarch {cp. Freeman's Norman Conquest, Skene's Celtic Scotland, etc.).
Shakespeare, in all probability, took some hints from Scot's Discoverie oj Witchcraft (1584) for his witch-lore. It should also be noted that King James, a profound believer in witchcraft, published in 1599 his Demonologie, maintaining his belief against Scot's scepticism. In 1 604 a statute was passed to suppress witches.
There may have been other sources for the plot ; possibly an older play existed on the subject of Macbeth ; In Kempe's Nine Days' IVonJer (1600) occur the following words : — " I met a proper upright youth, only for a little stooping in the shoulders, all heart to the heel, a penny poet, whose first making was the miserable story of Mac-doel, or Mac-dobeth, or Mac- somewhat," etc. Furthermore, a ballad (? a stage-play) on Macdobeth was registered in the year 1596.
Duration of Action. The Time of the Play, as analysed by Mr P. A. Daniel (Netv Shakespeare Soc., 1 877-79) is nine days represented on the stage, and intervals: —
Bay I, Act I. Sc. i. to iii. Day 2, Act I. So. iv. to vii. Day 3, Act II., Sc. i. to iv. An interval, say a couple of weeks. Day 4, Act III. Sc. i. to v. [Act III. Sc. vi., an impossible time.] Day 5, Act IV. Sc. i. Day 6, Act
IV. Sc. ii. An interval. Ross's journey to England. Day 7, Act IV. Sc. iii.. Act V. Sc. i. An interval. Malcolm's return to Scotland. Day 8, Act
V. Sc. ii. and iii. Day 9, Act V. Sc. iv. to viii.
" I REGARD Macbeth, upon the whole, as the greatest treasure of our dramatic literature. We may look as Britons at Greek sculpture, and at Italian paintings, with a humble consciousness that our native art has never reached their perfection ; but in the drama we can con- front ^schylus himself with Shakespeare; and of all modern theatres, ours alone can compete with the Greek in the unborrowed nativeness and sublimity of its super- stition. In the grandeur of tragedy Macbeth has no parallel, till we go back to the Prometheus and the Furies of the Attic stage. I could even produce, if it were not digressing too far from my subject, innumerable instances of striking similarity between the metaphorical mintage of Shakespeare's and of ^schylus's style, — a similarity, both in beauty and in the fault of excess, that unless the contrary had been proved, would lead me to suspect our great dramatist to have been a studious Greek scholar. But their resemblance arose from the consanguinity of nature. In one respect, the tragedy of Macbeth always reminds me of ^schylus's poetry. It has scenes and con- ceptions absolutely too bold for representation. What stage could do justice to ^schylus, when the Titan Prometheus makes his appeal to the elements ; and when the hammer is heard in the Scythian Desert that rivets his chains? Or when the Ghost of Clytemnestra rushes into Apollo's temple, and rouses the sleeping Furies ? I wish to imagine these scenes : I should be sorry to see the acting of them attempted. In like manner, there are parts of Macbeth which I delight to read much more than to see in the theatre. . . Nevertheless, I feel no incon- sistency in reverting from these remarks to my first assertion, that all in all, Macbeth is our greatest possession in dramatic poetry."
Campbell.
DRAMATIS PERSONS.
Duncan, king of Scotland. Malcolm, ~| , .
> his sons,
uonalbain, j
Macbeth,"! , - . „. ,
V generals of the King s army,
Macduff, > Lennox,
-, ' \ noblemen of Scotland.
MenTeith, I •"
Angus, I
Caithness, J
FleaNCE, son to Banquo.
SlWARD, earl of Northumberland, general of the English forces.
Young SiWARD, his son.
SeyTON, an ojfficer attending on Macbeth.
Boy, son to Macduff,
An English Doctor.
A Scotch Doctor.
A Sergeant.
A Porter.
An Old Man
Lady Macbeth. Lady Macduff. Gentlewoman attending on Lady Macbeth.
Hecate.
Three Witches. Apparitions.
Lords, Gentlemen, Officers, Soldiers, Murderers, Attendants, and Messengers.
Scene : Scotland; England.
The Tragedy of Macbeth.
ACT FIRST. Scene I.
A desert place. Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches.
First Witch. When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain ? Sec. Witch. "When the hurlyburly 's done,
When the battle 's lost and won. Third Witch. That will be ere the set of sun. First Witch. Where the place ? Sec. Witch. Upon the heath.
Third Witch. There to meet with Macbeth. First Witch. I come, Graymalkin. All. Paddock calls : — anon"!
Fair is foul, and foul is fair. lo
Hover through the fog and filthy air. \Exeunt.
Scene II.
A camp near Forres.
Alarum ivithin. Enter Duncan, Malcoltn, Donalbain, Lennox, ivith Attendants, meeting a bleeding Sergeant.
Dun. What bloody man is that ? He can report, As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt The newest state.
Mai. This is the sergeant
Act I. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Who like a good and hardy soldier fought 'Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend ! Say to the king the knowledge of the broil As thou didst leave it.
5^. Doubtful it stood ;
As two spent swimmers, that do cling together And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald — Worthy to be a rebel, for to that lo
The multiplying villanies of nature Do swarm upon him — from the western isles Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied ; And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, Show'd like a rebel's whore : but all 's too weak : For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name — Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel Which smoked with bloody execution. Like valour's minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave ; 20
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him. Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, And fix'd his head upon our battlements.
Dun. O valiant cousin ! worthy gentleman !
Ser. As whence the sun 'gins his reflection
Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break, So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come Discomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark : No sooner justice had, with valour arm'd, Compell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels. But the Norweyan lord, surveying vantage, 31
With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men, Began a fresh assault.
Dun. Dismay'd not this
MACBETH Act I. Sc. ii.
Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo ? Ser. Yes ;
As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overcharged with double cracks ; so they
Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe :
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorize another Golgotha, 40
I cannot tell —
But I am faint ; my gashes cry for help. Dun. So well thy words become thee as thy wounds ;
They smack of honour both. Go get him surgeons.
[^Exit Sergeant, attended.
Who comes here .''
Enter Ross.
Mai. The worthy thane of Ross.
Len. What a haste looks through his eyes ! So should he look That seems to speak things strange.
Ross. God save the king !
Dun. Whence earnest thou, worthy thane .''
Ross. From Fife, great king ;
Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky And fan our people cold. Norway himself $0
With terrible numbers, Assisted by that most disloyal traitor The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict ; Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof. Confronted him with self-comparisons. Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm, Curbing his lavish spirit : and, to conclude.
Act I. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
The victory fell on us.
Dun. Great happiness !
Ross. That now
Sweno, the Norways' king, craves composition ; Nor would we deign him burial of his men 60
Till he disbursed, at Saint Colme's inch. Ten thousand dollars to our general use.
Dun. No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive
Our bosom interest : go pronounce his present death. And with his former title greet Macbeth.
Ross. I '11 see it done.
Dun. What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.
[Exeunt.
Scene III.
A heath.
Thunder. Enter the three Witches.
First Witch. Where hast thou been, sister ?
Sec. Witch. Killing swine.
Third Witch. Sister, where thou ?
First Witch. A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap,
And mounch'd, and mounch'd, and mounch'd. ' Give me,' quoth I :
* Aroint thee, witch ! ' the rump-fed ronyon cries.
Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger:
But in a sieve I'll thither sail.
And, like a rat without a tail,
I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do. lo
Sec. Witch. I '11 give thee a wind. First Witch. Thou 'rt kind. Third Witch. And I another.
MACBETH Act I. Sc. Hi.
First Witch. I myself have all the other ;
And the very ports they blow.
All the quarters that they know
r the shipman's card.
I will drain him dry as hay :
Sleep shall neither night nor day
Hang upon his pent-house lid ; 2o
He shall live a man forbid :
Weary se'nnights nine times nine
Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine :
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tost.
Look what I have. Sec. Witch. Show me, show me. First Witch. Here I have a pilot's thumb,
Wreck'd as homeward he did come. [^Drum within. Third Witch. A drum, a drum ! 30
Macbeth doth come. All. The weird sisters, hand in hand.
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about :
Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace ! the charm 's wound up.
Enter Macbeth and Banquo.
Macb. So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
Ban. How far is 't call'd to Forres ? What are these
So wither'd, and so wild in their attire, 40
That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth, And yet are on 't ? Live you .'' or are you aught That man may question ^. You seem to understand me,
Act I. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
By each at once her choppy finger laying
Upon her skinny lips : you should be women.
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
That you are so. Macb. Speak, if you can : what are you ?
First Witch. All hail, Macbeth ! hail to thee, thane of
Glamis ! Sec. Witch. All hail, Macbeth ! hail to thee, thane of
Cawdor ! Third Witch. All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king here- after ! 50 Ban. Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair ? F the name of truth,
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed
Which outwardly ye show ? My noble partner
You greet with present grace and great prediction
Of noble having and of royal hope,
That he seems rapt withal : to me you speak not :
If you can look into the seeds of time.
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear 60
Your favours nor your hate. First Witch. Hail ! See. Witch. Hail ! Third Witch. Hail!
First Witch. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. Sec. Witch. Not so happy, yet much happier. Third Witch. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none :
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo ! First Witch. Banquo and Macbeth, all hail ! Macb. Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more : 70
By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis ;
MACBETH Act I. Sc. iii.
But how of Cawdor ? the thane of Cawdor lives, A prosperous gentleman j and to be king Stands not within the prospect of belief, No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence You owe this strange intelligence ? or why Upon this blasted heath you stop our way With such prophetic greeting ? Speak, I charge you.
[Witches vanish.
Ban. The earth hath bubbles as the water has,
And these are of them : whither are they vanish'd .'' 80
Macb. Into the air, and what seem'd corporal melted As breath into the wind. Would they had stay'd !
Ban. Were such things here as we do speak about ? Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner .''
Macb. Your children shall be kings.
Ban. You shall be king.
Macb. And thane of Cawdor too : went it not so ^
Ban. To the selfsame tune and words. Who's here ?
Enter Ross and Angus.
Ross. The king hath happily received, Macbeth,
The news of thy success : and when he reads 90
Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight,
His wonders and his praises do contend
Which should be thine or his : silenced with that,
In viewing o'er the rest o' the selfsame day,
He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks,
Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make.
Strange images of death. As thick as hail
Came post with post, and every one did bear
Thy praises in his kingdom's great defence,
Act I. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
And pour'd them down before him.
Ang. We are sent loo
To give thee, from our royal master, thanks ; Only to herald thee into his sight, Not pay thee.
Ross. And for an earnest of a greater honour,
He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor. In which addition, hail, most worthy thane ! For it is thine.
Ba/i. "What, can the devil speak true ?
Macb. The thane of Cawdor lives : why do you dress me In borrow'd robes .''
Atig. Who was the thane lives yet.
But under heavy judgement bears that life no
Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was com- bined With those of Norway, or did line the rebel With hidden help and vantage, or that with both He labour'd in his country's wreck, I know not ; But treasons capital, confess'd and proved. Have overthrown him.
Macb. [Aside] Glamis, and thane of Cawdor :
The greatest is behind. — Thanks for your pains. — Do you not hope your children shall be kings, When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me Promised no less to them ?
Ban. That, trusted home, 120
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange : And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray 's
MACBETH Act I. Sc. iii.
In deepest consequence. Cousins, a word, I pray you.
Macb. [Aside] Two truths are told,
As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme. — I thank you, gentlemen. — [Aside] This supernatural soliciting 1^0
Cannot be ill j cannot be good : if ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success. Commencing in a truth ? I am thane of Cawdor : If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs. Against the use of nature ? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings : My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical. Shakes to my single state of man that function 140 Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is But what is not.
Ban. Look, how our partner 's rapt.
Macb. [Aside] If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir.
Ban. New honours come upon him,
Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould But with the aid of use.
Macb. [Aside] Come what come may.
Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.
Ban. Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure.
Macb. Give me your favour : my dull brain was wrought With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains Are register'd where every day I turn 151
The leaf to read them. Let us toward the king.
Act I. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Think upon what hath chanced, and at more time, The interim having weigh'd it, let us speak Our free hearts each to other.
Ban. Very gladly.
Macb. Till then, enough. Come, friends. [Exeunt.
Scene IV.
Forres. The palace.
Flourish. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donalhain, Lennox, and
Attendants.
Dun. Is execution done on Cawdor } Are not Those in commission yet return'd }
Mai. My liege,
They are not yet come back. But I have spoke
With one that saw him die, who did report
That very frankly he confess'd his treasons,
Implored your highness' pardon and set forth
A deep repentance : nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it ; he died
As one that had been studied in his death.
To throw away the dearest thing he owed lo
As 'twere a careless trifle.
Dun. There 's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face : He was a gentleman on whom I built An absolute trust.
Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Angus. O worthiest cousin ! The sin of my ingratitude even now "Was heavy on me : thou art so far before, That swiftest wing of recompense is slow
MACBETH Act I. Sc. iv.
To overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserved, That the proportion both of thanks and payment Might have been mine ! only I have left to say, 20 More is thy due than more than all can pay.
Macb. The service and the loyalty I owe.
In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' part
Is to receive our duties : and our duties
Are to your throne and state children and servants ;
Which do but what they should, by doing every thing
Safe toward your love and honour.
Dun. Welcome hither :
I have begun to plant thee, and will labour To make thee full of growing. Noble Banquo, That hast no less deserved, nor must be known 30 No less to have done so : let me infold thee And hold thee to my heart.
Ban. There if I grow,
The harvest is your own.
Dun. My plenteous joys,
Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselves In drops of sorrow. Sons, kinsmen, thanes. And you whose places are the nearest, know. We will establish our estate upon Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter The prince of Cumberland : which honour must Not unaccompanied invest him only, 40
But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine On all deservers. From hence to Inverness, And bind us further to you.
Macb. The rest is labour, which is not used for you : I '11 be myself the harbinger, and make joyful The hearing of my wife with your approach ;
Act I. Sc. V. THE TRAGEDY OF
So humbly take my leave. Dun. My worthy Cawdor '
Macb. \Aside\ The Prince of Cumberland ! that is a step On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires ; 50
Let not light see my black and deep desires : The eye wink at the hand ; yet let that be Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. \Exit. Dun. True, worthy Banquo ; he is full so valiant, And in his commendations I am fed ; It is a banquet to me. Let 's after him. Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome : It is a peerless kinsman. \Flourish. Exeunt.
Scene V.
Inverness. MacbetFs castle.
Enter Lady Macbeth reading a letter.
Lady M. * They met me in the day of success ; and I have learned by the perfectest report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to question them further, they made themselves air, into which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came missives from the king, who all-hailed me " Thane of Cawdor ; " by which title, before, these weird sisters saluted me, and referred me to the coming on of time, with 10 " Hail, king that shalt be ! " This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what
MACBETH Act I. Sc. v.
greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy heart,
and farewell.'
Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be
What thou art promised : yet do I fear thy nature ;
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way : thou wouldst be great ;
Art not without ambition, but without 21
The illness should attend it : what thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily ; wouldst not play false.
And yet wouldst wrongly win : thou 'Idst have, great
Glamis, That which cries ' Thus thou must do, if thou have it ; And that which rather thou dost fear to do Than wishest should be undone.' Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, And chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, 30
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crown'd withal.
Enter a Messenger.
What is your tidings ? Mess. The king comes here to-night. Lady M. Thou 'rt mad to say it :
Is not thy master with him ? who, were 't so,
Would have inform'd for preparation. Mess. So please you, it is true : our thane is coming :
One of my fellows had the speed of him.
Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more
Than would make up his message. Lady M. Give him tending ;
He brings great news. [Exit Messenger.
Act I. Sc. V. THE TRAGEDY OF
The raven himself is hoarse 40 That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty ! make thick my blood, Stop up the access and passage to remorse. That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep pace between The effect and it ! Come to my woman's breasts. And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, Wherein your sightless substances 51
You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell. That my keen knife see not the wound it makes. Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry ' Hold, hold ! '
Enter Macbeth.
Great Glamis ! worthy Cawdor !
Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter !
Thy letters have transported me beyond
This ignorant present, and I feel now
The future in the instant. Macb. My dearest love, 60
Duncan comes here to-night. Lady M. And when goes hence
Macb. To-morrow, as he purposes. Lady M. O, never
Shall sun that morrow see !
Your face, my thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters. To beguile -the time,
MACBETH Act I. Sc. vi.
Look like the time ; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue : look like the innocent flower. But be the serpent under 't. He that 's coming Must be provided for : and you shall put This night's great business into my dispatch ; 70
Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.
Macb. We will speak further.
Lady M. Only look up clear,-
To alter favour ever is to fear : Leave all the rest to me. \_Exeunt.
Scene VL
Before Macbeth' s castle. Hautboys and torches. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, Banquo, Lennox, Macduff, Ross, Angus, and Attendants. Dun. This castle hath a pleasure seat ; the air Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself Unto our gentle senses. Ban. This guest of summer.
The temple-haunting martlet, does approve By his loved mansionry that the heaven's breath Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze. Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird Hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle : Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed The air is delicate.
Etiter Lady Macbeth. Dun. See, see, our honour'd hostess ! 10
The love that follows us sometime is our trouble, Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you
Act I. Sc. vii. THE TRAGEDY OF
How you shall bid God 'ild us for your pains, And thank us for your trouble.
Lady M. All our service
In every point twice done, and then done double. Were poor and single business to contend Against those honours deep and broad wherewith Your majesty loads our house : for those of old. And the late dignities heap'd up to them, We rest your hermits.
Dun. Where 's the thane of Cawdor ? 20
We cursed him at the heels, and had a purpose To be his purveyor : but he rides well. And his great love, sharp as his spur, hath holp him To his home before us. Fair and noble hostess, We are your guest to-night.
Lady M. Your servants ever
Have theirs, themselves, and what is theirs, in compt, To make their audit at your highness' pleasure. Still to return your own.
Dun. Give me your hand ;
Conduct me to mine host : we love him highly, And shall continue our graces towards him. go
By your leave, hostess. [Exeunt.
Scene VII.
Macbeth' s castle.
Hautboys and torches. Enter a Seiver, and divers Servants ivith dishes and service, and pass over the stage. Then enter Macbeth.
Macb. If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly : if the assassination
MACBETH Act I. Sc. vii.
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch, With his surcease, success j that but this blow- Might be the be-all and the end-all here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We 'Id jump the life to come. But in these cases We still have judgement here ; that we but teach Bloody instructions, which being taught return To plague the inventor : this even-handed justice lo Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice To our own lips. He 's here in double trust : First, as I am his kinsman and his subject. Strong both against the deed j then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues Will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against The deep damnation of his taking-off ; 20
And pity, like a naked new-born babe. Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air. Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye. That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other.
Enter Lady Macbeth.
How now ! what news } Lady M. He has almost supp'd : why have you left the
chamber .'' Mad. Hath he ask'd for me .-'
Act I. Sc. vii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Lady M. Know you not he has ? 30
Macb. "We will proceed no further in this business : He hath honour'd me of late ; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon.
Lady M. "Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since?
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely ? From this time
Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard
To be the same in thine own act and valour 40
As thou art in desire ? Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life.
And live a coward in thine own esteem.
Letting * I dare not ' wait upon * I would,'
Like the poor cat i' the adage ?
Macb. Prithee, peace :
I dare do all that may become a man ; Who dares do more is none.
Lady M. What beast was 't then
That made you break this enterprise to me ? When you durst do it, then you were a man ; And, to be more than what you were, you would ^o Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place Did then adhere, and yet you would make both : They have made themselves, and that their fitness now Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me : I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you
MACBETH Act I. Sc. vii.
Have done to this.
Macb. If we should fail ?
Lady M. We fail !
But screw your courage to the sticking-place, 60
And we'll not fail. "When Duncan is asleep —
Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey
Soundly invite him — his two chamberlains
Will I with wine and wassail so convince,
That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason
A limbec only : when in swinish sleep
Their drenched natures lie as in a death.
What cannot you and I perform upon
The unguarded Duncan ? what not put upon 70
His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt
Of our great quell ?
Macb. Bring forth men-children only ;
For thy undaunted mettle should compose Nothing but males. Will it not be received, When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two Of his own chamber, and used their very daggers, That they have done 't ?
Lady M. Who dares receive it other,
As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar Upon his death ?
Macb. I am settled, and bend up
Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. 80
Away, and mock the time with fairest show : False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
\_Exeunt.
Act II. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
ACT SECOND. Scene I.
Inverness. Court of MacbetFs castle. Enter Banquo, and Fleance bearing a torch before him.
Ban. How goes the night, boy ?
Fie. The moon is down ; I have not heard the clock.
Ban. And she goes down at twelve.
Fie. I take 't, 'tis later, sir.
Ban. Hold, take my sword. There 's husbandry in heaven, Their candles are all out. Take thee that too. A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers, Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature Gives way to in repose !
Enter Macbeth, and a Servant ivith a torch.
Give me my sword. Who 's there } 10
Macb. A friend.
Ban. What, sir, not yet at rest .'' The king 's a-bed : He hath been in unusual pleasure, and Sent forth great largess to your offices : This diamond he greets your wife withal, By the name of most kind hostess ; and shut up In measureless content.
Macb. Being unprepared,
Our will became the servant to defect, Which else should free have wrought.
Ban. All 's well.
MACBETH Act II. Sc. i.
I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters : 20
To you they have show'd some truth. Macb. I think not of them :
Yet, when we can entreat an hour to serve,
We would spend it in some words upon that business,
If you would grant the time. Ban. At your kind'st leisure.
Macb. If you shall cleave to my consent, when 'tis.
It shall make honour for you. Ban. So I lose none
In seeking to augment it, but still keep
My bosom franchised and allegiance clear,
I shall be counsell'd. Macb. Good repose the while !
Ban. Thanks, sir : the like to you ! go
[Exeunt Banquo and Fleance. Macb. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready.
She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.
\_Exit Servant.
Is this a dagger which I see before me.
The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight ? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation.
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain ?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable 40
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going ;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses.
Act II. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Or else worth all the rest : I see thee still ; And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There 's no such thing : It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one half-world Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 50
The curtain'd sleep ; witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate's offerings ; and wither'd murder, Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf, Whose howl 's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace. With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth. Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear The very stones prate of my whereabout. And take the present horror from the time. Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives : Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. 60
[^ bell rings. I go, and it is done : the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. [^Exit.
Scene II.
The same. Enter Lady Macbeth.
Lady M. That which hath made them drunk hath made
me bold ; What hath quench'd them hath given me fire.
Hark ! Peace ! It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it :
MACBETH Act II. Sc. ii.
«
The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms
Do mock their charge with snores : I have drugg'd their possets,
That death and nature do contend about them.
Whether they Hve or die. Macb. [Within] Who 's there ? what, ho !
Lady M. Alack, I am afraid they have awaked
And 'tis not done : the attempt and not the deed lo
Confounds us. Hark ! I laid their daggers ready ;
He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done 't.
Enter Macbeth.
My husband ! Macb. I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise ? Lady M. I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.
Did not you speak ? Macb. When ?
Lady M. Now.
Macb. As I descended }
Lady M. Ay. Macb. Hark!
Who lies i' the second chamber ? Lady M. Donalbain.
Macb. This is a sorry sight. [Looiki/tg on his hands.
Lady M. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. 2i
Macb. There 's one did laugh in 's sleep, and one cried ' Murder ! '
That they did wake each other : I stood and heard them :
But they did say their prayers, and address'd them
Again to sleep.
Act II. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Lady M. There are two lodged together.
Macb. One cried * God bless us ! ' and * Amen ' the other, As they had seen me with these hangman's hands : Listening their fear, I could not say ' Amen,' When they did say * God bless us ! '
Lady M. Consider it not so deeply. 30
Macb. But wherefore could not I pronounce ' Amen ' .'* I had most need of blessing, and ' Amen ' Stuck in my throat.
Lady M. These deeds must not be thought
After these ways ; so, it will make us mad.
Macb. Methought I heard a voice cry ' Sleep no more ! Macbeth does murder sleep ' — the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care. The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, Chief nourisher in life's feast, —
Lady M. What do you mean ? 40
Macb. Still it cried ' Sleep no more ! ' to all the house : ' Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more : Macbeth shall sleep no more.'
Lady M. Who was it that thus cried ? Why, worthy thane. You do unbend your noble strength, to think So brainsickly of things. Go get some water, And wash this filthy witness from your hand. Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there : go carry them, and smear The sleepy grooms with blood.
Macb. I '11 go no more : 50
I am afraid to think what I have done ; Look on't again I dare not.
MACBETH Act II. Sc. ii.
Lady M. Infirm of purpose !
Give me the daggers : the sleeping and the dead Are but as pictures : 'tis the eye of childhood That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, I '11 gild the faces of the grooms withal, For it must seem their guilt.
\^Exit. Knocking ivithin.
Macb. Whence is that knocking ?
How is 't with me, when every noise appals me t What hands are here ? ha ! they pluck out mine eyes ! Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 60 Clean from my hand ? No ; this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.
Re-enter Lady Macbeth.
Lady M. My hands are of your colour, but I shame
To wear a heart so white. \_Knocki?ig within.'] I hear
a knocking At the south entry : retire we to our chamber ; A little water clears us of this deed : How easy is it then ! Your constancy Hath left you unattended. {^Knocking ivithin.] Hark !
more knocking : Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us 70
And show us to be watchers : be not lost So poorly in your thoughts. Macb. To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself.
[^Knocking ivithin. Wake Duncan with thy knocking ! I would thou
couldst ! [Exeunt.
Act II. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Scene III.
The same.
Enter a Porter. Knocking nvkhin.
Porter. Here 's a knocking indeed ! If a man were porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. [Knocking 'within.'] Knock, knock, knock ! Who's there, i' the name of Beelzebub? Here 's a farmer, that hanged himself on th' ex- pectation of plenty : come in time ; have napkins enow about you ; here you '11 sweat for 't. [Knocking within.] Knock, knock ! Who 's there, in th' other devil's name ? Faith, here 's an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales lo against either scale -, who committed treason enough for God's sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven : O, come in, equivocator. [Knocking nvithin.] Knock, knock, knock ! Who 's there ? Faith, here's an English tailor come hither, for stealing out of a French hose : come in, tailor ; here you may roast your goose. [Knocking •within.] Knock, knock j never at quiet! What are you ? But this place is too cold for hell. I '11 devil-porter it no further : I had thought to have 20 let in some of all professions, that go the primrose way to the everlasting bonfire. [Knocking within."^ Anon, anon ! I pray you, remember the porter.
[Opens the gate.
Enter Macduff and Lennox.
Macd. Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed, That you do lie so late .''
MACBETH Act II. Sc. iii.
Port. Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock : and drink, sir, is a great provoker of three things.
Macd. What three things does drink especially pro- voke ? go
Port. Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep and urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes ; it provokes the desire, but it takes away the per- formance : therefore much drink may be said to be an equivocator with lechery : it makes him and it mars him ; it sets him on and it takes him off; it persuades him and disheartens him ; makes him stand to and not stand to ; in conclusion, equivocates him in a sleep, and giving him the lie, leaves him. aq
Macd. I believe drink gave thee the lie last night.
Port. That it did, sir, i' the very throat on me : but I requited him for his lie, and, I think, being too strong for him, though he took up my leg sometime, yet I made a shift to cast him.
Macd. Is thy master stirring ?
Enter Macbeth.
Our knocking has awaked him ; here he comes. Len. Good morrow, noble sir. Macb. Good morrow, both.
Macd. Is the king stirring, worthy thane ? Macb. Not yet.
Macd. He did command me to call timely on him : 50
I had almost slipp'd the hour. Macb. I '11 bring you to him.
Macd. I know this is a joyful trouble to you ;
Act II. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
But yet 'tis one.
Macb. The labour we delight in physics pain. This is the door.
Macd. I '11 make so bold to call,
For 'tis my limited service. [Exit.
Lett. Goes the king hence to-day ?
Macb. He does : he did appoint so.
Len. The night has been unruly : where we lay,
Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say, Lamentings heard i' the air, strange screams of death, And prophesying with accents terrible 6 1
Of dire combustion and confused events New hatch'd to the woful time : the obscure bird Clamour'd the livelong night : some say, the earth Was feverous and did shake.
Macb. 'Twas a rough night.
Len. My young remembrance cannot parallel A fellow to it.
Re-enter Macduff^.
Macd. O horror, horror, horror ! Tongue nor heart Cannot conceive nor name thee.
^'"'^- \ What 's the matter ?
Len. )
Macd. Confusion now hath made his masterpiece. 70
Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence The life o' the building.
Macb. What is 't you say ^ the life .''
Len. Mean you his majesty ?
Macd. Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight With a new Gorgon : do not bid me speak ;
MACBETH Act II. Sc. iii.
See, and then speak yourselves.
[JExeunt Macbeth and Lennox. Awake, awake ! Ring the alarum-bell. Murder and treason ! Banquo and Donalbain ! Malcolm ! awake ! 8o
Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit, And look on death itself! up, up, and see The great doom's image ! Malcolm ! Banquo ! As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites. To countenance this horror. Ring the bell.
\Bell rings. Enter Lady Macbeth.
Lady M. What's the business,
That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley
The sleepers of the house ? speak, speak ! Macd. O gentle lady,
'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak :
The repetition, in a woman's ear.
Would murder as it fell.
Enter Banquo.
O Banquo, Banquo ! 90
Our royal master 's murder'd. Lady M. Woe, alas !
What, in our house ? Ban. Too cruel any where.
Dear Duff, I prithee, contradict thyself.
And say it is not so.
Re-enter Macbeth and Lennox, nvith Ross.
Macb. Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time ; for from this instant
Act II. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
There 's nothing serious in mortality :
All is but toys : renown and grace is dead ;
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of. lOO
Enter Malcolm and Donalbain.
Don. What is amiss ?
Macb. You are, and do not know 't :
The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood Is stopp'd ; the very source of it is stopp'd.
Macd. Your royal father's murder'd.
Mai. O, by whom ?
Len. Those of his chamber, as it seem'd, had done 't : Their hands and faces were all badged with blood ; So were their daggers, which unwiped we found Upon their pillows :
They stared, and were distracted ; no man's life Was to be trusted with them. i lo
Macb. O, yet I do repent me of my fury, That I did kill them.
Macd. Wherefore did you so .''
Macb. Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, Loyal and neutral, in a moment ^ No man : The expedition of my violent love Outrun the pauser reason. Here lay Duncan, His silver skin laced with his golden blood, And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature For ruin's wasteful entrance : there, the murderers, Steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggers Unmannerly breech'd with gore : who could refrain, That had a heart to love, and in that heart 122
Courage to make 's love known ?
MACBETH Act II. Sc. iii.
Lady M. Help me hence, ho !
Maid. Look to the lady.
Ma/. \_Aside to Don.'] Why do we hold our tongues, That most may claim this argument for ours ?
Don. [Aside to Mai.'] What should be spoken here, where our fate, Hid in an auger-hole, may rush, and seize us r Let 's away j Our tears are not yet brew'd.
Mai. [Aside to Don.] Nor our strong sorrow
Upon the foot of motion.
Ban. Look to the lady : IgO
[Lady Macbeth is carried out. And when we have our naked frailties hid, That suffer in exposure, let us meet, And question this most bloody piece of work, To know it further. Fears and scruples shake us : In the great hand of God I stand, and thence Against the undivulged pretence I fight Of treasonous malice.
Macd. And so do I.
All. So all.
Macb. Let 's briefly put on manly readiness. And meet i' the hall together.
All. Well contented.
[Exeunt all but Malcolm and Donalbain.
Mai. What will you do ? Let 's not consort with them : 140 To show an unfelt sorrow is an office Which the false man does easy. I '11 to England.
Don. To Ireland, I ; our separated fortune
Shall keep us both the safer : where we are There 's daggers in men's smiles : the near in blood,
Act II. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
The nearer bloody. Mai. This murderous shaft that's shot
Hath not yet lighted, and our safest way Is to avoid the aim. Therefore to horse ; And let us not be dainty of leave-taking, But shift away : there 's warrant in that theft 150
Which steals itself when there 's no mercy left.
\_Exeunt.
Scene IV.
Outside MacbetFs castle. Enter Ross ivith an old Man.
Old M. Threescore and ten I can remember well ; Within the volume of which time I have seen Hours dreadful and things strange, but this sore night Hath trifled former knowings.
Ross. Ah, good father,
Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act, Threaten his bloody stage : by the clock 'tis day, And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp : Is 't night's predominance, or the day's shame, That darkness does the face of earth entomb, When living light should kiss it ?
Old M. 'Tis unnatural, 10
Even like the deed that 's done. On Tuesday last A falcon towering in her pride of place Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd.
Ross. And Duncan's horses — a thing most strange and certain — Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,
MACBETH Act II. Sc. iv.
Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make
War with mankind. Old M. 'Tis said they eat each other.
Ross. They did so, to the amazement of mine eyes.
That look'd upon 't.
Enter Macduff.
Here comes the good Macduff. 20
How goes the world, sir, now ? Macd. Why, see you not ?
Ross. Is 't known who did this more than bloody deed ? Macd. Those that Macbeth hath slain. Ross. Alas, the day !
What good could they pretend ? Macd. They were suborn'd :
Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons,
Are stol'n away and fled, which puts upon them
Suspicion of the deed. Ross. 'Gainst nature still :
Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up
Thine own life's means ! Then 'tis most like
The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth. 30
Macd. He is already named, and gone to Scone
To be invested. Ross. Where is Duncan's body ?
Macd. Carried to Colme-kill,
The sacred storehouse of his predecessors
And guardian of their bones. Ross. Will you to Scone ?
Macd. No, cousin, I 'II to Fife. Ross. Well, I will thither.
Macd. Well, may you see things well done there : adieu !
Act III. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Lest our old robes sit easier than our new ! Ross. Farewell, father. Old M. God's benison go with you and with those 40
That would make good of bad and friends of foes !
[Exeunt.
ACT THIRD. Scene I.
Forres. The palace. Enter Batiqiio. Ban. Thou hast it now : king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, As the weird women promised, and I fear Thou play'dst most foully for 't : yet it was said It should not stand in thy posterity, But that myself should be the root and father Of many kings. If there come truth from them — As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine — Why, by the verities on thee made good. May they not be my oracles as well And set me up in hope ? But hush, no more. lo
Rennet sounded. Etiter Macbeth, as king ; Lady Macbeth, as
queen ; Lennox, Ross, Lords, Ladies, and Attendants. Macb. Here 's our chief guest. Lady M. If he had been forgotten.
It had been as a gap in our great feast,
And all-thing unbecoming. Macb. To-night we hold a solemn supper, sir.
And I '11 request your presence. Ban. Let your highness
Command upon me, to the which my duties
MACBETH Act III. Sc. i.
Are with a most indissoluble tie For ever knit.
Macb. Ride you this afternoon }
Ban. Ay, my good lord. 20
Macb. We should have else desired your good advice, Which still hath been both grave and prosperous, In this day's council ; but we '11 take to-morrow. Is 't far you ride }
Ban. As far, my lord, as will fill up the time
'Twixt this and supper : go not my horse the better, I must become a borrower of the night For a dark hour or twain.
Alacb. Fail not our feast.
Ban. My lord, I will not.
Macb. We hear our bloody cousins are bestow'd 30
In England and in Ireland, not confessing Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers With strange invention : but of that to-morrow, When therewithal we shall have cause of state Craving us jointly. Hie you to horse : adieu, Till you return at night. Goes Fleance with you .?
Bun. Ay, my good lord : our time does call upon 's.
Macb. I wish your horses swift and sure of foot. And so I do commend you to their backs. Farewell. lExit Banquo. 40
Let every man be master of his time Till seven at night ; to make society The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself Till supper-time alone : while then, God be with you ! \Exeiint all but Macbeth and an Attendant. Sirrah, a word with you : attend those men Our pleasure ?
Act III. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Attend. There are, my lord, without the palace-gate.
Macb. Bring them before us. \^Exit Attendant.
To be thus is nothing ; But to be safely thus : our fears in Banquo Stick deep ; and in his royalty of nature 50
Reigns that which would be fear'd : 'tis much he
dares, And, to that dauntless temper of his mind, He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour To act in safety. There is none but he Whose being I do fear : and under him My Genius is rebuked, as it is said Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters. When first they put the name of king upon me. And bade them speak to him ; then prophet-like They hail'd him father to a line of kings : 60
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown And put a barren sceptre in my gripe. Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand. No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so. For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind ; For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd ; Put rancours in the vessel of my peace Only for them, and mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man. To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings ! 70 Rather than so, come, fate, into the list, And champion me to the utterance ! Who 's there ?
Re-enter Attendant, with two Murderers.
Now go to the door, and stay there till we call.
\Exit Attendant.
MACBETH Act III. Sc. i.
Was it not yesterday we spoke together ?
First Mur. It was, so please your highness.
Macb. Well then, now
Have you consider'd of my speeches ? Know That it was he in the times past which held you So under fortune, which you thought had been Our innocent self: this I made good to you In our last conference ; pass'd in probation with you, 80
How you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the
instruments. Who wrought with them, and all things else that
might To half a soul and to a notion crazed Say * Thus did Banquo.'
First Mur. You made it known to us.
Macb. I did so ; and went further, which is now Our point of second meeting. Do you find Your patience so predominant in your nature, That you can let this go ? Are you so gospell'd. To pray for this good man and for his issue. Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave 90 And beggar'd yours for ever ?
First Mur. We are men, my liege.
Macb. Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ;
As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, Shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves, are clept All by the name of dogs : the valued file Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle. The housekeeper, the hunter, every one According to the gift which bounteous nature Hath in him closed, whereby he does receive
Act III. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Particular addition, from the bill lOO
That writes them all alike : and so of men. Now if you have a station in the file, Not i' the worst rank of manhood, say it. And I will put that business in your bosoms Whose execution takes your enemy off. Grapples you to the heart and love of us, Who wear our health but sickly in his life. Which in his death were perfect.
Sec. Mur. I am one, my liege.
Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world Have so incensed that I am reckless what I lo
I do to spite the world.
First Mur. And I another
So weary with disasters, tugg'd with fortune, That I would set my life on any chance, To mend it or be rid on 't.
Mach. Both of you
Know Banquo was your enemy.
Both Mur. True, my lord.
Mach. So is he mine, and in such bloody distance That every minute of his being thrusts Against my near'st of life : and though I could With barefaced power sweep him from my sight And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, 120
For certain friends that are both his and mine, Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall Who I myself struck down : and thence it is That I to your assistance do make love. Masking the business from the common eye For sundry weighty reasons.
Sec. Mur. We shall, my lord,
MACBETH Act III. Sc. ii.
Perform what you command us.
First Mur. Though our lives —
Mad. Your spirits shine through you. Within this hour at most I will advise you where to plant yourselves, Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' the time, 130 The moment on 't ; for 't must be done to-night, And something from the palace ; always thought That I require a clearness : and with him — To leave no rubs nor botches in the work — Fleance his son, that keeps him company, "Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart : I '11 come to you anon.
Both Mur. We are resolved, my lord.
Macb. I'll call upon you straight: abide within. 140
\Exeunt Murderers. It is concluded : Banquo thy soul's flight. If it find heaven, must find it out to-night. [Exit.
Scene II.
The palace.
Enter Lady Macbeth and a Servant.
Lady M. Is Banquo gone from court .'*
Serv. Ay, madam, but returns again to-night.
Lady M. Say to the king, I would attend his leisure
For a few words. Serv. Madam, I will. \_Exit.
Lady M. Nought 's had, all 's spent.
Where our desire is got without content:
Act III. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
'Tis safer to be that which we destroy Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.
Enter Macbeth.
How now, my lord ! why do you keep alone, Of sorriest fancies your companions making j 9
Using those thoughts which should indeed have died With them they think on ? Things without all remedy Should be without regard : what 's done is done.
Macb. We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it :
She '11 close and be herself, whilst our poor malice
Remains in danger of her former tooth.
But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer.
Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep
In the affliction of these terrible dreams
That shake us nightly : better be with the dead.
Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,
Than on the torture of the mind to lie 21
In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave ;
After life's fitful fever he sleeps well ;
Treason has done his worst : nor steel, nor poison.
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing,
Can touch him further.
Lady M. Come on j
Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks ; Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night.
Macb. So shall I, love j and so, I pray, be you :
Let your remembrance apply to Banquo ; 30
Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue : Unsafe the while, that we
Must lave our honours in these flattering streams. And make our faces visards to our hearts.
MACBETH Act III. Sc. iii.
Disguising what they are.
Lady M. You must leave this.
Macb. O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife !
Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives.
Lady M. But in them nature's copy 's not eterne.
Macb. There 's comfort yet j they are assailable ;
Then be thou jocund : ere the bat hath flown 40
His cloister'd flight ; ere to black Hecate's summons The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done A deed of dreadful note.
Lady M. What 's to be done ?
Aiacb. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed. Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day, And with thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond Which keeps me pale ! Light thickens, and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood : 5 1
Good things of day begin to droop and drowse. Whiles night's black agents to their preys do rouse. Thou marvell'st at my words : but hold thee still ; Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill : So, prithee, go with me. \Exeunt.
Scene III.
A park near the palace.
Enter three Murderers,
First Mur. But who did bid thee join with us "i
Third Mur. Macbeth.
^ec. Mur. He needs not our mistrust j since he delivers
Act III. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Our offices, and what we have to do,
To the direction just. First Mur. Then stand with us.
The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day :
Now spurs the lated traveller apace
To gain the timely inn, and near approaches
The subject of our watch. Third Mur. Hark ! I hear horses.
Ban. [Withtti] Give us a light there, ho ! Sec. Mur. Then 'tis he : the rest
That are within the note of expectation 10
Already are i' the court. First Mur. His horses go about.
Third Mur. Almost a mile : but he does usually —
So all men do — from hence to the palace gate
Make it their walk. Sec. Mur. A light, a light !
Enter Ba7iquo, and Fleance with a torch. Third Mur. 'Tis he.
First Mur. Stand to 't. Ban. It will be rain to-night. First Mur. Let it come down.
\They set upon Banquo. Ban. O, treachery ! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly !
Thou mayst revenge. O slave! [Dies. Fleance escapes. Third Mur. Who did strike out the light ? First Mur. Was 't not the way .?
Third Mur. There 's but one down ; the son is fled. Sec. Mur. We have lost 20
Best half of our affair. First Mur. Well, let 's away and say how much is done.
\_Exeunt.
MACBETH Act III. Sc. iv.
Scene IV.
Hall in the palace.
A banquet prepared. Enter Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Ross, Lennox, Lords, and Attendants.
Macb. You know your own degrees j sit down : at first
And last a hearty welcome. Lords. Thanks to your majesty.
Macb. Ourself will mingle with society
And play the humble host.
Our hostess keeps her state, but in best time
We will require her welcome. Lady M. Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our friends,
For my heart speaks they are welcome.
Enter first Murderer to the door.
Macb. See, they encounter thee with their hearts' thanks.
Both sides are even : here I'll sit i' the midst : lo
Be large in mirth ; anon we '11 drink a measure
The table round. {Approaching the door] There's blood upon thy face. Mur. 'Tis Banquo's then. Macb. 'Tis better thee without than he within.
Is he dispatch'd ? Mur. My lord, his throat is cut ; that I did for him. Macb. Thou art the best o' the cut-throats : yet he 's good
That did the like for Fleance : if thou didst it,
Thou art the nonpareil. Mur. Most royal sir,
Fleance is 'scaped. 20
Macb. [Aside] Then comes my fit again : I had else been perfect,
Act III. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
As broad and general as the casing air :
But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confined, bound in
To saucy doubts and fears. — But Banquo 's safe .'' Mur. Ay, my good lord : safe in a ditch he bides.
With twenty trenched gashes on his head ;
The least a death to nature. Much. Thanks for that.
\Aside\ There the grown serpent lies-, the worm that's fled
Hath nature that in time will venom breed, 30
No teeth for the present. Get thee gone : to-morrow
We '11 hear ourselves again. \Ex'it Murderer.
Lady M. My royal lord,
You do not give the cheer : the feast is sold
That is not often vouch'd, while 'tis a-making,
'Tis given with welcome : to feed were best at home ;
From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony ;
Meeting were bare without it. Macb. Sweet remembrancer !
Now good digestion wait on appetite,
And health on both ! Len. May 't please your highness sit.
[Tke Ghost of Banquo enters, and sits in Macbeth^ s place. Macb. Here had we now our country's honour roof'd, 40
Were the graced person of our Banquo present j
Who may I rather challenge for unkindness
Than pity for mischance ! Ross. His absence, sir,
Lays blame upon his promise. Please 't your highness
To grace us with your royal company. Macb. The table 's full.
MACBETH Act III. Sc. iv.
Leti. Here is a place reserved, sir.
Mack Where?
Len. Here, my good lord. What is't that moves your highness ?
Mach. Which of you have done this ?
Lords. What, my good lord r
Macb. Thou canst not say I did it : never shake 50
Thy gory locks at me.
Ross. Gentlemen, rise j his highness is not well.
Lady M. Sit, worthy friends : my lord is often thus,
And hath been from his youth : pray you, keep seat •, The fit is momentary j upon a thought He will again be well : if much you note him, You shall offend him and extend his passion : Feed, and regard him not. Are you a man ?
Mach. Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that Which might appal the devil.
Lady M. O proper stuff! do
This is the very painting of your fear : This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said. Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, Impostors to true fear, would well become A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself! Why do you make such faces .'' When all 's done, You look but on a stool.
Macb. Prithee, see there ! behold ! look ! lo ! how say you ? Why, what care I ? If thou canst nod, speak too. If charnel-houses and our graves must send 71
Those that we bury back, our monuments Shall be the maws of kites. \Exit Ghost.
Lady M. What, quite unmann'd in folly ?
Act III. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Mach. If I Stand here, I saw him.
Lady M. Fie, for shame !
Mach. Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden time, Ere humane statute purged the gentle weal ; Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd Too terrible for the ear : the time has been, That, when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end ; but now they rise again, 8o
With twenty mortal murders on their crowns. And push us from our stools : this is more strange Than such a murder is.
Lady M. My worthy lord,
Your noble friends do lack you.
Mach. I do forget.
Do not muse at me, my most worthy friends ; I have a strange infirmity, which is nothing To those that know me. Come, love and health to all ; Then I '11 sit down. Give me some wine, fill full. I drink to the general joy o' the whole table. And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss ; 90 Would he were here ! to all and him we thirst. And all to all.
Lords. Our duties, and the pledge.
Re-enter Ghost.
Mach. Avaunt ! and quit my sight ! let the earth hide thee!
Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold j
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Which thou dost glare with. Lady M. Think of this, good peers,
But as a thing of custom : 'tis no other ;
MACBETH Act III. Sc. iv.
Only it spoils the pleasure of the time.
Mach. What man dare, I dare :
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, loo
The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger ;
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble : or be alive again,
And dare me to the desert with thy sword 5
If trembling I inhabit then, protest me
The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow !
Unreal mockery, hence ! \Exit Ghost,
Why, so : being gone, I am a man again. Pray you, sit still.
Lady M. You have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting. With most admired disorder.
Macb. Can such things be, no
And overcome us like a summer's cloud, Without our special wonder ? You make me strange Even to the disposition that I owe. When now I think you can behold such sights, And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks, When mine is blanch'd with fear.
Ross. What sights, my lord.?
Lady M. I pray you, speak not ; he grows worse and worse ; Question enrages him : at once, good night : Stand not upon the order of your going, But go at once.
Len. Good night; and better health 120
Attend his majesty !
Lady M. A kind good night to all !
[Exeunt all but Macbeth and Lady M.
Act III. Sc. V. THE TRAGEDY OF
Macb. It will have blood : they say blood will have blood : Stones have been known to move and trees to speak ; Augures and understood relations have By maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth The secret'st man of blood. What is the night ?
Lady M. Almost at odds with morning, which is which.
Macb. How say'st thou, that Macduff denies his person At our great bidding ?
Lady M. Did you send to him, sir ?
Macb. I hear it by the way, but I will send : 1 30
There 's not a one of them but in his house I keep a servant fee'd. I will to-morrow, And betimes I will, to the weird sisters : More shall they speak, for now I am bent to know. By the worst means, the worst. For mine own good All causes shall give way : I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more. Returning were as tedious as go o'er : Strange things I have in head that will to hand, Which must be acted ere they may be scann'd. 140
Lady M. You lack the season of all natures, sleep.
Macb. Come, we '11 to sleep. My strange and self-abuse Is the initiate fear that wants hard use : We are yet but young in deed. [Exeunt.
Scene V.
A heath.
Thunder. Enter the three Witches, meeting Hecate.
First Witch. Why, how now, Hecate ! you look angerly. Hec. Have I not reason, beldams as you are, Saucy and over-bold ? How did you dare
MACBETH Act III. Sc. v.
To trade and traffic with Macbeth
In riddles and affairs of death ;
And I, the mistress of your charms,
The close contriver of all harms.
Was never call'd to bear my part,
Or show the glory of our art ?
And, which is worse, all you have done lo
Hath been but for a wayward son,
Spiteful and wrathful ; who, as others do,
Loves for his own ends, not for you.
But make amends now : get you gone.
And at the pit of Acheron
Meet me i' the morning : thither he
Will come to know his destiny :
Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms and every thing beside.
I am for the air ; this night I '11 spend 20
Unto a dismal and a fatal end :
Great business must be wrought ere noon :
Upon the corner of the moon
There hangs a vaporous drop profound 5
I '11 catch it ere it come to ground :
And that distill'd by magic sleights
Shall raise such artificial sprites
As by the strength of their illusion
Shall draw him on to his confusion :
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear 30
His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace and fear :
And you all know security
Is mortals' chiefest enemy.
[Jldusic and a song ivithin : ' Come anvay,
come aiuay,'' l^c.
10 D
Act III. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
Hark ! I am call'd ; my little spirit, see, Sits in a foggy cloud, and stays for me. [Exit.
First Witch. Come, let 's make haste ; she '11 soon be back again. • [Exeunt.
Scene VI.
Forres. The palace.
Enter Lennox and another Lord.
Len. My former speeches have but hit your thoughts, Which can interpret farther : only I say Things have been strangely borne. The gracious
Duncan Was pitied of Macbeth : marry, he was dead : And the right-valiant Banquo walk'd too late j Whom, you may say, if 't please you, Fleance kili'd. For Fleance fled : men must not walk too late. Who cannot want the thought, how monstrous It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain To kill their gracious father ? damned fact ! lo
How it did grieve Macbeth ! did he not straight, In pious rage, the two delinquents tear. That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep ? Was not that nobly done .'* Ay, and wisely too ; For 'twould have anger'd any heart alive To hear the men deny 't. So that, I say. He has borne all things well : and I do think That, had he Duncan's sons under his key — As, an't please heaven, he shall not — they should find What 'twere to kill a father ; so should Fleance. 20 But, peace ! for from broad words, and 'cause he fail'd His presence at the tyrant's feast, I hear.
MACBETH Act III. Sc. vi.
MacdufF lives in disgrace : sir, can you tell "Where he bestows himself?
Lord. The son of Duncan,
From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth, Lives in the English court, and is received Of the most pious Edward with such grace That the malevolence of fortune nothing Takes from his high respect. Thither MacdufF Is gone to pray the holy king, upon his aid 30
To wake Northumberland and warlike Siward : That by the help of these, with Him above To ratify the work, we may again Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights. Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives, Do faithful homage and receive free honours : All which we pine for now : and this report Hath so exasperate the king that he Prepares for some attempt of war.
Lett. Sent he to MacdufF?
Lord. He did : and with an absolute ' Sir, not I,' 40
The cloudy messenger turns me his back, And hums, as who should say * You '11 rue the time That clogs me with this answer.'
Len. And that well might
Advise him to a caution, to hold what distance His wisdom can provide. Some holy angel Fly to the court of England and unfold His message ere he come, that a swift blessing May soon return to this our suffering country Under a hand accursed !
Lord. I'll send my prayers with him.
[^Exeunt.
Act IV. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
ACT FOURTH. Scene I.
A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron.
Thunder. Enter the three Witches.
First Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. Sec. Witch. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined. Third Witch. Harpier cries * 'Tis time, 'tis time.' First Witch. Round about the cauldron go :
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone »
Days and nights has thirty one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got.
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. All. Double, double toil and trouble ; lo
Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Sec. Witch. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake ;
Eye of newt and toe of frog.
Wool of bat and tongue of dog.
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble.
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. All. Double, double toil and trouble ; 20
Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Third Witch. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark.
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark.
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. i.
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe 50
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab :
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron. All. Double, double toil and trouble ;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Sec. Witch. Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
Enter Hecate to the other three Witches.
Hec. O, well done ! I commend your pains ;
And every one shall share i' the gains : 40
And now about the cauldron sing,
Like elves and fairies in a ring.
Enchanting all that you put in.
[Music and a song : * Black spirits,' 'zffc.
[Hecate retires. Sec. Witch. By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes :
Open, locks.
Whoever knocks !
Enter Macbeth. Macb. How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags !
What is 't you do ? All. A deed without a name.
Macb. I conjure you, by that which you profess, 50
Howe'er you come to know it, answer me :
Act IV. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Though you untie the winds and let them fight
Against the churches j though the yesty waves
Confound and swallow navigation up ;
Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down ;
Though castles topple on their warders' heads ;
Though palaces and pyramids do slope
Their heads to their foundations ; though the treasure
Of nature's germins tumble all together,
Even till destruction sicken ; answer me 60
To what I ask you. First Witch. Speak.
Sec. Witch. Demand.
Third Witch. We '11 answer.
First Witch. Say, if thou 'dst rather hear it from our mouths,
Or from our masters ? Macb. Call 'em, let me see 'em.
First Witch. Pour in sow's blood, that hath eaten
Her nine farrow ; grease that 's sweaten
From the murderer's gibbet throw
Into the flame. All. Come, high or low ;
Thyself and office deftly show !
Thunder. First Apparition : an armed Head.
Macb. Tell me, thou unknown power, —
First Witch. ' He knows thy thought :
Hear his speech, but say thou nought. 70
First App. Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth ! beware MacdufF;
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me : enough.
\^Descends. Macb. Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution thanks ;
Thou hast harp'd my fear aright : but one word more, —
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. i.
First Witch. He will not be commanded ; here 's another, More potent than the first.
Thunder. Second Apparition : a bloody Child.
Sec. App. Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth !
Macb. Had I three ears, I 'Id hear thee.
Sec. App. Be bloody, bold and resolute ; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. [Descends.
Macb. Then live, Macduff : what need I fear of thee ? But yet I '11 make assurance doubly sure. And take a bond of fate : thou shalt not live ; That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, And sleep in spite of thunder.
Thunder. Third Apparition : a Child crowned, nvith a tree iti his hand.
What is this, That rises like the issue of a king, And wears upon his baby-brow the round And top of sovereignty ?
All. Listen, but speak not to't.
Third App. Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care 90 Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are : Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him. [Descends.
Macb. That will never be :
Who can impress the forest, bid the tree Unfix his earth-bound root ? Sweet bodements ! good ! Rebellion's head, rise never, till the wood Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath
Act IV. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart loo
Throbs to know one thing : tell me, if your art Can tell so much : shall Banquo's issue ever Reign in this kingdom ?
All. Seek to know no more.
Macb. I will be satisfied : deny me this,
And an eternal curse fall on you ! Let me know : Why sinks that cauldron ? and what noise is this ?
\Hautboys.
First Witch. Show !
Sec. Witch. Show !
Third Witch. Show!
All. Show his eyes, and grieve his heart j iio
Come like shadows, so depart !
A show of eight Kings, the last ivith a glass in his hand ; Banquos Ghost folloiving.
Macb. Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo : down ! Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls. And thy hair, Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. A third is like the former. Filthy hags ! Why do you show me this } A fourth ! Start, eyes ! What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom ? Another yet ! A seventh ! I '11 see no more : And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass Which shows me many more ; and some I see 1 20 That two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry : Horrible sight ! Now I see 'tis true ; For the blood-bolter'd Banquo smiles upon me. And points at them for his. What, is this so ?
First Witch. Ay, sir, all this is so : but why Stands Macbeth thus amazedly ?
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. i.
Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites,
And shoM^ the best of our delights :
I '11 charm the air to give a sound,
While you perform your antic round, 1 30
That this great king may kindly say
Our duties did his welcome pay.
[Alusic. The Witches dance, and then vanish, ivith Hecate. Macb. Where are they ? Gone ? Let this pernicious hour Stand aye accursed in the calendar ! Come in, without there !
Enter Leiinox.
Len. What 's your grace's will ?
Macb. Saw you the weird sisters ?
Len. No, my lord.
Macb. Came they not by you ?
Len. No indeed, my lord.
Macb. Infected be the air whereon they ride.
And damn'd all those that trust them ! I did hear The galloping of horse : who was't came by ? 140
Len. 'Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you word Macduff is fled to England.
Macb. Fled to England !
Len. Ay, my good lord.
Macb. \Aside'\ Time, thou anticipatest my dread exploits : The flighty purpose never is o'ertook Unless the deed go with it : from this moment The very firstlings of my heart shall be The firstlings of my hand. And even now, To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done :
Act IV. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
The castle of Macduff I will surprise ; 150
Seize upon Fife ; give to the edge o' the sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool ;
This deed I '11 do before this purpose cool :
But no more sights ! — Where are these gentlemen ?
Come, bring me where they are. [Exeunt.
Scene II
Fife. Macduff's castle. Enter Lady Macduff^, her Son, and Ross.
L. Macd. What had he done, to make him fly the land ?
Ross. You must have patience, madam.
L. Macd. He had none :
His flight was madness : when our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors.
Ross. You know not
Whether it was his wisdom or his fear.
L. Macd. Wisdom ! to leave his wife, to leave his babes. His mansion and his titles, in a place From whence himself does fly ? He loves us not ; He wants the natural touch : for the poor wren, The most diminutive of birds, will fight, 10
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. All is the fear and nothing is the love ; As little is the wisdom, where the flight So runs against all reason.
Ross. My dearest coz,
I pray you, school yourself: but, for your husband.
He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows
The fits o' the season. I dare not speak much further :
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. ii.
But cruel are the times, when we are traitors
And do not know ourselves ; when we hold rumour
From what we fear, yet know not what we fear, 20
But float upon a wild and violent sea
Each way and move. I take my leave of you :
Shall not be long but I '11 be here again :
Things at the worst will cease, or else climb upward
To what they were before. My pretty cousin.
Blessing upon you !
L. Macd. Father'd he is, and yet he 's fatherless.
Ross. I am so much a fool, should I stay longer, It would be my disgrace and your discomfort : I take my leave at once. [Exit.
L. Macd. Sirrah, your father 's dead : 30
And what will you do now ? How will you live ?
Son. As birds do, mother.
L. Macd. What, with worms and flies ?
Soti. With what I get, I mean ; and so do they.
L. Macd. Poor bird ! thou 'Idst never fear the net nor lime, The pitfall nor the gin.
Son. Why should I, mother ? Poor birds they are not set for. My father is not dead, for all your saying.
L. Macd. Yes, he is dead : how wilt thou do for a father ?
Son. Nay, how will you do for a husband ?
L. Macd. Why, I can buy me twenty at any market. 40
Son. Then you '11 buy 'em to sell again.
L. Macd. Thou speak'st with all thy wit, and yet, i' faith, With wit enough for thee.
Son. Was my father a traitor, mother .''
L. Macd. Ay, that he was.
Son. What is a traitor .''
Act IV. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
L. Macd. Why, one that swears and lies.
Son. And be all traitors that do so ?
L. Macd. Every one that does so is a traitor, and must
be hanged. 50
Son. And must they all be hanged that swear and lie ^ L. Macd. Every one. Son. Who must hang them ? L. Macd. Why, the honest men. Son. Then the liars and swearers are fools ; for there
are liars and swearers enow to beat the honest
men and hang up them. L. Macd. Now, God help thee, poor monkey !
But how wilt thou do for a father ? Son. If he were dead, you 'Id weep for him : if you 60
would not, it were a good sign that I should
quickly have a new father. L. Macd. Poor prattler, how thou talk'st !
Enter a Messenger.
Mess. Bless you, fair dame ! I am not to you known. Though in your state of honour I am perfect. I doubt some danger does approach you nearly : If you will take a homely man's advice. Be not found here ; hence, with your little ones. To fright you thus, methinks I am too savage j To do worse to you were fell cruelty, 70
Which is too nigh your person. Heaven preserve you ! I dare abide no longer. [^Exit.
L. Macd. Whither should 1 fly }
I have done no harm. But I remember now I am in this earthly world, where to do harm Is often laudable, to do good sometime
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. Hi.
Accounted dangerous folly : why then, alas,
Do I put up that womanly defence,
To say I have done no harm ? — What are these faces ?
Enter Murderers.
First Mur. Where is your husband ?
L. Macd. I hope, in no place so unsanctified 8o
Where such as thou mayst find him. First Mur. He 's a traitor,
^on. Thou liest, thou shag-ear'd villain ! First Mur. What, you egg !
{^tabbing him.
Young fry of treachery !
Son. He has kill'd me, mother :
Run away, I pray you ! [Dies.
[Fxit Lady Macduff, crying ' Murderer I '
Exeunt murderers , Jhllowing her.
Scene III.
England. Before the King s palace. Enter Malcolm and Macdtff.
Mai. Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there Weep our sad bosoms empty.
Macd. Let us rather
Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men Bestride our down-fall'n birthdom : each new morn New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out Like syllable of dolour.
Mai. What I believe, I'll wail ;
Act IV. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
What know, believe ; and what I can redress, As I shall find the time to friend, I will. lo
What you have spoke, it may be so perchance. This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, Was once thought honest : you have loved him well ; He hath not touch'd you yet. I am young ; but
something You may deserve of him through me ; and wisdom To offer up a weak, poor, innocent lamb To appease an angry god.
Macd. I am not treacherous.
Mai. But Macbeth is.
A good and virtuous nature may recoil 19
In an imperial charge. But I shall crave your pardon ; That which you are, my thoughts cannot transpose : Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell : Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, Yet grace must still look so.
Macd. I have lost my hopes.
Mai. Perchance even there where I did find my doubts. Why in that rawness left you wife and child. Those precious motives, those strong knots of love. Without leave-taking ? I pray you, Let not my jealousies be your dishonours, But mine own safeties. You may be rightly just, go Whatever I shall think.
Macd. Bleed, bleed, poor country :
Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure, For goodness dare not check thee : wear thou thy
wrongs ; The title is afFeer'd. Fare thee well, lord : I would not be the villain that thou think'st
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. iii.
For the whole space that 's in the tyrant's grasp And the rich East to boot.
Mai. Be not offended :
I speak not as in absolute fear of you. I think our country sinks beneath the yoke ; It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash 40
Is added to her wounds : I think withal There would be hands uplifted in my right ; And here from gracious England have I offer Of goodly thousands : but for all this, When I shall tread upon the tyrant's head, Or wear it on my sword, yet my poor country Shall have more vices than it had before. More suffer and more sundry ways than ever, By him that shall succeed.
Macd. What should he be ?
Mai. It is myself I mean : in whom I know 50
All the particulars of vice so grafted That, when they shall be open'd, black Macbeth Will seem as pure as snow, and the poor state Esteem him as a lamb, being compared With my confineless harms.
Macd. Not in the legions
Of horrid hell can come a devil more damn'd In evils to top Macbeth.
Mai. I grant him bloody,
Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin That has a name : but there's no bottom, none, 60 In my voluptuousness : your wives, your daughters, Your matrons, and your maids, could not fill up The cistern of my lust, and my desire
Act IV. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
All continent impediments would o'erbear, That did oppose my will : better Macbeth Than such an one to reign.
Macd. Boundless intemperance
In nature is a tyranny ; it hath been The untimely emptying of the happy throne, And fall of many kings. But fear not yet To take upon you what is yours : you may 'jo
Convey your pleasures in a spacious plenty, And yet seem cold, the time you may so hoodwink : We have willing dames enough ; there cannot be That vulture in you, to devour so many As will to greatness dedicate themselves, Finding it so inclined.
Mai. With this there grows
In my most ill-composed affection such A stanchless avarice that, were I king, I should cut off the nobles for their lands, Desire his jewels and this other's house : 80
And my more-having would be as a sauce To make me hunger more, that I should forge Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal. Destroying them for wealth.
Macd. This avarice
Sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root
Than summer-seeming lust, and it hath been
The sword of our slain kings : yet do not fear ;
Scotland hath foisons to fill up your will
Of your mere own : all these are portable,
With other graces weigh'd. 90
Mai. But I have none : the king-becoming graces, As justice, verity, temperance, stableness,
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. iii.
Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness.
Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude,
I have no relish of them, but abound
In the division of each several crime,
Acting it many ways. Nay, had I power, I should
Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell.
Uproar the universal peace, confound
All unity on earth.
Macd. O Scotland, Scotland ! loo
Mai. If such a one be fit to govern, speak : I am as I have spoken.
Macd. Fit to govern !
No, not to live. O nation miserable ! With an untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd, When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, Since that the truest issue of thy throne By his own interdiction stands accursed, And does blaspheme his breed ? Thy royal father Was a most sainted king : the queen that bore thee, Oftener upon her knees than on her feet, I lo
Died every day she lived. Fare thee well ! These evils thou repeat'st upon thyself Have banish'd me from Scotland. O my breast. Thy hope ends here !
Mai. Macduff, this noble passion,
Child of integrity, hath from my soul Wiped the black scruples, reconciled my thoughts To thy good truth and honour. Devilish Macbeth By many of these trains hath sought to win me Into his power ; and modest wisdom plucks me From over-credulous haste: but God above l2o
Deal between thee and me ! for even now
Act IV. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
I put myself to thy direction, and Unspeak mine own detraction ; here abjure The taints and blames I laid upon myself, For strangers to my nature. I am yet Unknown to woman, never was forsworn, Scarcely have coveted what was mine own. At no time broke my faith, would not betray The devil to his fellow, and delight No less in truth than life : my first false speaking Was this upon myself: what I am truly, 13 1
Is thine and my poor country's to command : Whither indeed, before thy here-approach. Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men. Already at a point, was setting forth. Now we '11 together, and the chance of goodness Be like our warranted quarrel I Why are you silent .? Macd. Such welcome and unwelcome things at once 'Tis hard to reconcile.
Enter a Doctor.
Mai. Well, more anon. Comes the king forth, I pray you ^ 140
Doct. Ay, sir ; there are a crew of wretched souls That stay his cure : their malady convinces The great assay of art ; but at his touch. Such sanctity hath heaven given his hand. They presently amend.
Mai. I thank you, doctor. [Exit Doctor.
Macd. What 's the disease he means ?
Mai. 'Tis call'd the evil :
A most miraculous work in this good king ; Which often, since my here-remain in England,
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. iii.
I have seen him do. How he solicits heaven,
Himself best knows : but strangely-visited people,
All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye, 15 1
The mere despair of surgery, he cures,
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks.
Put on with holy prayers : and 'tis spoken,
To the succeeding royalty he leaves
The healing benediction. With this strange virtue
He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy,
And sundry blessings hang about his throne
That speak him full of grace.
Enter Ross.
Macd. See, who comes here ?
Mai. My countryman j but yet I know him not. 160
Macd. My ever gentle cousin, welcome hither.
Mai. I know him now : Good God, betimes remove The means that makes us strangers !
Ross. Sir, Amen.
Macd. Stands Scotland where it did .'*
Ross. Alas, poor country !
Almost afraid to know itself ! It cannot Be call'd our mother, but our grave : where nothing, But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile ; Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air, Are made, not mark'd j where violent sorrow seems A modern ecstasy : the dead man's knell 170
Is there scarce ask'd for who j and good men's lives Expire before the flowers in their caps. Dying or ere they sicken.
Macd. O, relation
Too nice, and yet too true !
Act IV. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Mai. What's the newest grief?
Ross. That of an hour's age doth hiss the speaker ; Each minute teems a new one.
Macd. How does my wife ?
Ross. Why, well.
Macd. And all my children ?
Ross. Well too.
Macd. The tyrant has not batter'd at their peace ?
Ross. No ; they were well at peace when I did leave 'em.
Macd. Be not a niggard of your speech : how goes 't ?
Ross. When I came hither to transport the tidings, l8l Which I have heavily borne, there ran a rumour Of many worthy fellows that were out ; Which was to my belief witness'd the rather, For that I saw the tyrant's power a-foot : Now is the time of help ; your eye in Scotland Would create soldiers, make our women fight. To doff their dire distresses.
Mai. Be't their comfort
We are coming thither : gracious England hath Lent us good Si ward and ten thousand men ; 190
An older and a better soldier none That Christendom gives out.
Ross. Would I could answer
This comfort with the like ! But I have words That would be howl'd out in the desert air, Where hearing should not latch them.
Macd. What concern they ?
The general cause ? or is it a fee-grief Due to some single breast .' Ross. No mind that 's honest
But in it shares some woe, though the main part
MACBETH Act IV. Sc. iii.
Pertains to you alone. Macd. If it be mine,
Keep it not from me, quickly let me have it. 200
Ross. Let not your ears despise my tongue for ever.
Which shall possess them with the heaviest sound
That ever yet they heard. Macd. Hum ! I guess at it.
Ross. Your castle is surprised ; your wife and babes
Savagely slaughter'd : to relate the manner,
Were, on the quarry of these murder'd deer.
To add the death of you. Mai. Merciful heaven !
What, man ! ne'er pull your hat upon your brows ;
Give sorrow words : the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o'erfraught heart, and bids it break. Macd. My children too } Ross. Wife, children, servants, all 211
That could be found. Macd. And I must be from thence i
My wife kill'd too ? Ross. I have said.
Mai. Be comforted :
Let 's make us medicines of our great revenge.
To cure this deadly grief. Macd. He has no children. All my pretty ones }
Did you say all ? O hell-kite ! All ?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop ? Mai. Dispute it like a man. Macd. I shall do so; 220
But I must also feel it as a man :
I cannot but remember such things were,
Act V. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on, And would not take their part ? Sinful Macduff, They were all struck for thee ! naught that I am, Not for their own demerits, but for mine. Fell slaughter on their souls : heaven rest them now !
Mai. Be this the whetstone of your sword: let grief Convert to anger j blunt not the heart, enrage it.
Macd. O, I could play the woman with mine eyes, 230 And braggart with my tongue ! But, gentle heavens, Cut short all intermission ; front to front
ring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself •, Within my sword's length set him ; if he 'scape, Heaven forgive him too !
Mai. This tune goes manly.
Come, go we to the king ; our power is ready ; Our lack is nothing but our leave. Macbeth Is ripe for shaking, and the powers above Put on their instruments. Receive what cheer you may ; 239
The night is long that never finds the day. [Exeunt.
ACT FIFTH. Scene I.
Dunsinane. Ante'room in the castle. Enter a Doctor of Physic and a Waiting-Gentlenvoman.
Doct. I have two nights watched with you, but can perceive no truth in your report. When was it she last walked }
Gent. Since his majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her nightgown
MACBETH Act V. Sc. i.
upon her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon't, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed j yet all this while in a most fast sleep.
Doct. A great perturbation in nature, to receive at lo once the benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching ! In this slumbery agitation, besides her walking and other actual performances, what, at any time, have you heard her say ?
Gent. That, sir, which I will not report after her.
Doct. You may to me, and 'tis most meet you should.
Gent. Neither to you nor any one, having no witness to confirm my speech.
Enter Lady Macbeth, with a taper.
Lo you, here she comes ! This is her very guise,
and, upon my life, fast asleep. Observe her; 20
stand close. Doct. How came she by that light ? Gent. Why, it stood by her : she has light by her
continually ; 'tis her command. Doct. You see, her eyes are open. Gent. Ay, but their sense is shut. Doct. What is it she does now ? Look, how she rubs
her hands. Gent. It is an accustomed action with her, to seem
thus washing her hands : I have known her con- 30
tinue in this a quarter of an houro Lady M. Yet here 's a spot. Doct. Hark ! she speaks : I will set down what comes
from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more
strongly.
Act V. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Lady M. Out, damned spot ! out, I say ! One : two :
why, then 'tis time to do 't. Hell is murky. Fie,
my lord, fie ! a soldier, and afeard ? What need
we fear who knows it, when none can tell our
power to account ? Yet who would have thought 40
the old man to have had so much blood in
him ? Doct. Do you mark that ? Lady M. The thane of Fife had a wife ; where is she
now ? What, will these hands ne'er be clean ?
No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that : you
mar all with this starting. Doct. Go to, go to ; you have known what you
should not. Gent. She has spoke what she should not, I am 50
sure of that : heaven knows what she has
known. Lady M. Here 's the smell of the blood still : all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh ! Doct. What a sigh is there ! The heart is sorely
charged. Gent. I would not have such a heart in my bosom for
the dignity of the whole body. Doct. Well, well, well, — 60
Gent. Pray God it be, sir. Doct. This disease is beyond my practice : yet I have
known those which have walked in their sleep
who have died holily in their beds. Lady M. Wash your hands ; put on your nightgown ;
look not so pale : I tell you yet again, Banquo 's
buried ; he cannot come out on 's grave.
MACBETH Act V. Sc. ii.
Doct. Even so ?
Lady M. To bed, to bed ; there 's knocking at the
gate : come, come, come, come, give me your 70
hand : what 's done cannot be undone : to bed,
to bed, to bed. [Exit.
Doct. Will she go now to bed ?
Gent. Directly.
Doct. Foul whisperings are abroad : unnatural deeds Do breed unnatural troubles : infected minds To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets : More needs she the divine than the physician. God, God forgive us all ! Look after her ; Remove from her the means of all annoyance, 80
And still keep eyes upon her. So good night : My mind she has mated and amazed my sight : I think, but dare not speak.
Gent. Good night, good doctor.
\_Exeunt.
Scene II.
The country near Dims'inane.
Drum and colours. Enter Menteith, Caithness, Angus, Lennox, and Soldiers,
Ment. The English power is near, led on by Malcolm, His uncle Si ward and the good Macduff: Revenges burn in them ; for their dear causes "Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm Excite the mortified man.
Ang. Near Birnam wood
Shall we well meet them ; that way are they coming.
Caith. Who knows if Donalbain be with his brother ?
Act V. Sc. a. THE TRAGEDY OF
Len. For certain, sir, he is not : I have a file Of all the gentry : there is Siward's son, And many unrough youths, that even now lo
Protest their first of manhood.
Ment. What does the tyrant ?
Cait/j. Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies :
Some say he 's mad j others, that lesser hate him, Do call it valiant fury : but, for certain, He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause Within the belt of rule.
j^/ig. Now does he feel
His secret murders sticking on his hands ; Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach ; Those he commands move only in command, Nothing in love : now does he feel his title 20
Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe Upon a dwarfish thief.
Ment. Who then shall blame
His pester'd senses to recoil and start, When all that is within him does condemn Itself for being there ?
Caith. Well, march we on.
To give obedience where 'tis truly owed : Meet we the medicine of the sickly weal, And with him pour we, in our country's purge. Each drop of us.
Lt/.. Or so much as it needs
To dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds. Make we our march towards Birnam. 3 1
[Exeunt, marching.
MACBETH Act V. Sc. iii.
Scene III.
Dunsinane. A room in the castle. Enter Macbeth, Doctor y atid Attetidants. Mach. Bring me no more reports ; let them fly all : Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane I cannot taint with fear. What 's the boy Malcolm ? Was he not born of woman ? The spirits that know All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus : * Fear not, Macbeth ; no man that 's born of woman Shall e'er have power upon thee.' Then fly, false
thanes, And mingle with the English epicures : The mind I sway by and the heart I bear Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear. lo
Enter a Servant.
The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon !
Where got'st thou that goose look ? ^erv. There is ten thousand — Macb. Geese, villain }
Serv. Soldiers, sir.
Macb. Go prick thy face and over-red thy fear.
Thou lily-liver'd boy. What soldiers, patch ?
Death of thy soul ! those linen cheeks of thine
Are counsellors to fear. What soldiers, whey-face .? Serv. The Enghsh force, so please you. Macb. Take thy face hence. [Exit Servant.
Seyton ! — I am sick at heart,
When I behold — Seyton, I say ! — This push 20
Will cheer me ever, or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough : my way of life
Act V. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf, And that which should accompany old age, As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have ; but, in their stead. Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath. Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. Seyton !
Enter Seyton.
Sey. What 's your gracious pleasure ?
Macb. What news more ? go
Sey. All is confirm'd, my lord, which was reported. Macb. I '11 fight, till from my bones my flesh be hack'd.
Give me my armour. Sey. 'Tis not needed yet.
AIncb. I '11 put it on.
Send out moe horses, skirr the country round ;
Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armour.
How does your patient, doctor ? Doct. Not so sick, my lord.
As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies.
That keep her from her rest. Macb. Cure her of that.
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, 40
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow.
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart ? Doct. Therein the patient
Must minister to himself. Macb. Throw physic to the dogs, I'll none of it.
Come, put mine armour on ; give me my staff.
MACBETH Act V. Sc. iv.
Seyton, send out. Doctor, the thanes fly from me. Come, sir, dispatch. If thou couldst, doctor, cast The water of my land, find her disease 51
And purge it to a sound and pristine health, I would applaud thee to the very echo. That should applaud again. Pull 't off, I say. What rhubarb, senna, or what purgative drug, Would scour these English hence ? Hear'st thou of them ?
Doct. Ay, my good lord ; your royal preparation Makes us hear something.
Mack Bring it after me.
I will not be afraid of death and bane Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane. 60
Doct. [Aside] Were I from Dunsinane away and clear,
Profit again should hardly draw me here. [Exeunt.
Scene IV.
Country near Birnam luood.
Drutn and colours. Enter Malcolm, old Siivard and his Son, Macduff, Menteith, Caithness, A?jgus, Lennox, Ross, and Soldiers, marching.
Mai. Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand
That chambers will be safe. Ment. We doubt it nothing.
Siiv. What wood is this before us ? Ment. The wood of Birnam.
Mai. Let every soldier hew him down a bough.
And bear 't before him : thereby shall we shadow
The numbers of our host, and make discovery
Err in report of us.
Act V. Sc. V. THE TRAGEDY OF
Soldiers. It shall be done.
Siw. We learn no other but the confident tyrant Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure Our setting down before 't.
Mai. 'Tis his main hope : 10
For where there is advantage to be given, Both more and less have given him the revolt, And none serve with him but constrained things Whose hearts are absent too.
Macd. Let our just censures
Attend the true event, and put we on Industrious soldiership.
Siw. The time approaches,
That will with due dicision make us know What we shall say we have and what we owe. Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate, But certain issue strokes must arbitrate : 20
Towards which advance the war. [Exeunt, marching.
Scene V.
Dunsinane. Within the castle.
Enter Macbeth, Seyton, and Soldiers, nvith drum and colours.
Macd: Hang out our banners on the outward walls ;
The cry is still ' They come : ' our castle's strength Will laugh a siege to scorn : here let them lie Till famine and the ague eat them up : Were they not forced with those that should be ours, We might have met them dareful, beard to beard. And beat them backward home.
\A cry of women within. What is that noise .•"
MACBETH Act V. Sc. v.
Sey. It is the cry of women, my good lord. [Exit.
Macb. I have almost forgot the taste of fears :
The time has been, my senses would have cool'd lo To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir As life were in 't : I have supp'd full with horrors ; Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts. Cannot once start me.
Re-enter Seyton.
Wherefore was that cry ?
Sey. The queen, my lord, is dead.
Macb. She should have died hereafter ;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, 20
To the last syllable of recorded time ;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle !
Life 's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more : it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury.
Signifying nothing.
Enter a Messenger.
Thou comest to use thy tongue ; thy story quickly. Mess. Gracious my lord, 20
I should report that which I say I saw.
But know not how to do it. Macb. Well, say, sir.
Mess. As I did stand my watch upon the hill,
Act V. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought, The wood began to move.
Macb. Liar and slave !
Mess. Let me endure your wrath, if 't be not so : "Within this three mile may you see it coming j I say, a moving grove.
Macb. If thou speak'st false,
Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive, Till famine cling thee : if thy speech be sooth, 40 I care not if thou dost for me as much. I pull in resolution, and begin To doubt the equivocation of the fiend That lies like truth : * Fear not, till Birnam wood Do come to Dunsinane j ' and now a wood Comes toward Dunsinane. Arm, arm, and out ! If this which he avouches does appear. There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. I 'gin to be a-weary of the sun, 49
And wish the estate o' the world were now undone. Ring the alarum-bell ! Blow, wind ! come, wrack ! At least we '11 die with harness on our back. [Exeunt.
Scene VI.
Dunsinane. Before the castle.
Drum and colours. Enter Malcolm, old Siiuard, Macduff, a?id their Army, nvith boughs.
Mai. Now near enough ; your leavy screens throw down, And show like those you are. You, worthy uncle, Shall, with my cousin, your right noble son. Lead our first battle: worthy Macduff and we
MACBETH Act V. Sc. vii.
Shall take upon 's what else remains to do,
According to our order. Siiv. Fare you well.
Do we but find the tyrant's power to-night,
Let us be beaten, if we cannot fight. Macd. Make all our trumpets speak ; give them all breath.
Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death. lo
\_Exeunt.
Scene VII.
Another part of the field.
Alarums. Enter Macbeth.
Mach. They have tied me to a stake ; I cannot fly.
But bear-like I must fight the course. What 's he That was not born of woman ? Such a one Am I to fear, or none.
Enter young Sinvard. To. Siw. What is thy name .''
Mack Thou 'It be afraid to hear it.
To. Siiu. No J though thou call'st thyself a hotter name
Than any is in hell. Macb. My name's Macbeth.
To. Siw. The devil himself could not pronounce a title
More hateful to mine ear. Macb. No, nor more fearful.
To. Siiv. Thou hest, abhorred tyrant j with my sword lo
I '11 prove the lie thou speak'st.
\They fight, and young Siivard is slain. Macb. Thou wast born of woman.
But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,
Brandish'd by man that 's of a woman born, [Exit.
Act V. Sc. viii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Alarums. Enter Macduff.
Macd. That way the noise is. Tyrant, show thy face ! If thou be'st slain and with no stroke of mine, My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still. I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms Are hired to bear their staves : either thou, Macbeth, Or else my sword, with an unbatter'd edge, I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be ; By this great clatter, one of greatest note 2i
Seems bruited : let me find him, fortune ! And more I beg not. [Exit. Alarums,
Enter Malcolm and old Siiuard.
Siw. This way, my lord ; the castle 's gently render'd : The tyrant's people on both sides do fight j The noble thanes do bravely in the war j The day almost itself professes yours, And little is to do.
Mai. We have met with foes
That strike beside us.
Siw. Enter, sir, the castle.
[Exeunt. Alarum.
Scene VIII.
Another part of the field.
Enter Macbeth.
Macb. Why should I play the Roman fool, and die
On mine own sword ? whiles I see lives, the gashes Do better upon them.
MACBETH Act V. Sc. viii.
Enter Macduff.
Mncd. Turn, hell-hound, turn !
Macb. Of all men else I have avoided thee :
But get thee back ; my soul is too much charged
With blood of thine already. Macd. I have no words :
My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain
Than terms can give thee out ! \They fight
Macb. Thou losest labour :
As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air
With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed : lo
Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests j
I bear a charmed life, which must not yield
To one of woman born. Macd. Despair thy charm.
And let the angel whom thou still hast served
Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb
Untimely ripp'd. Macb. Accursed be that tongue that tells me so,
For it hath cow'd my better part of man !
And be these juggling fiends no more believed,
That palter with us in a double sense ; 20
That keep the word of promise to our ear.
And break it to our hope. I '11 not fight with thee. Macd. Then yield thee, coward.
And live to be the show and gaze o' the time :
We '11 have thee, as our rarer monsters are,
Painted upon a pole, and underwrit,
' Here may you see the tyrant.' Macb. I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,
Act V. Sc. viii. THE TRAGEDY OF
And to be baited with the rabble's curse. Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane, 30
And thou opposed, being of no woman born, Yet I will try the last : before my body I throw my warlike shield : lay on, MacdufF; And damn'd be him that first cries ' Hold, enough ! '
[Exeunt, fighting. Alarums.
Retreat. Flourish. Enter, nvith drum and colours, Malcolm, old Siivard, Ross, the other Thanes, and Soldiers.
Mai. I would the friends we miss were safe arrived. Siiu. Some must go off: and yet, by these I see.
So great a day as this is cheaply bought. Mai. Macduff is missing, and your noble son. Ross. Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt :
He only lived but till he was a man ; 40
The which no sooner had his prowess confirm'd
In the unshrinking station where he fought.
But like a man he died. Siiu. Then he is dead .?
Ross. Ay, and brought off the field : your cause of sorrow
Must not be measured by his worth, for then
It hath no end. 8iiv. Had he his hurts before ^
Ross. Ay, on the front. Siw. Why then, God's soldier be he !
Had I as many sons as I have hairs,
I would not wish them to a fairer death :
And so his knell is knoll'd. Mai. He 's worth more sorrow, 50
And that I '11 spend for him. Siiv. He 's worth no more :
MACBETH Act V. Sc. viii.
They say he parted well and paid his score : And so God be with him ! Here comes newer com- fort.
Re-enter Macduff", with MacbetFs head.
Macd. Hail, king ! for so thou art : behold, where stands The usurper's cursed head : the time is free : I see thee compass'd with thy kingdom's pearl, That speak my salutation in their minds ; Whose voices I desire aloud with mine : Hail, King of Scotland !
All. Hail, King of Scotland !
\_Flourish.
Mai. We shall not spend a large expense of time 6o
Before we reckon with your several loves, And make us even with you. My thanes and kins- men, Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland In such an honour named. What's more to do, Which would be planted newly with the time. As calling home our exiled friends abroad That fled the snares of watchful tyranny. Producing forth the cruel ministers Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen, Who, as 'tis thought, by self and violent hands 70 Took off her life j this, and what needful else That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace We will perform in measure, time and place : So thanks to all at once and to each one. Whom we invite to see us crown'd at Scone.
[^Flourish. Exeunt.
THE TRAGEDY OF
Glossary.
A one, a man (Theobald from Daven-
ant, " a Thane"; Grant White, "a
man "_) ; III. iv. 131. Absolute, positive ; III. vi, 40. Abuse, deceive ; II. i, 50. Acheron, the river of the infernal
regions ; III. v. 15. Adde/ s fork, the forked tongue of the
adder ; IV. i. 16. Addition, title ; I. iii. 106. Addressed them, prepared themselves ;
II. ii. 24. Adhere, were in accordance; I. vii. Admired, w^ondrous-strange ; III.
1 10.
52. iv.
Advise, instruct : III. i.
129.
Afeard, afraid ; I. iii. 96.
Affection, disposition ; IV, iii. 77.
Affeer'd, Confirmed ; IV. iii. 34.
Alarm, call to arms ; V. ii. 4.
Alarum' d, alarmed ; II. i. 53.
All, any ; III. ii. 11.
; " and all to all," i.e. and we all
(drink) to all; III. iv. 92. All-thing, in every way; III. i. 13. A-maiing, in course of progress ; III,
iv. 34. Angel, genius, demon ; V. viii. 14. Angerli^, zngrWy ; III. v. i. Annoyance, hurt, harm ; V. i, 84. Anon, immediately ; I, i. 10. Anon, anon, "coming, coming"; the
general answer of waiters ; Il.iii. 23. An't, if it (Folios, "and't "); III. vi. 1 9. Antic, grotesque, old-fashioned ; IV.
i. 130. Anticipatest, dost prevent ; IV. i. 144, Apace, quickly ; III. iii. 6. Apply, be devoted ; III. ii. 30. Approve, prove ; I. vi. 4. Argument, subject, theme; II iii. 126.
Arm" J, encased in armour; Ill.iv.ioi, Aroint thee, begone; 1. iii. 6. Artificial, made by art ; III. v. 27. As, as if; II. iv. 18. Assay; "the great a, of art." the
greatest effort of skill; IV. iii.
143. Attend, await ; III. ii. 3. Augures, auguries; (?) augurs; III.
iv. 124. Authorized by, given on the authority
of; III. iv. 66. Avouch, assert ; III. i. 1 20.
Baby of a girl, (?) girl's doll ; accord- ing to others, " feeble child of an immature mother; " III. iv. 106.
Badged, smeared, marked (as with a badge); II. iii. 106.
Bane, evil, harm ; V. iii. 59.
Battle, division of an army ; V. vi. 4,
Beguile, deceive ; I. v. 64.
Bellman; " the fatal bellman," II. ii. 3. (^Cp. illustration.)
From a XVIth cent, black-letter ballad.
MACBETH
Glossary
Bellona, the goddess of war ; L ii. 54.
Bend up, strain ; I. vii. 79.
Benisun, blessing; II. iv. 40,
Bent, determined; III. iv. 134.
Best, good, suitable ; III. iv, 5.
Bestoiv'd, Staying; III. i. 30.
Bestoivs himself, has settled ; III. vi. 24.
Bestride, stand over in posture of defence ; IV, iii. 4.
Bides, lies ; III. iv. 26.
Bill, catalogue; III, i. 100.
Birnam, a high hill twelve miles from Dunsinane ; IV. i. 93.
Birthdom, land of our birth, mother- country ; IV, iii. 4,
Bladed; " b. corn," corn in the blade, when the ear is still green ; IV, i. 55.
^//W--zrorOT, glow-worm ; IV. i, 16.
Blood-bolter' d, locks matted into hard clotted blood ; IV. i, 1 23,
Blo-w, blow upon ; I, iii. 15.
Bodements, forebodings; IV. i. 96,
Boot ;'^ to b.," in addition; IV. iii. 37.
Borne, conducted, managed; III. vi 3.
Borne in hand, kept Up by false hopes ; III. i. 81.
Bosom, close and intimate ; I. ii. 64.
Brainsickly, madly; II. ii. 46.
Break, disclose ; I. vii. 48.
BreecVd, " having the very hilt, or breech, covered with blood " (ac- cording to some " covered as with breeches"); II. iii. 121.
-5/-f£a', family, parentage ; IV. iii. 108.
Brinded, brindled, streaked; IV. i. i.
Bring, conduct ; II. iii. 52.
Broad, plain-spoken; III. vi. 21.
Broil, battle ; I. ii. 6.
Broke ope, broken open; II. iii. 71.
But, only ; I. vii. 6,
By, past; IV. i. 137.
By the "way, casually ; III. iv. 130.
Cai/'nV, confined ; III. iv. 24. Captains, trisyllabic (S. Walker conj.
" captains tivain ") ; I. ii. 34. Careless, uncared for ; I. iv. 11.
Casing, encompassing, all surround- ing ; III. iv. 23.
'Cause, because; III. vi. 21.
Censures , OY>\mon • V. iv. 14.
Champion me, fight in single combat with me ; III. i. 72.
Chanced, happened, taken place ; I. iii. 153.
Chaps, ]dcws, mouth ; I, ii. 22.
Charge; "in an imperial c," in exe- cuting a royal command; IV. iii. 20.
Charged, burdened, oppressed ; V. i. 60,
Chaudron, entrails ; IV. i. 33.
C/i;7a>-if« (trisyllabic) ; IV. iii. 177.
Chimneys; "our chimneys were blown down," an anachronism; II. iii. 60. {Cp. the annexed cut from a mediseval MS. depicting a primitive form of chimney.)
An early form of chimney.
Choke their art, render their skill
useless ; I. ii. 9. Chuck, a term of endearment; III. ii.
45-
Clear, serenely ; I. v. 72.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
C/fflr, innocent, guiltless ; I. vii. i8.
, unstained ; II. i. 28.
Clearness, clear from suspicion ; III. i.
133. CUpt, called ; III. i. 94. Cling, shrivel up ; V. v. 40. C/ojf, join, unite ; III. ii. 14.
, secret; III. v. 7.
Closed, enclosed ; III. i. 99.
Cloudy, suUen, frowning; III. vi. 41.
Coct, cock-crow; "the second c,"
i.e. about three o'clock in the
morning ; II. iii. 27. Coign of vantage, convenient corner ;
I. vi. 7. Cold, (?) dissyllabic; IV. i. 6. Colme-kill, i.e. Icolmkill, the cell of
St Columba ; II. iv. 33. Come, which have come; I. iii. 144. Command upon, put your commands
upon ; III. i. 16. Commends, commits, offers; I. vii. 11. Commission; "those in c," those en- trusted with the commission ; I.
iv. 2. CoOT^ojzV/'on, terms of peace ; I. ii. 59. Compt ; " in c," in account ; I. vi. 26. Compunctious, pricking the conscience;
I. V. 46. Concluded, dtciAed; III. i. 141. Confneless, boundless, limitless ; IV,
iii. 55. Confounds, destroys, ruins; II. ii. n. Confronted, met face to face; I. ii. 55. Confusion, destruction ; II. iii. 71. Consequences ; "v. mortal; V. iii. 5- Consent, counsel, proposal ; II, i. 25. Constancy, firmness ; II. ii. 68. Contend against, v'k With.; I. vi. 16. Content, satisfaction ; III. ii. 5. Continent, restraining ; IV. iii. 64. Convert, change ; IV. iii. 229. Convey, " indulge secretly " ; IV. iii.
Convince, overpower ; I. vii. 64. Convinces , oxe-i-povf^rs ; IV. iii, 142. Copy, (?) copyhold, non-permanent
tenure; III. ii. 38. Corporal, corporeal; I. iii. 81
Corporal; "each c. agent," /.f. "each faculty of the body "; I. vii. 80.
Counsellors ; " c. to fear," fear's coun- sellors, i.e. " suggest fear " ; V. iii.
Countenance, "be in keeping with " ;
II. iii. 84. Crack of doom, burst of sound, thunder,
at the day of doom ; IV, i. 117. Cracks, charges ; I. ii. 37, Cro-wn, head; IV. i. 113,
Dainty of, particular about ; II, iii.
149. Dear, deeply felt ; V. ii. 3. Degrees, degrees of rank ; III, iv. 1. Deliver thee, report to thee; I. v. 11. Delivers, communicates to us ; III.
iii. 2. Demi-ivolves, a cross between dogs
and wolves ; III. i. 94. Denies, refuses ; III. iv, 1 28. Detraction, defamation ; " mine own
d.," the evil things I have spoken
against myself ; IV. iii. 123, Devil (monosyllabic) ; I. iii. 107, Dezv, bedew ; V. ii, 30, Disjoint, fall to pieces ; III. ii. 16, Displaced, banished ; III, iv, 109, Dispute it, fight against it ; (?) reason
upon it (Schmidt); IV, iii. 220, Disseat, unseat; V, iii, 21, Distance, hostility; III, i, n6. Doff, do off, put off; IV. iii. 188, Doubt, fear, suspect ; IV. ii. 66. Drink; "my d,," i.e. "my posset "\
II. i. 31, Drozvse, become drowsy; III. ii, 52, Dudgeon, handle of a dagger ; II. i. 46. Dunnest, darkest; I. v. 52.
Earnest, pledge, money paid before- hand ; I. iii. 104, Easy, easily; II, iii. 142. Ecstasy, any state of being beside one'*
self, violent emotion ; III. ii. 22 Effects, acts, actions; V. i. 11, Egg, term of contempt; IV, ii. 82 Eminence, distinction; III. ii, 31
MACBETH
Glossary
England, the King of England ; IV iii. 43.
Enkindle, incite; I. iii. I2i.
Enoiv, enough ; II. iii. 7.
Entrance (trisyllabic) ; 1. v. 40.
Equivocate to heaven, get to heaven by equivocation; II. iii. 12.
Equivocator (probably alluding to Jesuitical equivocation ; Garnet, the superior of the order was on his trial in March, 1 606) ; II. iii. 10.
Estate, royal dignity, succession to the crown ; I. iv. 37.
Eternal jetvel, immortal soul ; III. i. 68.
^/<;rne, perpetual ; III. ii. 38.
Evil, king's evil, scrofula ; IV. iii. 146.
Exasperate, exasperated ; HI. vi. 38.
Expectation, those guests who are ex- pected ; III. iii. 10.
Expedition, hzste; II. iii. 115.
Extend, Y>^o\ong; III. iv, 57.
Fact, act, deed ; III. vi. 10.
Faculties, powers, prerogatives ; I,
vii. 17. Fain, gladly ; V. iii. 28. Fantastical, imaginary; I. iii. 53; I.
iii. 139. Farroiv, litter of pigs ; IV. i. 65. Favour, pardon ; I. iii. 149.
, countenance, face ; I. v. 73.
Fears, objects of fear ; I. iii. 1 37. Feed, "to f.," feeding; III. iv. 35. Fee-grief, " grief that hath a single
owner"; IV. iii. 196. Fell, scalp ; V. v. 11.
, cruel, dire ; IV. ii. 70.
Fello-w, equal ; II. iii. 67.
File, list ; V. ii. 8.
; '-the valued f.," list of
qualities ; III. i. 95. Filed, made foul, defiled ; III. i. 65. First ; " at f. and last," (?) once for
all, from the beginning to the end ;
(Johnson conj. "tof, and next");
III. iv. L
/■;Vj, caprices ; IV. ii. 17.
Flatus, storms of passion ; III. iv. 63.
Flighty, fleeting; IV. i. 145.
Flout, mock, defy ; I. ii. 49.
Fly, fly from me ; V. iii. 1.
Foisons, plenty, rich harvests ; IV iii. 88.
Follows, attends ; I. vi. 11.
For, because of; III. i. 121.
, as for, as regards ; IV. ii. i j.
Forbid, cursed, blasted ; I. iii. 21.
i^orcfi/, strengthened ; V. v. 5.
Forge, fabricate, invent ; IV. iii. 82.
Forszvorn, perjured; IV. iii. 126.
Founded, firmly fixed ; III. iv. 22.
Frame of things , Universe; III. ii. 16.
Franckised, free, unstained; II. i. 28.
Free, freely ; I. iii. 155.
, honourable ; III. vi. 36.
, remove, do away (Steevens
conj. " Fright " or " Fray " ; Bailey conj., adopted by Hudson, ^^ Keep"; Kinnear conj. " Rid") ; III. vi. 35.
French hose, probably a reference to the narrow, straight hose, in con- tradistinction to the round, wide hose; II. iii. 16.
Fright, frighten, terrify ; IV. ii. 69.
i^roOT, differently from ; III. i. 100.
, in consequence of, on account
of; III. vi. 21.
Fry, literally a swarm of young fishes ; here used as a term of contempt; IV. ii. 83
Function, power of action ; I. iii. 140
Furbish' d,hwTms)\e:d; I. ii. 32.
Gallo-wg! asses, heavy - armed Irish troops (Folio I, " Gallovugrosses") ; I. ii. 13.
Genius, Spirit of good or ill; III. 1. 56.
Gentle senses, senses which are soothed (by the "gentle" air) ; (Warburton, "general sense''^ Johnson conj., adopted by Capell, -'gentle sense ") ; I. vi. 3.
Germins, germs, seeds; IV. i. 59.
Get, beget ; I. iii. 67.
Gin, a trap to catch birds ; IV. ii. 35.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
'Gins, begins; I. ii. 25. Gives out, proclaims ; IV. iii. 192. God 'ild us, corruption of " Gcd yield us" (Folios, " God-eyldus"); I. vi.
•3-
Golgotha, i.e. " the place of a skull "
{cp. Mark xv. 22) ; I. ii. 40. Good, brave ; IV. iii. 3. Goodness; "the chance of g.," the
chance of success ; IV. iii.
136. Goose, a tailor's smoothing iron ; II.
iii. 17. GospeWd, imbued with Gospel teach-
ing ; III. i.
Go to, go to, an exclamation of re- proach ; V. i. 5 1 .
Gouts, drops ; II. i. 46.
Graced, gracious, full of graces ; III. iv. 41.
Grandam, grandmother ; III. iv. 66.
Grave, weighty; III. i. 22.
Grjymaliin ; a grey cat (the
* / come, Graymalkin. Paddock calls.
From a print by " Hellish " Breugel,
c. 1566.
familiar spirit of the First Witch ; '■'■malkin'" diminutive of " Mary ") ;
I. i. 9.
Gripe, grasp ; III. i. 62.
Grooms, servants of any kind ; IL
ii. 5. Gulf, gullet ; IV. i. 23.
//ai/ (dissyllabic) ; I. ii. 5, Harbinger, forerunner, an officer of the king's household ; I. iv.
45. Hardly, with difficulty ; V. iii.
62. Harms, injuries ; " my h.," injuries
inflicted by me; IV. iii. 55. Harp'd^ hit, touched ; IV. i.
74- Harpier, probably a corruption of
Harpy ; IV. i. 3. Having, possessions; I. iii. 56. Hear, talk with ; III. iv. 32. Heart; "any h.," the heart of any
man ; III. vi. 15. Heavily, sadly; iV. iii. 182. Hecate, the goddess of hell (one of
the names of Artemis-Diana, as
goddess of the infernal regions) ;
II. i. 52.
Hedge-pig, hedge-hog ; IV. i. 2. Hermits, beadsmen ; men bound to
pray for their benefactors (Folio i,
'■'■ Ermites"^; I. vi. 20. Hie thee, hasten ; I. v. 26. His, this man's ; IV. iii. 80. Holds, withholds ; III. vi. 25. Holp, helped ; I. vi. 23. Home, thoroughly, completely ; I. iii.
I 20.
Homely, humble ; IV ii. 67. Hoodwink, blind ; IV. iii. 72. Horses ( monosyllabic ) ; II. iv.
14. Housekeeper, watch dog ; III. i.
97- Hoivlet''s, owlet's ; IV. i. 17.
H01V say'st thou, what do you think I ;
III. iv. 128.
Humane, human ; III. iv. 76.
MACBETH
Glossary
Hurlyburly, tumult, uproar; I. i. 3. (In the annexed curious illustra- tion of some witchcraft absurdity the devil is making a hurly-burly by beating furiously on a drum under which is a Lapland witch. )
From an old woodcut.
Husbandry, economy ; II i. 4. Hyrcan tiger, i.e. tiger of Hyrcania,
a district south of the Caspian ;
III. iv, loi.
Ignorant, i.e. of future events ; I. v.
58. Ill-composed, compounded of evil
qualities; IV. iii. yy. Illness, evil ; I. V. 21. Impress, force into his service ; IV. i.
95- In, under the weight of; IV. iii. 20. Incarnadine, make red; II. ii. 62. Informs, takes visible form ; II. i. 48. Initiate; "the i. fear," "the fear
that attends, i.e. the first initiation
(into guilt)"; III. iv. 143. Insane ; " the i. root," the root which
causes insanity ; I. iii. 84. Instant, present moment; I. v. 59. Interdiction, exclusion; IV. iii. 107. Intermission, dflay ; IV. iii. 232. Intrenchant, indivisible ; V. viii. 9.
Jifa/oww, suspicions; IV. iii, 29. Jump, hazard, risk ; I. vii. 7. Just, exactly ; III. iii. 4. Jutty, jetty, projection ; I. vi. 6.
Kerns, light-armed Irish troops ; I. ii, 13. (Cp. the subjoined medizvai representation.)
From the Chapter House Liber A, in the Public Record Office.
Knoiuings, knowledge, experiences ;
II. iv. 4. Knoxvledge ; " the k.," what you
know (Collier MS. and Walker
conj. " till/ k") ; I. ii. 6.
Lad, want, requirement ; IV. iii.
237. _ Lack, miss ; III. iv. 84. Lipped, wrapped ; I. ii. 54. Large, liberal, unrestrained ; III. iv.
II. Latch, catch ; IV. iii. 195. Za/f(/, belated ; III. iii. 6. Lave, keep clear and unsullied ; III.
ii-33-
Zawi^, unrestrained, insolent; I.ii.57.
Lay, did lodge ; II. iii. 58. Lease of nature, term of natural life ; IV. i. 99.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Leave, leave off; III. ii. 35.
Left unattended, forsaken, deserted ; II. ii. 69.
Lesser, less; V. ii. 13.
Lies; "swears and 1.," i.e. "swears allegiance and commits perjury " (cp. IV. ii. 51 for the literal sense of the phrase); IV. ii. 47.
Lighted, descended ; II. iii. 147.
Like, same ; II. i. 30,
, likely ; II. iv. 29.
, equal, the same ; IV. iii. 8.
Lily-liver'd, cow?irA\y • V. iii. 15.
Limbec, alembic, still ; I. vii. 67.
Lime, bird-lime ; IV. ii. 34,
Limited, appointed ; II. iii. 57
Line, strengthen ; I. iii. 1 1 2.
List, lists, place marked out for a combat ; III. i. 71.
Listening, listening to ; II. ii. 28.
Lo ; " lo you," i.e. look you; V. i.
22. Lodged, laid, thrown down; IV. i. 55. Look, expect ; V. iii. 26. Loon, brute ; V. iii. 1 1. Luxurious, lustful ; IV. iii. 58.
Maggot-pies, mzg^Xes; III. iv. 125. Mansionry, abode ; I. vi. 5. Mark, take heed, listen ; I. ii. 28.
, notice ; V. i. 46.
Marry, a corruption of the Virgin
Mary ; a slight oath ; III. vi. 4. Mated, bewildered ; V. i. 86. Matus, stomachs ; III. iv. 73. May I, I hope I may ; III. iv. 42. Medicine, " physician " ; (?) physic ;
V. ii. 27. Meek, meekly; I. vii. 17. Memorize, make memorable, make
famous ; I. ii. 40. il<f«rf, absolutely ; IV. iii. 89.
, utter, absolute; IV. iii. 152.
Metaphysical, supernatural; I. v. 30. iVf/Won, darling, favourite ; I. ii. 19;
II. iv. 15. Minutely, " happening every minute,
continual ; V. ii. 18. Missives, messengers ; I. v. 7
Mistrust; "he needs not our m.,"
i.e. we need not mistrust him ;
III. iii. 2. Mockery, delusive imitation ; III. iv.
107. Modern, ordinary ; IV. iii. 170. Moe, more; V. iii. 35. Monstrous (trisyllabic) ; III. vi. 8. Mortal, deadly, murderous ; I. v.
42. , " m. murders," deadly wounds ;
III. iv. 81. -, " m. consequences," what be-
falls man in the course of time ;
V. iii. 5. Mortality, mortal life ; II. iii. 97. Mortified, dead, insensible ; V. ii. 5. Mounch'd, chewed with closed lips ;
I. iii. 5. Muse, wonder; III. iv. 85. Must be, was destined to be; IV. iii.
212.
Napkins, handkerchiefs; II. iii. 6. Nature; " nature's mischief," man's
evil propensities ; I. v. 51. ; "in n.," in their whole
nature; II. iv. 16. Naught, vile thing; IV. iii. 225. Nave, navel, middle (Warburton,
"■nape"); I. ii. 22. Near, nearer ; II. iii. 146. Nearest of life, inmost life, most vital
parts ; III. i. 118. Nice, precise, minute ; IV. iii. 1 74. Nightgo-wn, dressing gown ; II. ii.
70. Noise, music ; IV. i. 106. Norivays', Norwegians'; I. ii. 59. Nortueyan, Norwegian; I. ii. 31. Note, notoriety ; III. ii. 44.
, list ; III. iii. lo.
, notice; III. iv. 56.
Nothing, not at all ; I. iii. 96.
, nobody; IV. iii. 166.
iVbrio/!, apprehension ; III. i. 83.
Oblivious, causing forgetfulness ; V iii. 43.
MACBETH
Glossary
Obscure; " o. bird," ».f. the bird de- lighting in darkness, the owl ; II. iii. 63.
Odds; "at o.," at variance; III. iv. 127.
0'' erf r aught, over-charged, over-loaded; IV. iii. 210.
Q/", from; IV. i. 81.
, with (Hanmer, ^'ivith"); I. ii.
-, over, I. iii. 33. ., by; III. vi. 4; III. vi. 27. , for ; IV. iii. 95.
Petit-house lid, i.e. eye-lids ; "Pent- house," a porch or shed with sloping roof, as shown in the annexed cut ; I. iii. 20.
Offices, duty, employment; III. iii. 3. , i.e. domestic offices, servants'
quarters ; II. i, 14. 0/i/ (used colloquially) ; II. iii, 2. 0«, of; I. iii. 84. Once, ever; IV. iii. 167. One, wholly, uniformly ; II. ii. 63. On 's, of his ; V. i. 70. On't, of it; III. i. 114. Open'd, unfolded ,• IV. iii. 52. Or fr^, before ; IV. iii. 173. Other, othtTS,; I. iii. 14. , "the o.," i.e. the other side;
I. vii. 28. -, otherwise; I. vii. 77.
Others, other man's ; IV. iii, 80.
Ourselves, one another ; III. iv. 32.
Out, i.e. in the field ; IV. iii. 183.
Outrun, did outrun (Johnson, ^'■out- ran") ; II. iii. 1 17.
O'uercome, overshadow ; III. iv. iii.
Over-red, redden over; V. iii. 14.
Oive, own, possess ; I. iii. 76.
Oived, ovfned; I. iv. 10.
Paddock, toad (the familiar spirit of
the second witch) ; I. i. 10. Pall, wrap, envelop ; I. v. 52. Passion, strong emotion ; III. iv.
57- Patch, fool (supposed to be derived
from the patched or motley coat
of the jester) ; V. iii. 15.
Peak, dwindle away ; I. iii. 23.
From an engraving of an old timber- house in the market place at Stratford- on-Avon.
Perfect, well, perfectly acquainted ; IV. ii. 65.
Pester d, troubled ; V. ii. 23.
jP/acf, " pitch, the highest elevation of a hawk " ; a term of falconry ; II. iv. 12.
Point ;" at a p.," prepared for any emergency; IV. iii. 135.
Poor, feeble ; III. ii. 14.
Poorly, dejectedly, unworthily ; II. ii. 72.
Portable, endurable ; IV. iii. 89.
Possess, fill ; IV. iii. 202.
Possets, drink ; " posset is hot milk poured on ale or sack, having sugar, grated bisket, and eggs, with other ingredients boiled in it, which goes all to a curd " (Randle Holmes' Academy of Ar- mourie, 1688) ; II. ii. 6.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Posters, speedy travellers ; I. iii. 33.
Foiver, armed force, army ; IV. iii. 185.
Predominance, superior power, influ- ence; an astrological term; II. iv. 8.
Present, present time ; I. v. 58.
, instant, immediate; I. ii. 64.
, otfer ; III. ii. 31.
Presently, immediately ; IV. iii. 145.
Pretence, purpose, intention ; II. iii. 136.
Pretend, intend ; II. iv. 24.
Probation; " passed in p. with you," proved, passing them in detail, one by one ; III. i. 80.
Profound, " having deep or hidden qualities " (Johnson) ; (?) " deep, and therefore ready to fall " (Clar. Pr.); III. v. 24.
Proof, proved armour; I. ii. 54.
Proper, fine, excellent (used ironi- cally); III. iv. 60.
Protest, show publicly, proclaim ; V. ii. II.
Purged, cleansed ; III. iv. 76.
Purveyor, an officer of the king sent before to provide food for the King and his retinue, as the har- binger provided lodging ; I. vi. 22.
Push, attack, onset ; V. iii. 20.
Put on, se on, (?) set to work ; IV. iii. 239.
Put upon, falsely attribute ; I. vii. 70.
Quarry, a heap of slaughtered game ;
IV. iii. 206. Quell, murder ; I. vii. 72. Quiet ; " at q.," in quiet, at peace ;
II. iii. 18.
RavelVd, tangled ; II. ii. 37. Raniin'd, ravenous ; IV. i. 24. Ravin up, devour greedily ; II. iv. 28. Rawness, hurry ; IV. iii. 26. Readiness; "manly r.," complete
clothing (opposed to "naked
frailties ") ; II. iii. 139. Receipt, receptacle; I. vii. 66. Received, believed ; I. vii. 74.
Recoil, svf^rve; IV. iii. 19.
Recoil; "to r.," for recoiling; V.
ii. 23. Relation, narrative ; IV. iii. 173. Relations, "the connection of effects
with causes " ; III. iv. 124. Relish, smack ; IV. iii. 95. Remembrance, quadrisyllabic ; III. ii.
3°-
Remembrancer, reminder ; III. iv. 37.
Remorse, pity ; I. v. 45.
Require, ask her to give ; III. iv. 6.
Resolve yourselves, decide, make up your minds ; III. i. 138.
Rest, remain ; I. vi. 20.
, give rest; IV. iii. 227.
Return, give back, render; I. vi. 28.
Ronyon, a term of contempt ; I. iii. 6.
Roof'd, gathered under one roof; III. iv. 40.
Rooty, gloomy, foggy (Jennens, "rocky"); III. ii. 51.
Round, circlet, crown ; I. v. 29.
; " r. and top of sovereignty,"
i.e. " the crown, the top or sum- mit of sovereign power"; IV. i. 87.
, dance in a circle ; IV. i.
130. _ Rubs, hindrances, impediments ; III
i. 134. Rump-fed, well-fed, pampered ; I.
iii. 6.
Safe toward, with a sure regard to ;
I. iv. 27. Sag, droop, sink ; V. iii. 10. Saint Colme^s inch, the island of Col-
umba,now Inchcolm, in the Firth
of Forth ; I. ii. 61. Saucy, insolent, importunate ; (?)
pungent, sharp, gnawing (Kop-
pel); III. iv. 25. Say to, tell ; I. ii. 6. ''Scaped, escape ; III. iv. 20. Scarf up, blindfold ; III. ii. 47. Scone, the ancient coronation place of
the kings of Scotland ; II. iv. 31,
MACBETH
Glossary
Scotched, " cut with shallow in- cisions " (Theobald's emendation of Folios, ^^ scorch'd")-, III. ii. 13.
Season, seasoning; III. iv. 141.
Seat, situation ; I. vi. I.
Seated, fixed firmly; I. iii. 136.
Security, confidence, consciousness of security, carelessness ; III. v.
Seeling, blinding (originally a term of falconry); ill. ii. 46.
Seems; "that s. to speak things strange," i.e. "whose appearance corresponds with the strangeness of his message" (Clar. Pr. ); (Johnson conj. "teems"; Collier MS., '^ comes," etc.); I ii
47- Self -abuse, self-delusion; III. iv.
142. Self -comparisons, measuring himself
with the other; I. ii. 55. Selfsame, very same; I. iii. 88. Sennet, a set of notes on trumpet or
cornet ; III. i. lo-ii. Se'nnights, seven nights, weeks ; I.
iii. 22. Sensible, perceptible, tangible ; II.
i. 36. 5ifrg-i?an/ (trisyllabic) ; I. ii. 3. Set forth, shewed ; I. iv. 6. Settled, determined ; I. vii. 79. Setver, one who tasted each dish to
prove there was no poison in it ;
I. vii. (direc). Shag-ear'd, having hairy ears
(Steevens conj., adopted by Singer
(ed. 2) and Hudson, "shag-haired");
IV. ii. 82. Shall, will ; II. i. 29.
, I shall ; IV. ii. 23.
Shame, am ashamed ; II. ii. 64. Shard-borne, borne by scaly wing- cases (Davenant, '^ sharp-broiu'd" ;
Daniel conj. ^^ sharn-bode" ; Upton
conj. " sharn-born " ) ; III. ii,
42. Shift, steal, quietly get ; II. iii.
150.
Shipmans card, the card of the com- pass ; I. iii. 17.
Shough, a kind of shaggy dog (Folios, '"Sho-wghes"; Capell, "shocks");
III. i. 94.
Should be, appear to be ; I. iii.
45- Shoiv, dumb-show ; IV. i. in-
112. Shoiu, appear ; I. iii. 54. Shut up, enclosed, enveloped ; II. i.
16. Sicken, be surfeited ; IV. i. 60. Sightless, invisible; I. vii. 23. Sights; Collier MS. and Singer
MS., "fights"; Grant "White
" sprites" ; IV. i. 1 55. Sinel, Macbeth's father, according
to Holinshed ; I. iii. 71. Single, individual ; I. iii. 140.
, simple, small; I. vi. 16.
Sirrah, used in addressing an in- ferior ; here used playfully ; IV
ii. 30. Skirr, scour ; V. iii. 35. Slab, thick, glutinous ; IV. i. 32. Sleave, sleave-silk, floss silk ; II. ii.
37- Sleek o'er, smooth ; III. ii. 27.
Sleights, feats of dexterity ; III. v.
26. Slipped, let slip; II. iii. 51. Sliver d, slipped off; IV. i. 28. Smack, have the taste, savour ; I. ii.
44. ■So, like grace, gracious ; IV. iii. 24. ■So -well, as well ; I. ii. 43. Sole, alone, mere ; IV. iii. 12. Solemn, ceremonious, formal ; III. i.
14. Soliciting, inciting; I. iii. 130. Solicits, entreats, moves by prayer;
IV. iii. 149.
Something, some distance ; III. i.
132. Sometime, sometimes; I. vi. ii. Sorely, heavily; V. i. 59. Sorriest, saddest; III. ii. 9. Sorry, sad ; II. ii. 20.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Soul's fight; III. i. 141. (The idea and its expression may be illus- trated by the accompanying cut from Deuce's Illustrations of Shake- speare^.
The soul leaving the body at death.
5^f<ji, bespeak, proclaim; IV.iii.159.
Speculation, intelligence ; III. iv. 95.
Speed; "had the s. of him," has outstripped him ; I. v. 36.
Spoiigij, imbibing like a sponge ; I. vii. 71.
Spring, source ; I. ii. 27.
Sprites, spirits; IV. i. 127.
Spy, -v. Note; III. i. 130.
Stahleness, constancy; IV. iii. 92
Staff, lance; V. iii. 48.
Stamp, stamped coin ; IV. iii. 153.
Stanchless, insatiable ; IV. iii. 78.
Stand, remain ; III. i. 4.
Stand not upon, do not be particular about ; III. iv. 115.
State, chair of State ; III. iv. 5.
State of honour, noble rank, condi- tion ; IV. ii. 65.
Stay, wait for; IV. iii. 142.
Stays, waits ; III. v. 35.
Sticking-place, i.e. " the place in which the peg of a stringed instrument remains fast ; the proper degree of tension " ; I. vii. 60.
Stir, Stirring, moving ; I. iii.
144. Storehouse, place of burial ; II. iv.
34- Strange, new; I. iii. 145. ; " s. and self-abuse," i.e. (?)
' ' my abuse of others and myseli ";
III. iv. 142. Sirangely--visited,a.ffiicted with Strange
diseases; IV. iii. 150. Siuff'd, crammed, full to bursting;
V. iii. 44. Substances, forms ; I. v. 50. Sudden, violent; IV. iii. 59. Suffer, perish ; III. ii. 16. Suffering ; " our s. country," i.e.
our country suffering ; III. vi.
48. Suggestion, temptation, incitement ;
I. iii. 134. Summer- seeming, "appearing like
summer ; seeming to be the effect
of a transitory and short-lived
heat of the blood " (Schmidt) ;
(Warburton, " summer-teeming " ;
Johnson, "fume, or seething," etc.);
IV. iii. 86.
Sundry, various ; IV. iii. 48. Surcease, cessation ; I. vii. 4. Surveying, noticing, perceiving ; I.
ii. 31. Sivay by, am directed by ; V.
iii. 9. Sivears, swears allegiance; IV. ii.
47-
Taint, be infected ; V. iii. 3.
Taking-off, murder, death ; I. vii. 20.
Teems, teems with ; IV. iii. 176.
Temperance, moderation, self-re- straint ; IV. iii. 92.
TfWiwj-, tendance, attendance; I. v. 38.
Tend on, wait on ; I. v. 42.
That, so that; I. ii. 58.
-; " to th.," to that end, for
that purpose ; I. ii. 10. Thereivithal, therewith ; III. i. 34.
MACBETH
Glossary
Thirst, desire to drink ; III. iv.
91- Thought; " upon a th.," in as small
an interval as one can think a
thought ; III. iv. 55. , being borne in mind ; III. i.
132. Thralls, slaves, bondmen ; III. vi.
13- Threat, threaten ; II. i. 60.
Till that, till ; I, ii. 54.
Timely, betimes, early ; II. iii. 50.
, " to gain the t. inn," oppor- tune ; III. iii. 7.
Titles, possessions ; IV. ii. 7.
To, in addition to; I. vi. 19.
, according to ; III. iii. 4.
, compared to ; III. iv. 64.
, for, as ; IV. iii. 10.
, linked with, "prisoner to";
III. iv. 25.
Top, overtop, surpass ; IV. iii.
57- Top-full, full to the top, brimful ; I.
V. 43. Touch, affection, feeling; IV. ii. 9. TouMd, injured, hurt ; IV. iii.
14. Toiuering, turning about, soaring,
flying high (a term of falconry) ;
II. iv. 12.
Trace, follow; IV. i. 153.
Trains, artifices, devices ; IV. iii. 118.
Trammel up, entangle as in a net ; I. vii. 3.
Transport, convey ; IV. iii. 1 8 1.
Transpose, change; IV. iii. 21.
Treble sceptres, symbolical of the three kingdoms — England, Scot- land, and Ireland ; IV. i. 121.
Trijled, made trifling, made to sink into insignificance ; II. iv. 4.
Tugged; " t. with fortune," pulled about in wrestling with fortune ;
III. i. 112.
Tivo-fold balls, probably referring to the double coronation of James, at Scone and Westminister (Clan
10 Q
Pr.) ; according to others the reference is to the union of the two islands; IV. i. 121.
Tyranny, usurpation ; IV. iii. 67.
Tyrant, usurper ; III. vi, 22.
Unjix, make to stand on end ; I. iii.
'35-
{7«r(/«g'^, beardless ; V. ii. 10.
Unspeak, recall, withdraw; IV. iii. 123.
Untitled, having no title or claim ; IV. iii. 104.
Unto, to ; I. iii. 121.
Upon, to ; III. vi. 30.
Uproar, " stir up to tumult " (Sch- midt) ; (Folios I, 2, '■'■ uprore" ; Keightley, " Uproot ") ; IV. iii. 99.
C/j(?, experience ; III. iv. 143.
Using, cherishing, entertaining ; III. ii. 10.
Utterance; "to the Vi." i.e. a outrance = to the uttermost; III. i. 72.
/^an/og'i;, opportunity ; I. ii. 31. Verity, truthfulness ; IV. iii. 92. Visards, masks ; III. ii. 34. Vouched, assured, warranted ; III. iv. 34-
Want; "cannot w.," can help; III.
vi. 8. Warranted, justified ; IV. iii. 137. Wassail, revelry ; I. vii. 64. Watching, waking; V. i. 12. Water-rug, a kind of poodle ; III. 1.
94. What, who ; IV. iii. 49. What is, i.e. what is the time of; III.
iv. 126. When 'tis, i.e. " when the matter is
effected " ; II. i. 25. Whether ( monosyllabic ) ; I. iii.
III. Which, who ; V. i. 66. While then, till then ; III. i. 44. Whispers, whispers to ; IV. iii.
210. Wholesome, healthy; IV. iii. 105.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Wind; " I'll give thee a wind " ; I.
iii. II. {Cp. illustration.) With, against ; IV. iii. 90.
,by; III. i. 63.
>on; IV. ii. 32.
Without, outside ; III. iv. 14. r-, beyond ; III. ii. 11, 12.
Witness, testimony, evidence ; 47-
II.
Worm, small serpent ; III. iv. 29. Would, should ; I. vii. 34. i^ro«_^A/, agitated ; I. iii. 149.
Yaivning peal, a peal which lulls to
sleep ; III. ii. 43. ITuj/y, foaming; IV. i. 53. Tet, in spite of all, notwithstanding;
IV. iii. 69.
' I'll give thee a wind' (I. iii. 11). From a print by "Hellish" Breugel, c. 1566
MACBETH
Notes.
I. i. I. Perhaps we should follow the punctuation of the Folio, and place a note of interrogation after ' again.'
I. ii. 14. ' damned quarrel' ; Johnson's, perhaps unnecessary, emendation of Folios, ' damned quarry ' (cp. IV. iii. 206) ; but Holinshed uses ' quarrel ' in the corresponding passage.
I. ii. 20-21. Many emendations and interpretations have been advanced for this passage; Koppel's explanation (^Shakespeare Studien, 1896) is as follows : — " he faced the slave, who never found time for the preliminary formalities of a duel, i.e. shaking hands with and bidding farewL41 to the opponent"; seemingly, however, ^ -which' should have ^ he' (i.e. Macbeth) and not ' sla-ve ' as its antecedent.
I. iii. 15. 'And the very forts they bloiv'; Johnson conj. 'various' for •wry'; Pope reads 'points' (ot' ports'; Clar. Press edd. 'arts'; ' bkiv' — ' blow upon.'
I. iii. 32. ' iveird' ; Folios, ' iveytvard' (prob. = 'iveird'); Keightley, ' zveyard. '
I. iii. 97-98. ' As thick as hail Came post ' ; Rowe's emendation ; Folios read * As thick as tale Can post.'
I. v. 24-26. The difficulty of these lines arises from the repeated words 'that -which' in line 25, and some editors have consequently placed the inverted commas after 'undone'; but 'that -which' is probably due to the same expression in the previous line, and we should perhaps read ' and that's •which or ' and that's -what. '
I. vi. 4. 'martlet'; Rowe's emendation of Folios, ' Barlet.'
I. vi. 5. 'loved mansionry' ; Theobald's emendation of Folios, 'loved manwnry '; Pope (ed. 2), ' loved masonry.'
I. vi. 6. 'jutty, frieze ' ; Pope, 'jutting frieze ' ; Staunton conj. 'jutty, nor frieze' etc.
I. vi. 9. ' most' ; Rowe's emendation of Folios, 'must'; Collier MS.,' much.'
I. vii. 6. 'shoal'; Theobald's emendation of Folios i, 2, ' schoole.'
I. vii. 45. ' Like the poor cat i' the adage ' ; ' The cat would eat fyshe, and would not wet her feete,' Heywood's Proverbs ; the low Latin form of the «ame proverb is : —
" Cains atnat pisces, sed non vult tingere plantas."
I. vii. 47. ' do more ' ; Rowe's emendation of Folios, ' no more.'
Notes
THE TRAGEDY OF
I. vii. 65-67. (C^. the position ZS' -war Jer of the train' assigned to -vis memora- iiQvaym the accompanying reproduction of a medizval phrenological chart.
II. i. 51. ' s/eejj ' ; Steevens conj. ' sleeper,' but no emendation is necessary ; the pause after ' sleef ' is evidently equivalent to a syllable.
II. i. 55. ' Tarquin's ra'uishing strides'; Pope's emendation ; Folios, ' Tarquins ravishing sides'
11. i. 56. '■sure'; Pope's conj., adopted by Capell ; Folios i, 2, ^ soivre.'
II. i. 57. ' ivhich ivay they ■walk ' ; Rowe's emendation ; Folios, ' -which they may ivalk.'
II. ii. 35-36, There are no inverted commas in the Folios. The arrangement in the text is generally followed (similarly,
11. 42-43)-
III, i. 130. 'you ivith the perfect spy 0 the time'; Johnson conj. '■you -with a';
Tyrwhitt conj. 'you ivitk the perfect spot, the time'-, Beckett conj. ^ you ivith the perfectry 0' the time' \ Grant White, from Collier MS., 'you, ivith a perfect spy, 0' the time'; Schmidt interprets 'spy' to mean "an advanced guard; that time which will precede the time of the deed, and indicate that it is at hand " ; according to others * spy ' = the person who gives the information ; the simplest explanation is, perhaps, ' the exact spying out of the time,' i.e. ' the moment on 't,' which in the text follows in apposition. III. ii. 20. ' our peace' ; so Folio i ; Folios 2, 3, 4, ' our place.' III. ii. 53. 'night's Hack agents to their preys do rouse.' (Cp. the accom- panying illustration, j
From Pjmson's edition of the SliepJierd' s Kalendar.
MACBETH Notes
III. iv. 14. ' 'Tis better thee ivithout than he ■within ' ; probably ' he' instead of ^ him ' for the sake of effective antithesis with ' thee'; unless, as is possible, 'Ae -within ' = 'he in this room.'
III. iv. 78. * time has'; Folio 1 ,' times has ' ; Folios Z, 3,4, 'times havt' ; the reading of the First Folio is probably what Shakespeare intended.
III. Iv. 105-106. ' If trembling I inhabit then ' ; various emendations have been proposed, e.g. '/ inhibit' :=' me inhibit^ ' / inhibit thee,' ' / inherit' etc. ; probably the text is correct, and the words mean 'If I then put on the habit of trembling,' i.e. ' if I invest myself in trembling ' (cf. Koppel, p. 76).
III. iv. 112. The Folios read: —
" // will have blood they say; Blood will have blood. '^
III. iv. 144. 'indeed' ; Theobald's emendation of Folios, 'indeed'; Han- nier, 'in deeds. '
III. v. 13. 'Loves' ; Halliwell conj. 'Lives'; Staunton conj. 'Loves evil.'
III. vi. 27. 'the most pious Ed-ward,' i.e. Edward the Confessor.
IV. i. 97. 'Rebellion's head'; Theobald's conj., adopted by Hanmer ; Folios read 'Rebellious dead'; Warburton's conj., adopted by Theobald, 'Rebellious head.'
IV. ii. 18. '-when -we are traitors And do not kno-w ourselves,' i.e. when we are accounted traitors, and do not know that we are, having no conscious- ness of guilt. Hanmer, ' kno-w 't 0.' ; Keightley, ' kno-w it ourselves ' ; but no change seems necessary.
IV. ii. 19-20. ' -when -ive hold rumour,' etc. ; i.e. ' when we interpret rumour in accordance with our fear, yet know not exactly what it is we fear.'
IV. ii. 22. ' Each -way and move'; Theobald conj. 'Each -way and -wave' ; Capell, ' And move each -way ' ; Steevens conj. ' And each -way mov^ ' ; Johnson conj. ' Each -way, and move — ' ; Jackson conj. ' Each -wail and moan ' ; Ingleby conj. ' Which -way -we move'; Anon. conj. ' And move each -wave'; Staunton conj. ' Each s-way and move' ; Daniel conj. ' Each -way it moves '; Camb. edd. conj. 'Each -way and none'; perhaps 'Each -way -ive move' is the simplest reading of the words.
IV. ii. 70. ' do -worse,' i.e. " let her and her children be destroyed without warning " (Johnson) ; (Hanmer, ' do less ' ; Capell, ' do less ').
IV. iii. 15. 'deserve'; Warburton's emendation, adopted by Theobald;
Folios I, 2, ' discerne' ; Folios 3,4, 'discern'; , ' and -wisdom' ; there is
some corruption of text here, probably a line has dropped out. Hanmer reads ' 'tis -luisdom ' ; Steevens conj. ' and -wisdom is it ' ; Collier conj. ' and 'tis -ivisdom ' ; Staunton conj. ' and -wisdom 'tis ' or ' and -wisdom bids ' ; Keightley, • and -wisdom 't-vjere.'
IV. iii. III. ' Died every day she lived' " lived a life of daily mortification " (Deliusj.
Notes
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
IV. iii. 235. '■tune^ ; Rowe's emendation of Folios, ' time.^
V. i. 26. ^ sense is shut''\ Rowe's emendation of Folios, 'sense are shut'', S. Walker conj., adopted by Dyce, 'sense' are shut.' The reading of the Folio probably gives the right reading, ' sense ' being taken as a plural.
V. iii. I. ' them,' i.e. the thanes.
V. iii. 21. 'cheer'; Percy conj., adopted by Dyce, 'chair': ; ' dis-
seat,' Jennens and Capell conj., adopted by Steevens ; Folio i, 'dis-eate'; Folios 2, 3, 4, 'disease'; Bailey conj. 'disseize*; Daniel conj. 'defeat'; Furness, ' dis-ease' ; Perring conj. ' disheart.'
V. iii. 22. ' ivay of life' ; Johnson proposed the unnecessary emendation ' May of life,' and several editors have accepted the conjecture.
V. iii 44. ' stuff' d' ; Folios t., ■^, s^, ' stuft' ; Pope, »y!///'; Steevens conj., adopted by Hunter, 'foul' ; Anon. conj. 'fraught,' 'fress'd'; Bailey conj.
' stain'd' ; Mull conj. ' steep' d' ; ; 'stuff'; so Folios 3, 4; Jackson
conj. 'tuft' ; Collier (ed. 2), from Collier MS., 'grief ; Keightley, 'matter' ; Anon. conj. ' slough,' 'freight' ; Kinnear conj. 'fraught.'
V. iii. 55. 'senna'; so Folio 4 ; Folio i,'Ci/me'; Folios Z, i,' Caeny' ; Bulloch conj. ' sirrah.'
V. iii. 58. ' //,' i.e. the armour.
V. V. 19. ' To-morroiv , and to-morroiu, and to-morrotu.' " Possibly Shake- speare recollected a remarkable engraving in Barclay's Ship of Fooles, 1570, copied from that in the older Latin version of 1490 " and here reproduced.
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HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK.
Preface.
The Early Editions. The authorised text of Hamlet is based on (i.) a Quarto edition published in the year 1604, and (ii.) the First Folio version of 1623, where the play follows Julius Casar and Macbeth, pre- ceding King Lear. The Quarto of 1604, has the following title-page: — "The I Tragicall Historic of | Hamlet, | Prince of Benmarke. \ By William Shakespeare. | Newly imprinted and enlarged to almost as much I againe as it was, according to the true and perfect | Coppie. | At London, | Printed by I. R. forN. L. and are to be sold at his | shoppe vnder Saint Dunston's Church in | Fleetstreet. 1604" {y. No. 2 of Shakespere Quarto Facsimiles, issued by W. Griggs, under the super- intendence of Dr Furnival).
A comparison of the two texts shows that they are derived from independent sources; neither is a true copy of the author's manuscript; the Quarto edition, though very carelessly printed, is longer than the Folio version, and is essentially more valuable; on the other hand, the Folio version contains a few passages which are not found in the Quarto, and contrasts favourably with it in the less important matter of typo- graphical accuracy {yide Notes, passim).
The two editions represent, in all probability, two distinct acting versions of Shakespeare's perfect text.
Quarto editions appeared in 1605, 1611, circa 1611-1637, 1637 ; each is derived from the edition immediately preceding it, the Quarto of 1605 differing from that of 1604 only in the slightest degree.
The First Quarto. The 1604 edition is generally known as the Second Quarto, to distinguish it from a remarkable production which appeared in the previous year: —
" The I Tragicall Historic of | Hamlet | Prince of Benmarke \ By William Shake-speare. | As it hath beene diuerse timis acted by his Highnesse ser- | uants in the Cittie of London : as also in the two V- | niuersities of Cambridge and Oxford, and else-where | At London printed for N: L. and John Trundell. | 1603."
Preface HAMLET,
No copy of this Quarto was known until 1823, when Sir Henry Bunbury discovered the treasure in 'a small Quarto, barbarously cropped, and very ill-bound,' containing some dozen Shakespearian plays. It ultimately became the property of the Duke of Devonshire for the sum of /Cz^o. Unfortunately, the last page of the play was missing.
In 1856 another copy was bought from a student of Trinity College, Dublin, by a Dublin book-dealer, for one shilling, and sold by him for ;if70 ; it is now in the British Museum. In this copy the title-page is lacking, but it supplies the missing last page of the Devonshire Quarto.*
In connection with the publication of the 1603 Quarto, reference must be made to the following entry in the Stationers' Registers: —
" [1602] xxvj to Julij. Tames Robertes. Entered for his Copie vnder the handes of master Pasfield and master Waterson Warden A booke called ' the Revenge of Ham LETT Prince \of\ Denmarke^ as yt was lateli Acted by the Lord Cham- berleyne his servantes .... vjd."
James Robertes, the printer of the 1604 edition, may also have been the printer of the Quarto of 1603, and this entry may have had reference to its projected publication ; it is noteworthy that in 1603 " the Lord Chamberlain's Servants" became "The King's Players," and the Quarto states that the play had been acted "by His Highness' Servants." On the other hand, the entry may have been made by Roberts to secure the play to himself, and some "inferior and nameless printer" may have anticipated him by the publication of an imperfect, surreptitious, and garbled version, impudently offering as Shakespeare's such wretched stuff as this : —
" To be, or not to be, I Uteris the point.
To Die, to sleepe, is that all: I all?
No, to sleepe, to dreame, I niary there it goes.
For in that dreame of death, when wee awake.,
And borne be/ore an everlasting Judge ^
From whence no passenger ever return d.
The vndiscourcd country, at whose sight
The happy smile, and the accursed damn d."
The dullest poetaster could not have been guilty of this nonsense: a
* In 1858 a lithographed facsimile was issued by the Duke, in a very limited impres- sion. The first serviceable edition, and still perhaps the best, appeared in i860, together with the Quarto of 1604, " being exact Reprints of the First and Second Editions of Shakespeare^ s great Drama, from the very rare Originals in the possession of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire ; with the two texts printed on opposite pages, and so arranged that the parallel passages fcue each other. And a Bibliographical Preface by Samuel Titnmins. . . . Looke heere vpon this Picture, and on this." Lithographic reprints were also issued by E. W. Ashbee and \V. Griggs ; the text is reprinted in the Cambridge Shakespeare, etc.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Preface
second-rate playwright might have put these last words in Hamlet's mouth : —
" Mine eyes kaue lost their sight, my tongue his vse i Farewell Horatio^ heaven receive my soule ; "
" The rest is silence" — Shakespeare's supreme touch is here,
A rapid examination of the First Quarto reveals the following among its chief divergences: — (i.) the difference in length ; 2143 lines as against 3719 in the later Quarto; (ii.) the mutilation, or omission, of many passages " distinguished by that blending of psychological insight with imagination and fancy, which is the highest manifestation of Shake- speare's genius"; (iii.) absurd misplacement and maiming of lines; distortion of words and phrases ; (iv.) confusion in the order of the scenes; (v.) difference in characterisation; e.g. the Queen's avowed innocence (" But as I ha-ve a soul, I sivear by heaven, I ne-uer kneiv of this most horrid murder"), and her active adhesion to the plots against her guilty husband; (vi.) this latter aspect is brought out in a special scene between Horatio and the Queen, omitted in the later version ; (vii.) the names of some of the characters are not the same as in the subsequent editions; Corambis and Montano, for Polonius and Reynaldo. What, then, is the history of this Quarto ? In the first place it is certain that it must have been printed without authority; in all probability shorthand notes taken by an incompetent stenographer during the performance of the play formed the basis of the printer's "copy." Thomas Heywood alludes to this method of obtaining plays in the prologue to his If you knoiv not me, you knotv no bod'te : —
" {This) did throng the Seats, he Boxes, and the Stage So much, that some by Stenography drew The plot : put it in print: {scarce one word trew)."
The main question at issue is the relation of this piratical version to Shakespeare's work. The various views may be divided as follows : — (i.) there are those who maintain that it is an imperfect production of an old Hamlet written by Shakespeare in his youth, and revised by him in his maturer years ; (ii.) others contend that both the First and Second Quartos represent the same version, the difference between the two editions being due to carelessness and incompetence; (iii.) a third class holds, very strongly, that the First Quarto is a garbled version of an old-fashioned play of Hamlet, written by some other dramatist, and re- vised to a certain extent by Shakespeare about the year 1602 ; so that the original of Quarto 1 represented Shakespeare's Hamld in an inter- mediate stage ; in Quarto 2 we have for the first time the complete
Preface HAMLET,
metamorphosis. All the evidence seems to point to this third view as a plausible settlement of the problem ; there is little to be said in favour of the first and second theories.
The Lost Hamlet There is no doubt that a play on the subject of Hamlet existed as early as 1589, in which year there appeared Greene's Menaphon, with a prefatory epistle by Thomas Nash, containing a sum- mary review of contemporary literature. The following passage occurs in his ' talk ' with ' a few of our triviall translators ' : —
" It is a common practice now a daies amongst a sort of shifting com- panions, that runne through every arte and thrive by none to leave the trade of No-uerint (i.e. attorney) whereto they were borne, and busie themselves with the endevours of art, that could scarcelie latinize their neck verse if they should have neede ; yet English Seneca read by candle- light yeeldes manie good sentences, as Bloud is a beggar, and so forth ; and if you intreate him faire in a frostie morning, he will afoord you whole Hamlets, I should say HandfuUs of tragical speaches. But O grief! Tempus edax rerum ; what is it that will last always ? The sea exhaled by drops will in continuance be drie ; and Senaca, let bloud line by line, and page by page, at length must needs die to our stage." The play alluded to by Nash did not die to our stage till the end of the century ; in Henslowe's Diary we find an entry : — " 9. of June 1594. . . . R[eceive]d at hamlet, viijs : "
the play was performed by the Lord Chamberlain's men, the company to which Shakespeare belonged.
" [Hate Virtue is] a foul lubber," wrote Lodge in Wit's Miserie, and the World's Madness, 1596, " and looks as pale as the wisard of the ghost, which cried so miserally at the theator, like an oyster-wife, Hamlet revenge. " *
In all probability Thomas Kyd was the author of the play alluded to in these passages ; his probable authorship is borne out by Nash's sub- sequent allusion to " the Kidde in ^sope's fable," as also by the character
t Several other allusions occur during the early years of the seventeenth century, evidently to the older Hamlet, e.^. Dekker's Saiirotnastix^ 1602 (" My Name's Hamlet revenge") ; Westward Hoe, 1607 (Let these husbands play mad Hamlet ; and cry revenge; Rowland's T^te Night Raven, 1618 (" I will not cry Hamlet Revenge" etc.). There is a comic passage in the Looking Glass for London and England, written by Lodge & Greene, probably before 1589, which strikes me as a burlesque reminiscence of the original of Hamlet, Act I. Sc. ii. 184-240 ; Adam, the smith's man, exclaims thus to the Clown: — "Alas, sir, your father, — why, sir, methinks I see the gentleman still : a proper youth he was, faith, aged some forty and ten ; his beard rat's colour, half black, half white ; his nose was in the highest degree of noses," etc.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Preface
of his famous Spanish Tragedy* Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy may well be described as twin-dramas ; f they are both dramas of vengeance ; the ghost of the victim tells his story in the one play as in the other ; the heroes simulate madness ; a faithful Horatio figures in each ; a play-scene brings about the catastrophe in the Spanish Tragedy, even as it helps forward the catastrophe in Hamlet ; in both plays Nemesis involves in its meshes the innocent as well as the guilty, — the perpetrators of the wrong and the instruments of vengeance. To this same class of drama belongs Titus Andronicus, and it is interesting to note that early in his career Shakespeare put his hand to a Hamletian tragedy. J Nash's reference to the Senecan character of the lost Hamlet receives considerable confirma- tion when one remembers that Kyd translated into English, from the French, Garnier's Senecan drama entitled Cornelia, and it is possible that even in Shakespeare's Hamlet we can still detect the fossil remains of Senecan moralisations which figured in the older play, and which were Kyd's reminiscences of Garnier.§
The German Hamlet. it is possible that although the pre- Shakespearian Hamlet has perished, we have some portion of the play preserved in a German MS. version bearing the date, " Pretz, Octobei 27th, 1710," which is probably a late and modernised copy of a much older manuscript. The play, entitled ^^ Der Bestrafte Brudermord oder .- Prinz Hamlet aus DUnnemark" (^Fratricide Punished, or Prince Hamlet of Denmark^ was first printed in the year 1781, and has been frequently reprinted; the text, with an English translation, is given in Cohn's fascinating work, " Shakespeare in Germany in the Sixteenth and Se-venteenth
* The Spanish Tragedy and Kyd's other plays are printed in Dodsley's Old Plays. An interesting point in Kyd's biography {^ide Diet. Nat. Biog.) is that his father was in all probability a sort of Noverint.
t So much so was this the case that "young Hamlet," and "old Hieronimo," were often referred to together, and the parts were taken by the same actors, cp. Burbadge's slegy :—
" Young Hamlet, old Hieronimo, Kind Leir, the grieved Moore, and more beside That liv'd in him, have now for ever died : "
Occasionally the two plays were, I think, confused : thus, Armin in his Nest of Ninnies (1608) writes :—" There are, as Hamlet sales, things cald whips in store"; Hieronimo certainly says so in the most famous passage of the Spanish Tragedy. X Vide Preface to Titus Andronicus. § e.g. A thoroughly Senecan sentiment is the Queen's
' Tliou knoiv'st "'tis cofn^non ; all that lives must die. Passing through nature to eternity ; '
It occurs almost verbatim in Cornelia.
Preface HAMLET,
Centuries : An account of English Actors in Germany and the Netherlands , and of the Plays performed by them during the same period" (London, 1 865). The ' English Comedians ' in all probability carried their play to Germany towards the end of XVI. Century, when a rough German translation was made ; but the earliest record of a performance of Hamlet a Prinz in Dennemarch, by " the English actors" belongs to the year 1626.*
The intrinsic value of Fratricide Punished is small indeed, but two points of historical interest are noteworthy: — (i.) Polonius, as in the First Quarto, is here represented by Corambus, and (ii.) a prologue precedes the play, the persons represented therein being Night, Alecto, Thisiphone, Miegera. A strong case can, I think, be made out for the view that this thoroughly Senecan Prologue represents a fragment of the pre-Shakespearian play to which Nash and others made allusion : herein lies the chief merit of this soulless and coarse production
Date of Composition, This question has been indirectly touched upon in the previous paragraphs, and it follows from what has been said that the date of revision, as represented by the Second Quarto, may be fixed at about 1603, while the First Quarto, judging by the entry in the Stationers' Books, belongs to about 1601 ; at all events a version of Hamlet, recognised as Shakespeare's, was in existence before 1602. It is significant that the play is not mentioned in Meres' Palladis Tamia, 1598. In the matter of the date of the play " the travelling of the players " (Act II. Sc. ii., 343, etc.) is of interest. It must be noted that we have three different forms of the passage in question : — (i.) the reason for the ' travelling ' in Quarto i is the popularity of a Company of Children ; (ii.) in Quarto 2 '■'■their inhibition comes by the means of the late innovation" ; (iii.) in the Folio (the reading in the text) both causes fi.) and (ii.) are combined.
Now it is known that (i.) in 1601 Shakespeare's Company was in dis- grace, perhaps because of its share in the Essex Conspiracy; (ii.) that during this year the Children of the Chapel Royal were acting at Black- friars ; (iii.) that towards the end of the year the Globe Company were "travelling." Two views are possible, either thzX '■' inhibition" '\% used technically for " a prohibition of theatrical performances by authority " ; and ' innovation ^=' the political innovation,' or that inhibition = ' non-
* In connection with the subject of Hamlet, one must not forget the visit of Lord Leicester's servants to Denmark in 1585 ; Kempe, Brj'an, and Pope, three of the company, subsequently joined the Chamberlain's company, and were actors in Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare's remarkable knowledge of Danish manners and customs may have been derived from these friends of his.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Preface
residence,' and ^innovation ' refers to the Company of Children (vide Halli- well-Phillipps's Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare \ Fleay's Chronicle History of the London Stage).
Over and above these points of evidence in fixing the date there is the intimate connection ol Hamlet and Julius Casar*
The Source of the Story. The ultimate source of the plot of
Hamlet is the Historia Danica of Saxo Grammaticus (i.e. ' the Lettered '), Denmark's first writer of importance, who lived at the close of the twelfth century. + Saxo's Latinity was much admired, and even Erasmus wondered " how a Dane at that day could have such a force of eloquence." Epitomes in Latin and Low-German were made during the fifteenth century, and Saxo's materials were utilised in various ways, until at length the first printed edition appeared in the year 1514 ; a second was issued in 1534, and a third in 1576. The tale of Hamlet, contained in the third and fourth books, is certainly the most striking of all Saxo's mythical hero-stories, quite apart from its Shakespearian interest, and Goethe, recognising its dramatic possibilities, thought of treating the sub- ject dramatically on the basis of Saxo's narrative. It is noteworthy that already in the fifteenth century the story was well known throughout the North, "trolled far and wide in popular song"; but its connexion with the English drama was due to the French version given in Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques ; the Hamlet Story first appeared in the fifth volume, published in 1570, and again in 1581, 1582, 1591, etc. A black-letter English rendering is extant, but the date of the unique copy is 1608, and in certain points shows the influence of the play. There is no evidence that an earlier English version existed. The author of the pre-Shake- spearian Hamlet, and Shakespeare too, may well have read the story in Belleforest's Histoires.-^. Few studies in literary origins are more instruc- tive than to examine how the "rich barbarous tale" of the Danish historian has become transformed into the great soul-tragedy of modern literature. In Saxo's Amleth we have at least the frame-work of Shake- speare's Hamlet: — the murder of the father by a zealous uncle; the
* Vide Preface to Julius Cersar.
t There is an allusion to Hamlet in Icelandic literature some two hundred years hefore Saxo ; and to this day " Amlothe" {i.e. Hatiilet) is synonymous with ^fooV among the folk there. The history of ' Hamlet in Iceland' is of great interest (vide the Ambales- saga, edited by the present writer, by David Nutt). According to Zinzow and others the Saga is originally a nature-myth (^ide Die H amletsage) .
\ To Mr Oliver Elton, Prof. York Powell, and the Folk-Lore Society, we owe the first English rendering of the mythical portion of Saxo's work, and a valuable study of Saxo's sources (published by David Nutt, 1894).
Preface HAMLET
mother's incestuous marriage with the murderer ; the son's feigned mad- ness in order to execute revenge; these are the vague originals of Ophelia and Polonius ; the meeting of mother and son ; the voyage to England ; all these familiar elements are found in the old tale. But the ghost, the play-scene, and the culmination of the play in the death of the hero as well as of the objects of his revenge, these are elements which belong essentially to the machinery of the Elizabethan Drama of vengeance. It is of course unnecessary to dwell on the subtler distinction between the easily understood Amleth and ' the eternal problem ' of Hamlet.* Taine has said that the Elizabethan Renaissance was a Renaissance of the Saxon genius; from this point of view it is significant that its crowning glory should be the presentment of a typical Northern hero, — an embodiment of the Northern character ;
** &arft ant) true anD ten&er Is tbc uaortb."
* A resume of Hamlet criticism is given in Vol. II. of Furness' noble edition of the play (London and Philadelphia, 1877,.
' ' The time is out cf joint ; 0 cursed spite. That ever I ivas born to set it right / "
In these words, I imagine, is the key to Hamlet's whole procedure, and to me it is clear that Shakespeare sought to depict a great deed laid upon a soul unequal to the performance of it. In this view I find the piece com- posed throughout. Here is an oak-tree planted in a costly vase, which should have received into its bosom only lovely flowers ; the roots spread out, the vase is shivered to pieces.
A beautiful, pure, and most moral nature, without the strength of nerve which makes the hero, sinks beneath a burden which it can neither bear nor throw off; every duty is holy to him, — this too hard. The impossible is required of him, — not the impossible in itself, but the impossible to him. How he winds, turns, agonizes, advances, and recoils, ever reminded, ever re- minding himself, and at last almost loses his purpose from his thoughts, without ever again recovering his peace of mind. .
It pleases, it flatters us greatly, to see a hero who acts of himself, who loves and hates us as his heart prompts, undertaking and executing, thrusting aside all hindrances, and accomplishing a great purpose. Historians and poets would fain persuade us that so proud a lot may fall to man. In Hamlet we are taught otherwise; the hero has no plan, but the piece is full of plan. . . .
Hamlet is endowed more properly with sentiment than with a character ; it is events alone that push him on ; and accordingly the piece has somewhat the ampli- fication of a novel. But as it is Fate that draws the plan, as the piece proceeds from a deed of terror, and the hero is steadily driven on to a deed of terror, the work is tragic in its highest sense, and admits of no other than a tragic end.
Goethe : Wilhelm Meister.
DRAMATIS PERSONS.
Claudius, king of Denmark.
Hamlet, son to the late, and nefheiv to the f resent ting
PoLONIUS, lord chamberlain.
tioRATlO, yriend to Hamlet,
Laertes, son to Folonius.
VOLTIMAND, N
Cornelius, I
ROSENCRANTZ, I
^ y courtiers.
GUILDEN stern, OSRIC,
A Gentleman,
A Priest.
Marcellus, 1 ai
y omcers. Bernardo,
:■ }°'
Francisco, a soldier.
ReyNALDO, servant to Poloniut,
Players.
Two clowns, grave-diggers.
Fortinbras, prince of Norway,
A Captain.
English Ambassadors.
Gertrude, queen oy 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.
The Tragedy of
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
ACT FIRST. Scene I.
Elsinore. A platform before the castle. Francisco at his post. Enter to him Bernardo.
Ber. Who 's there ?
Fran. Nay, answer me : stand, and unfold yourself.
Ber. Long live the king !
Fran. Bernardo ?
Ber. He.
Fran. You come most carefully upon your hour.
Ber. Tis now struck twelve ; get thee to bed, Francisco.
Fran. For this relief much thanks : 'tis bitter cold. And I am sick at heart.
Ber. Have you had quiet guard ?
Fran. Not a mouse stirring. lo
Ber. Well, good night.
If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus,
The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
Fran. I think I hear them. Stand, ho ! Who is there ?
Enter Horatio and Marcellus. Hor. Friends to this ground.
Mar. And liegemen to the Dane.
Fran. Give you good night. Mar. O, farewell, honest soldier :
Act I. Sc. i. HAMLET,
Who hath relieved you ? Fran. Bernardo hath my place.
Give you good night. \Exit.
Mar. Holla ! Bernardo !
Ber. Say,
What, is Horatio there .'' Hor. A piece of him.
Ber. Welcome, Horatio ; welcome, good Marcellus. 20 Mar. What, has this thing appear'd again to-night } Ber. I have seen nothing. Mar. Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy,
And will not let belief take hold of him
Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us :
Therefore I have entreated him along
With us to watch the minutes of this night,
That if again this apparition come.
He may approve our eyes and speak to it. Hor. Tush, tush, 'twill not appear. Ber. Sit down a while ; go
And let us once again assail your ears.
That are so fortified against our story,
What we have two nights seen. Her. Well, sit we down.
And let us hear Bernardo speak of this. Ber. Last night of all.
When yond same star that 's westward from the pole
Had made his course to illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself.
The bell then beating one, —
Enter Ghost. Mar. Peace, break thee off; look, where It comes again I
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. i.
Ber. In the same figure, like the king that 's dead. 4 1
Mar. Thou art a scholar ; speak to it, Horatio.
Ber. Looks it not like the king ? mark it, Horatio.
Hor. Most like: it harrows me with fear and wonder.
Ber. It would be spoke to.
Mar. Question it, Horatio.
Hor. What art thou, that usurp'st this time of night,
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried Denmark
Did sometimes march.'' by heaven I charge thee, speak ! Mar. It is offended.
Ber. See, it stalks away ' $0
Hor. Stay ! Speak, speak ! I charge thee, speak !
[Exit Ghost. Mar. 'Tis gone, and will not answer. Ber. How now, Horatio ! you tremble and look pale :
Is not this something more than fantasy ?
What think you on 't .-' Hor. Before my God, I might not this believe
Without the sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes. Mar. Is it not like the king ?
Hor. As thou art to thyself:
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.
'Tis strange. Mar. Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour,
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch. Hor. In what particular thought to work I know not ;
But, in the gross and scope of my opinion.
Act I. Sc. i. HAMLET,
This bodes some strange eruption to our state.
Mar. Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows, Why this same strict and most observant watch 71 So nightly toils the subject of the land. And why such daily cast of brazen cannon, And foreign marts for implements of war ; Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task Does not divide the Sunday from the week ; What might be toward, that this sweaty haste Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day : Who is 't that can inform me ?
Hor. That can I ;
At least the whisper goes so. Our last king, 80
Whose image even but now appear'd to us. Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride, Dared to the combat ; in which our valiant Hamlet — For so this side of our known world esteem'd him — Did slay this Fortinbras ; who by a seal'd compact, Well ratified by law and heraldry. Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands Which he stood seized of, to the conqueror r 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, Of unimproved metal 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
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. i.
That hath a stomach in 't : which is no other — loo
As it doth well appear unto our state —
But to recover of us, by strong hand
And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands
So by his father lost : and this, I take it,
Is the main motive of our preparations,
The source of this our watch and the chief head
Of this post-haste and romage in the land.
Ber. I think it be no other but e'en so :
Well may it sort, that this portentous figure Comes armed through our watch, so like the king That was and is the question of these wars. Ill
Hor. A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye.
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A httle ere the mightiest Julius fell.
The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead
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: 1 20
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 demonstrate Unto our climatures and countrymen.
Re-enter Ghost.
But soft, behold ! lo, where it comes again '
I '11 cross it, though it blast me. Stay, illusion !
If thou hast any sound, or use of voice.
Act I. Sc. i. HAMLET,
Speak to me :
If there be any good thing to be done, 1 30
That may to thee do ease and grace to me, Speak to me :
If thou art privy to thy country's fate, Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid, O, speak !
Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life Extorted treasure in the womb of earth, For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, Speak of it : stay, and speak ! [The cock crows.'] Stop it, Marcellus.
Mar. Shall I strike at it with my partisan ? 140
Hor. Do, if it will not stand.
Ber. 'Tis here !
Hor. 'Tis here !
Mar. '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, And our vain blows malicious mockery.
Ber. It was about to speak, when the cock crew.
Hor. And then it started like a guilty thing Upon a fearful summons. I have heard, The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, 150
Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat Awake the god of day, and at his warning, Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his confine : and of the truth herein This present object made probation.
Mar It faded on the crowing of the cock.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. ii.
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long : 1 60
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,
No fairy takes nor witch hath power to charm.
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
Hor. So have I heard and do in part believe it. But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad. Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward hill : Break we our watch up ; and by my advice, Let us impart what we have seen to-night Unto young Hamlet ; for, upon my life, 170
This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him : Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it, As needful in our loves, fitting our duty ?
Mar. Let 's do 't, I pray j and I this morning know Where we shall find him most conveniently.
[Exeunt.
Scene II.
A room of state in the castle.
Flourish. Enter the Kifig, Qiieen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Volt'imand, Cornelius, Lords, and Atte?idants.
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 That we with wisest sorrow think on him, Together with remembrance of ourselves.
Act I. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen.
The imperial jointress to this warlike state,
Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy, — lo
With an auspicious and a dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole, —
Taken to wife : nor have we herein barr'd
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone
With this affair along. For all, our thanks.
Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras,
Holding a weak supposal of our worth.
Or thinking by our late dear brother's death
Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, 20
Colleagued with this 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.
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 go
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,
Giving to you no further personal power
To business with the king more than the scope
Of these delated articles allow.
Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. u.
c \
„ ' i In that and all things will we show our duty, 40
Khig. 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, That shall not be my offer, not thy asking ? The head is not more native to the heart. The hand more instrumental to the mouth, Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. What wouldst thou have, Laertes ?
Laer. My dread lord, 50
Your leave and favour to return to France, From whence though willingly I came to Denmark, To show my duty in your coronation. Yet now, I must confess, that duty done. My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon.
King. Have you your father's leave ? What says Polonius?
Pol. He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave By laboursome petition, and at last Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent : 60
I do beseech you, give him leave to go.
Ki7ig. 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, —
Hmn. \Aside\ A little more than kin, and less than kind.
Ki7ig. How is it that the clouds still hang on you ?
Ham. Not so, my lord ; I am too much i' the sun.
Queen. Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,
Act I. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
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 know'st 'tis common j all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.
Ham. Ay, madam, it is common.
Queen. If it be,
Why seems it so particular with thee .''
Ham. Seems, madam ! nay, it is ; I know not * seems.' 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother. Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath. No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, 80
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage. Together with all forms, moods, shapes 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 j 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, 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,
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. ii.
Why should we in our peevish opposition loo
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,
' This must be so.' We pray you, throw to earth
This unprevailing woe, and think of us
As of a father : for let the world take note.
You are the most immediate to our throne.
And with no less nobility of love lio
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
Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye,
Our chiefest courtier, cousin and our son.
Qtieen. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet : I pray thee, stay with us ; go not to Wittenberg.
Ham. I shall in all my best obey you, madam. 120
King. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply :
Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam, come ; This gentle and unforced accord of Hamlet Sits smiling to my heart : in grace whereof. No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day. But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell. And the king's rouse the heaven shall bruit again, Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away.
\_Flourish. Exeimt all but Hamlet.
Ham. O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew ! 1 30
Act I. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter ! O God ! God !
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world !
Fie on 't ! ah fie ! 'tis an unweeded garden.
That grows to seed ; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this !
But two months dead ! nay, not so much, not two :
So excellent a king ; that was, to this,
Hyperion 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 —
Let me not think on 't — Frailty, thy name is woman ! —
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
"With which she foUow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears : — why she, even she, —
O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason 150
Would have mourn'd longer, — married with my uncle.
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules : within a month ;
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes.
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, Mar ce litis, and Bernardo. Hor. Hail to your lordship !
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. ii.
Ham. I am glad to see you well : i6o
Horatio, — or I do forget myself. Hor. The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever. Hatn. Sir, my good friend j I '11 change that name with you :
And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio ?
Marcellus ? Mar. My good lord } Ham. I am very glad to see you. \To Ber.] Good even, sir.
But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg ? Hor. A truant disposition, good my lord. Ham. I would not hear your enemy say so, 1 70
Nor shall you do my 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 '11 teach you to drink deep ere you depart. Hor. My lord, I came to see your father's funeral. Ham. I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student ;
I think it was to see my mother's wedding. Hor. Indeed, my lord, it follow'd hard upon. Ham. Thrift, thrift, Horatio ! the funeral baked-meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. 18 r
Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio !
My father ! — methinks I see my father. Hor. O where, my lord .''
Ham. In my mind's eye, Horatio.
Hor. I saw him once ; he was a goodly king. Ham. He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again. Hor. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. Ha?n. Saw.-* who? 1 90
Act I. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Hor. My lord, the king your father.
Ham. The king my father !
Hor. Season your admiration for a while With an attent ear, till I may deliver, Upon the witness of these gentlemen. This marvel to you.
Hat7i. For God's love, let me hear.
Hor. 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. Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe, 200
Appears before them, and with solemn march Goes slow and stately by them : thrice he walk'd By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes. Within his truncheon's length ; whilst they, distill'd Almost to jelly with the act of fear, 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. Form of the thing, each word made true and good. The apparition comes : I knew your father j 2 1 1
These hands are not more like.
Ham. But where was this ?
Mar. My lord, upon the platform where we watch'd.
Ham. Did you not speak to it .''
Hor. My lord, I did.
But answer made it none : yet once methought It lifted up it head and did address Itself to motion, like as it would speak : But even then the morning cock crew loud,
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. ii.
And at the sound it shrunk in haste away
And vanish'd from our sight. Ham. 'Tis very strange. 220
Hor. 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. Ham. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me.
Hold you the watch to-night ?
„ ' I- We do, my lord.
Ham. Arm'd, say you ?
„ ' t Arm'd, my lord.
ner. j ■'
Ham. From top to toe ?
D " r My lord, from head to foot.
Ham. Then saw you not his face ?
Hor. O, yes, my lord ; he wore his beaver up.
Ham. What, look'd he frowningly ? 230
Hor. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.
Ham. Pale, or red ?
Hor. Nay, very pale.
Ham. And fix'd his eyes upon you ?
Hor. Most constantly.
Ham. I would I had been there.
Hor. It would have much amazed you.
Ham. Very like, very like. Stay'd it long ?
Hor. While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred.
Mar. 1 ^ ,
Ber. ] Longer, longer.
Hor. Not when I saw 't.
Ham. His beard was grizzled ? no ?
Act I. Sc. Hi. HAMLET,
Hor. It was, as I have seen it in his life, 240
A sable silver'd.
Ham. I will watch to-night ;
Perchance 'twill walk again.
Hor. I warrant it will.
Hafn. If it assume my noble father's person,
I '11 speak to it, though hell itself should gape
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 :
I will requite your loves. So fare you well : 250
Upon the platform, 'twixt eleven and twelve,
I'll visit you.
A//. Our duty to your honour.
Ham. Your loves, as mine to you : farewell.
[Exeunt all hut Hamlet. My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well ; 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 Polonius's house. Enter Laertes and Ophelia. Laer. My necessaries are embark'd : farewell : And, sister, as the winds give benefit And convoy is assistant, do not sleep. But let me hear from you. Oph. Do you doubt that ?
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. iii.
Laer. For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favour, Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute ; No more,
Oph. No more but so?
Laer. Think it no more : lo
For nature crescent does not grow alone In thews and bulk ; but, as this temple waxes. The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now ; And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch The virtue of his will : but you must fear. His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own ; For he himself is subject to his birth : He may not, as unvalued persons do, Carve for himself, for on his choice depends 20
The safety and health of this whole state, And therefore must his choice be circumscribed Unto the voice and yielding of that body Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he loves you, It fits your wisdom so far to believe it 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 you in the rear of your affection.
Act I. Sc. iii. HAMLET,
Out of the shot and danger of desire.
The chariest maid is prodigal enough,
If she unmask her beauty to the moon :
Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes :
The canker galls the infants of the spring
Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, 40
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.
Be wary then ; best safety lies in fear :
Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.
Oph. I shall the effect of this good lesson keep,
As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother. Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, Whilst, like a puff'd and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads 5°
And recks not his own rede.
Laer. O, fear me not.
I stay too long : but here my father comes.
Enter Polonius.
A double blessing is a double grace ; Occasion smiles upon a second leave. Pol. Yet here, Laertes ! Aboard, aboard, for shame ! The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail. And you are stay'd for. There ; my blessing with
thee! And these few precepts in thy memory Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportion'd thought his act. 60
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. iii.
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel,
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel ; but being in,
Bear 't, that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice :
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, 70
But not express'd in fancy j rich, not gaudy :
For the apparel oft proclaims the man ;
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be :
For loan oft loses both itself and friend.
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all : to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man. 80
Farewell : my blessing season this in thee !
Laer. Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.
Pol. The time invites youj go, your servants tend.
Laer. Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well What I have said to you.
Oph. 'Tis in my memory lock'd.
And you yourself shall keep the key of it.
Laer. Farewell. \Exit.
Pol. What is 't, Ophelia, he hath said to you ?
Oph. So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet.
Pot. Marry, well bethought : 90
'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late Given private time to you, and you yourself Have of your audience been most free and bounteous.
Act I. Sc. iii. HAMLET,
If it be so — as so 'tis put on me, And that in way of caution — I must tell you, You do not understand yourself so dearly As it behoves my daughter and your honour. What is between you ? give me up the truth.
Oph. He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders
Of his affection to me. loo
Pol. Affection ! pooh ! you speak like a green girl. Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. Do you believe his tenders, as you call them }
Oph. I do not know, my lord, what I should think.
Pol. Marry, I'll teach you : think yourself a baby, 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 '11 tender me a fool.
Oph. My lord, he hath importuned me with love I lo
In honourable fashion.
Pol. Ay, fashion you may call it ; go to, go to.
Oph. And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord, With almost all the holy vows of heaven.
Pol. Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Lends the tongue vows : these blazes, daughter, Giving more light than heat, extinct in both. Even in their promise, as it is a-making, You must not take for fire. From this time 120
Be something scanter of your maiden presence ; Set your entreatments at a higher rate Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet, Believe so much in him, that he is young. And with a larger tether may he walk
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. iv.
Than may be given you : in few, Ophelia, Do not believe his vows ; for they are brokers, Not of that dye which their investments show, But mere implorators of unholy suits. Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds, igo
The better to beguile. This is for all : I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, Have you so slander any moment leisure. As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to 't, I charge you : come your ways. Oph. I shall obey, my lord. [Exeunt.
Scene IV.
The platform.
Enter Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus.
Ham. The air bites shrewdly ; it is very cold. Hor. It is a nipping and an eager air. Ham. What hour now ^
Hor. I think it lacks of twelve.
Mar. No, it is struck.
Hor. Indeed .'' I heard it not : it then draws near the season
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.
\A flourish of trumpets, and ordnance shot off ivithin.
What doth this mean, my lord ? Ham. 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, lo
The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge. Hor. Is it a custom .''
Act I. Sc. iv. HAMLET,
Ham. Ay, marry, is 't :
But to my mind, though I am native here
And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honour'd in the breach than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel east and west
Makes us traduced and tax'd of other nations :
They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase
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,
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, —
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, 31
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
From that particular fault : the dram of eale
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt
To his own scandal.
Enter Ghost.
Hor. Look, my lord, it comes !
Ham. Angels and ministers of grace defend us !
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, 40
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. iv.
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee: I'll call thee Hamlet,
King, father, royal Dane : O, answer me !
Let me not burst in ignorance ; but tell
Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cerements ; why the sepulchre.
Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn'd,
Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws, 50
To cast thee up again. What may this mean.
That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel,
Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon.
Making night hideous ; and we fools of nature
So horridly to shake our disposition
With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls ?
Say, why is this ? wherefore ? what should we do ?
[Ghost beckons Hamlet.
Hor. It beckons you to go away with it, As if it some impartment did desire To you alone.
Mar. Look, with what courteous action 60
It waves you to a more removed ground : But do not go with it.
Hor. No, by no means.
Ham. It will not speak ; then I will follow it.
Hor. Do not, my lord.
Ham. Why, what should be the fear >
I do not set my life at a pin's fee ; And for my soul, what can it do to that, Being a thing immortal as itself? It waves me forth again : I '11 follow it.
Hor. What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord,
Act I. Sc. iv. HAMLET,
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, Without more motive, into every brain That looks so many fathoms to the sea And hears it roar beneath.
Ham. It waves me still.
Go on ; I '11 follow thee.
Mar. You shall not go, my lord.
Ham. Hold off your hands. 80
Hor. Be ruled ; you shall not go.
Ham. My fate cries out,
And makes each petty artery in this body As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve. Still am I call'd : unhand me, gentlemen ; By heaven, I '11 make a ghost of him that lets me : I say, away ! Gk) on ; I '11 follow thee.
[Exeutit Ghost and Hamlet.
Hor. He waxes desperate with imagination. .
Mar. Let 's follow ; 'tis not fit thus to obey hiir
Hor. Have after. To what issue will this come
Mar. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. 90
Hor. Heaven will direct it.
Mar. Nay, let's follow him.
\Exeunt.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. v
Scene V.
Another part of the platform. Enter Ghost and Hamlet.
Ham. Whither wilt thou lead me ? speak; I '11 go no further
Ghost. Mark me.
Ham. I will.
Ghost. My hour is almost come,
When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames Must render up myself.
Ham. Alas, poor ghost !
Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing To what I shall unfold.
Hatn. Speak ; I am bound to hear.
Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.
Ham. What .''
Ghost. I am thy father's spirit j
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, ro
And for the day confined to fast in fires.
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand an end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine : 20
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list !
If thou didst ever thy dear father love —
Act I. Sc. V. HAMLET,
Hatn. O God !
Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
Ham. Murder !
Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.
Hatu. Haste me to know 't, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love, 30
May sweep to my revenge.
Ghost. I find thee apt ;
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear :
'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,
A serpent stung me j so the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abused : but know, thou noble youth.
The serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown.
Ham. O my prophetic soul ! 40
My uncle !
Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast.
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, — O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce ! — won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen :
0 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 moved.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. v.
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,
"Will 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 of the afternoon, 60
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
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
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 :
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhousel'd, disappointed, unaneled ;
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head :
O, horrible ! O, horrible ! most horrible ! ■ 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
Act I. Sc. V, HAMLET,
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 ! The glow-worm shows the matin to be near, And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire : 90
Adieu, adieu, adieu ! remember me. [Exit,
Ham. O all you host of heaven ! O earth ! what
else ? And shall I couple hell ? O, fie ! Hold, hold, my
heart ; And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee ! Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat In this distracted globe. Remember thee ! Yea, from the table of my memory I '11 wipe away all trivial fond records. All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, loo 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 ! O most pernicious woman !
0 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 wordj no It is ' Adieu, adieu ! remember me.'
1 have sworn 't.
^*'- I [Within] My lord, my lord !
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. v
Enter Horatio and Marcellus. Mar. " Lord Hamlet !
Hor. Heaven secure him !
Ham. So be it ! Mar. lUo, ho, ho, my lord ! Ham. Hillo, ho, ho, boy ! come, bird, come. Mar. How is 't, my noble lord ?
Hor. What news, my lord ?
Ham. O, wonderful ! Hor. Good my lord, tell it.
Ham. No j you will reveal it.
Hor. Not I, my lord, by heaven.
Mar. Nor I, my lord. 120
Ham. How say you, then j would heart of man once think it? But you '11 be secret ?
j^^'^^ ] Ay» by heaven, my lord.
Ham. There 's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Denmark
But he 's an arrant knave. Hor. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave
To tell us this. ■^«'«- Why, right ; you are i' the right ;
And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit that we shake hands and part .
You, as your business and desire shall point you ;
For every man hath business and desire, 1 30
Such as it is j and for my own poor part,
Look you, I '11 go pray. Hor. These are but wild and whirling words, my lord. Ham. I'm sorry they offend you, heartily ;
Hor
Act I. Sc. V. HAMLET,
Yes, faith, heartily.
Hor. There 's no offence, my lord.
Ham. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here, It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you : For your desire to know what is between us, O'ermaster 't as you may. And now, good friends. As you are friends, scholars and soldiers, 141
Give me one poor request.
Hor. What is 't, my lord ? we will.
Ham. Never make known what you have seen to-night.
,^ ' I My lord, we will not. Mar. j ^
Ham. Nay, but swear 't.
Hor. In faith,
My lord, not I. Mar. Nor I, my lord, in faith.
Ham. Upon my sword.
Mar. We have sworn, my lord, already.
Ham. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. Ghost. [Beneath] Swear.
Ham. 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. Hor. Propose the oath, my lord.
Ham. Never to speak of this that you have seen.
Swear by my sword. Ghost. [Beneath] Swear. Ham. Hie et ubique .'' then we '11 shift our ground.
Come hither, gentlemen,
And lay your hands again upon my sword :
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act I. Sc. v.
Never to speak of this that you have heard.
Swear by my sword. 1 60
Ghost. [Beneath'] Swear,
Ham. Well said, old mole ! canst work i' the earth so fast ? A worthy pioner ! Once more remove, good friends.
Hor. O day and night, but this is wondrous strange !
Ham. And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
But come ;
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy.
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, 1 70
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,
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.
Ham. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit ! \They swear.] So, gentlemen, With all my love I do commend me to you : And what so poor a man as Hamlet is May do, to express his love and friending to you, God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together ; And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
Act II. sc. i. hamlet;
The time is out of joint : O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right ! 190
Nay, come, let 's go together. [Exeunt.
ACT SECOND. Scene I.
^ room in Polonitis s house. Enter Polonius and Reynaldo.
Pol. Give him this money and these notes, Reynaldo.
Rey. I will, my lord.
Pol. You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo, Before you visit him, to make inquire Of his behaviour.
Rey. My lord, I did intend it.
Pol. Marry, well said, very well said. Look you, sir, Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris, And how, and who, what means, and where they keep, What company, at what expense, and finding By this encompassment and drift of question lo
That they do know my son, come you more nearer Than your particular demands will touch it : 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 ?
Rey. Ay, very well, my lord.
Pol. ' And in part him ; but,' you may say, ' not well : But if't be he I mean, he's very wild. Addicted so and so ' ; and there put on him What forgeries you please ; marry, none so rank 20 As may dishonour him ; take heed of that ;
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. i.
But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips As are companions noted and most known To youth and liberty.
Rey. As gaming, my lord.
Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling, Drabbing : you may go so far.
Rey. My lord, that would dishonour him.
Pol. Faith, no ; as you may season it in the charge. You must not put another scandal on him, That he is open to incontinency ; 50
That 's not my meaning : but breathe his faults so
quaintly That they may seem the taints of liberty. The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind, A savageness in unreclaimed blood, Of general assault.
Rey. But, my good lord, —
Pol. Wherefore should you do this .''
Rey. Ay, my lord,
I would know that.
Pol. Marry, sir, here 's my drift.
And I believe it is a fetch of warrant : You laying these slight sullies on my son. 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 assured He closes with you in this consequence ; ' Good sir,' or so, or ' friend,' or * gentleman,' According to the phrase or the addition Of man and country.
Act II. Sc. i. HAMLET,
Rey. Very good, my lord,
Pol. And then, sir, does he this — he does — what
was I about to say ? By the mass, I was about 50 to say something : where did I leave ?
Rey. At * closes in the consequence,' at ' friend or so,' and * gentleman.'
Pol. At ' closes in the consequence,' ay, marry ;
He closes with you thus : ' I know the gentleman ;
I saw him yesterday, or t' other day.
Or then, or then, with such, or such, and, as you say,
There was a' gaming, there o'ertook in 's rouse.
There falling out at tennis : ' or perchance,
* I saw him enter such a house of sale,' 60
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,
By indirections find directions out :
So, by my former lecture and advice.
Shall you my son. You have me, have you not ?
Rey. My lord, I have.
Pol. God be wi' ye ; fare ye well.
Rey. Good my lord ! 7^
Pol. Observe his inclination in yourself.
Rey. I shall, my lord.
Pol. And let him ply his music.
Rey. "Well, my lord.
Pol. Farewell ! [Exit Reynaldo.
Enter Ophelia. How now, Ophelia ! what 's the matter ?
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. i.
Oph. O, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted !
Pol. With what, i' the name of God ?
Oph. My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced,
No hat upon his head, his stockings foul'd,
Ungarter'd and down-gyved to his ancle ; 80
Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other,
And with a look so piteous in purport
As if he had been loosed out of hell
To speak of horrors, he comes before me,
Pol. Mad for thy love ?
Oph. My lord, I do not know.
But truly I do fear it.
Pol. What said he ?
Oph. He took me by the wrist and held me hard ; Then goes he to the length of all his arm. And with his other hand thus o'er his brow, He falls to such perusal of my face 90
As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so ; At last, a little shaking of mine arm, And thrice his head thus waving up and down, He raised a sigh so piteous and profound As it did seem to shatter all his bulk 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 helps, And to the last bended their light on me. loo
Pol. 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
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
As oft as any passion under heaven That does afflict our natures. I am sorry. What, have you given him any hard words of late ?
Oph. No, my good lord, but, as you did command, I did repel his letters and denied His access to me.
Pol. That hath made him mad. I lo
I am sorry that with better heed and judgement I had not quoted him : I fear'd he did but trifle And meant to wreck thee 5 but beshrew my jealousy ! By heaven, it is as proper to our age To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions As it is common for the younger sort To lack discretion. Come, go we to the king : This must be known ; which, being kept close, might
move More grief to hide than hate to utter love. Come \_Exeunt.
Scene II.
A room in the castle.
Flourish. Etiter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and
Attendants.
King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ! Moreover that we much did long to see you, The need we have to use you did provoke Our hasty sending. Something have you heard Of Hamlet's transformation ; so call it, Sith nor the exterior nor the inward man Resembles that it was. What it should be,
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
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, lo
That, being of so young days brought up with him And sith so neighbour'd to his youth and haviour, That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court Some little time : so by your companies To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather So much as from occasion you may glean, Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus, That open'd lies within our remedy.
Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of you,
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 a while
For the supply and profit of our hope,
Your visitation shall receive such thanks
As fits a king's remembrance.
Ros. Both your majesties
Might, by the sovereign power you have of us. Put your dread pleasures more into command Than to entreaty.
Guil. But we both obey,
And here give up ourselves, in the full bent 30
To lay our service freely at your feet, To be commanded.
King. Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern.
Qiieen. Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz : And I beseech you instantly to visit My too much changed son. Go, some of you, And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Guil. Heavens make our presence and our practices
Pleasant and helpful to him ! Qiieen. Ay, amen !
\E,xeunt Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and some Att€nda7its.
Enter Polonius.
Pol. The ambassadors from Norway, my good lord, ^o Are joyfully return'd.
King. Thou still hast been the father of good news.
Pol. Have I, my lord ? I assure my good liege, I hold my duty as I hold my soul, Both to my God and to my gracious king : And I do think, or else this brain of mine Hunts not the trail of policy so sure As it hath used to do, that I have found The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.
King. O, speak of that ; that do I long to hear. 50
Pol. Give first admittance to the ambassadors ;
My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in.
\Exit Polonius. He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found The head and source of all your son's distemper.
Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main ;
His father's death and our o'erhasty marriage.
King. Well, we shall sift him.
Re-enter Polonius ^ nvith Voltimand and Cornelius.
Welcome, my good friends ! Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway ? Volt. Most fair return of greetings and desires. 60
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress His nephew's levies, which to him appear'd
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack,
But better look'd into, he truly found
It was against your highness : whereat grieved,
That so his sickness, age and impotence
Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrests
On Fortinbras ; which he, in brief, obeys,
Receives rebuke from Norway, and in fine
Makes vow before his uncle never more 70
To give the assay of arms against your majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy.
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee
And his commission to employ those soldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack :
With an entreaty, herein further shown,
[Givifig 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. Xing. It likes us well, 80
And at our more consider'd time we '11 read, Answer, and think upon this business. Meantime we thank you for your well-took labour : Go to your rest ; at night we '11 feast together : Most welcome home !
[Exeunt Volthnand and Cornelius. Pol. This business is well ended.
My liege, and madam, to expostulate What majesty should be, what duty is, Why day is day, night night, and time is time, Were nothing but to waste night, day and time. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit 90
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief. Your noble son is mad: Mad call I it j for, to define true madness. What is 't but to be nothing else but mad ? But let that go.
Queen. More matter, with less art.
Pol. 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 I will use no art.
Mad let us grant him then : and now remains loO
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.
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.' — lio
That 's an ill phrase, a vile phrase ; ' beautified '
is a vile phrase : but you shall hear. Thus : \Reads.
' In her excellent white bosom, these,' &c.
Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her ?
Pol. Good madam, stay awhile j I will be faithful.
* Doubt thou the stars are fire ; Doubt that the sun doth move j Doubt truth to be a liar ; But never doubt I love.
\R.eads.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
*0 dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I 120 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 shown me ; And more above, hath his solicitings. As they fell out by time, by means and place, All given to mine ear.
King. But how hath she
Received his love ?
Pol. What do you think of me ?
King. As of a man faithful and honourable. I go
Pol. I would fain prove so. But what might you think, When I had seen this hot love on the wing, — As I perceived it, I must tell you that, Before my daughter told me, — what might you. Or my dear majesty your queen here, think. If I had play'd the desk or table-book. Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb. Or look'd upon this love with idle sight ; 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 prescripts 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 ; And he repulsed, a short tale to make, Fell into a sadness, then into a fast. Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness, Thence to a lightness, and by this declension
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Into the madness wherein now he raves, 150
And all we mourn for. King. Do you think this ? Queen. It may be, very like.
Pol. Hath there been such a time, I 'Id fain know that,
That I have positively said * 'tis so,'
When it proved otherwise ? King. Not that I know.
Pol. [Pointing to his head and shoulder] Take this from this, if this be otherwise :
If circumstances lead me, I will find
Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed
Within the centre. King. How may we try it further ?
Pol. You know, sometimes he walks four hours together
Here in the lobby. Queen. So he does, indeed. 161
Pol. At such a time I '11 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.
Let me be no assistant for a state.
But keep a farm and carters. King. We will try it.
Queen. But look where sadly the poor wretch comes reading. Pol. Away, I do beseech you, both away :
I '11 board him presently. 170
\_Exeunt King, Queen, and Attendants.
Enter Hamlet, reading.
O, give me leave : how does my good Lord Hamlet ? Ham. Well, God-a-mercy.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
Pol. Do you know me, my lord ?
Ham. Excellent well ; you are a fishmonger.
Pol. Not I, my lord.
Ham. Then I would you were so honest a man.
Pol. Honest, my lord !
Ham. Ay, sir j to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.
Pol. That's very true, my lord. 1 80
Ham. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion — Have you a daughter ?
Pol. I have, my lord.
Hatn. Let her not walk i' the sun : conception is a blessing ; but as your daughter may conceive, — friend, look to 't.
Pol. [Aside] How say you by that ? Still harping on my daughter : yet he knew me not at first ; he said I was a fishmonger: he is far gone: and 190 truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love J very near this. I'll speak to him again. — What do you read, my lord ?
Ham. Words, words, words.
Pol. What is the matter, my lord .?
Hatn. Between who ^
Pol. I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.
Ham. Slanders, sir : for the satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber 200 and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plenti- ful 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
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
have it thus set down ; for yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward.
Pol. \_ylside\ Though this be madness, yet there is method in't. — Will you walk out of the air, my lord.-* 2Io
Ham. Into my grave.
Pol. Indeed, that's out of the air. [Aside] How preg- nant sometimes his replies are ! a happiness 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 honourable lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you.
Ham. You cannot, sir, take from me any thing that 220 1 will more willingly part withal : except my life, except my life, except my life.
Pol. Fare you well, my lord.
Ham. These tedious old fools !
Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Pol. You go to seek the Lord Hamlet ; there he is.
Ros. [To Polonius] God save you, sir ! [Exit Poloniiis.
Guil. My honoured lord !
Ros. My most dear lord !
Ha7n. My excellent good friends ! How dost thou,
Guildenstern .? Ah, Rosencrantz ! Good lads, 230
how do you both } Ros. As the indifferent children of the earth. Guil. Happy, in that we are not over-happy ;
On Fortune's cap we are not the very button.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
Ham. Nor the soles of her shoe ?
Ros. Neither, my lord.
Ham. Then you live about her waist, or in the middle
of her favours ? Guil. Faith, her privates we. Ham. In the secret parts of Fortune ? O, most true ; 240
she is a strumpet. What 's the news .'' Ros. None, my lord, but that the world 's grown honest. Ham. Then is doomsday near : but your news is not
true. Let me question more in particular : what
have you, my good friends, deserved at the
hands of Fortune, that she sends you to prison
hither ? Gtdl. Prison, my lord ! Ham. Denmark 's a prison.
Ros. Then is the world one. 250
Ham. A goodly one ; in which there are many con- fines, wards and dungeons, Denmark being one
o' the worst. Ros. We think not so, my lord. Ham. Why, then 'tis none to you ; for there is
nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes
it so : to me it is a prison. Ros. Why, then your ambition makes it one ; 'tis
too narrow for your mind. Ham. O God, I could be bounded in a nut-shell and 260
count myself a king of infinite space, were it
not that I have bad dreams. Guil. Which dreams indeed are ambition ; for the
very substance of the ambitious is merely the
shadow of a dream. Ham. A dream itself is but a shadow.
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Ros. Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a quality that it is but a shadow's shadow.
Ham. Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs
and outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. 270 Shall we to the court ? for, by my fay, I cannot reason.
.* > We'll wait upon you. Guil. )
Ham. 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 .-*
Ros. To visit you, my lord ; no other occasion.
Hatn. Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks ; 280 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.
Gui/. What should we say, my lord ?
Ham. Why, any thing, but to the purpose. You were sent for ; and there is a kind of confession in your looks, which your modesties have not craft enough to colour : I know the good king 290 and queen have sent for you.
Ros. To what end, my lord ?
Ham. That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, by the rights of our fellowship, by the con- sonancy of our youth, by the obligation of our ever-preserved love, and by what more dear a better proposer could charge you withal, be
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
even and direct with me, whether you were sent for, or no.
Ros [Aside to GuiL] What say you ? 300
Ham. [Aside] Nay then, I have an eye of you. — If you love me, hold not off.
GuiL My lord, we were sent for.
Hat!/. I will tell you why ; so shall my anticipation 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 310 promontory ; this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours. What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in form and moving how express and admirable ! in action how like an angel ! in apprehension how like a god ! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! 320 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.
Ros. My lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts.
Ham. Why did you laugh then, when I said 'man delights not me ' ?
Ros. To think, my lord, if you delight not in man, what lenten entertainment the players shall
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
receive from you : we coted them on the way ; 330 and hither are they coming, to offer you service.
Ham. He that plays the king shall be welcome ; his majesty shall have tribute of me ; the adventur- ous 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 ? 340
Ros. Even those you were wont to take such delight in, the tragedians of the city.
Ham. How chances it they travel ? their residence, both in reputation and profit, was better both ways.
Ros. I think their inhibition comes by the means of the late innovation.
Hatn. Do they hold the same estimarion they did when I was in the city } are they so followed ?
Ros. No, indeed, are they not. 350
Ham. How comes it ? do they grow rusty ?
Ros. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace : but there is, sir, an eyrie of children, little eyases, that cry out on the top of question and are most tyrannically clapped for 't : these are now the fashion, and so berattle the common stages — so they call them — that many wearing rapiers are afraid of goose-quills, and dare scarce come thither?
Ha?n. What, are they children? who maintains 'em? 360 how are they escoted ? Will they pursue the
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
quality no longer than they can sing ? will they not say afterwards, if they should grow them- selves 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 ?
Ros. 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 370 for argument unless the poet and the player went to cuffs in the question.
Ham. Is 't possible ?
GuiL O, there has been much throwing about of brains.
Ham. Do the boys carry it away ?
Ros. Ay, that they do, my lord ; Hercules and his load too.
Ham. It is not very strange ; for my uncle is king of Denmark, and those that would make mows at him while my father lived, give twenty, forty, 380 fifty, a hundred ducats a-piece, for his picture in little. 'Sblood, there is something in this more than natural, if philosophy could find it out.
[Flourish of trumpets within.
Guil. There are the players.
Ham. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elslnore. Your hands, come then : the appurtenance o '" welcome is fashion and ceremony : let me comply with you in this garb, lest my extent to the players, which, I tell you, must show fairly outwards, should more appear like entertainment 390 than yours. You are welcome : but my uncle- father and aunt-mother are deceived.
Actll. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Guil. In what, my dear lord ?
Ham, I am but mad north-north-west : when the
wind is southerly I know a hawk from a
handsaw.
Re-enter Polonius.
Pol. Well be with you, gentlemen !
Ham. Hark you, Guildenstern ; and you too at each ear a hearer : that great baby you see there is not yet out of his swaddling clouts. 400
Ros. Happily he 's the second time come to them ; for they say an old man is twice a child.
Ham. I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the players ; mark it. You say right, sir : o' Monday morning ; 'twas so, indeed.
Pol. My lord, I have news to tell you.
Ham. My lord, I have news to tell you. "When Roscius was an actor in Rome, —
Pol. The actors are come hither, my lord.
Ham. Buz, buz ! 410
Pol. Upon my honour, —
Ham. Then came each actor on his ass, —
Pol. The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, his- torical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comi- cal-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited : Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light. For the law of writ and the liberty, these are the only men.
Ham. O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure 420 hadst thou !
Pol. What a treasure had he, my lord .-'
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
Ham. Why,
* One fair daughter, and no more, The which he loved passing well.' Pol. [Aside] Still on my daughter. Ham. Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah ? Pol. If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a
daughter that I love passing well. Ham. Nay, that follows not. 430
Pol. What follows, then, my lord .'' Ham. 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 abridgement comes.
Enter four or Jive Players. You are welcome, masters ; welcome, all. I am glad to see thee well. Welcome, good friends. O, my old friend ! Why thy face is valanced 440 since I saw thee last ; comest thou to beard me in Denmark ? What, 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 ring. Masters, you are all welcome. We '11 e'en to 't like French falconers, fly at any thing we see : we '11 have a speech straight : come, give us a taste of your quality ; come, a passionate speech. 450
First Play. What speech, my good lord ?
Ham. I heard thee speak me a speech once, but it
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
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 re- ceived it, and others, whose judgements in such matters cried in the top of mine — an excellent play, well digested in the scenes, set down with as much modesty as cunning. I remember, one said there were no sallets in the lines to make 460 the matter savoury, nor no matter in the phrase that might indict the author of affection ; 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 j 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 ;
' The rugged Pyrrhus, like th' Hyrcanian beast,' — It is not so: it begins with 'Pyrrhus.' 471
' The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms. Black as his purpose, did the night resemble When he lay couched in the ominous horse, Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd With heraldry more dismal : head to foot Now is he total gules ; horridly trick'd With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, Baked and impasted with the parching streets. That lend a tyrannous and a damned light 480
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.'
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
So, proceed you.
Pol. 'Fore God, my lord, well spoken, with good accent and good discretion.
First Play. ' Anon he finds him
Striking too short at Greeks ; his antique sword, Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls. Repugnant to command : unequal match'd, 490
Pyrrhus at Priam drives ; in rage strikes wide ; But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium, Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top Stoops to his base, and with a hideous crash Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear : for, lo ! his sword. Which was declining on the milky head Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick : So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood. And like a neutral to his will and matter, 500
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 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, forged for proof eterne, With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword ^lO Now falls on Priam.
Out, out, thou strumpet, Fortune ! All you gods. In general synod take away her power. Break ail the spokes and fellies from her wheel. And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
As low as to the fiends ! '
Pol. This is too long.
Ham. 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 520 Hecuba.
First Play. ' But who, O, who had seen the mobled queen — '
Ham. ' The mobled queen ! '
Pol. That 's good ; * mobled queen ' is good.
First Play. ' Run barefoot up and down, threatening the flames With bisson rheum ; a clout upon that head Where late the diadem stood ; and for a robe, About her lank and all o'erteemed loins, A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up ; 530
Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd 'Gainst Fortune's state would treason have pronounced : 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, Unless things mortal move them not at all. Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven, And passion in the gods.'
Pol. Look, whether he has not turned his colour 540 and has tears in 's eyes. Prithee, no more.
Ham. 'Tis well j I '11 have thee speak out the rest of this 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
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act II. Sc. ii.
you were better have a bad epitaph, than their ill report while you live.
Pol. My lord, I will use them according to their desert.
Ham. God's bodykins, man, much better : use every 550 man after his desert, and who shall 'scape whip- ping? Use them after your own honour and dignity : the less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty. Take them in.
Pol. Come, sirs.
Ham. Follow him, friends : we '11 hear a play to- morrow. \Exit Polonlus with all the Players but the First.] Dost thou hear me, old friend ; can you play the Murder of Gonzago ?
First Play. Ay, my lord. 560
Ham. We '11 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 Play. Ay, my lord.
Hatn. Very well. Follow that lord ; and look you mock him not. [Exit First Player.] My good friends, I '11 leave you till night : you are welcome to Elsinore.
Ros. Good my lord ! ^70
Ham. Ay, so, God be wi' ye ! [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.] Now I am alone. O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I ! Is it not monstrous that this player here. But in a fiction, in a dream of passion. Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage wann'd ; Tears in his eyes, distraction in 's aspect,
Act II. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit ? and all for nothing ! 580
For Hecuba !
What 's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her ? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have ? He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech.
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
Yet I, 590
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
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 .''
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 ! 600
'Swounds, I should take it : for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall.
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave's offal : bloody, bawdy villain !
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain !
O, vengeance !
Why, what an ass am I ! This is most brave.
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd.
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, 610
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. i.
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,
A scullion !
Fie upon 't! foh! About my brain ! Hum, I have heard
That guilty creatures, sitting at a play.
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions j
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak
With most miraculous organ. I '11 have these players
Play something like the murder of my father 62 1
Before mine uncle : I '11 observe his looks ;
I '11 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
Out of my weakness and my melancholy.
As he is very potent with such spirits.
Abuses me to damn me. I '11 have grounds
More relative than this. The play 's the thing 630
Wherein I '11 catch the conscience of the king. [Exit.
ACT THIRD. Scene I.
^ 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
Act III. Sc. i. HAMLET,
With turbulent and dangerous lunacy ? Ros. He does confess he feels himself distracted,
But from what cause he will by no means speak. Gui/. 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. Queen. Did he receive you well ? lo
Ros. Most like a gentleman. Guil. But with much forcing of his disposition. Ros. Niggard of question, but of our demands
Most free in his reply. Queen. Did you assay him
To any pastime ? Ros. Madam, it so fell out that certain players
We o'er-raught on the way : of these we told him,
And there did seem in him a kind of joy
To hear of it : they are about the court.
And, as I think, they have already order 20
This night to play before him. Pol. 'Tis most true :
And he beseech'd me to entreat your majesties
To hear and see the matter. King. With all my heart j and it doth much content me
To hear him so inclined.
Good gentlemen, give him a further edge.
And drive his purpose on to these delights. Ros. We shall, my lord.
\E.xeunt 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 30
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. i.
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,
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 "Will bring him to his wonted way again, 41
To both your honours.
Oph. Madam, I wish it may. \_ExH Qtieen.
Pol. 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 Your loneliness. "We are oft to blame in this, — 'Tis too much proved — that with devotion's visage And pious action we do sugar o'er The devil himself.
King. \Aside\ O, 'tis too true !
How smart a lash that speech doth give my con- science ! The harlot's cheek, beautied with plastering art, 50 Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it Than is my deed to my most painted word : O heavy burthen !
Pol. I hear him coming : let 's withdraw, my lord.
[Exeunt King and Polomus.
Act III. Sc. i. HAMLET,
Enter Hamlet.
Ham. 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 ; To sleep : perchance to dream : ay, there 's the rub ; 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 ; 69
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time. The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay. The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes. When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin ? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life. But that the dread of something after death. The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, 80
And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. i.
And enterprises of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action. Soft you now ! The fair Ophelia ! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd.
Oph. Good my lord, 90
How does your honour for this many a day ?
Ham. I humbly thank you : well, well, well.
Oph. My lord, I have remembrances of yours, That I have longed long to re-deliver ; I pray you, now receive them.
Ham. No, not I ;
I never gave you aught.
Oph. My honour'd lord, you know right well you did ; And with them words of so sweet breath composed As made the things more rich : their perfume lost, Take these again j for to the noble mind lOO
Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. There, my lord.
Ham. Ha, ha ! are you honest .>*
Oph. My lord ?
Ham. Are you fair ?
Oph. What means your lordship ?
Ham. That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty.
Oph. Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce
than with honesty ^ 1 10
Ham. Ay, truly ; for the power of beauty will 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.
Act III. Sc. i. HAMLET,
Oph. Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
Ham. You should not have believed me ; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it : I loved you not.
Oph. I was the more deceived. I20
Ham. Get thee to a nunnery : why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners ? I am myself indifferent honest j 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 heaven and earth ? We are arrant knaves all ; 1 30 believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where 's your father ^
Oph. At home, my lord.
Ham. Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool no where but in's own house. Farewell.
Oph. O, help him, you sweet heavens !
Ha7n. 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 140 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 nunnery, go ; and quickly too. Farewell.
Oph. O heavenly powers, restore him !
Hat7i. I have heard of your paintings too, well
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. i.
enough j God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another : you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and nick-name God's creatures, 150 and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I '11 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. Oph. O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown !
The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword :
The expectancy and rose of the fair state.
The glass of fashion and the mould of form.
The observed of all observers, quite, quite down !
And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, 16 1
That suck'd the honey of his music vows,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,
Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh •
That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy : O, woe is me.
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see !
Re-enter King and Polonius.
King. Love ! his affections do not that way tend ;
Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little. Was not like madness. There 's something in his soul O'er which his melancholy sits on brood, 17 1
And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose Will be some danger : which for to prevent, I have in quick determination
Thus set it down : — he shall with speed to England, For the demand of our neglected tribute :
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Haply the seas and countries different
With variable objects shall expel
This something-settled matter in his heart,
Whereon his brains still beating puts him thus l8o
From fashion of himself. What think you on 't ?
Pol. It shall do well : but yet do I believe
The origin and commencement of his grief
Sprung from neglected love. How now, Ophelia !
You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said ;
We heard it all. My lord, do as you please ;
But, if you hold it fit, after the play.
Let his queen mother all alone entreat him
To show his grief : let her be round with him ;
And I'll be placed, so please you, in the ear 1 90
Of all their conference. If she find him not.
To England send him, or confine him where
Your wisdom best shall think.
King. It shall be so :
Madness In great ones must not unwatch'd go.
\Exeutit.
Scene II.
A hall In the castle.
Enter Hamlet and Players.
Ham. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue : but if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus ; but use all gently : for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion,
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. ii.
you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow 10 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 : pray you, avoid it.
First Play. I warrant your honour.
Ham. Be not too tame neither, but let your own dis- cretion be your tutor : suit the action to the word, the word to the action ; with this special observ- 20 ance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature : for anything 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 5 to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now this over- done or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve : the censure of the which one must in 30 your allowance o'erweigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be players that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, that neither having the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed, that I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
First Play. I hope we have reformed that indifferently 40 with us, sir.
Ham. O, 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 them- selves 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. [Exeunt Players. 50
Enter Polcnlus, Rosencrantz, and Gu'ildenstern.
How now, my lord ! will the king hear this
piece of work ? Pol. And the queen too, and that presently. Ham. Bid the players make haste. \_Exit Polonius.'\
Will you help to hasten them ?
p ' l We will, my lord.
[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Ham. What ho ! Horatio !
Enter Horatio.
Hor. Here, sweet lord, at your service.
Ham. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man
As e'er my conversation coped withal. 60
Hor. O, my dear lord, —
Ham. Nay, do not think I flatter ;
For what advancement may I hope from thee, That no revenue hast but thy good spirits,
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. ii.
To feed and clothe thee ? Why should the poor be
flatter'd ? No, let the candied 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 Hath seal'd thee for herself: for thou hast been 70 As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing j A man that fortune's buffets and rewards Hast ta'en with equal thanks : and blest are those Whose blood and judgement are so well commingled That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger 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, As I do thee. Something too much of this. There is a play to-night before the kingj 80
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 a-foot. Even with the very comment of thy soul Observe my 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 ; For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, 90
And after we will both our judgements join In censure of his seeming. Hor. Well, my lord :
If he steal aught the whilst this play is playing
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
And 'scape detecting, I will pay the theft. Ham. They are coming to the play : I must be idle : Get you a place.
Danish march. A jlourish. Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencratitz, Guildefjstern, and other Lords attendant, ivith the Guard carrying torches.
King. How fares our cousin Hamlet ?
Ham. Excellent, i' faith ; of the chameleon's dish :
I eat the air, promise-crammed : you cannot feed
capons so. loo
King. I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet ;
these words are not mine. Ham. No, nor mine now. \To Polonius'\ My lord,
you played once i' the university, you say ? Pol. That did I, my lord, and was accounted a good
actor. Ham. What did you enact .? Pol. I did enact Julius Caesar : I was killed i' the
Capitol ; Brutus killed me. Ham. It was a brute part of him to kill so capital alio
calf there. Be the players ready ^ Ros. Ay, my lord ; they stay upon your patience. Queen. Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me. Ham. No, good mother, here 's metal more attractive. Pol. [To the King.] O, ho ! do you mark that ? Ham. Lady, shall I lie in your lap ?
[_Z,ying down at Ophelia s feet. Oph. No, my lord.
Ham. I mean, my head upon your lap ? Oph. Ay, my lord. Ham. Do you think I meant country matters ? 1 20
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. ii.
Oph. I think nothing, my lord.
Ham. That 's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs.
Oph. What is, my lord .?
Ham. Nothing.
Oph You are merry, my lord.
Ham. Who, I ?
Oph. Ay, my lord.
Ham. O God, your only jig-maker. What should a
man do but be merry.'' for, look you, how cheer- 130 fully my mother looks, and my father died within 's two hours.
Oph. Nay, 'tis twice two months, my lord.
Ham. So long ? Nay then, let the devil wear black, for I'll have a suit of sables. O heavens! die two months ago, and not forgotten yet ? Then there 's hope a great man's memory may outlive his life half a year : but, by 'r lady, he must build churches then ; or else shall he suffer not thinking on, with the hobby-horse, whose [40 epitaph is, * For, O, for, O, the hobby-horse is forgot.'
Hautboys play. The dumb-shonx) enters.
Enter a King and a Queen very lovingly; the Qiieen embracing him, and he her. She kneels, atjd makes shoiv of protesta- tion unto him. He takes her up, and declines his head upon her neck : lays him down upon a bank ofjloivers : she, seeing him asleep, leaves him. Anon comes in a fellonv, takes off his cronvn, kisses it, and pours poison in the King^s ears, and exit. The Queen returns ; finds the King dead, and makes passionate action. The Poisoner, with some two or three
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Mutes, comes in again, seeming to lament ivith her. The dead body is carried atuay. The Poisoner luooes the Queen •with gifts ; she seefns loath and uniJoilUng awhile, but in the end accepts his love. [Exeunt.
Oph. What means this, my- lord ?
Ham. Marry, this is miching mallecho ; it means
mischief. Oph. Belike this show imports the argument of the
play.
Enter Prologue.
Ham. We shall know by this fellow : the players
cannot keep counsel ; they '11 tell all. Oph. Will he tell us what this show meant ? 150
Ham. Ay, or any show that you '11 show him : be not
you ashamed to show, he '11 not shame to tell you
what it means. Oph. You are naught, you are naught : I '11 mark the
play. Pro. For us, and for our tragedy,
Here stooping to your clemency. We beg your hearing patiently. Ham. Is this a prologue, or the posy of a ring ? Oph. 'Tis brief, my lord. 160
Ham. As woman's love.
Enter tivo Players, King and Queen.
P. King. Full thirty times hath Phcebus' cart gone round Neptune's salt wash and Tellus' orbed ground, And thirty dozen moons with borrowed sheen About the world have times twelve thirties been. Since love our hearts and Hymen did our hands
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. ii.
Unite commutual in most sacred bands.
P. Qiieen. 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, 170
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. Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know, And as my love is sized, my fear is so : Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear. Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.
F. King. Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly too ; My operant powers their functions leave to do : i8l And thou shalt live in this fair world behind, Honour'd, beloved ; and haply one as kind For husband shalt thou —
P. Queen. O, confound the rest !
Such love must needs be treason in my breast : In second husband let me be accurst ! None wed the second but who kill'd the first.
Ham. [Aside^ Wormwood, wormwood.
P. Qiieen. The instances that second marriage move
Are base respects of thrift, but none of love : 190 A second time I kill my husband dead. When second husband kisses me in bed.
P. King. I do believe you think what now you speak, But what we do determine oft we break. Purpose is but the slave to memory. Of violent birth but poor validity : Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree.
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
But fall unshaken when they mellow be, Most necessary 'tis that we forget To pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt : 200
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 ; 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 love lead fortune or else fortune love. 210 The great man down, you mark his favourite flies ; The poor advanced makes friends of enemies : And hitherto doth love on fortune tend ; For who not needs shall never lack a friend. And who in want a hollow friend doth try 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 : So think thou wilt no second husband wed, 221
But die thy thoughts when thy first lord is dead. P. Qtieen. Nor earth to me give food nor heaven light ! Sport and repose lock from me day and night ! To desperation turn my trust and hope ! 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.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. ii.
If, once a widow, ever I be wife ! 22o
Ham. If she should break it now !
P. King. 'Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here a while; My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile The tedious day with sleep. {Bleeps.
P. Qtieen. Sleep rock thy brain ;
And never come mischance between us twain ! \_Exit.
Ham. Madam, how like you this play ?
Queen. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Ham. O, but she '11 keep her word.
King. Have you heard the argument ? Is there no
offence in 't ? 240
Ham. No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest; no offence i' the world.
King. What do you call the play ?
Ham. The Mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropically, This play is the image of a murder done in Vienna : Gonzago is the duke's name ; his wife, Baptista : you shall see anon ; 'tis a knavish piece of work : but what o' that ? your majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not : let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung. 250
Enter Lucianus.
This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king. Oph. You are as good as a chorus, my lord. Ham. I could interpret between you and your love,
if I could see the puppets dallying. Oph. You are keen, my lord, you are keen. Ham. It would cost you a groaning to take off my
edge. Oph. Still better, and worse.
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Hatn. So you must take your husbands. Begin,
murderer ; pox, leave thy damnable faces, and 260 begin. Come : the croaking raven doth bellow for revenge.
Luc. Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time agreeing ; Confederate season, else no creature seeing ; Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected, With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected, Thy natural magic and dire property. On wholesome life usurp immediately.
\_Pours the poison into the sleeper's ear.
Ham. He poisons him i' the garden for his estate.
His name 's Gonzago : the story is extant, and 270 written in very choice Italian : you shall see anon how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago's wife.
Oph. The king rises.
Ham. What, flighted with false fire !
Queen. How fares my lord }
Pol. Give o'er the play.
King. Give me some light. Away !
Pol. Lights, lights, lights !
\_Exeutit all but Hamlet and Horatio.
Ham. Why, let the stricken deer go weep.
The hart ungalled play ; 280
For some must watch, while some must sleep :
Thus runs the world away. Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers — if the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me — with two Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a fellowship in a cry of players, sir }
Hor. Half a share.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. ii.
Ham. A whole one, I.
For thou dost know, O Damon dear.
This realm dismantled was 290
Of Jove himself ; and now reigns here A very, very — pajock. Hor. You might have rhymed. Ham. O good Horatio, I '11 take the ghost's word for
a thousand pound. Didst perceive ? Hor. Very well, my lord. Ham. Upon the talk of the poisoning ? Hor. I did very well note him. Ham. Ah, ha ! Come, some music ! come, the
recorders ! 3^0
For if the king like not the comedy, Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdy. Come, some music !
Re-enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Guil. Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you.
Ham. Sir, a whole history.
Gull. The king, sir, —
Ham. Ay, sir, what of him ?
Gtiil. Is in his retirement marvellous distempered.
Ham. With drink, sir .''
Gml. No, my lord, rather with choler. gio
Ham. Your wisdom should show itself more richer
to signify this to the doctor ; for, for me to put
him to his purgation would perhaps plunge him
into far more choler. Guil. Good my lord, put your discourse into some
frame, and start not so wildly from my affair. Ham. I am tame, sir : pronounce.
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Guil. The queen, your mother, in most great afflic- tion of spirit, hath sent me to you.
Ham. You are welcome. g20
Guil. 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 commandment : if not, your pardon and my return shall be the end of my business.
Ham. Sir, I cannot.
Guil. What, my lord ?
Ham. 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 330 mother : therefore no more, but to the matter : my mother, you say, —
Ros. Then thus she says ; your behaviour hath struck her into amazement and admiration.
Ham. O wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother ! But is there no sequel at the heel- of this mother's admiration ? Impart.
Ros. She desires to speak with you in her closet, ere you go to bed.
Ham. "We shall obey, were she ten times our mother. 340 Have you any further trade with us ?
Ros. My lord, you once did love me.
Ham. So I do still, by these pickers and stealers.
Ros. Good my lord, what is your cause of distemper .? you do surely bar the door upon your own liberty, if you deny your griefs to your friend.
Ham. Sir, I lack advancement.
Ros. How can that be, when you have the voice of the king himself for your succession in Denmark ?
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. ii.
Ham. Ay, sir, but ' while the grass grows,' — the 350 proverb is something musty.
Re-enter Players ivith recorders.
O, the recorders ! let me see one. To withdraw with you : — why do you go about to recover the wind of me, as if you would drive me into a toil .?
Guil. O, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my love is too unmannerly.
Ham. I do not well understand that. Will you play upon this pipe ?
Guil. My lord, I cannot, 360
Ham. I pray you.
Guil. Believe me, I cannot.
Ham. I do beseech you.
Guil. I know no touch of it, my lord.
Ham. It is as easy as lying : govern these ventages with your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your mouth, and it will discourse most eloquent music. Look you, these are the stops.
Guil. But these cannot I command to any utterance of
harmony; I have not the skill. 3 70
Ham. 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 instru-
Act III. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
ment you will, though you can fret me, yet you 380 cannot play upon me.
Re-enter Polonius.
God bless you, sir !
Pol. My lord, the queen would speak with you, and presently.
Hatn. Do you see yonder cloud that 's almost in shape of a camel ?
Pol. By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.
Ham. Methinks it is like a weasel.
Pol. It is backed like a weasel.
Horn. Or like a whale ? 3 90
Pol. Very like a whale.
Ham. Then I will come to my mother by and by. They fool me to the top of my bent. I will come by and by.
Pol. I will say so. [Exit Polonius.
Ham. ' By and by ' is easily said. Leave me, friends.
[Exeunt all but Hamlet. 'Tis now the very witching time of night. 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 400
"Would quake to look on. Soft ! now to my mother.
0 heart, lose not thy nature j let not ever The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom : Let me be cruel, not unnatural :
1 will speak daggers to her, but use none ; My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites j How in my words soever she be shent.
To give them seals never, my soul, consent ! [Exit.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. Hi.
Scene III.
A room in the castle. Enter King, Rosencrantz, and Giiildenstern.
King. I like him not, nor stands it safe with us
To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you ,
I your commission will forthwith dispatch,
And he to England shall along with you :
The terms of our estate may not endure
Hazard so near us as doth hourly grow
Out of his lunacies.
Guil. 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. lo
Ros. The single and peculiar life is bound
With all the strength and armour of the mind
To keep itself from noyance j but much more
That spirit upon whose weal depends and rests
The lives of many. The cease of majesty
Dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw
What 's near it with it : it is a massy wheel,
Fix'd on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things
Are mortised 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 about this fear Which now goes too free-footed.
Act III. Sc. iii. HAMLET,
„ ' y We will haste us.
Guii. J
[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Enter Polonius.
Pol. My lord, he 's going to his mother's closet : Behind the arras I '11 convey myself, To hear the process ; I '11 warrant she '11 tax him home : And, as you said, and wisely was it said, 30
'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother. Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear The speech, of vantage. Fare you well, my liege : I '11 call upon you ere you go to bed. And tell you what I know.
King. Thanks, dear my lord.
[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, 40
And like a man to double business bound, I stand in pause where I shall first begin. And both neglect. What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens 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 '11 look up ; 50 My fault is past. But O, what form of prayer
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. iii.
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,
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 fault?
To give in evidence. What then ? what rests ?
Try what repentance can : what can it not ?
Yet what can it when one can not repent ?
O wretched state ! O bosom black as death !
O limed soul, that struggling to be free
Art more engaged ! Help, angels ! make assay !
Bow, stubborn knees, and, heart with strings of steel,
Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe ! 7 1
All may be well. [Retires and kneels.
Enter Hamlet.
Ham. Now might I do it pat, now he is praying 5 And now I '11 do 't : and so he goes to heaven : And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd : A villain kills my father ; and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven.
O, this is hire and salary, not revenge. He took my father grossly, full of bread, 80
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May j
Act III. Sc. iv. HAMLET,
And how his audit stands who knows save heaven ? But in our circumstance and course of thought, 'Tis heavy with him: and am I then revenged, To take him in the purging of his soul, 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 ; po
At game, a-swearing, or about some act That has no relish of salvation in 't ; Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven And that his soul may be as damn'd and black As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays : This physic but prolongs thy sickly days. [Exit.
King. [Rising] My words fly up, my thoughts remain below : Words without thoughts never to heaven go. [Exit.
Scene IV.
The Qiieetis closet. Enter Queen and Polonius.
Pol. He will come straight. Look you lay home to him : Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear
with. And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between Much heat and him. I '11 sconce me even here. Pray you, be round with him.
Ham. [Within] Mother, mother, mother !
Queen. I '11 warrant you ; fear me not. Withdraw, I
hear him coming. [Polcnius hides behind the arras
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. iv.
Enter Hamlet.
Ham. Now, mother, what's the matter?
Qtieen. Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
Ham. Mother, you have my father much offended. lo
Qjicen. Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.
Ham. Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.
Queen. Why, how now, Hamlet !
Ham. What 's the matter now ?
Qiieen. Have you forgot me ?
Ham. No, by the rood, not so :
You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife ;
And — would it were not so ! — you are my mother. Qiieen. Nay, then, I '11 set those to you that can speak. Ham. 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 ! Pol. [Behind] What, ho ! help, help, help ! Ham. [Dra^umg] How now ! a rat .? Dead, for a ducat,
dead ! \_Makes a pass through the arras.
Pol. [Behind'] O, I am slain ! [Falls and dies.
Queen. O me, what hast thou done ,'*
Ham. Nay, I know not : is it the king 1 Queen. O, what a rash and bloody deed is this ! Ham. A bloody deed ! almost as bad, good mother,
As kill a king, and marry with his brother. Queen. As kill a king !
Ham. Ay, lady, 'twas my word. go
[Lifts up the arras and discovers Polonius.
Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell !
Act III. Sc. iv. HAMLET,
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,
If it be made of penetrable stuff;
If damned custom have not brass'd it so,
That it be proof and bulwark against sense.
Queen. What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue In noise so rude against me ?
Ham. 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 : O, such a deed As from the body of contraction plucks The very soul, and sweet religion makes A rhapsody of words : heaven's face doth glow ; Yea, this solidity and compound mass. 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 ?
Ham. Look here, upon this picture, and on this. The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. See what a grace was seated on this brow ; Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself, An eye like Mars, to threaten and command ; A station like the herald Mercury New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill ; A combination and a form indeed, 60
Where every god did seem to set his seal
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. iv.
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 ?
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, 69
And waits upon the judgement : and what judgement
Would step from this to this ? Sense sure you have,
Else could you not have motion : but sure that sense
Is apoplex'd : for madness would not err,
Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd
But it reserved some quantity of choice,
To serve in such a difference. What devil was 't
That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind ?
Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight.
Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all,
Or but a sickly part of one true sense 80
Could not so mope.
O shame ! where is thy blush ? Rebellious hell,
If thou canst mutine in a matron's bones.
To flaming youth let virtue be as wax
And melt in her own fire : proclaim no shame
When the compulsive ardour gives the charge
Since frost itself as actively doth burn.
And reason pandars will.
Queen. O Hamlet, speak no more :
Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul. And there I see such black and grained spots 90
As will not leave their tinct.
Ham. Nay, but to live
Act III. Sc. iv. HAMLET,
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty, — Queen. O, speak to me no more ;
These words like daggers enter in my ears ;
No more, sweet Hamlet ! Ham. 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 lOO
And put it in his pocket ! Qiieen. No more !
Ham. A king of shreds and patches —
Enter Ghost.
Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings. You heavenly guards ! What would your gracious figure ?
Queen. Alas, he 's mad !
Ham. Do you not come your tardy son to chide, That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go by The important acting of your dread command ? O, say !
Ghost. Do not forget : this visitation I lo
Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. But look, amazement on thy mother sits : O, step between her and her fighting soul : Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works : Speak to her, Hamlet.
Hatn. How is it with you, lady ?
Queen. Alas, how is 't with you.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. iv.
That you do bend your eye on vacancy
And with the incorporal air do hold discourse ?
Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep j
And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, 120
Your bedded hairs, like life in excrements,
Start up and stand an end. O gentle son,
Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper
Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look ?
Hatn. On him, on him ! Look you how pale he glares ! His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones. Would make them capable. Do not look upon me. Lest with this piteous action you convert My stern effects : then what I have to do 129
Will want true colour ; tears perchance for blood.
Queen. To whom do you speak this ?
Ham. Do you see nothing there ?
Queen. Nothing at all ; yet all that is I see.
Ham. Nor did you nothing hear ?
Queen. No, nothing but ourselves.
Hatn. Why, look you there ! look, how it steals away ! My father, in his habit as he lived ! Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal !
[Exit Ghost.
Queen. This is the very coinage of your brain : This bodiless creation ecstasy Is very cunning in.
Ham. Ecstasy !
My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time, 140 And makes as healthful music : it is not madness 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,
Act III. Sc. iv. HAMLET
Lay not that flattering unction to your soul,
That not your trespass but my madness speaks :
It will but skin and film the ulcerous place,
Whiles rank corruption, mining all within.
Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven ;
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come, 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
Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg,
Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.
Queen. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
Ham. O, throw away the worser part of it. And live the purer with the other half. Good night : but go not to my uncle'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. 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 . . . the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency. Once more, good night : And when you are desirous to be blest, 17 1
I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord,
\Pomting to Polonius. I do repent : but heaven hath pleased it so. To punish me with this, and this with me. That I must be their scourge and minister.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act III. Sc. iv.
I will bestow him, and will answer well
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. Qtteen. What shall I do ? 1 80
Ham. 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.
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
And break your own neck down. Queen. Be thou assured, if words be made of breath
And breath of life, I have no life to breathe
What thou hast said to me. Ham. I must to England ; you know that ^ Queen. Alack, 200
I had forgot : 'tis so concluded on. Ha7n There's letters seal'd : and my two schoolfellows,
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 ;
Act IV. Sc. i. HAMLET,
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.
Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you.
Good night, mother.
[Exeunt severally; Hamlet dragging in Polonius.
ACT FOURTH. Scene I.
A room in the castle. Enter King, Queen, Roseticrantz, and Guildenstern.
King. There 's matter in these sighs, these profound heaves : You must translate : 'tis fit we understand them. Where is your son .?
Queen. Bestow this place on us a little while.
[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Ah, mine own lord, what have I seen to-night !
King. What, Gertrude ? How does Hamlet ?
Queen. Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend Which is the mightier : in his lawless fit. Behind the arras hearing something stir. Whips out his rapier, cries ' A rat, a rat ! * lo
And in this brainish apprehension kills
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. i.
The unseen good old man.
King. O 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. 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 Among a mineral of metals base. Shows itself pure j he weeps for what is done.
King. O 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 !
Re-enter 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 : Go seek him out ; speak fair, and bring the body Into the chapel. I pray you, haste in this.
\_Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Come, Gertrude, we '11 call up our wisest friends ; And let them know, both what we mean to do.
Act IV. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
And what 's untimely done 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. O, come away !
My soul is full of discord and dismay. [Exeunt.
Scene II.
Another room in the castle. Enter Hamlet. Ham. Safely stowed.
s. ^
'., \ [Within] Hamlet ! Lord Hamlet i
Ros.
Guii
Ham. But soft, what noise ? who calls on Hamlet ? O, here they come.
Enter Roseficrantz and Guildenstern.
Ros. What have you done, my lord, with the dead body .? Ham. Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis kin. Ros. Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it thence
And bear it to the chapel. Ham. Do not believe it.
Ros. Believe what ? lo
Ham. That I can keep your counsel and not mine
own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge !
what replication should be made by the son of
a king > Ros. Take you me for a sponge, my lord ? Ham. Ay, sir ; that soaks up the king's countenance,
his rewards, his authorities. But such officers
do the king best service in the end : he keeps
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. iii.
them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw ; first mouthed, to be last swallowed : when he 20 needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeez- ing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again.
Ros. I understand you not, my lord.
Ham. I am glad of it : a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear.
Ros. My lord, you must tell us where the body is, and go with us to the king.
Ham. The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body. The king is a thing —
Gui/. A thing, my lord ? go
Ham. Of nothing : bring me to him. Hide fox, and
all after. [Exeunt.
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 judgement, but their eyes , 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 relieved, lo
Or not at all.
Enter Rosencrantz. How now ! what hath befall'n }
Act IV. Sc. Hi. HAMLET,
Ros. "Where the dead body is bestow'd, my lord.
We cannot get from him. King. But where is he ?
Ros. Without, my lord ; guarded, to know your pleasure. King. Bring him before us. Ros. Ho, Guildenstern ! bring in my lord.
Enter Hamlet and Guildenstern.
King. Now, Hamlet, where 's Polonius ?
Ham. At supper.
King. At supper ! where ?
Ham. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten : a 20 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 !
Ham. A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm. go
King. What dost thou mean by this ?
Ham. Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.
King. Where is Polonius ?
Ham. In heaven ; send thither to see : if your messenger find him not there, seek him i' the other place yourself. But indeed, if you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby.
King. Go seek him there. \To some Attendants. 40
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. iii.
Ham. He will stay till you come. [Exeufit Attendants.
King. Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety, Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve For that which thou hast done, must send thee hence With fiery quickness : therefore prepare thyself j The bark is ready and the wind at help. The associates tend, and every thing is bent For England.
Ham. For England .-'
King. Ay, Hamlet.
Ham. Good.
King. So is it, if thou knew'st our purposes.
Ham. I see a cherub that sees them. But, come ; for 50 England ! Farewell, dear mother.
King. Thy loving father, Hamlet.
Ham. My mother : father and mother is man and wife; man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother. Come, for England ! \_Exit.
King. Follow him at foot ; tempt him with speed aboard ; Delay it not ; I '11 have him hence to-night : Away ! for every thing is seal'd and done That else leans on the affair: pray you, make haste.
\_Exeunt Rosencrafitz and Guilden stern. And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught — As my great power thereof may give thee sense, 61 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 congruing to that effect, The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England ; For like the hectic in my blood he rages,
Act IV. Sc. iv. HAMLET
And thou must cure me : till I know 'tis done, Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun. 70
[Exit.
Scene IV.
A plain in Denmark. Enter Fortinbras, a Captain and Soldiers, marching.
For. Go, captain, from me greet the Danish king ; Tell him that by his license Fortinbras Craves the conveyance of a promised march Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous. If that his majesty would aught with us, "We shall express our duty in his eye ; And let him know so.
Cap. I will do 't, my lord.
For. Go softly on.
\Exeunt Fortinbras and Soldiers.
Enter Hamlet, Rosettcrantz, Guildenstern, and others.
Ham. Good sir, whose powers are these ?
Cap. They are of Norway, sir. 10
Ham. How purposed, sir, I pray you ?
Cap. Against some part of Poland.
Ham. Who commands them, sir ?
Cap. The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras.
Ham. Goes it against the main of Poland, sir.
Or for some frontier? Cap. Truly to speak, and with no addition.
We go to gain a little patch of ground
That hath in it no profit but the name.
To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it ; 20
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. iv.
Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee.
Ham. Why, then the Polack never will defend it.
Cap. Yes, it is already garrison'd.
Ham. Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats Will not debate the question of this straw : This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace, That inward breaks, and shows no cause without Why the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir.
Cap. God be wi' you, sir. [Ext.
Ros. Will 't please you go, my lord ?
Ham. I'll be with you straight. Go a little before. 31
\_Exeunt all but Hamlet. How all occasions do inform against me, And spur my dull revenge ! What is a man. If his chief good and market of his time Be but to sleep and feed ? a beast, no more. 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, er some craven scruple 40
Of thinking too precisely on the event, — A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom And ever three parts coward, — I do not know Why yet I live to say ' this thing 's to do,' Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means, To do 't. Examples gross as earth exhort me : Witness this army, of such mass and charge. Led by a delicate and tender prince, Whose spirit with divine ambition pufTd Makes mouths at the invisible event, 50
Act IV. Sc. V. HAMLET,
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
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,
My 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.
Gent. She is importunate, indeed distract :
Her mood will needs be pitied. Queen. What would she have }
Gent. She speaks much of her father, says she hears
There 's tricks i' the world, and hems and beats her heart,
Spurns enviously at straws ; speaks things in doubt,
That carry but half sense : her speech is nothing,
Yet the unshaped use of it doth move
The hearers to collection ; they aim at it, 9
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. v.
And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts ; Which, as her winks and nods and gestures yield them, Indeed would make one think there might be thought, Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily.
Hor. 'Twere good she were spoken with, for she may strew Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds.
Queen. Let her come in, [^Extt Gentleman.
[Aside'] To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is, Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss : So full of artless jealousy is guilt. It spills itself in fearing to be spilt. 20
Re-enter Gentleman, luith Ophelia.
Oph. Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark ? Queen. How now, Ophelia !
Oph. [Sings] How should I your true love know From another one ? By his cockle hat and staff And his sandal shoon. Queen. Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song ? Oph. Say you .'' nay, pray you, mark.
[Sings] He is dead and gone, lady.
He is dead and gone ; gO
At his head a grass-green turf. At his heels a stone. Oh, oh ! Queen. Nay, but, Ophelia, —
Oph. Pray you, mark.
[Sings] White his shroud as the mountain snow, —
Enter King. Queen. Alas, look here, my lord.
Act IV. Sc. V. HAMLET,
Oph. \_^mgs\ Larded with sweet flowers j
Which bewept to the grave did go With true-love showers. King. How do you, pretty lady ? 40
Oph. Well, God 'ild you ! They say the owl was a baker's daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be. God be at your table ! King. Conceit upon her father.
Oph. Pray you, let 's have no words of this ; but when they ask you what it means, say you this : \Bings\ To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day All in the morning betime. And I a maid at your window, 50
To be your Valentine. Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door ; Let in the maid, that out a maid Never departed more. King. Pretty Ophelia !
Oph. Indeed, la, without an oath, I '11 make an end on't . \^ings'\ By Gis and by Saint Charity, Alack, and fie for shame ! Young men will do 't, if they come to 't ; 60
By cock, they are to blame. Quoth she, before you tumbled me. You promised me to wed. He answers :
So would I ha' done, by yonder sun. An thou hadst not come to my bed. King. How long hath she been thus "i Oph. I hope all will be well. We must be patient :
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. v.
but I cannot choose but weep, to think they should lay him i' the cold ground. My brother 70 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. O, this is the poison of deep grief; it springs All from her father's death. O Gertrude, Gertrude, When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions ! First, her father slain : Next, your son gone ; and he most violent author 80 Of his own just remove : the people muddied, Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers. For good Polonius' death j and we have done but
greenly. In hugger-mugger to inter him : poor Ophelia Divided from herself and her fair judgement. Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts : Last, and as much containing as all these, Her brother is in secret come from France, Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds. And wants not buzzers to infect his ear 90
With pestilent speeches of his father's death ; Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd, Will nothing stick our person to arraign In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude, this, Like to a murdering-piece, in many places Gives me superfluous death. [^ noise nvithiti.
Qiieen. Alack, what noise is this ?
King. Where are my Switzers ? Let them guard the door.
Act IV. Sc. V. HAMLET,
Enter another Gentleman.
What is the matter ?
Gent. Save yourself, my lord :
The ocean, overpeering of his list. Eats not the flats with more impetuous haste lOO
Than young Laertes, in a riotous head, O'erbears your officers. The rabble call him lord ; And, as the world were now but to begin, 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 ! '
Queen. How cheerfully on the false trail they cry !
O, this is counter, you false Danish dogs ! I lo
\Noise nvithin.
King. The doors are broke.
Ettter Laertes, armed; Danes follonving.
Laer. Where is this king ? Sirs, stand you all without. Da?jes. No, let 's come in.
Laer. I pray you, give me leave.
Danes. We will, we will. \They retire ivithout the door.
Laer. I thank you : keep the door. O thou vile king.
Give me my father ! Qjueen. Calmly, good Laertes.
Laer. That drop of blood that 's calm proclaims me bastard ;
Cries cuckold to my father ; brands the harlot
Even here, between the chaste unsmirched brows
Of my true mother. King. What is the cause, Laertes, 120
That thy rebellion looks so giant-like .''
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. v.
Let him go, Gertrude ; do not fear our person .
There 's such divinity doth hedge a king,
That treason can but peep to what it would.
Acts little of his will. Tell me, Laertes,
Why thou art thus incensed: let him go, Gertrude:
Speak, man.
Laer. Where is my father ?
Kinar. Dead.
Queen. But not by him.
King. Let him demand his fill. I20
Laer. How came he dead .? I '11 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. That both the worlds I give to negligence. Let come what comes j only I '11 be revenged Most throughly for my father.
King. Who shall stay you }
Laer. My will, not all the world :
And for my means, I'll husband them so well. They shall go far with little.
King. Good Laertes,
If you desire to know the certainty 140
Of your dear father's death, is 't writ in your revenge That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe, Winner and loser ?
Laer. None but his enemies.
King. Will you know them then?
Laer. To his good friends thus wide I '11 ope my arms ; And, like the kind life-rendering pelican, Repast them with my blood.
King. Why, now you speak
Act IV. Sc. V. HAMLET,
Like a good child and a true gentleman.
That I am guiltless of your father's death.
And am most sensibly in grief for it, 150
It shall as level to your judgement pierce
As day does to your eye.
Danes. [Within] Let her come in.
Laer. How now ! what noise is that ?
Re-enter Ophelia. O heat, dry up my brains ! tears seven times salt, Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye ! By heaven, thy madness shall be paid with weight. Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May ! Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia ! O heavens ! is 't possible a young maid's wits Should be as mortal as an old man's life ? 160
Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine It sends some precious instance of itself After the thing it loves.
Oph. [Sings] They bore him barefaced on the bier : Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny ; And in his grave rain'd many a tear, — Fare you well, my dove !
Laer. Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge. It could not move thus.
Oph. [Sings] You must sing down a-down, 170
An you call him a-down-a. O, how the wheel becomes it ! It is the false steward, that stole his master's daughter.
Laer. This nothing 's more than matter.
Oph. There 's rosemary, that 's for remembrance : pray you, love, remember : and there is pansies, that 's for thoughts.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. v.
Laer. A document in madness ; thoughts and remem- brance fitted.
OpL There's fennel for you, and columbines : there's i8o rue for you : and here 's some for me : we may call it herb of grace o' Sundays : O, you must wear your rue with a difference. There 's a daisy : I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died : they say a' made a good end, — [5/V7^j-] For bonnie sweet Robin is all my joy.
Laer. Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself. She turns to favour and to prettiness.
Oph. [5/«^j-] And will a' not come again ? I po
And will a' not come again ? No, no, he is dead. Go to thy death-bed, He never will come again.
His beard was as white as snow, All flaxen was his poll :
He is p'one, he is gone.
And we cast away moan : God ha' mercy on his soul !
And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God be wi' you. [Exit. 200
Laer. Do you see this, O God ? Kinsr. Laertes, I must commune with your grief.
Or you deny me right. Go but apart.
Make choice of whom your wisest friends you will.
And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and me :
If by direct or by coflateral hand
They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give.
Act IV. Sc. vi. HAMLET,
Our crown, our life, and all that we call ours,
To you in satisfaction ; but if not,
Be you content to lend your patience to us, 2lo
And we shall jointly labour with your soul
To give it due content. Laer. Let this be so ;
His means of death, his obscure funeral.
No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones,
No noble rite nor formal ostentation.
Cry to be heard, as '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 VL
Another room in the castle. Enter Horatio and a Servant. Hor. What are they that would speak with me ? Serv. Sea-faring men, sir : they say they have letters for you. Hor. Let them come in. \Exit Servant.
I do not know from what part of the world I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet.
Enter Sailors.
First Sail. God bless you, sir.
Hor. Let him bless thee too.
First Sail. He shall, sir, an 't please him. There 's a letter for you, sir ; it comes from the ambassador that was bound for England ; if your name be lO Horatio, as I am let to know it is.
Hor. [Reads] ' Horatio, when thou shalt have over-
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. vii.
looked this, give these fellows some means to the king : they have letters for him. Ere we were two days old at sea, a pirate of very warlike appointment gave us chase. Finding ourselves too slow of sail, we put on a compelled valour, and in the grapple I boarded them : on the instant they got clear of our ship j so I alone became their prisoner. They have dealt with me like thieves 20 of mercy : but they knew what they did ; I am to do a good turn for them. Let the king have the letters I have sent ; and repair thou to me with as much speed as thou wouldest fly death. I have words to speak in thine ear will make thee dumb j yet are they much too light for the bore of the matter. These good fellows will bring thee where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hold their course for England : of them I have much to tell thee. Farewell. ^O
' He that thou knowest thine, Hamlet.'
Come, I will make you way for these your letters ;
And do't the speedier, that you may direct me
To him from whom you brought them. [Exeunt.
Scene VII.
Another room in the castle.
Enter Km? and Laertes.
King. Now must your conscience my acquittance seal, And you must put me in your heart for friend, Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear, That he which hath your noble father slain Pursued my life.
Act IV. Sc. vii. HAMLET,
Laer. It well appears : but tell me
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, lo But yet to me they 're strong The queen his mother Lives almost by his looks ; and for myself — My virtue or my plague, be it either which — She 's so conjunctive to my life and soul. That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, 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, Convert his gyves to graces ; so that my arrows, 21 Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind. Would have reverted to my bow again And not where I had aim'd them.
Laer. And so have I a noble father lost ; 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 sleeps for that : you must not think That we are made of stuff so flat and dull 3 1
That we can let our beard be shook with danger And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more : I loved your father, and we love ourself ; And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine —
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. vii.
Enter a Messenger, with letters.
How now ! what news ? Mess. Letters, my lord, from Hamlet :
This to your majesty j this to the queen. King. From Hamlet ! who brought them ? Mess. Sailors, my lord, they say ; I saw them not : 39
They were given me by Claudio ; he received them
Of him that brought them. King. Laertes, you shall hear them.
Leave us. [Exit Messenger.
[Reads'] ' High and mighty, You shall know I am set naked on your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see your kingly eyes : when I shall, first asking your pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden and more strange return. « Hamlet.'
What should this mean ? Are all the rest come back ?
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing ? 50
Laer. Know you the hand ? King. 'Tis Hamlet's character. ' Naked ' !
And in a postscript here, he says ' alone '.
Can you advise me ^ Laer. I 'm lost in it, my lord. But let him come ;
It warms the very sickness in my heart,
That I shall live and tell him to his teeth,
' Thus didest thou.' King. If it be so, Laertes, —
As how should it be so ? how otherwise ? —
Will you be ruled by me .'' Laer. Ay, my lord ; 60
So you will not o'errule me to a peace.
Act IV. Sc. vii. HAMLET,
King. To thine own peace. If he be now return'd, As checking at his voyage, and that he means No more to undertake it, I will work him To an exploit now ripe in my device. Under the which he shall not choose but fall : And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe ; But even his mother shall uncharge the practice, And call it accident.
Laer. My lord, I will be ruled ;
The rather, if you could devise it so 70
That I might be the organ.
King. It falls right.
You have been talk'd of since your travel much, And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality Wherein, they say, you shine : your sum of parts Did not together pluck such envy from him. As did that one, and that in my regard Of the unworthiest siege.
Laer. What part is that, my lord ?
King. A very riband in the cap of youth,
Yet needful too ; for youth no less becomes
The light and careless livery that it wears 80
Than settled age his sables and his weeds.
Importing health and graveness. Two months since,
Here was a gentleman of Normandy : —
I 've seen myself, and served against, the French,
And they can well on horseback : but this gallant
Had witchcraft in't; he grew unto his seat,
And to such wondrous doing brought his horse
As had he been incorpsed and demi-natured
With the brave beast : so far he topp'd my thought
That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks, 90
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. vii.
Come short of what he did. Laer. A Norman was 't ?
King. A Norman. Laer. Upon my life, Lamond. King. The very same.
Laer. I know him well : he is the brooch indeed
And gem of all the nation. King. He made confession of you,
And gave you such a masterly report,
For art and exercise in your defence,
And for your rapier most especial,
That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed loo
If one could match you : the scrimers of their nation.
He swore, had neither motion, guard, nor eye,
If you opposed them. Sir, this report of his
Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy
That he could nothing do but wish and beg
Your sudden coming o'er, to play with him.
Now, out of this — Laer. What out of this, my lord .''
King. Laertes, was your father dear to you ?
Or are you like the painting of a sorrow,
A face without a heart ? Laer. Why ask you this ? no
King. Not that I think you did not love your father.
But that I know love is begun by time.
And that I see, in passages of proof.
Time qualifies the spark and fire of it.
There lives within th'^ very flame of love
A kind of wick or snutf that will abate it ;
And nothing is at a like goodness still.
For goodness, growing to a plurisy.
Act IV. Sc. vii. HAMLET,
Dies in his own too much : that we would do "We should do when we would ; for this ' would' changes I20
And hath abatements and delays as many As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents, And then this ' should ' is like a spendthrift sigh, That hurts by easing. But, to the quick o' the ulcer : Hamlet comes back : what would you undertake, To show yourself your father's son in deed More than in words ?
Laer. To cut his throat i' the church.
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: 13 1 We '11 put on those shall praise your excellence 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, Or with a little shuffling, you may choose A sword unbated, and in a pass of practice Requite him for your father.
Laer. I will do 't ; Iz^o
And for that purpose I '11 anoint my sword. I bought an unction of a mountebank, So mortal that but dip a knife in it. Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, Collected from all simples that have virtue Under the moon, can save the thing from death That is but scratch'd withal : I '11 touch my point
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act IV. Sc. vii.
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 150
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
Should have a back or second, that might hold
If this did blast in proof. Soft ! let me see :
We '11 make a solemn wager on your cunnings :
Iha't:
When in your motion you are hot and dry —
As make your bouts more violent to that end —
And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepared him
A chalice for the nonce ; whereon but sipping, 161
If he by chance escape your venom'd stuck.
Our purpose may hold there. But stay, what noise ?
Enter Qiieen.
How now, sweet queen !
Queen. One woe doth tread upon another's heel.
So fast they follow : your sister 's drown'd, Laertes.
Laer. Drown'd ! O, where ?
Qiieen. There is a willow grows aslant a brook,
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream ; There with fantastic garlands did she come 170
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 Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke ; When down her weedy trophies and herself
Act V. Sc. i. HAMLET,
Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide, And mermaid-like a while they bore her up : Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes, As one incapable of her own distress, Or like a creature native and indued i8o
Unto that element : but long it could not be Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death.
Laer. Alas, then she is drown'd !
Qiieen. Drown'd, drown'd.
Laer. Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears : but yet It is our trick ; nature her custom holds, Let shame say what it will : when these are gone, The woman will be out. Adieu, my lord : 190
I have a speech of fire that fain would blaze. But that this folly douts it. [Exit.
King. Let 's follow, Gertrude :
How much I had to do to calm his rage ! Now fear I this will give it start again ; Therefore let 's follow. \Exeunt.
hZI FIFTH. Scene L
A churchyard.
Et2ter two Cloivns, luith spades, 'zsfc.
First C/o. Is she to be buried in Christian burial that
wilfully seeks her own salvation ? Sec. Clo. I tell thee she is ; and therefore make her
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. i.
grave straight : the crowner hath sat on her, and finds it Christian burial.
First Clo. How can that be, unless she drowned her- self in her own defence ?
Sec. Clo. Why, 'tis found so.
First Clo. It must be ' se ofFendendo ' ; it cannot be
else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself lo wittingly, it argues an act : and an act hath three branches; it is, to act, to do, to perform: argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
Sec. Clo. Nay, but hear you, goodman delver.
First Clo. 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 20 own death shortens not his own life.
Sec. Clo. But is this law ^
First Clo. Ay, marry, is 't ; crowner's quest law.
Sec. Clo. Will you ha' the truth on 't ? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial.
First Clo. Why, there thou say'st : and the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves, more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There 30 is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers and grave-makers : they hold up Adam's pro- fession.
Sec. Clo. Was he a gentleman ?
First Clo. A' was the first that ever bore arms.
Act V. Sc. i. HAMLET,
Sec. Clo. Why, he had none.
First Clo. What, art a heathen ? How dost thou understand the Scripture ? The Scripture says Adam digged : could he dig without arms ? I '11 put another question to thee : if thou an- 40 swerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself —
Sec. Clo. Go to.
First Clo. What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter }
Sec. Clo. The gallows-maker ; for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.
First Clo. 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 gallows is built stronger than the 50 church : argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To 't again, come.
Sec. Clo. ' Who builds stronger than a mason, a ship- wright, or a carpenter ? '
First Clo. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
Sec. Clo. Marry, now I can tell.
First Clo. To 't.
Sec. Clo. Mass, I cannot tell.
Enter Hamlet and Horatio, afar off.
First Clo. Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for
your dull ass will not mend his pace with beat- 60 ing, and when you are asked this question next, say, ' a grave-maker ' : the houses that he makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee to Yaughan ; fetch me a stoup of liquor. [Exit Sec. Cloivn.
[He digs, and sings.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. i.
In youth, when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet, To contract, O, the time, for-a my behove, O, methought, there-a was nothing-a meet. Ham. Has this fellow no feeling of his business, that
he sings at grave-making ? 70
Hor, Custom hath made it in him a property of
easiness. Ham. 'Tis e'en so : the hand of little employment
hath the daintier sense. First Clo. [Sings'] But age, with his stealing steps, Hath claw'd me in his clutch. And hath shipped me intil the land. As if I had never been such.
\Throius up a skull. Ha7n. That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing
once : how the knave jowls it to the ground, as 80 if it were Cain's jaw-bone, that did the first murder ! It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'er-reaches ; one that would circumvent God, might it not ? Hor. It might, my lord.
Ham. Or of a courtier, which could say • Good morrow, sweet lord ! How dost thou, sweet lord ? ' This might be my lord such-a-one, that praised my lord such-a-one's horse, when he meant to beg it ; might it not ? 90
Hor. Ay, my lord.
Ham. Why, e'en so : and now my Lady Worm's ; chapless, and knocked about the mazzard with a sexton's spade : here 's fine revolution, an we had the trick to see 't. Did these bones cost no
Act V. Sc. i. HAMLET,
more the breeding, but to play at loggats with 'em ? mine ache to think on 't.
First Clo. [Sings^ A pick-axe, and a spade, a spade, For and a shrouding sheet : O, a pit of clay for to be made lOO
For such a guest is meet.
\Throivs up another skull.
Ham. There 's another : why may not that be the skull of a lawyer ? Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks ? why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel, and will not tell him of his action of battery ? Hum ! This fellow might be in 's time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries : is I lo this the fine of his fines and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt ? will his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of indentures ? The very con- veyances of his lands will hardly lie in this box ; and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha ?
Hor. Not a jot more, my lord.
Ham. Is not parchment made of sheep-skins ?
Hor. Ay, my lord, and of calf-skins too. r 20
Ham. They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that. I will speak to this fellow. Whose grave 's this, sirrah ?
First Clo. Mine, sir.
\Sings'\ O, a pit of clay for to be made For such a guest is meet.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. i.
Ham. I think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in't.
First Clo. You lie out on 't, sir, and therefore 'tis not yours : for my part, I do not lie in 't, and yet it is mine. igO
Ham. Thou dost lie in 't, to be in 't and say it is thine : 'tis for the dead, not for the quick ; therefore thou liest.
First Clo. 'Tis a quick lie, sir ; 'twill away again, from me to you.
Ham. What man dost thou dig it for ?
First Clo. For no man, sir.
Hatn. What woman then ?
First Clo. For none neither.
Ham, Who is to be buried in't ? 140
First Clo. One that was a woman, sir j but, rest her soul, she's dead.
Ham. How absolute the knave is ! we must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, this three years I have taken note of it ; the age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier, he galls his kibe. How long hast thou been a grave-maker !
First Clo. Of all the days i' the year, I came to't 150 that day that our last King Hamlet o'ercame Fortinbras.
Ham. How long is that since 1
First Clo. Cannot you tell that ? every fool can tell that : it was that very day that young Hamlet was born ; he that is mad, and sent into England.
Ham. Ay, marry, why was he sent into England ?
First Clo. Why, because a' was mad : a' shall recover
Act V. Sc. i. HAMLET,
his wits there ; or, if a' do not, 'tis no great matter there. 1 60
Ham. Why?
First Clo. 'Twill not be seen in him there ; there the men are as mad as he.
Ham. How came he mad ?
First Clo. Very strangely, they say.
Ham. How ' strangely ' ?
First Clo. Faith, e'en with losing his wits.
Ham. Upon what ground ?
First Clo. Why, here in Denmark : I have been
sexton here, man and boy, thirty years. ryo
Ham. How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot ?
First Clo. r faith, if a' be not rotten before a' die — as we have many pocky corses now-a-days, that will scarce hold the laying in — a' will last you some eight year or nine year : a tanner will last you nine year.
Ham. Why he more than another ?
First Clo. Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that a' will keep out water a great while ; and your water is a sore decayer of your whore- 180 son dead body. Here 's a skull now : this skull has lain in the earth three and twenty years.
Ha7n. Whose was it ?
First Clo. A whoreson mad fellow's it was : whose do you think it was ?
Ham. Nay, I know not.
First Clo. 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. 190
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. i.
Haiti. This ?
First Clo. E'en that.
Ham. Let me see. \Takes the sku//.'\ 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 ? 200 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.
Hor. What 's that, my lord ?
Ham. Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion
i' the earth ? 210
Hor. E'en so.
Ham. And smelt so ? pah ! [Puts down the skull.
Hor. E'en so, my lord.
Ham. To what base uses we may return, Horatio ! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole ?
Hor. 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.
Ham. No, faith, not a jot ; but to follow him thither with modesty enough and likelihood to lead it : as thus : Alexander died, Alexander was buried, 220 Alexander returneth into dust ; the dust is earth ; of earth we make loam ; and why of that loam.
ActV. Sc. i. HAMLET,
whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel ?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay. Might stop a hole to keep the wind away : O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe. Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw !
But soft ! but soft ! aside : here comes the king.
Enter Priests, ^c. in procession ; the Corpse of Ophelia, Laertes and Mourners folloiving ; King, Qiieen, their trains, 'i^c.
The queen, the courtiers : who is this they follow ? And with such maimed rites ? This doth betoken 23 1 The corse they follow did with desperate hand Fordo its own life : 'twas of some estate. Couch we awhile, and mark- [Retiring with Horatio.
Laer. What ceremony else ?
Ham. That is Laertes, a very noble youth : mark.
Laer. What ceremony else .'*
First Priest. Her obsequies have been as far enlarged As we have warranty : her death was doubtful ; And, but that great command o'ersways the order. She should in ground unsanctified have lodged 241 Till the last trumpet j for charitable prayers. 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.
Laer. Must there no more be done ?
First Priest. No more be done :
We should profane the service of the dead To sing a requiem and such rest to her
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. i.
As to peace-parted souls.
Laer. Lay her i' the earth : 250
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh May violets spring ! I tell thee, churlish priest, A ministering angel shall my sister be, When thou liest howling.
Hatn. What, the fair Ophelia !
Queen. [Scattering Jloivers] Sweets to the sweet : farewell ! I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife ; I thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid, And not have strew'd thy grave.
Laer. O, treble woe
Fall ten times treble on that cursed head Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense 260 Deprived thee of ! Hold off the earth a while, Till I have caught her once more in mine arms :
\_Leaps into the grave. Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead. Till of this flat a mountain you have made To o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head Of blue Olympus.
Ham. [/Advancing'] What is he whose grief
Bears such an emphasis ? whose phrase of sorrow Conjures the wandering stars and makes them stand Like wonder-wounded hearers .'' This is I, Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the grave. 21 o
Laer. The devil take thy soul ! [Grappling ivith him.
Ham. Thou pray'st not well.
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat ; For, though I am not splenitive and rash, Yet have I in me something dangerous. Which let thy wisdom fear. Hold off thy hand.
Act V. Sc. i. HAMLET,
King. Pluck them asunder.
Queen. Hamlet, Hamlet !
All. Gentlemen, —
Hor. Good my lord, be quiet.
\The Attendants part them, and they come out of the grave.
Ham. Why, I will fight with him upon this theme Until my eyelids will no longer wag.
Queen. O my son, what theme? 280
Ham. I loved Ophelia : forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her ?
King. O, he is mad, Laertes.
Queen. For love of God, forbear him.
Ham. 'Swounds, show me what thou 'It do :
Woo 't weep ^ woo 't fight ? woo 't fast ? woo 't tear
thyself .? Woo 't drink up eisel ^ eat a crocodile ? I '11 do 't. Dost thou come here to whine .? To outface me with leaping in her grave ? 2po
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, Singeing his pate against the burning zone. Make Ossa like a wart ! Nay, an thou 'It mouth, I '11 rant as well as thou.
Queen. This is mere madness :
And thus a while the fit will work on him ; Anon, as patient as the female dove When that her golden couplets are disclosed. His silence will sit drooping.
Ham. Hear you, sir ; 300
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
What is the reason that you use me thus ? I loved you ever : but it is no matter ; Let Hercules himself do what he may, The cat will mew, and dog will have his day. [Exit. King. I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.
[£xit Horatio. [To Laertes] Strengthen your patience in our last
night's speech ; We '11 put the matter to the present push. Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son. This grave shall have a living monument : An hour of quiet shortly shall we see ; 310
Till then, in patience our proceeding be. [Sxeufit.
Scene II.
^ hall in the castle. Enter Hamlet and Horatio.
Ham. So much for this, sir : now shall you see the other ; You do remember all the circumstance ?
Hor. Remember it, my lord !
Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting. That would not let me sleep : methought I lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly, And praised be rashness for it, let us know, Our indiscretion sometime serves us well When our deep plots do pall j and that should learn us There's a divinity that shapes our ends, lO
Rough-hew them how we will.
Hor. That is most certain.
Ham. Up from my cabin.
My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark
Act V. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Groped I to find out them ; had my desire,
Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew
To mine own room again ; making so bold,
My fears forgetting manners, to unseal
Their grand commission ; where I found, Horatio, —
0 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.
Hor. Is 't possible ?
Ham. Here 's the commission : read it at more leisure. But wilt thou hear now how I did proceed ?
Hor. I beseech you.
Ham. Being thus be-netted round with villanies, —
Or I could make a prologue to my brains, 30
They had begun the play, — I sat me down ; Devised a new commission ; wrote it fair :
1 once did hold it, as our statists do,
A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much How to forget that learning ; but, sir, now It did me yeoman's service : wilt thou know The effect of what I wrote ?
Hor. Ay, good my lord.
Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king. As England was his faithful tributary, As love between them like the palm might flourish. As peace should still her wheaten garland wear 41 And stand a comma 'tween their amities, And many such-like ' As ' es of great charge,
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
That, on the view and knowing of these contents, Without debatement further, more or less, He should the bearers put to sudden death, Not shriving-time allow'd.
Hor. How was this seal'd ?
Hatn. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant. I had my father's signet in my purse. Which was the model of that Danish seal : 50
Folded the writ up in the form of the other -, Subscribed it; gave't the impression; placed it safely, The changeling never known. Now, the next day Was our sea-fight ; and what to this was sequent Thou know'st already.
Hor. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't.
Ham. 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 conies 60
Between the pass and fell incensed points Of mighty opposites.
}Jo,-, Why, what a king is this !
Ham. Does it not, think'st thee, stand me now upon — He that hath kill'd my king, and whored my mother ; Popp'd in between the election and my hopes ; Thrown out his angle for my proper life. And with such cozenage — is 't not perfect conscience, To quit him with this arm .'' and is 't not to be damn'd, To let this canker of our nature come In further evil ? 70
Hor. It must be shortly known to him from England What is the issue of the business there.
Ham. It will be short : the interim is mine ;
Act V. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
And a man's life 's no more than to say ' One.' But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes I forgot myself; For, by the image of my cause, I see The portraiture of his : I '11 court his favours : But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me Into a towering passion. Hor. Peace ! who comes here .'' 80
Enter Osric.
Osr. Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark. Ham. I humbly thank you, sir. Dost know this
water-fly ? Hor. No, my good lord. Ham. 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. Osr. Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure, I 90
should impart a thing to you from his majesty. Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit.
Put your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the
head. Osr. I thank your lordship, it is very hot. Ham. No, believe me, 'tis very cold ; the wind is
northerly. Osr. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. Ham. But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot, or
my complexion — lOO
Osr. Exceedingly, my lord ; it is very sultry, as 'twere,
— I cannot tell how. But, my lord, his majesty
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
bade me signify to you that he has laid a great wager on your head : sir, this is the matter —
Ham. I beseech you, remember —
[Hatnlet moves him to put on his hat.
Osr. 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 no or calendar of gentry, for you shall find in him the continent of what part a gentleman would see.
Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you ; though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy 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 1 20 him, his umbrage, nothing more.
Osr. Your lordship speaks most infallibly of him.
Ham. The concernancy, sir ? why do we wrap the gentleman in our more rawer breath ?
Osr. Sir ?
Hor. Is 't not possible to understand in another tongue ? You will do 't, sir, really.
Ham. What imports the nomination of this gentleman ?
Osr. Of Laertes ?
Hor. His purse is empty already ; all's golden words 1 30 are spent.
Ham. Of him, sir.
Osr. I know you are not ignorant —
Act V. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Hani, I would you did, sir ; yet, in faith, if you did, it would not much approve me. Well, sir ?
Osr. You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is —
Ham. I dare not confess that, lest I should compare with him in excellence ; but, to know a man well, were to know himself. 1 40
Osr. I mean, sir, for his weapon ; but in the imputa- tion laid on him by them, in his meed he's unfellowed.
Ham. What 's his weapon ?
Osr. Rapier and dagger.
Ham. That 's two of his weapons : but, well.
Osr. The king, sir, hath wagered with him six Barbary horses : against the which he has im- poned, as I take it, six French rapiers and poniards, with their assigns, as girdle, hanger, 150 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.
Ham. What call you the carriages .''
Hor. I knew you must be edified by the margent ere you had done.
Osr. The carriages, sir, are the hangers.
Ham. The phrase would be more germane to the matter if we could carry a cannon by our sides : I would it might be hangers till then. But, 160 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 ?
Osr. The king, sir, hath laid, sir, that in a dozen
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
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.
Ham. How if I answer ' no ' ? 1 70
Osr. I mean, my lord, the opposition of your person in trial.
Hajn. Sir, I will walk here in the hall : if it please his majesty, it is the breathing time of day with me ; let the foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and the king hold his purpose, I will win for him an I can ; if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits.
Osr. Shall I redeliver you e'en so }
Ham. To this effect, sir, after what flourish your 180 nature will.
Osr. I commend my duty to your lordship.
Ham. Yours, yours. [Exit Osric.'] He does well to commend it himself j there are no tongues else for 's turn.
Hor. This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.
Ham. He did comply with his dug before he sucked it. Thus has he — and many more of the same breed that I know the drossy age dotes on — only got the tune of the time and outward habit 190 of encounter ; a kind 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 out.
Enter a Lord. Lord. My lord, his majesty commended him to you
Act V. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
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.
Ham. I am constant to my purposes ; they follow 200 the king's pleasure : if his fitness speaks, mine is ready ; now or whensoever, provided I be so able as now.
Lord. The king and queen and all are coming down.
Ham. In happy time.
Lord. The queen desires you to use some gentle entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play.
Ham. She well instructs me. Exit Lord.
Hor. You will lose this wager, my lord. 210
Hatn. I do not think so ; since he went into France, I have been in continual practice ; I shall win at the odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all 's here about my heart : but it is no matter.
Hor. Nay, good my lord, —
Ham. It is but foolery ; but it is such a kind of gain- giving as would perhaps trouble a woman.
Hor. If your mind dislike any thing, obey it. I will forestal their repair hither, and say you are not fit. 220
Ham. Not a whit ; we defy augury : there is 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 ^ Let be.
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
Enter King, Queen, Laertes, and Lords, Osric and other Attendants with foils and gauntlets ; a table and flagons of ivine on it.
King. Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me. \The King puts Laertes'' hand into Hamlet's.
Ham. Give me your pardon, sir : I 've done you wrong ; But pardon 't, as you are a gentleman. 230
This presence knows,
And you must needs have heard, how I am punish'd With sore distraction. What I have done. That might your nature, honour and exception Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. Was 't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes ? Never Hamlet : If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away. And when he 's not himself does wrong Laertes, Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. Who does it then? His madness : if't be so, 240 Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd ; His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy. Sir, in this audience. Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil Free me so far in your most generous thoughts. That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house. And hurt my brother.
Laer. I am satisfied in nature.
Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most To my revenge : but in my terms of honour I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement, 250
Till by some elder masters of known honour I have a voice and precedent of peace. To keep my name ungored. But till that time
Act V. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
I do receive your ofFer'd love like love
And will not wrong it. Ham. I embrace it freely.
And will this brother's wager frankly play.
Give us the foils. Come on. Laer. Come, one for me.
Hatn. I '11 be your foil, Laertes : in mine ignorance
Your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest night.
Stick fiery off indeed. Laer. You mock me, sir. 260
Ham. No, by this hand. King. Give them the foils, young Osric. Cousin Hamlet,
You know the wager .'' Ham. Very well, my lord ;
Your grace has laid the odds o' the weaker side. King. I do not fear it j I have seen you both :
But since he is better'd, we have therefore odds. Laer. This is too heavy j let me see another. Ham. This likes me well. These foils have all a length .?
[They prepare to play. Osr. Ay, my good lord. King. Set me the stoups of wine upon that table. 270
If Hamlet give the first or second hit.
Or quit in answer of the third exchange,
Let all the battlements their accordance fire ;
The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath ;
And in the cup an union shall he throw.
Richer than that which four successive kings
In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups ;
And let the kettle to the trumpet speak.
The trumpet to the cannoneer without.
The cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth, 280
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
' Now the king drinks to Hamlet.' Come, begin ;
And you, the judges, bear a wary eye. Ham. Come on, sir.
Laer. Come, my lord. [They play.
Ham. One.
Laer. No.
Ham. Judgement.
Osr. A hit, a very palpable hit. Laer. "Well ; again.
King. Stay ; give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine ; . Here 's to thy health.
\Trumpets sound, and camion shot off" ivithin. Give him the cup. Ham. I '11 play this bout first ; set it by a while.
Come. \They play.'\ Another hit; what say you? Laer. A touch, a touch, I do confess. King. Our son shall win. Queen. He 's fat and scant of breath. 290
Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows :
The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. Ham. Good madam !
King. Gertrude, do not drink.
Queen. I will, my lord ; I pray you, pardon me. King. [j4side] It is the poison'd cup ; it is too late. Ham. I dare not drink yet, madam j by and by. Queen. Come, let me wipe thy face. Laer. My lord, I '11 hit him now. King. I do not think 't.
Laer. [Aside] And yet it is almost against my conscience. Ham. Come, for the third, Laertes : you but dally j 300
I pray you, pass with your best violence ;
I am afeard you make a wanton of me.
Act V. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
Laer. Say you so ? come on. \They play.
Osr. Nothing, neither way.
Laer. Have at you now !
[Laertes ivounds Hamlet ; then, in scuffling, they change rapiers, and Hamlet ivounds Laertes.
King. Part them ; they are incensed.
Ham. Nay, come, again. \The Queen falls.
Osr. Look to the queen there, ho !
Hor. They bleed on both sides. How is it, my lord ?
Osr. How is 't, Laertes ?
Laer. Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric ; I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery. 310
Ham. How does the queen?
King. She swounds to see them bleed.
Queen. No, no, the drink, the drink, — O my dear Hamlet, — The drink, the drink ! I am poison'd. [Dies.
Ham. O villany ! Ho ! let the door be lock'd :
Treachery ! seek it out. [Laertes falls.
Laer. 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, Unbated and envenom'd : the foul practice 320
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.
Ham. The point envenom'd too !
Then, venom, to thy work. \_^tahs the King.
All. Treason ! treason !
Kitig. O, yet defend me, friends ; I am but hurt.
Ham. Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion : is thy union here ?
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
Follow my mother. [^i"g dies.
Laer. He is justly served ; 330
It is a poison temper'd by himself. Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet : Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me ! \pies.
Ham. Heaven make thee free of it ! I follow thee. I am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen, adieu ! 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. Is strict in his arrest — O, I could tell you — 340
But let it be. Horatio, I am dead j Thou livest ; report me and my cause aright To the unsatisfied.
Hor. Never believe it :
I am more an antique Roman than a Dane : Here 's yet some liquor left.
Ham. As thou'rt a man,
Give me the cup : let go ; by heaven, I '11 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. Absent thee from felicity a while, 3 50
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain. To tell my story. {March afar off, and shot ivithin.
What warlike noise is this ?
Osr. Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland, To the ambassadors of England gives This warlike volley.
Ham. O, I die, Horatio ;
The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit :
Act V. Sc. ii. HAMLET,
I cannot live to hear the news from England ; But I do prophesy the election lights On Fortinbras : he has my dying voice ; So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, 360 Which have solicited. The rest is silence. [Dies.
Hot: Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest !
[Jldarch within. Why does the drum come hither ?
Enter Fortinbras, and the English Ambassadors, ivith drum, colours, and Attendants,
Fort. Where is this sight ?
Hor. What is it you would see .''
If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.
Fort. This quarry cries on havoc. O proud death. What feast is toward in thine eternal cell, That thou so many princes at a shot So bloodily hast struck .''
First Amb. The sight is dismal ; 370
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 Guildenstern are dead : Where should we have our thanks ?
Hor. 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 Are here arrived, give order that these bodies 380 High on a stage be placed to the view ;
PRINCE OF DENMARK Act V. Sc. ii.
And let me speak, to the yet unknowing world How these things came about : so shall you hear Of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts, Of accidental judgements, casual slaughters, Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause. And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall'n on the inventors' heads : all this can I Truly deliver.
Fort. Let us haste to hear it.
And call the noblest to the audience. gpo
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.
Hor. Of that I shall have also cause to speak.
And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more : But let this same be presently perform'd. Even while men's minds are wild -, lest more mischance On plots and errors happen.
Fort. Let four captains
Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage ; For he was likely, had he been put on, 400
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 Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. Go, bid the soldiers shoot.
\A dead march. Exeunt, bearing off the bodies : after nvhich a peal of ordnance is shot off.
HAMLET,
Glossary.
A', he (Folios, "he"); II. i. 58.
About, get to your work I IL ii. 614.
Above; "more a.," moreover; II. ii. 126.
Abridgement (Folios, ^'Abridgements"), entertainment for pastime (with perhaps a secondary idea of that which makes one brief and shortens tedious conversation) ; II. ii. 437.^
Absolute, positive ; V. i. 148 ; per- fect, faultless (used by Osric); V. ii. 108.
Abstract, summary, or epitome ; (Folios, ^'abstracts"); II. ii. 545.
Abuse, delusion ; IV. vii. 51.
yf^aj«, deceives ; II. ii. 629.
Acquittance, 3.C<\\l\tt3.\ ; IV. vii. I.
Act, operation (Warburton, "effect"y, I. ii. 205.
Adam's profession ; V. i, 32. {Cp. the annexed cut.)
From a XI Vth century sculpture at Rouen.
Addition, title ; I. iv. 20.
Address, prepare; I. ii. 216.
Admiration, wonder, astonishment ; I. ii. 192.
Adulterate, adulterous ; I. V. 42.
Eneas' tale to Dido; burlesque lines from an imaginary play written after the grandiloquent manner of quasi-classical plays (^.^. Nash's contributions to Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthage) ; II. ii. 466.
Afard, afraid ; V. ii. 302.
Affection, affectation (Folios, '■'■affecta- tion ") ; IL ii. 462.
Affront, confront, encounter ; III. i.
Afoot, in progress ; III. ii. 83. After, according to ; II. ii. 552. Against, in anticipation of; III. iv.
50. Aim, guess ; IV. v. 9. Alloivance, permission (according to
some, " regards of a." = allowable
conditions) ; II. ii. 79. Amaze, confound, bewilder ; II. ii,
588. Amazement, astonishment ; III. ii.
334- Ambition, attainment of ambition ;
III. iii. 55. Amble, move in an affected manner ;
III. i. 149. Amiss, misfortune; IV. v. 18. Anchor's, Anchorite's, hermit's ; III.
ii. 226. ' And ivill he not come again,' etc. ;
a well-known song found in
song-books of the period, called
The Milkmaid's Dumps ; IV. v. 1 90. An end, on end (Quarto i, "on
end"); I. v. 19.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Angle, angling-line ; V, ii. 66.
An if, if; I. V. 177.
^/iWfXOTfn/, appendage ; III. iii. 21.
Anon, soon, presently ; II. ii. 505.
Ansiver, reply to a challenge ; V. ii. 169.
Ansiver^d, explained; IV. i. 16.
Antic, disguised, fantastic ; I. v. 172.
Antique, ancient; V. ii. 344.
Apart, aside, away ; IV. i. 24.
Ape; " the famous ape," etc., a re- ference to an old fable which has not yet been identified ; III. iv. 193-196.
Apoplexd, affected with apoplexy ; III. iv. 73.
Appointment, ^<\va'i^m&x\X.; IV. vi. 16.
Apprehension, conception, percep- tion ; II. ii. 319.
Approve, affirm, confirm, I. i. 29 ; credit, make approved, V. ii. 135.
Appurtenance, proper accompany- ment ; II. ii. 386.
Argal, Clown's blunder for ergo ; V. i. 13.
Argument, subject, plot of a play ; II. ii. 370.
, subject in dispute ; IV iv.
54- Arm you, prepare yourselves ; III.
iii. 24. Arras, tapestry (originally made at
Arras) ; II. ii. 163. Article, clause in an agreement, I. i.
94; "a soul of great a.," i.e. a
soul with so many qualities that
its inventory would be very large,
V. ii. 118. As, as if ; II. i. 91. , as if, as though, IV. v. 103;
so, IV. vii. 159; namely, I. iv.
25. As'es, used quibblingly (Folios,
" Assis " • Quartos, " as sir ") ;
V. ii. 43. Aslant, across ; IV. vii. 168. Assault; "of general a.," incident
to all men ; II. i. 35.
Assay, trial, test; II. ii. 71. — , try ; III. i. 14.
, "make a.," throng to the
rescue ; III. iii. 69.
Assays of bias, indirect aims (such as one takes in the game of bowls, taking into account the bias side of the bowl) ; II. i. 65.
Assigns, appendages; V. ii. 150.
Assistant, helpful ; I. iii. 3.
Assurance, security; with play upon the legal sense of the word ; V. i. 122.
y4«i'n/, attentive ; I. ii. 193.
Attribute, reputation ; I. iv. 22.
Aught; « hold'st at a.," holds of any value, values at all ; IV. iii. 60.
Authorities, offices of authority, at- tributes of power ; IV. ii. 17.
Avouch, declaration ; I. i. 57.
A-ivork, at work ; II. ii. 507.
Back, "support in reserve"; IV.
vii. 154. Baked-meats, pastry; "funeral b.,"
cold entertainment prepared for
the mourners at a funeral ; I. ii.
180. Ban, curse ; III. ii. 269. Baptista, used as a woman's name
(properly a man's, cf. Tarn, of
Shreiv) ; III. ii. 250. Bare, mere; III. i. 76. Bark'd about, grew like bark around ;
I. V. 71. Barren, barren of wit, foolish ; III.
ii. 45. Barred, debarred, excluded ; I. ii. 14. Batten, grow fat ; III. iv. 67. Beaten, well-wom, familiar; II. ii.
277. Beating, striking (Quarto i, " to-wl-
ing"; Collier MS., ''tolling");
I. i. 39.
Beautied, heautified ; III. i. 51. Beautifed, beautiful, endowed with beauty (Theobald, '• beatifed") ;
II. ii. no.
Glossary
HAMLET,
Beaver, visor ; moveable part of the helmet covering the face; I. ii. 230. (C/i. illustration.)
From Vfh.it.ne.ys ETtiblems, 15S6.
i?^fl'j£'(/,lyingflat,(?)matted;III.iv, 121. Bed-rid, bed-ridden (Quartos 2-5,
'^ bed-red"); I. ii. 29. Beetles, projects, juts over ; I, iv. 71. Behove, behoof, profit ; V. i. 67. ^i-w/, straining, tension (properly an
expression of archery) ; II. ii. 30, , "to the top of my b.," to
the utmost ; III. ii. 393. Beshreiv, a mild oath ; II. i. 113. Besmirch, soil, sully; I. iii. 15. Bespeak, s.dLdYiiss, speak to ; II. ii. 140. Best ; " in all my b.," to theutmost
of my power; I. ii. 120. Bestoived, placed, lodged ; II. ii. 544. Beteem, allow, permit; I. ii. 141. Bethought, thought of; I. iii. 90. Bilboes, stocks or fetters used for
prisoners on board ship ; V, ii. 6.
{Cp. illustration.)
Bisson, " b. rheum," i.e. blinding
tears ; II. ii. 527. Blank, " the ivhiie mark at which
shot or arrows were aimed "
(Steevens) ; IV. i. 42. Blanks, blanches, makes pale; III.
ii. 227. Blast in proof, " a metaphor taken
from the trying or proving of
fire-arms or cannon, which blast
or burst in the proof" (Steevens);
IV. vii. 155.
Blastments, blighting influences ; I iii. 42.
Blazon; "eternal b.," publication of eternal mysteries (perhaps " eternal " — infernal, or used " to express extreme abhorrence"); I.
V. 21.
Blench, Start aside ; II. ii. 623. .5/oa< (Quartos, <■' Moivt" ; Folios,
"■blunt"); bloated ; III. iv. 182. Blood, passion, IV. iv. 58 ; " b. and
judgement," passion and reason,
III. ii, 74. Bloiun, full blown, in its bloom;
III. i. 165. Board, address; II. ii. 170. Bodes, forbodes, portends ; I. i.
69. Bodkin, the old word for dagger ; III.
i. 76. Bodykins, diminutive of body ; " the
reference was originally to the
sacramental bread " ; II. ii. 550. " Bonnie Siveet Robin," the first words
of a well-known song of the
period (found in Holborne's Citt-
harn Schoole, 1 597, etc.) ; IV. v.
187.
From a drawing by Fairholt.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Bore, calibre, importance of a ques- tion ; IV. vi. 27. Borne in hand, deceived with false
hopes ; II. ii. 67. Bound, ready, prepared ; I. v. 6.
, was bound ; I. ii. 90.
Bourn, limit, boundary; III. i. 79. Brainish, imaginary, brain-sick ; IV.
i. II. Bra-oe, glorious ; II. ii, 312. Bra-very, ostentation, bravado ; V.
ii. 79. ^rfa/^f, whisper ; II. i. 31. Breathing, whispering; I. iii. 130. Breathing time, time for exercise ; V.
ii. 174. Bringing home, strictly, the bridal
procession from church ; applied
to a maid's funeral ; V. i. 245. Broad, unrestrained ; III. iv. 2. Broke, broken ; IV. v. iii. Brokers, go betweens ; I. iii. 127. Brooch, an ornament worn in the
hat ; IV. vii. 94. Brood; "on b.," brooding; III. i.
173. Bruit, proclaim abroad ; I. ii. 127. Budge, stir, move ; III. iv. 18. Bugs, bugbears ; V. ii. 22. Bulk, body (according to some =
breast) ; II. i. 95. Business, do business ; I. ii. 37. Buttons, buds ; I. iii. 40. Buz, buz/ an interjection used to
interrupt the teller of a story
already well known ; II. ii. 410. Buzzers, whisperers (^Quarto, 1676,
" -whispers ") ; IV. v. 90. By and by, immediately ; III. ii. 392. By V lady, by our lady; a slight
oath ; III. ii. 138.
Can, can do ; III. iii. 65.
Candied, sugared, flattering ; III. ii. 65.
Canker, canker worm ; I. iii. 39.
Canon, divine law ; I. ii. 132.
Capable, capable of feeling, suscep- tible ; III. iv. 127.
Cap-a-pe, from head to foot (Old Fr. " de cap a pie ") ; I. ii. 200.
Capitol; " I was killed i' the C."(an error repeated in Julius Casar ; Cffisar was killed in the Curia Pompeii, near the theatre of Pompey in the Campus Martius) ; III. ii. 109.
Card; "by the c," with precision (alluding probably to the ship- man's cardj; V. i. 144.
Carnal, sensual ; V. ii. 384.
Carouses, drinks; V. ii. 292.
Carriage, tenor, import ; I. i. 94.
Carry it a-way, gain the victory ; II. ii. 375.
Cart, car, chariot; III. ii. 162.
Car-ue for, choose for, please ; I. iii. 20.
Cast, casting, moulding ; I. i. 73.
, contrive; " c. beyond our- selves," to be over suspicious (? to be mistaken); II. i. 115.
Cataplasm, plaster ; IV. vii. 144.
Gautel, deceit, falseness; I. iii. 15.
Ca-uiare ; " a Russian condiment made from the roe of the sturgeon ; at that time a new and fashionable delicacy not ob- tained nor relished by the vulgar, and therefore used by Shakespeare to signify anything above their comprehension " (Nares) ; II. ii.
455- Cease, extinction (Quartos, "<;«jf ";
Pope, ^^ decease' ); III. iii. 15. Censure, opinion ; I. iii. 69. Centre, i.e. of the Earth ; II. ii. 159. Cerements, cloths used as shrouds for
dead bodies; I. iv. 48. Chameleon, an animal supposed to
feed on air; III, ii. 98. Change, exchange; I. ii. 163. Chanson, song (used affectedly ; not
found elsewhere in Shakespeare ;
" pious chanson" \ SO Quartos; Folios,
^^ pons Chanson" ; " pans chanson" j; II.
ii. 436. Character, hand-writing; IV, vii. 53.
Glossary
HAMLET,
Character, write, imprint; I. iii. 59. Charge, expense, IV. iv. 47 ; load,
weight, V. ii. 43. Chariest, most scrupulous, I. iii. 36. Checking at ; " to check at," ?i term in
falconry, applied to a hawk
when she forsakes her proper
game and follows some other ;
(Quartos 2, 3, '^the King at";
Quartos 4, 5, 6, "liking not");
IV. vii, 63. Cheer, fare; III. ii. 226. Chief, chiefly, especially ; I. iii. 74. Chopine, a high cork shoe ; II. ii.
444. (C^. illustration.)
From a Venetian specimen engraved in Douce.
Chorus, interpreter of the action of a play ; III. ii. 252.
Chough, a sordid and wealthy boor ; ((r/i«/^according to some, = " chat- tering crow ") ; V. ii. 88.
Cicatrice, scar ; IV. iii. 62.
Circumstance, circumlocution, detail ; I. V. 127.
— — , "c. of thought," details of thought which lead to a conclu- sion ; III. iii. 83.
Clapped, applauded ; II. ii. 355.
Clepe, call ; I. iv. 19.
Climatures, regions ; I. i. 125.
Closely, secretly; III. i. 29.
Closes -with, agrees with ; II. i. 45.
Coagulate, coagulated, clotted ; II. ii. 482.
Cockle hat ; a mussel-shell in the hat was the badge of pilgrims bound for places of devotion beyond sea ; IV. v. 25.
Coil ; " mortal c," mortal life, tur- moil of mortality ; III. i. 67.
Co/i/, chaste ; IV. vii. 173.
Coldly, lightly ; IV. iii. 64.
Collateral, indirect ; IV. v. 206.
Co//<?iirg-aca', leagued ; I. ii. 21.
Collection, an attempt to collect some meaning from it ; IV. v. 9.
Columbines, flowers emblematic of faithlessness; IV. v. 180.
Combat, duel; I. i. 84.
Comma, ' a c. 'tween their amities " ; the smallest break or separation ; V. ii. 42.
Commandment, command ; III. ii. 324.
Comment ; " the very c. of thy soul," all thy powers of observation (Folios, "my soul"); III. ii. 84.
Commerce, intercourse ; III. i. 109.
Compelled, enforced; IV. vi. 17.
Complete steel, full armour; I. iv. 52.
Complexion, temperament, natural disposition ; I. iv. 27.
Comply, use ceremony ; II. ii. 388.
Compulsatory, compelling (Folios, " compulsatiue"); I. i. 103.
Compulsive, compulsory, compelling; III. iv. 86.
Conceit, imagination; III. iv. 114.
, design; "liberal c," taste- ful, elaborate design ; V. ii. 153,
Concernancy, import, meaning ; V. ii. 123.
Conclusions, experiments ; III. iv. 195.
Condolement, sorrow ; I. ii. 93.
Confederate, conspiring, favouring ; III. ii. 264.
Confine, boundary, territory ; I. i.
'55- Confines, places of confinement,
prisons ; II. ii. 251.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Confront, outface ; III. iii. 47. Confusion, confusion of mind (Rowe
'■'■ confesion" \ Pope (in margin),
^^ confession"^; III. i. 2. Congregation, collection ; II. ii^ 315- Cougruing, asfreeing (Folios, " coniur-
ing ") ; IV. iii. 66. Conjunctive, closely joined ; IV. vii.
14. Consequence; "in this c." ; in the
following way ; or, " in thus
following up your remarks "
(Schmidt) ; II. i. 45. Considered, fit for reflection ; " at our
more c. time," when we have
more time for consideration ; II.
ii. 81. Consonancy , accord, friendship ; II.
ii. 294. Constantly, fixedly; I. ii. 235. Contagion, contagious thing; IV. vii.
148. Content, please, gratify ; III. i. 24. Continent, that which contains, IV.
iv. 64; inventory, V. ii. 112. Contraction, the making of the mar- riage contract ; III. iv. 46. Contriving, plotting; IV. vii. 136. Conversation, intercourse ; III. ii.
60. Converse, conversation ; II. i. 42. Convoy, conveyance ; I. iii. 3. Coped -withal, met with ; III. ii.
60. Corse, corpse ; I. iv. 52. Coted, overtook, passed by (a term
in hunting) ; II. ii. 330. Couched, concealed ; II. ii. 474. Couch ive, let us lie down, conceal
ourselves ; V. i. 234. Count, account, trial; IV. vii. 17. Countenance, favour; IV. ii. 16. Counter ; hounds " run counter'^ when
they follow the scent in the
wrong direction ; a term of the
chase ; IV. v. no. Counterfeit presentment, portrait ; III.
iv. 54. Couple, join, add ; I. v. 93.
Couplets ; " golden c," " the pigeon lays only two eggs at a time, and the newly hatched birds are covered with yellow down " ; V. i. 299.
Cousin, used of a nephew ; I. ii. 64.
Cozenage, deceit, trickery ; V. ii. 67.
Cozend, cheated ; III. iv. 77.
Cracked -within the ring; "there was formerly a ring or circle on the coin, within which the sovereign's head was placed ; if the crack ex- tended from the edge beyond this ring, the ring was rendered unfit for currency " (Douce) ; II. ii.
447- Grants, garland, used for the chaplet
carried before a maiden's coffin, and afterwards hung up in the church {Folios, " rites"; "Grants" occurs in the form corance in Chap- man's Alphonsus, {jf. Lov/land Scotch crance) ; otherwise un- known in English) ; V. i. 244.
From a sketch by Fairholt of a specimen suspended in St Alban's Abbey in 1844.
Credent, credulous, believing ; I. iii.
30- Gre-w, did crow ; I. i. 147.
Cried; " c. in the top of mine,"
were higher than mine; II. ii.
Cries on, cries out; V. ii. 367. Grimeful, criminal (Ouartos, " crimi- nall"); IV. vii. 7?"
Glossary
HAMLET,
Crocodile; " woo't eat a c," referring probably to the toughness of its skin; V. i. 288.
Crook, make to bend ; III. ii. 66.
Cross, go across it's way (to cross the path of a giiost was to come under its evil influence) ; I. i. 127.
Croiv-foivers, (probably) buttercups ;
IV. vii. 171.
Crozuner, coroner ; V. i. 24.
Cry, company (literally, a pack of
hounds); III. ii. 286. Cue, catch-word, call (a technical
stage term); II. ii. 584. Cuffs, fisticuffs, blows ; II. ii. 373. Cunnings, respective skill ; IV. vii.
156. Curb, cringe; " c. and woo, bow
and beg, "bend and truckle";
III. iv. 155. Curiously, fancifully; V. i. 217. Currents, courses; III. iii. 57.
Daintier, more delicate; V. i. 78. Daisy, emblem of faithlessness ; IV.
V. 184.
Dane, King of Denmark ; I. i. 15.
Danskers, Danes; II. i. 7.
Day and night, an exclamation ; I. v.
164. Dearest, greatest, intensest; I. ii.
182. Dearly, heartily, earnestly ; IV. iii.
43- Dearth, high value; V. ii. 118.
Decline upon, sink down to ; 1. v. 50.
Declining, falling, going from bad to worse ; II. ii. 497.
Defeat, destruction ; II. ii. 595.
Defeated, disfigured, marred ; I. ii. 10.
Defence, skill in weapons, "science of defence"; IV. vii. 98.
I efinement, definition ; V. ii. 113.
Deject, dejected; III. i. 163.
Delated, set forth in detail, prob. = ^^ dilated" (the reading of the Folios, properly " delated " = en- trusted, delegated) ; I. ii. 38.
Deliver, relate; I. ii. 193.
Del-uer, digger; V. i. 15.
Demanded of, questioned by; IV. ii. 12.
Denote, mark, portray ; I. ii. 83.
Desires, good wishes , II. ii. 60.
Dexterity, nimbleness, celerity (S. Walker, "celerity"); I. ii. 157.
Diet; "your worm is your only emperor for d.," a grim play of words upon " the Diet of Worms " ; IV. iii. 23.
Difference, properly a term in heraldry for a slight mark of dis- tinction in the coats of arms of members of the same family ; hence = a slight difference; IV. V. 183.
Differences; "excellent d.," dis- tinguishing qualities ; V. ii. 109.
Disappointed, (?) unappointed, un- prepared (Pope, " unanointed" ; Theobald, "unappointed"^; I. v.
77- Disclose, hatching ; III. i. 174.
Disclosed, hatched ; V. i. 299.
Discourse, conversation ; III. i. 108.
; " d. of reason," i.e. the rea- soning faculty ; I. ii. 150.
Discovery, disclosure, confession ; II. ii. 305.
Disjoint, disjointed ; I. ii. 20.
Dispatch, hasten to get ready ; III. iii. 3.
Dispatched, deprived ; I. v. 75.
Disposition, nature; I. iv. 55.
Distemper ; " your cause of d.," the cause of your disorder ; III. ii.
344. Distempered, disturbed ; III. ii. 308. Distijrd, dissolved, melted (so Quarto
2 ; Folio I, " bestil^d" ] ; I. ii. 204. Distract, distracted ; IV. v. 2. Distrust; " I d. you,";.^. I am anxious
about you ; III. ii. 172. Divulging, being divulged ; IV. i. 22. Do ; " to do," to be done ; IV. iv. 44. Document, precept, instruction ; IV.
v. 178.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Dole, gi'ief; 1. ii. 13.
Doom, Doomsday; JII. iv. 50.
Doubt, suspect, fear ; I. ii. 257.
Douts, does out, extinguishes (Folio I, ''doubts"; Quartos, Folio Z,'' drozvnes" ; Folios 3, 4, '' droivns "') ; IV. vii. 193.
Doivn-gij-ued, pulled down like gyves or fetters (so Folio i ; Quartos 2, 3, 6, " dozvne gyved" • Quartos 4, 5, " doivne gyred"; Theobald, '' dozvn-gyred" ; i.e. rolled down);
II. i. 80.
Drab, strumpet ; II. ii. 612.
Dreadful, full of dread ; I. ii. 207.
Drift; "d. of circumstance," round- about methods (Quartos, " d. of coiference" ; Collier conj., " ^. of confidence ") ; III. i. I.
Drives at, rushes upon ; II. ii. 491.
Ducats, gold coins ; II. ii. 383.
Dull thy palm, i.e. " make callous thy palm by shaking every man by the hand " (Johnson) ; I. iii. 64.
Dumb skoiv, a show unaccompanied by words, preceding the dialogue and foreshadowing the action of a play, introduced originally as a compensatory addition to Senecan dramas, wherein declamation took the place of action ; III. ii. 146- 147.
Dupfd, opened; IV. v. 53,
Dye, tinge (Folio l, ''the eye;" Quartos 2-5, "that die"); I. iii. 128.
£i/;-fr, sharp, sour (Folios, " Aygre" ;
knjght, "aigre"); I. v. 69. Eale, ? = e'ile {i.e. " evil "), v. Note ;
I. iv. 36. Ear ; " in the e.," within hearing ;
III. i. 192.
Easiness, unconcernedness ; V. i. 72. Eat, eaten ; IV. iii. 28. Ecstasy, mziness; II. i. 102. Edge, incitement ; III. i. 26. Effects, purposes; III. iv. 129.
Eisel, vinegar ; the term usually em- ployed by older English writers for the bitter drink given to Christ ( = late Lat. acetillum); [Quarto (i.) "vessels"; Quarto 2, " Esilt" ; Folios, " Esile"'\ ; V. i. 288.
Elsinore, the residence of the Danish kings, famous for the royal castle of Kronborg, commanding the entrance of the Sound; II. ii. 278.
Emulate, emulous; I. i. 83.
Enact, ZiZt; III. ii. 107.
Enactures, actions; III. ii. 204.
Encompassment, circumvention ; II. i. 10.
Encumber'' d, folded ; I. v. 1 74.
Engaged, entangled ; III. iii. 69.
Enginer, engineer; III. iv. 206.
Enseamed, defiled, filthy ; III. iv. 92.
Entertainment ; "gentle e.," show of kindness ; V. ii. 207.
Entreatments , solicitations ; I. iii 122.
Enviously, angrily ; IV. v. 6.
Erring, wandering, roaming ; I. i. 154.
Escoted, maintained ; II. ii. 362.
Espials, spies ; III. i. 32.
Estate, rank ; V. i. 233.
£/ifr«a/, ?= infernal ; V. ii. 368 {pp. "(eternal) blazon ").
Even, honest, straightforward ; II. ii. 298.
Even Christian, fellow-Christian ; V. i. 32.
Event, result, issue ; IV. iv. 41.
Exception, objection ; V. ii. 242.
Excrements, excrescences, outgrowth (used of hair and nails) ; III. iv. 121.
Expectancy, hope (QuartOS, " expecta- tion"); III. i. 160.
Expostulate, discuss ; II. ii. 86.
Express, expressive, perfect ; II, ii. 318.
Extent, behaviour ; II. ii. 390.
Extolment, praise; V. ii. 117
Glossary
HAMLET,
Extravagant, vagrant, wandering beyond its limit or confine ; I. i. 154.
Extremity; "in ex.," going to ex- tremes ; III. ii. 175.
Eyases, unfledged birds; properly, young hawks taken from the nest (Fr. niais) ; II. ii. 355.
£ye, presence ; IV. iv. 6.
Eyrie, a brood of nestlings ; pro- perly, an eagle's nest ; II. ii. 354.
Faculties, peculiar nature (Folios,
'^/acuity"); II. ii. 589. Faculty, ability (Quartos, "yaca/Z/Vj-");
II. ii. 317. Fair, gently ; IV. i. 36. Falls, falls out, happens ; IV. vii. 71. Fancy; " express'd in f.," gaudy ; I.
iii. 71. Fang'd, having fangs (according to
some, "deprived of fangs ") ; III.
iv. 203. Fantasy, imagination, I. i. 23 ;
whim, caprice, IV. iv. 61. Fardels, packs, burdens ; III. i. 76.
(C/j. illustration.)
From Holme's Academy 0/ Armory (1688.)
Farm, take the lease of it ; IV. iv. 20.
Fashion, a mere temporary mood ; I. iii 6; " f . of himself," i.e. his usual demeanour; III. i. 183.
Fat, fatten; IV. iii. 23.
Fat ; " f. and scant of breath," ? = out of training (but, probably, the words were inserted owing
to the physical characteristics of Burbage, who sustained the part of Hamlet) ; V. ii. 290.
Favour, charm, IV. v. 189, appear- ance, V. i. 205.
Fazvning, cringing (Folios i, 2, 3, ^'faining"; Folio 4, ^'feigning"); III. ii. 67.
Fay, faith (Folios, '^fey"); II. ii. 271.
Fear, object of fear ; III. iii. 25.
, fear for; I. iii. 51 ; IV v.
122.
Feature, figure, form (Quartos, ''stature"); III. i. 167.
Fee, payment, value, I. iv. 65 ; fee- simple, IV. iv. 22.
Fellies, the outside of wheels ; II. ii. 514.
Felloivship, partnership ; III. ii. 286.
Fennel, the symbol of flattery ; IV V. 180.
Fetch, zrtifice; "fetch of warrant," justifiable stratagem (Quartos, ''f. of -wit"); II. i. 38.
Feiv ; "in f.," in few words, in brief; I. iii. 126.
Fierce, wild, terrible; I. i. 121.
Fiery quickness, hot haste; IV. iii,
45- Figure, figure of speech; II. ii. 98. Find, find out, detect; III. i. 193. Fine of his fnes, end of his fines ;
with a play upon the other sense
of the word ; V. i. iii. i^/rf (dissyllabic) ; I. iii. 120. First, i.e. first request; II. ii. 61. Fishmonger, probably used in some
cant coarse sense r(?) " seller of
women's chastity "): II. ii. 174. Fit, prepared, ready ; V. ii. 220. Fitness, convenience; V. ii. 201. Fits, befits ; I. iii. 25. Flaiv, gust of wind ; V. i. 228. Flush, in full vigour (Folios,
''fresh"); III. iii. 81. Flushing, redness ; " had left the f.,"
i.e. had ceased to produce redness ;
I. ii. 155.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Foil, used with play upon its two senses, (i.) blunted rapier, (ii.) gold-leaf used to set off a jewel ; V. ii. 258.
Fond, foolish ; I. v. 99.
Fond and -winnoivcd, foolish and over- refined (so Folios ; Quarto 2, ^^ prophaneandtrenno-wed" ; Johnson, " sane and renoivned" ; Warburton, *'■ fanned and ivinnotved"); V, ii. 192.
Fools of nature, made fools of by nature; I. iv. 54.
Foot; " at f.," at his heels ; IV. iii. 56.
For, as for, I. ii. 112; in place of, instead, V. i. 242; "for all," once for all, I. iii. 131; "for and," and also, V. i. 99.
Fordo, destroy; V. i. 233.
Foreknoiving, foreknowledge, pre- science ; I. i. 134.
Forestalled, prevented ; III. iii. 49.
Forged process, false statement of facts ; I. V. 37.
Forgery, invention, imagination ; IV. vii. 90.
Forgone, given up ; II. ii. 308.
Fortune's star, an accidental mark or defect; I. iv. 32.
Forivard, disposed ; III. i. 7.
Four; " f . hours," probably used for indefinite time (Hanmer ''for"); II. ii. 160.
Frame, order, sense; III. ii. 316.
Free, willing, not enforced, IV. iii. 63 ; innocent, II. ii. 590 ; III. ii. 249.
Fret, vex, annoy ; with a play upon
yr^/=" small lengths of wire on
which the fingers press the strings
in playing the guitar"; III. ii.
380.
Fretted, carved, adorned ; II. ii. 313.
Friending, friendliness; I. v. 186.
Frighted, frightened, affrighted ; III. ii. 277.
From, away from, contrary to ; III. ii. 22.
Front, forehead ; III. iv. 56.
Fruit, dessert (Folios 1,2," ne-wes ");
II. ii. 52. Fruits, consequences; II. ii. 145. Function, the ^vhole action of the
body ; II. ii. 579. Fust, become fusty, mouldy (Rowe,
"■rust"); IV. iv. 39.
Gaged, pledged ; I. i. 91.
Gain-giving, misgiving; V. ii. 216.
Gait, proceeding; I. ii. 31.
Galled, wounded, injured ("let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung," proverbial) ; III. ii. 250.
, sore, injured by tears ; I. ii.
155- Galls, hurts, injures ; I. iii. 39.
Garb, fashion, manner; II. ii. 390.
Gender; "general g.," common race
of men ; IV. vii. 18. General, general public, common
people ; II. ii. 456. Gentry, courtesy ; II. ii. 22 ; V. ii.
III. Germane, akin ; V. ii. 1 58. Gib, a tom-cat (a contraction oi
Gilbert); III. iv. 190. Gibber, gabble ; I. i. 116 Gibes, jeers ; V. i. 200. Gis, a corruption of Jesus ; IV. v,
59- Giving out, profession, indication ; I.
V. 178.
Glimpses, glimmering light; I. iv
53- Globe, head ; I. v. 97.
Go about, attempt ; III. ii. 353.
Go bad again, i.e. refer to what once
was, but is no more ; IV. vii. 27. God-a-mercy, God have mercy ; II.
ii. 172. God be •wi' ye, good bye (Quartos,
''God buy ye"; Folios I, 2, 3,
' ' God buy you " ; Folio 4, " God
V -w' you"); II. i. 69. God 'ildyou, God yield, reward you ;
IV. V. 41,
Glossary
HAMLET,
God kissing carrion, said of "the sun breeding maggots in a dead dog " (Warburton's emendation of Quartos and Folios, ^^ good iissing carrion"') ; II. ii. 1 82.
Good, good sirs ; I. i. 70.
Good my brother ^ my good brother ; I. iii. 46.
Goose-quills \ "afraid of g.," i.e. afraid of being satirized ; II. ii.
359- , . ,. .
Go to, an exclamation of impatience ;
I. iii. iiz.
Grace, honour; I. ii. 124.
Gracious, i.e. Gracious king; III. i.
43- , benign, full of blessing ; I. i.
164. Grained, dyed in grain ; III. iv. 90. Gr<z/;«_g-, offending, vexing ; III. i. 3. Green, inexperienced ; I. iii. loi. Greenly, foolishly ; IV. v. 83. Gross, great, palpable ; IV. iv. 46. , "in the g.," i.e. in a general
way ; I. i. 68. Groundlings, rabble who stood in the
fit of the theatre, which had
neither boarding nor benches ;
III. ii. 12. Grunt, groan ; III. i. 77. Gules, red ; a term of heraldry ; II.
ii. 477. G«^, whirlpool ; III. 111. 16.
Habit; "outward h.," external politeness; V. ii. 190.
Handsaiv = heronshsiw, or hernsew, = heron ("when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a h.," for the birds fly with the wind, and when it is from the south, the sportsman would have his back to the sun and be able to distinguish them ; II. ii. 397.
Handsome; "more h. than fine"; "^anfl'/oOTf denotes genuine natural beauty ; Jine artificial laboured beauty " (Delius) ; II. ii. 465.
Ha/>, happen ; I. ii. 249.
Haply, perchance, perhaps ; III. i.
179. Happily, haply, perchance (accord- ing to some = luckily); I. i. 134. Happy ; " in h. time," in good time
{a la bonne heure) ; V. ii. 205. Haps, fortune ; IV. iii. 70. Hatchment, an armorial escutcheon
used at a funeral ; IV. v. 214. Haunt; "out of h.," from the
haunts of men ; IV. i. 18. Have; "you h. me," you under- stand me ; II. i. 68. Ha'ue after, let US go after, follow
him ; I. iv. 89. Have at you, I'll begin, I'll hit you ;
V. ii. 305. Haviour, deportment; I. ii. 81. Head, armed force; IV. v. loi. Health ; "spirit of health," healed
or saved spirit"; I. iv. 40. Hearsed, coffined ; I. iv. 47. Heat, anger ; III. iv. 4. Heavy; " 'tis h.," it goes hard ; III.
iii. 84.
Hebenon (so Folios; Quartos, " A^-
bona"), probably henbane, but
possibly (i.) the yew. or (ii.) the
juice of ebony ; I. v. 62.
Hecate, the goddess of mischief and
revenge (dissyllabic) ; III. ii. 266.
Hectic, continual fever; IV. iii. 68.
Hedge, hedge round, encompass ; IV.
v. 123. Height ; " at h.." to the utmost ; I.
iv. 21. Hent, hold, seizure; III. iii. 88. Heraldry; "law and h.," i.e.
heraldic law ; I. i. 87. Herb of grace, rue; IV. v. 182. Hercules and his load too ; possibly an allusion to the Globe Theatre, the sign of which was Hercules carrying the Globe ; II. ii. 378. Herod, a common character in the mystery plays, represented as a furious and violent tyrant ; III, ii. i5.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Hey-day, frolicsome wildness ; III.
iv. 69. Hey non nonny, meaningless refrain
common in old songs; IV. v.
165. Hie et ubique, here and everywhere ;
I. V. 156. Hide fox, and all after, a children's
hide-and-seek game; IV. ii. 32. Hies, hastens; I. i. 154. Hillo, a. falconer's cry to recall his
hawk ; I. v. 116. Him, he whom; II. i. 42. His, its ; I. iii. 60. Hoar leaves, the silvery-grey under- side of willow leaves; IV. vii.
169. Hobby-horse, ■& principal figure in the
old morris dances, suppressed at
the Reformation ; III. ii. 140.
{Cp. illustration.)
Hoodman-blind, blind man's buff; III. iv. 77. (Cp. illustration.)
From a XlVtl^century illuminated MS.
Hoops, bands (Pope, "hooLs"); I.
iii. 63. Hour (dissyllabic) ; I. iv. 3. Hugger-mugger ; " in h.," i.e. in
secrecy and in haste; IV. v.
84.
' The Hobby-horse. '
From an early painting in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
(Note the familiar tabor and pipe.)
Hoist, i.e. hoised, hoisted ; III. iv.
207. Holds quantity, keep their relative
proportion ; III, ii. 174. Hold up, continue ; V. i. 34. Home, thoroughly ; III. iii. 29. Honest, virtuous ; III. i. 103. Honesty, virtue ; III. i. 107.
Humorous, full of humours or cap- rices ; " the h. man," a standing character of many plays of the period ; II. ii. 335.
Husband, ma.nz.ge; IV. v. 138.
Husbandry, thrift, economy ; I. iii.
77- Hush (used as adjective) ; II. ii. 505.
Glossary
HAMLET,
Hyperion, Phoebus Apollo ; taken as the type of beauty ; I. ii. 140.
Hyrcanian beast, the beast of Hyr- cania, i.e. the tiger ; II. ii. 470.
7,^(?) "ay"; III. ii. 288. Idle, unoccupied (? frivolous, light- headed) ; III. ii. 95. Ilium, the palace in Troy ; II. ii. 493. Ill-breeding, hatching mischief; IV.
V. 15;
Illume, illumine ; I. i. 37.
Image, representation, reproduction ; III. ii. 245.
Immediate; "most i.," nearest; I. ii. 109.
Impart, (?) bestow myself, give all I can bestow; perhaps =^ "impart 't," i.e. impart it (the throne); I. ii. 1 1 2.
Impasted,'ra2.d.t\nto paste ; II. ii. 479.
Imperious, imperial ; V. i. 225.
Implorators, implorers ; I. iii. 129.
Imponed, staked ; V. ii. 148.
Important, urgent, momentous; III. iv. 108.
Importing, having for import ; I.ii.23.
, concerning; V. ii. 21.
Imposthume, abscess ; IV. iv. 27.
/»z^r«j, impressment, enforced public service ; I. i. 75.
Imputation, reputation ; V. ii. 141.
In, into ; III. iv. 95.
Incapable, insensible to, unable to realise ; IV. vii. 180.
Incorporal, incorporeal, immaterial (Quarto, 1676, ^^incorporeal"); III. iv. 118.
Incorpsed, incorporate ; IV. vii. 88.
Incorrect, not subdued ; I. ii. 95.
Indentures ; " a pair of i.," " agree- ments were usually made in dupli- cate, both being w^ritten on the same sheet, which was cut in a crooked or indentedYxn^, so that the parts would tally with each other upon comparison " ; V. i. 115.
Index, prologue, preface; III. iv. 52.
Indict, accuse; II. ii. 463.
/W/^rfn/,ordinary,average; Il.ii. 23 1 .
Indifferent, indifferently, fairly. III. i. 123.
Indifferently, pretty Well ; III. ii. 40.
Indirections , indirect means ; II. i. 66.
Individable ; " scene ind.," probably a play in which the unity of place is preserved; II. ii. 418.
Indued, suited; IV. vii. 181.
Inexplicable, unintelligible, sense- less ; III. ii. 14.
Infusion, qualities; V. ii. 118.
Ingenious, intelligent, conscious ; V. i. 260.
Inheritor, possessor; V. i. 117.
Inhibition, prohibition ; a technical term for an order restrainingr or restricting theatrical perform- ances ; II. ii. 346.
Inky cloak ; I. ii. 77. (t^. illustration.)
From a monument of the XlVth century.
Inno'uation, change (for the worse); " the late i." perhaps alludes to the license granted Jan. 30, 1603-4, to the children of the Revels to play at the Blackfriars Theatre, and elsewhere (according to some, the reference is to " the practice of introducing polemical matter on the stage") ; II. ii. 347.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Inquire, enquiry ; II. i. 4.
Insinuation, artful intrusion, med- dling ; V. ii. 59.
Instance, example; IV. v. 162.
Instances, motives; III. ii. 189.
Instant, immediate, instantaneous ; I. V. 71.
Intents, intentions, purposes; (Folios, " events " ; Warburton, '■^ advent") ; I. iv. 42.
In that, inasmuch as ; I. ii. 31.
Inurn'd, entombed, interred ; (Quartos, ^^ interr'd"); I. iv. 49.
Investments, vestments, vestures ; I. iii. 128.
■* In youth, ivhen I did love,' etc. ; Stanzas from a song attributed to Lord Vaux, printed in TotteVs Miscellany ^1 SSI); V. i. 65^^^
It, its (Quartos 2, 3, 4, Folios i, 2, "it"; Quartos 5, 6, Folios 3, 4, "//j"; Quarto i, ''his"); I. ii. 216.
Jealousy, suspicion; II. i. 113.
' Jephthah, Judge of Israel' etc., a quotation from an old ballad, to be found in Vercy's Helicfues; II.ii.422.
Jig, a ludicrous ballad ; II. ii. 519.
, walk as if dancing a jig ; III.
i. 150.
John-a-dreams, John of Dreams, John the Dreamer; II. ii. 592.
Jointress, dowager ; I. ii. 9.
Joivls, knocks ; V. i. 84.
Joys, gladdens; III. ii. 206.
Jump, just (so Quarto 2 ; Folios, ''just"); I. i. 65.
Keep, dwell ; II. i. 8.
Kettle, kettle-drum ; V. ii. 278.
Kibe, chilblain or sore on the heel ; V. i. 148.
Kind ; " more than kin, and less than k."; used equivocally for (i.) natural, and (ii.) affectionate, with a play upon " kin "; I. ii. 65.
Kindless, unnatural ; II. ii. 606.
Knotted, interwoven (Folios,
"knotty"); I. v. 18. 10 Q*
Knoiv, acknowledge ; V. ii. 7.
Laboursome, laborious, assiduous ; I. ii. 59.
Lack, be wanting; I. v. 187.
Lamond, possibly a name suggested by that of Pietro Monte, a famous swordsman, instructor to Louis the Seventh's Master of the Horse, called " Peter Mount " in English (Folios, " Lamound" ; Quartos, " Lamord"); IV. vii. 92.
Lapsed; " \. in time and passion"; having let time slip by indulging in mere passion ; III. iv. 107.
Lapiving, the symbol of a forward fellow; V. ii. 186.
Larded, garnished (Quartos,
" Larded all"); IV. v. 37.
La-wless, unruly (Folios, " Land- lesse"); I. i. 98.
Lazar-like, like a leper ; I. v. 72.
Leans on, depends on ; IV. iii. 59.
Learn, teach (Folios, "teach"); V.ii.9.
Leave, permission ; I. ii. 57.
, leave off, II. i. 51 ; give up,
III. iv. 91.
Lends, gives (Folios, "giues"); I. iii. 117 {v. Note).
Lenten, meagre; II. ii. 329.
Lethe, the river of oblivion ; (" Lethe wharf" = Lethe's bank); I. V. 33.
Lets, hinders; I. iv. 85.
Let to knoiv, informed; IV. vi. 11.
Liberal, free-spoken ; IV. vii. 172.
Liberty; v. "writ."
Lief, gladly, willingly ; III. ii. 4,
Life; " the single and peculiar 1.," the private individual ; III. iii. 11.
, "in my 1.," i.e. in my con- tinuing to live ; V. ii. 22.
Lightness, lightheadedness; II. ii. 149.
Like, likely ; 1. ii. 237.
Likes, pleases ; II. ii. 80.
Limed, caught as with bird-lime; III. iii. 68.
List, muster-roll (Quarto i, "sight "); L i. 98.
Glossary
HAMLET,
List, boundary ; TV. v. 99.
, listen to ; I. iii. 30.
Living, lasting (used perhaps equi- vocally); V. i. 320.
Loam, clay ; V. i. 222.
Loggats, a game somewhat resem- bling bowls ; the loggats were small logs about two feet and a quarter long; V. i. 100.
Long purples, " the early purple orchis (^Orchis mascula) which blossoms in April and May " ; IV. vii. 171.
Look through, show itself; IV. vii. 152.
Lose, waste, throw away ; I. ii. 45.
Luxury, lust; I. v. 83.
Machine, body; II. ii. 124.
Maimed, imperfect ; V. i. 242.
Main, main point, main cause ; II. ii. 56.
, the country as a whole ; IV.
iv. 15.
Majestical, majestic; I. i. 143.
Make, brings ; II. ii. 277.
Manner, fashion, custom ; I. iv. 15.
Margent, margin ; it was a common practice to write comment or gloss in the margins of old books ; V. ii. 161.
ikfari, watch ; III. ii. 157.
Market of his time, " that for which he sells his time " (Johnson) ; IV. iv. 34.
Mart, marketing, traffic ; I. i. 74.
Marvellous, marvellously ; II. i. 3.
Massy, massive ; III. iii. 17.
Matin, morning ; I. v. 89.
Matter, sense; IV. v. 174.
, subject (misunderstood wil- fully by Hamlet to mean " cause of dispute ") ; II. ii. 195.
Mazzard, skuU ; used contempt- uously (Quartos 2, 3, '^ massene" ; Quartos 4, 5, 6, "mazer "); V.i.97.
Means, means of access; IV. vi. 13.
Meed, merit; V. ii. 148.
Meet, proper; I. v. 107.
Merely, ahsolutelj ; I. ii. 137
Metal, mettle ; I. i. 96.
Miching mallecko, mouching {i.e. skulking), mischief (Span, mal- hecho, ill-done); III. ii. 148. Might, could ; I. i. 56. Mightiest, very mighty ; I. i. 114. Milch, milk-giving = moist = tearful (Pope, '-'melt"); II. ii. 540.
Milky, white ; II. ii. 500.
Mincing, cutting in pieces ; II. 11.537.
Mineral, mine ; IV. i. 26.
Mining, undermining (Folios 3, 4, "running"); III. iv. 148.
Mistook, mistaken ; V. ii. 395.
Mobled, muffled {j:p. Prov. E. mop^ to muffle; '■^mob-cap" etc.); [Quartos, ^'■mobled"; Folio i, inobled; Upton conj. '^ mob-led" '^ Capell, ennobl'd, etc.] ; II. ii. 525.
Model, exact copy, counterpart ; V. ii. 50.
Moiety, portion ; I. i. 90.
Moist; "the moist star," i.e. the moon ; I. i. 118.
Mole of nature, natural defect^ blemish ; I. iv. 24.
Mope, be stupid ; III. iv. 81.
Mortal, deadly ; IV. vii. 143.
Mortised, joined with a mortise ; III. iii. 20.
Afoj<, greatest ; I. v. 180.
Mote, atom (Quartos 2, 3, 4, "moth"); I. i. 112.
Motion, emotion, impulse (War- burton, " notion ") ; III. iv. 72.
, movement; I. ii. 217.
, " attack in fencing, opposed to
guard or parrying " ; IV. vii. 158.
Mould of form, the model on which all endeavoured to form them- selves ; III. i. 161.
Mouse, a term of endearment ; III. iv. 183.
Mouth, rant ; V. i. 306.
Mo-ws, grimaces; II. ii. 381.
Muddy-mettled, dull- spirited, irreso- lute; II. ii. 594.
Murdering-piece, a cannon loaded with case-shot, so as to scatter death more widely ; IV. v. 95.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Mutes, dumb spectators ; V. ii. 346. Mutini, mutiny, rebel; III. iv. 83. Mutines, mutineers ; V. ii. 6.
Napkin, handkerchief; V. ii. 299. Native, kindred, related; I. ii. 47.
, " n. hue," natural colour;
III. i. 84. Nature, natural affection ; I. v. 81. Nature's livery, a natural blemish ;
I. iv. 32.
Naught, naughty; III. ii. 157. Near, is near ; I. iii. 44. Neighbour, neighbouring; III. iv. 2 12, Neighboured to, intimate, friendly
with ; II. ii. 12. Nemean lion, one of the monsters
slain by Hercules ; I. iv. 83. Nero, the Roman Emperor, who
murdered his mother Agrippina ;
III. ii. 41Z. Nerve, sinew, muscle ; I. iv. 83. Neutral, a person indifferent to both;
II. ii. 503.
Netv-hatch'd, newly hatched (Folios,
''unhatch't"); I. iii. 65. Neiv-Ughted, newly alighted ; III.
iv. 59. Nick-name, misname; III. i. 151. Nighted, dark, black as night ;
Folios, "nightli/"; Collier MS.,
''night-like"); I. ii. 68. Nill; "will he, nill he," i.e.
whether he will, or whether he
will not; V. i. 19. Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, whose
children were slain by Apollo and
Artemis, while she herself was
turned into stone upon Mount
Sipylus in Lydia, where she
weeps throughout the summer
months ; I. ii. 149. Nomination, naming; V. ii. 133. No more, nothing more ; III. i. 61. Nonce, "for the n.," for that once,
for the occasion ; Quartos 4, 5,
''once"); IV. vii. 161. Norivay, King of Norway ; I. i. 61. Nose, smell; IV. iii. 38.
Note, notice, attention ; III. ii. 89. Noted, known ; II. i. 23. Nothing, not at all ; I. ii. 41 . Noyance, injury, harm ; III. iii. 13,
Obsequious, dutiful, with perhaps a reference to the other sense of the word = " funereal " ; I. ii. 92.
OciTK/W, concealed, hidden; III. ii. 85.
Occurrents, occurrences; V. ii. 368.
Odds; "at the o.," with the ad- vantage allowed ; V. ii. 221.
O' er-cro-dus , triumphs over; V. ii. 364.
G'er-raught, over-reached, over-took (Quartos, " ore-raught" ; Folios I, 2, " ore-tvrought" ; Folios 3, 4, " 0^ re-took" ; Warburton, " o'er- rode"); III. i. 17.
O'er-reaches, outwits (Folio I, " o're Offices"; Folio 2, "ore-Offices"); V. i. 87.
Oversized, covered with size, a sort of glue; II. ii. 484.
O'er-teemed, worn out with child- bearing ; II. ii. 531.
O'ertook, overcome by drink, intoxi- cated ; II. i. 58.
O'er-weigh, outweigh; III. ii. 31.
Of, resulting from, IV. iv. 41 ; by, I. i. 25, IV. iii. 4; in, I. v. 60; on, IV. v. 200 ; about, concern- ing, IV. V. 46 ; upon {"I have an eye of you "), II. ii. 301 ; over, II. ii. 27.
Offence, advantages gained by offence; III. iii. 56.
Omen, fatal event portended by the omen (Theobald, " amend"); I. i. 123.
Ominous, fatal ; II. ii. 476.
On,\n, V. i. 211; in consequence of, following on, V. ii. 406.
Once, ever ; I. v. 121.
On't, of it; III. i. 183.
Oped, opened ; I. iv. 50.
Opetid, discovered, disclosed ; II. ii. 18.
Operant, active; III. ii. 181.
Opposed, opponent; I. iii. 67.
Opposites, opponents ; V. ii. 62.
Glossary
HAMLET,
Or before, ere ; V. ii. 30.
Orb, earth ; II. ii. 504.
Orchard, garden (Quarto, 1676, ^^ garden ") ; I. v. 35.
Order, prescribed rule ; V. i. z4o.
Ordinant, ordaining (Folios, '^ordi- nate"); V. ii. 48.
Ordnance, cannon (Folio I, " Ordin- ance") ; V. ii. 273.
Ore, gold ; IV. i. 25.
Or ere, before ; I. ii. 147.
Organ, instrument; IV. vii. 71.
Orisons, prayers ; III. i. 89.
Ossa; a reference to the story of the giants, who piled Olympus, Pelion, and Ossa, three moun- tains in Thessaly, upon each other, in their attempt to scale heaven ; V. i. 295.
Ostentation, funeral pomp ; IV. v. 21 5.
Outstretched, puffed up ; II. ii. 270.
Overlooked, perused; IV. vi. 12.
O-verpeering, overflowing, rising above ; IV. v. 99.
Oivl ivas a baker's daughter ; allud- ing to a story current among the folk telling how Christ went into a baker's shop, and asked for bread, but was refused by the baker's daughter, in return for which He transformed her into an owl; IV. v. 41.
Packing, plotting, contriving; (?) going off in a hurry ; used prob- ably in the former sense, with play upon the latter; III. iv. 211.
Paddock, toad; III. iv. 190.
Painted; "p. tyrant," i..;. tyrant in a picture, II. ii. 502 ; unreal, fictitious. III. i. 53.
Pajock = pea-jock (j.e. jack), pea- cock (f/). Scotch "bubbly-jock" = a turkey); III. ii 292.
Pall, become useless (Quartos 3, 4, 6, ''fall"; Pope, "fail"); V. ii. 9.
Pansies, ' ' love-in-idleness," the sym- bol of thought (Folio l, " Pacon- cies"); IV. v. 176.
Pardon, riermission to take leave ;
I. ii. 56. Parle, parley ; I. i. 62. Part, quality, gift ; IV. vii. 77. Partisan, a kind of halberd ; I. i. 140.
{Cf. illustration.)
From specimens of (a) temp. Edward IV., ((5) the XVIth century.
Parts, ^iits, endowments; IV. vii. 74. Party, person, companion ; II. 1. 42. Pass, passage ; II. ii. 77. , "p. of practice," treacherous
thrust ; IV. vii. 139. Passage; "for his p.," to accompany
his departure, in place of the
passingbell ; V. ii. 401. Passeth,snT^?iSStth{Q\\a.rtos"passes"y,
I. ii. 85.
Passion, violent sorrow; II. ii. 538. Passionate, full of passion, feeling ;
II. ii. 451.
Pate, a contemptuous word for head', V. i. 112.
Patience, permission; III. ii. 112.
Patrick, invoked as being the patron saint of all blunders and confu- sion (or perhaps as the Keeper of Purgatory); I. v. 136.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Pause, time for reflection ; III. i. 68.
, "deliberate p.," a matter for
deliberate arrangement; IV. iii. 9. in p.," in deliberation, in
doubt ; III. iii. 42
Peace - farted, having departed in peace ; V. i. 250.
Peak, sneak, play a contemptible part ; II. ii. 591.
Pelican, a bird which is supposed to feed its young with its ow^n blood (Folio I, ^politician''); IV. V. 146.
Perdy, a corruption of par Dieu ; III. ii. 302.
Periivig-pated, wearing a wig (at this time wigs were worn only by actors) ; III. ii. 10.
Perpend, consider ; II. ii. 105.
Perusal, study, examination ; II.i.90.
Peruse, examine closely ; IV.vii.137.
Petar, petard, " an Engine (made like a Bell or Mortar) where- with strong gates are burst open " (Cotgrave) ; III. iv. 207.
Pick-axe, " a pick-axe. and a spade, a spade"; V.i.98. {Cp. illustration.)
From the XVIIth century framework on the door of the bone-house of S. Olave's Church, Hart Street.
Picked, refined, fastidious ; V. i. 146.
Pickers and stealers, i.e. hands (allud- ing to the catechism "Keep my hands from picking and steal- ing"); III. ii. 343.
Picture in little, miniature ; II. ii
383- .
Pigeon-liver d, too mild tempered ; II. ii. 602.
Pioner, pioneer ; I. v. 163.
Pitch, height, importance (origin- ally, height to which a falcon soars); (Folios, ''pith"); III. i. 86
Piteous, pitiful, exciting compas- sion ; II. i. 94.
Pith and marroiv, the most valuable part ; I. iv. 22.
Plausi-ue, plausible, pleasing; I. iv.
3°-
Plautus; "P too light," alluding to the fact that Plautus was taken as the word for comedy by the Academic play-wrights ; II. ii. 420.
Played i' the University ; alluding to the old academic practice of act- ing Latin or English plays at Christmastide, or in honour of distinguished visitors (a play on Caesar's death was performed at Oxford in 1582); HI. ii. 104.
Played; " p. the desk or table- book," i.e. been the agent of their correspondence ; II. ii. 136.
Plot, piece of ground ; IV. iv. 62.
Plurisy, plethora, a fulness of blood (as i/" Latin plus, more, but really an affection of the lungs, Gk. irXevpa); IV. vii. 118.
Point; "at p.," completely (so Quartos ; Folios, "at all points ") ; I. ii. 200.
Polaci, Pole ; II. ii. 75. , Polish ; V. ii. 379.
Polacks, Poles (Quartos, Folio i,
'' pollax": -v. Note); I. i. 63. Pole, pole-star ; I. i. 36. Politician, plotter, schemer ; V. i. 82, Porpentine, porcupine; I. v. 20
Glossary
HAMLET,
Posset, curdle (Quartos, " fossesse") ; I. V. 68.
Posy, motto, verse on a ring ; III. ii. 162.
Potvers, armed force, troops ; IV. iv. 9.
Practice, artifice, plot; IV. vii. 6%.
Precedent, former ; III. iv. 98.
Precurse, forerunning; I. i. 121.
Pregnant, yielding, ready ; III. ii, dii.
Prenominate, aforesaid ; II. i. 43.
Prescripts, orders (Folios, ^'■pre- cepts") ; II. ii. 142.
Presently, at once, immediately ; II. ii. 170.
Present push, immediate proof; V. i. 307.
Pressure, impress, imprint ; III. ii.
Pressures, impressions ; I. v. 100.
Proof, trial of strength ; II. ii. 509.
Proper, appropriate; II. i. 114.
, own, very; V. ii. 66.
Property, kingly right, (? " own person ") ; II. ii. 594. ,
Proposer, orator ; II. ii. 297.
Providence in the fall of a sparrotv, alluding to Matthetv x. 29, "Are not two sparrows sold for a far- thing ? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father"; V. ii. 222.
Provincial roses, properly, double- damask roses ; here, rosettes of ribbon worn on shoes ; the name was derived either from Provence orProvins near Paris, both places being famous for their roses ; III. ii. 288. {Cp- the accompanying specimens.)
' Provincial roses.'' From portraits of the time of Elizabeth and James I.
Prevent, anticipate ; II. ii. 305. Pricked on, incited. Spurred on ; I. i.
83- Primal, first; III. iii. 37.
Primy, spring-like ; I. iii. 7.
Privates, common soldiers; II. ii. 238.
Probation, proof (quadrisyllable) ; I. i. 156.
Process, decree; IV. iii. 65.
Prodigal, prodigally; I. iii. 116.
Proft, advantage ; II. ii. 24.
Progress, journey made by a sove- reign through his own country ; IV. iii. 33.
Pronounce, speak on ; III. ii. 317.
Puffed, bloated ; I. iii. 49.
Puppets; "p. dallying," (?) the figures in the puppet-show (in which Ophelia and her lover were to play a part) ; more probably used in some wanton sense ; III. ii. 254.
Purgation; "put him to his p.," a play upon the legal and medical senses of the word ; III. ii.
313- Pursy, fat with pampering ; III. iv.
153- Put on, incite, instigate, IV. vii. 132; put to the test, tried, V. ii. 400 ; assume, I. v. 172.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Put on me, impressed upon me; I. iii. 94.
Quaintly, artfully, skilfully ; II. i. 31.
Quality, profession, calling (especi- ally the actor's profession) ; II. ii. 363.
Quantity, measure, portion; III.iv.75.
Quarry, heap of dead ; V. ii. 367.
Question, talk ; III. i. 13.
; " cry out on the top of q.,"
i.e. speak in a high key, or in a high childish treble ; II. ii. 355.
Questionable, inviting question ; I. iv. 43.
Quest laiv, inquest law ; V. i. 24.
Quid, alive; V. i. 132.
Quiddities, subtleties (Folios, "■ quid- dits ") ; V. i. 103.
Quietus, a lawr term for the official settlement of an account ; III. i.
75- Quillets, subtle arguments; V. i.
104. Quintessence, the highest or fifth
essence (a term in alchemy) ; II.
ii. 321. Quit, requite; V. ii. 68. Quoted, observed, noted; II. i. 112.
Rack, mass of clouds in motion ; II. ii. 503.
Range, roam at large ; III. iii. 2.
i?,j/j2i?r, richer, greater ; IV. iv. 22.
Rankly, grossXy ; I. V. 38.
Rapier, a small sword used in thrust- ing ; V. ii. 145.
Rashly, hastily ; V. ii. 6.
Ravel out, unravel (Quartos 2-5, ''rouell"); III. iv. 186.
Razed, slashed ; III. ii. 288.
Reach, capacity ; II. i. 64.
Recks, cares, minds (Quartos, " reck'st") ; I. iii. 51.
Recognizances ; " a recognizance is a bond or obligation of record testifying the recogniser to owe to the recognisee a certain sum of money " (Cowel) ; V. i. 109.
Recorders, a kind of flute or flageo- let ; III. ii. 303. {Cp. illustra- tion.)
•^.^rr-
=(c:|
From an engraving by Fairholt.
i?i?(rafifr/Vj, a law term (-u." Vouchers"); V. i. no.
Rede, counsel, advice; I. iii. 51.
Redeliver, report; V. ii. 179.
Reels, dances wildly ; I. iv. 9.
Regards, conditions ; II. ii. 79.
Region, air ("originally a division of the sky marked out by the Roman augurs ") ; II. ii. 506.
Relative, conclusive, to the purpose ; II. ii. 630.
Relish of, have a taste, flavour ; III i. 120.
Remember; " I beseech you, r.," the full saying is found in Love's Labour's Lost, V. i. 103 ; "/ do beseech thee remember thy courtesy ; I beseech thee apparel thy head " ; V. ii. 105.
Remembrances , mementos ; III. i. 93.
Remiss, careless; IV. vii. 135.
Remorse, pity ; II. ii. 510.
Remove, removal ; IV. v. 81.
Removed, retired, secluded ; I. iv. 61.
Repast, feed ; IV. v. 147.
Replication , reply, answer ; IV. ii.
13-
Requite, repay ; I. ii. 251.
Residence, a fixed abode as opposed to strolling ; used technically of theatrical companies ; II. ii. 343.
Resolutes, desperadoes; I. i. 98.
Resolve, dissolve, melt ; I. ii. 130.
Re-speaking, re-echoing ; I. ii. 128.
Respect, consideration, motive; III i. 68.
Rest, Stay, abode ; II. ii. 13.
Rests, remains ; III. iii. 64.
Retrograde, contrary ; I. ii. 114.
Glossary
HAMLET,
Return' d; "had r.," would have returned (Quartos, " returne ") ; I.
Rtvcrend, venerable ; II. ii. 498.
Revolution, change ; V. i. 98.
Re-ivord, repeat in the very words ; III. iv. 143.
Rhapsody, a collection of meaning- less words ; III. iv. 48.
Rhenish, Rhenish wine ; I. iv. 10.
Riband, ribbon, ornament ; IV. vii. 78.
Ritrhts of memory, rights remembered "(Folios, ''Rites"); V. ii. 392.
Rites, funeral service; V. i. 231.
Rivals, partners, sharers ; I. i.
13-
Robustious, sturdy ; III. ii. 10.
Rvmage, bustle, turmoil; I. i. 107. Rood, cross; "by the rood," an
oath ; III. iv. 14. Roots itself, takes root, grows ; I. v.
33-
Roscius, the most celebrated actor of
ancient Rome ; II. ii. 410.
Rose, charm, grace; III. iv. 42.
Rosemary, a herb ; the symbol of re- membrance, particularly used at weddings and funerals ; IV. v.
175- Rouvh-heiv, make the rough, or first
form; a technical term in car- pentering ; V. ii. II.
Round, in a straightforward manner ; II. ii. 139.
Rouse, bumper, revel (" the Danish rousa") ; I. ii. 127.
R01V, stanza (properly = line); II. ii. 438.
Rub, impediment ; a term in the game of bowls ; III. i. 65.
Rue, called also "herb of grace"; emblematic of repentance(Ophelia is probably playing on raif = re- pentance, and " rue, even for ruth" = pity; the former significa- tion for the queen, the latter for herself) (cfi. Richard II., III. iv. 104); IV. V. 181
Sables, fur used for the trimming of rich robes ; perhaps with a play on " jflW? " = black ; III. ii. 135.
Safety; trisyllabic (so Quartos; Folios, ''sanctity"; Theobald, " sanity"); I. iii. 21.
Sallets, salads ; used metaphorically for "relish" (Pope, "salts," later "salt"); II. ii. 461.
Sandal shoon, shoes consisting of soles tied to the feet ; {jhoon, archaic plural) ; (Quartos, " Send- all"); IV. V. 26.
Sans, without ; III. iv. 79.
Sate, satiate; I. v. 56.
Satyr, taken as a type of deformity ; I. ii. 140.
Sanvs, maxims ; I. v. 100.
Say'st, say'st well ; V. i. 27.
'Sblood, a corruption of " God's blood"; an oath; II. ii. 384.
Scann'd, carefully considered ; III. iii. 75.
'Scapes, escapes ; I. iii. 38.
Scarf d, put on loosely like a scarf; V. ii. 13.
Scholar, a man of learning, and hence versed in Latin, the langu- age of exorcists; I. i. 42.
5(;Aoo/, university ; I. ii. 113.
Sconce, colloquial term for head ; V. i, 106.
, ensconce (Quartos, Folios,
"silence") ; III. iv. 4.
Scope, Utmost, aim ; III. ii. 226.
Scourge, punishment ; IV. iii. 6.
Scrimers, fencers ; IV. vii. loi.
Scullion, the lowest servant ; used as a term of contempt ; II. ii. 613.
Sea-goivn; "esclavine; a sea-gowne; or a course, high-collared, and short-sleeved gowne, reaching downe to the mid-leg, and used most by seamen, and Saylors " (Cotgrave); V. ii. 13.
Seals ; " to give them s. ," to ratify by action ; III. ii. 408.
Sea of troubles {v. "take arms"), etc
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Season, temper, restrain ; I. ii. 192.
, ripen ; I. iii. 81.
, qualify ; II. i. 28.
Seasons, matures, seasons; III. ii. 219.
Secure, careless, unsuspicious (John- son, ^^ secret"); I. V. 61.
Seeming, appearance ; III. ii. 92.
Seized of , possessed of; I. i. 89.
Semblabte, equal, like; V. ii. 120.
Seneca; " S. cannot be too heavy," alluding to the rhetorical Senecan plays taken as models for tragedy hy the Academic play-wrights ;
II. ii. 419.
Sense, feeling, sensibility ; III. iv.
Sensibly, feelingly (Folio I, ^^ sen- sible"); IV. V. 150.
Se offendendo, Clown's blunder for se defendendo ; V. i. 9.
Sequent, consequent, following ; V. ii. 54.
Sergeant, sheriff's officer ; V. ii. 347.
Set, regard, esteem ; IV. iii. 64.
Se-veral, different ; V. ii. 20.
Shall, will; III. i. 184.
Shall along, shall go along; III. iii. 4.
Shape; "to our s.," to act our part ; IV. vii. 151.
Shards, fragments of pottery ; V. i. 254.
Shark' d up, picked up without selec- tion ; I. i. 98.
Sheen, brightness, lustre; III. ii. 167.
Sheeted, enveloped in shrouds ; I. i. 115.
Shent, put to the blush, reproached ;
III. ii. 416.
Short; "kept s.," kept, as it were, tethered, under control ; IV. i. 18.
Should, would ; III. ii. 316.
Shreds and patches, alluding to the motley dress worn by the clown, and generally by the Vice ; III. iv. 102.
5//rf'U'fl'/y, keenly, piercingly; I. iv. i.
10 R
Shriving-time, time for confession and
absolution ; V. ii. 47. Siege, rank ; IV. vii. 77. Simple, silly, weak ; I. ii. 97. Simples, herbs; IV. vii. 145. Sith, since; IV. iv. 12. Skirts, outskirts, borders; I. i. 97. Slander, abuse; I. iii. 133. Sledded, travelling in sledges ; I. i. 63. Slips, faults, offences ; II. i. 22. Sli-ver, a small branch of a tree ; IV
vii. 175. So, such. III. i. 69 ; provided that,
IV. vii. 61. Softly, slowly (Folios, ''safely");
IV. iv. 8.
Soft you noiv, hush, be quiet; III. i. 88.
Soil, stain ; I. iv. 20.
Sole, only ; III. iii. 77.
Solicited, urged, moved ; V. ii. 361.
Something, somewhat (Folios, "■ some-
ivhat") ; I. iii. 121. Sometimes, formerly ; I. i. 49. Sort, associate ; II. ii. 274.
, turn out ; I. i. 109.
Sovereignty; "your s. of reason,"
the command of your reason ; I.
iv. 73. Spleniti-ue, passionate, impetuous ;
V. i. 273.
Springes, snares; I. iii. 115.
Spurns, kicks ; IV. v. 6.
Stand me upon, be incumbent on me; V. ii. 63.
Star, sphere; II. ii. 141.
Station, attitude in standing ; III. iv 58.
Statists, statesmen ; V. ii. 33.
Statutes, " particular modes of re- cognizance or acknowledgement for securing debts, which thereby become a charge upon the party's land" (Ritson); V. i. 109.
Stay, wait for; V. ii. 24.
Stay'd, waited; I. iii. 57.
Stays, waits for me ; III. iii. 95.
Stay upon, await; III. ii. 112.
Stick fiery off, stand in brilliant relief; V. ii. 260,
Glossary
HAMLET,
Stiffly, strongly ; I, v. 95.
Still, always ; I. 1. 122.
Stithy, smithy (Folio i, " Stythe" ; Folios 2, 3, 4, "Stytk"; Theo- bald, '<■ Smithy"); III. ii. 89.
Stomach, courage; I. i. 100.
Stoitp, drinking cup ; V. i. 64.
Straight, straightway ; II. ii. 450.
Stranger; "as a S.," i.e. without doubt or question ; I. v. 165.
Streivments, strewing of flowers over the corpse and grave ; V. i. 245.
Strike, blast, destroy by their influ- ence ; I. i. 162.
Stuck, thrust; an abbreviation of staccato; IV. vii. 161.
Subject, subjects, people ; I. i. 72.
Succession, future ; II. ii. 368.
Suddenly, immediately; II. ii. 215.
Sullies, stains, blemishes, II. i. 39.
Sun; " too much i' the s.," probably a quibbling allusion to the old proverb "Out of heaven's bless- ing into the warm sun," = out of comfort, miserable ; I. ii. 67.
Super-vise, supervision, perusal ; V. ii. 23.
Suppliance, dalliance, amusement ; I. iii. 9.
Supply, aiding ; II. ii. 24.
Supposal, opinion; I. ii. 18.
Sivaddling clouts, swaddling clothes (Folios, '■'■ sivathing"); II. ii. 40I.
Siveet, sweetheart; III. ii. 232.
Stvinish; "with s. phrase," by calling us swine (a pun on '■'■ Siveyn" \\-a.% been found in the phrase) ; I iv. 19.
Siuitzers, Swiss guards (Quartos, " Szvissers"); IV. V. 97.
Stvoopstake, sweepstake (the term is taken from a game of cards, the winner sweeping or drawing the whole stake) ; IV. v. 142.
^Sivounds, a corruption of God's ivounds ; an oath ; II. ii. 601.
Sivounds, swoons, faints (Quartos 2-5, Folios I, 2, "sounds"); V. ii. 311.
Table, tablet ; I. v. 98. Tables, tablets, memorandum-book ; I. V. 107. (C/. illustration.)
From Gesner's De rerunt/bssiliu^n figitris, 1565.
Taints, Stains, blemishes ; II. i. 32.
Take arms against a sea ; an allusion to a custom attributed to the Kelts by Aristotle, Strabo, and other writers; "they throw themselves into the foaming floods with their swords drawn in their hands," etc. (Fleming's trans, of Aelian's ^/j-/or/Vj-, 1576) ; III. i. 59.
Takes, affects, enchants (Folios i, 2, "talies"; Folios 3, 4, ''talks"); I. i. 163.
Take you, pretend; II. i. 13.
Tardy; "come t. off"," being too feebly shown ; III. ii. 28.
Tarre, incite ; II. ii. 370.
Tax'd, censured; I. iv. 18.
Tell, count ; I. ii. 238.
Temper'd compounded (Folios, " tem- p'red"); V. ii. 331.
Temple (applied to thebody); I. iii. 12.
Tend, wait; IV. iii. 47.
Tender, regard, have a care for ; I. iii. I07.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
Tenders, promises; I. iii. io6
Tent, probe; II. ii. 623.
Termagant, a common character in
the mystery - plays, represented
as a most violent tyrant ; often
referred to in association with
Mahoun, and seemingly as a
Saracen god ; III. ii. 15. Tetter, a diseased thickening of the
skin ; I. V. 71. That, that which ; II. ii. 7.
, so that ; IV. v. 217.
Theft, the thing stolen ; III. ii. 94. Thereabout of it, that part of it ; II.
ii. 466. Theivs, sinews, bodily strength ; I.
iii. 12. Thieves of mercy,, merciful thieves ;
IV. vi. 20. Thinking; "not th. on," not being
thought of, being forgotten ; III.
ii. 140. Thinks't thee, seems it to thee
CQuartos, "think thee"); V. ii.
63. 714oiro-A/, care, anxiety ; IV. v. 188. Thought-sick, sick with anxiety ;
III. iv. 51. Thrift, profit ; III. ii. 67. Throughly, thoro\lg\i\j ; IV. v. 136. Tickle 0' the sere, easily moved to
laughter ; used originally of a
musket in which the '^ sere" or
trigger is " tickle," i.e. " easily
moved by a touch"; II. ii. 337. Timber' d; " too slightly t. ," made
of too light wood ; IV. vii. 22. Time, the temporal world ; III. i. 70. Tinct, dye, colour; III. iv. 91. To, compared to; I. ii. 140. To-do, ado ; II. ii. 369. Toils, makes to toil ; I. i. 72. Too too (used with intensive force) ;
I. ii. 129. Topp'd, overtopped, surpassed
(Folios, ''past"); IV. vii. 89. Touch'd, implicated ; IV. v. 207. Totvard, forthcoming, at hand ; I. i.
77-
Toy in blood, a passing fancy ; I. iii.
6. 7o^/, fancies ; I. iv. 75. Trace, follow; V. ii. 120. Trade, business ; III. ii. 346. Translate, transform, change ; III. i.
"3- Tra-uel, Stroll, go on tour in the provinces (used technically) ; II.
ii. 343-
Trick, toy, trifle, IV. iv. 61 ; faculty, skill, V. i. 99 ; habit, IV. vii. 189.
Trick'd, adorned ; a term of heraldry ; II. ii. 477.
Tristful, sorrowful ; III. iv. 50.
Tropically, figuratively; III. ii. 244.
Truant, idler; I. ii. 173.
, roving; I. ii. 169.
True-penny, honest fellow ; I. v. 150.
Trumpet, trumpeter; I. i. 150.
Truster, believer; I. ii. 172.
Turn turk, change Utterly for the worse (a proverbial phrase) ; III. ii. 284.
Tivelve for nine ; this phrase, accord- ing to the context, must mean " twelve to nine," i.e. twelve on one side, to nine on the other ; V. ii. 167.
Tyrannically , enthusiastically, vehe- mently ; II. ii. 356.
Umbrage, shadow; V. ii. 121.
Unaneled, not having received ex- treme unction; I. v. 77.
Unbated, not blunted, without a button fixed to the end ; IV. vii. 139.
Unbraced, unfastened ; II. i. 78.
Uncharge, not charge, not accuse ; IV. vii. 68.
Undergo, bear, endure ; I. iv. 34.
Uneffectual; " u. fire"; i.e. ineffec- tual, being "lost in the light of the morning"; I. v. 90.
Unequal, unequally ; II. ii. 490.
Ungalled, unhurt; III. ii. 283.
Ungored, unwounded ; V. ii. 253.
Glossary
HAMLET,
Ungracious, graceless ; I. iii. 47. Unhousel'd, without having received
the Sacrament; I. v. 77. Unimpro'ued, unemployed, not turned
to account (? '■'•unapproved" i.e.
"untried"; Quarto i, " inap-
pro-ved") ; I. i. 96. Union, fine orient pearl (Quarto 2,
"Fnice"; Quartos 3-6, "Onyx"
or " Onixe") ; V. ii. 275. Unkennel, discover, disclose ; III. ii.
86. Unlimited; "poem u.," i.e. (probably)
regardless of the Unities of Time
and Place ; II. ii. 419. Unmasterd, unbridled ; I. iii. 32. Unpregnant, unapt, indifferent to ;
II. ii. 592.
Unpre-vailing, unavailing, useless ; I.
ii. 107. Unproportion'd, unsuitable; I. iii. 60. Unreclaimed, untamed, wild ; II. i.
34- Unshaped, confused ; IV. v. 8 Unsifted, untried; I. iii. 102. Unsineiv'd, weak ; IV. vii. 10. Unsure, insecure; IV. iv. 51. Un-valued, low born, mean ; I. iii. 19. Univrung, not wrenched, ungalled ;
III. ii. 250.
Unyoke, your day's work is done ;
V. i. 55. Up, "drink u." (used with inten- sive force) ; V. i. 288. Upon ; ' u. your hour," i.e. on the
stroke of, just at your hour ; I.
i. 6. Upon my sivord, i.e. Swear upon my
sword (the hilt being in form of
a cross) ; I. v. 147. Upshot, conclusion ; V. ii. 387. Up-spring, the wildest dance at the
old German merry-makings - I.
iv. 9.
Failed lids, lowered eyelids ; I. ii. 70. Valanced, adorned with a beard ; 11.
ii. 442 Validity, value, worth; III. ii. 196.
Vantage; " of v.," from an advan- tageous position, or opportunity (Warburton) ; III. iii. 33.
Variable, various; IV. iii. 25.
Vast, void (so Quarto i ; Quarto 2, Folio I, " -wast" ; Folios 2, 3, 4, "■waste"); I. ii. 198.
Ventages, holes of the recorder ; III ii. 365.
Vice of kings, bufToon, clown of a king ; alluding to the Vice, the comic character, of the old morality plays ; III. iv. 98.
Videlicet, that is to say, namely ; II. i. 61.
Vigour ; " sudden v.," rapid power; I. V. 68.
Violet, emblem of faithfulness ; IV. V. 184.
Virtue, power; IV. v. 155.
Visitation, visit; II. ii. 25.
Voice, vote, opinion ; V. ii. 252.
Vouchers ; " double v., his re- coveries," " a recovery with double voucher is the one usually suffered, and is so denominated from tivo persons (the latter of whom is always the common cryer, or some such inferior person) being successively "vouched, or called upon, to warrant the tenant's title " (Ritson) ; V. i. no.
Wag, move ; III. iv. 39. Wake, hold nightly revel ; I. iv. 8. Wandering stars, planets ; V. i. 268. Wann'd, turned pale ; II. ii. 577. Wanton ; effeminate weakling ; V
ii. 302.
, wantonly ; III. iv. 183.
Wantonness, affectation ; III. i. 152. Warranty, warrant ; V. i. 239. Wash, sea; III. ii. 163. Wassail, carousal, drinking bout ;
I. iv. 9. Watch, state of sleeplessness ; II. ii.
148. Waterfly (applied to Osric) ; "a
water-fly skips up and down
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Glossary
upon the surface of the water without any apparent purpose or reason, and is thence the proper emblem of a busy trifler" (Johnson) ; V. ii. 83. Wa-ves, beckons (Folios, ^^ •wafts"') ;
I. iv. 68.
We; "and we," used loosely after conjunction instead of accusation of regard, i.e. " as for us " ; I. iv.
54- Weeds, robes ; IV. vii. 81.
Well-tooh, well undertaken; II. ii. 83.
Wharf, bank ; I. v. 33.
What, who ; IV. vi. i.
Wheel, the burden or refrain of a song (or, perhaps, the spinning- wheel to which it maybe sung); IV. V. 172.
Whether (monosyllabic) ; II. ii. 17.
Which, who ; IV. vii. 4.
Wholesome, reasonable, sensible ; III.
ii. 323-
Wildness, madness ; III. i. 40.
Vt^ill ; "virtue of his will," /.?. his virtuous intention ; I. iii. 16.
Wind; "to recover the w. of me," a hunting term, meaning to get to windward of the game, so that it may not scent the toil or its pursuers ; III. ii. 354.
Windlasses, winding, indirect ways ;
II. i. 65.
Winking; "given my heart aw.," closed the eyes of my heart (Quartos 2-5, " •woriing") ; II. ii.
137-
Winnowed (-vide " Fond ").
Wit, wisdom ; II. ii. 90.
Withal, with ; I. iii. 28.
Withdra-w ; "to w. with you," /.*. " to speak a word in private with you " (Schmidt) ; III. ii. 352.
Withers, the part between the shoulder-blades of a horse ; III. ii. 250.
Within's, within this; III. ii. 132.
Wittenberg, the University of Wit- tenberg (founded 1502) ;I. ii. 113.
10 R*
Wonder-tvounded, Struck with sur- prise ; V. i. 269.
Woodcocks, birds supposed to be brainless; hence proverbial use; I. iii. 115.
Woo't, contraction of ivouldst thou; V. i. 287.
Word, watch-word; I. v. no.
Worlds ; " both the w.," this world and the next ; IV. v. 134.
Would, wish; I. ii. 235.
Woundless, invulnerable ; IV. i. 44. •Wreck, ruin ; II. i. 113.
Wretch, here used as a term of en- dearment; II. ii. 168.
Writ; "law of w. and liberty," probably a reference to the plays written with or without decorum, i.e. the supposed canons of dram- atic art, = " classical " and " ro- mantic" plays (according to some = " adhering to the text or ex- temporizing when need re- quires ") ; II. ii. 421.
Taughan ; "get thee to Y." (so Folio I ; Quarto 2, ^^ get thee in and") ; probably the name of a well-known keeper of an ale- house near the Globe, perhaps the Jew, " one Johan," alluded to in Every Man out rf his Humour, V. iv. ; V. i. 63.
Taiv, Stagger, move unsteadily (a nautical term); V. ii. 115.
Yeoman^ service, good service, such as the yeoman performed for his lord (Quartos 2, 3, 4, '^ yemans'^; V. ii. 36.
Testy, foamy ; V. ii. 198.
Torick, the name of a jester, lamented by Hamlet ; perhaps a corruption of the Scandinavian name Erick, or its English equivalent (the passage possibly contains a tri- bute to the comic actor Tarlton); V. i. 191.
Yourself; " in y.," for yourself, per- sonally ; II. 1. 71.
HAMLET,
Notes.
1. i. 63. ' He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice ' ; Quarto I, Quarto 2, Folio 1,'pollax,' variously interpreted as ^Polacks,' ^ foleaxe' etc.; there is very- little to be said against the former interpretation, unless it be that ' the ambitious Norway ' in the previous sentence would lead one to expect ' the sledded Polack,' a commendable reading originally proposed by Pope.
I. i. 108-125. These lines occur in the Quartos, but are omitted in Folios.
I. i. 167. ' east-ward,' so Quartos; Folios, ' easterne' ; the latter reading was perhaps in Milton's mind, when he wrote : —
" JVow mom her rosy steps in tK eastern clime Advancing; sowed the earth with orient pearls."
Par. Lost, v. 1.
I. ii. 9. ' <o ' ; the reading of Quartos; Folios, ' of.'
I. ii. 58-60. Omitted in Folios.
I. iii. 12. ' this temple^ ; SO Quartos ; Folios, ' his temple.'
I. iii. 16. ' ivill" so Quartos ; Folios, '■fear.'
I. iii. 18. Omitted in Quartos.
I. iii. 26. ^particular act and place ^ SO QuartOS ; Folios, '■peculiar sect ana force:
I. iii. 59. Polonius' precepts have been traced back to Euphues' advice to Philautus ; the similarity is certainly striking (Wdt Rushton's Shakespeare's Euphuism) ; others see in the passage a reference to Lord Burleigh's ' ten precepts.' enjoined upon Robert Cecil when about to set out on his travels (French's Shaksspeareana Genealogica, 11. Furness, Vol. II., p. 239).
I. iii. 65. 'comrade' (accented on the second syllable), so Folio i ; Quartos
(also Quarto l), ' coivrage.'
I. iii. 74. ' Are of a most select and generous chief in that^ ; so Folio i ; Quarto t, ' are of a most select and general chief e in that ' ; Quarto Z, ' Or of a most select and generous chiefe in that ' ; the line is obviously incorrect ; the simplest emendation of the many proposed is the omission of the words ' of a,' and ' chief which were probably due to marginal corrections of ' in ' and ' 6est ' in the previous line: —
" Are most select and generous in that.'" (Collier ' choice' for 'chief ; Staunton 'sheaf i.e. set, clique, suggested by the Euphuistic phrase " gentlemen of the best sheaf").
PRINCE OF DENMARK Notes
I. iii. 109. ' Running,^ Collier's conj. ; Quartos, ' IVrong' ; Folio i ■ Roam- ing ' ; Pope, ' IVronging ' ; Warburton, ' Wronging ' ; Theobald, ' Ranging,' etc.
I. iii. 1 30. ' ba-wds ' ; Theobald's emendation of ' bonds,' the reading oi Quartos and Folio i.
I. iv. 17-38. Omitted in Folio i (also Quarto i). I. iv. 36-38.
' ike dram of eale Doth all the noble substance of a doubt To his own scandal' ;
this famous crux has taxed the ingenuity of generations of scholars, and some fifty various readings and interpretations have been proposed. The general meaning of the words is clear, emphasizing as they do the previous statement that as a man's virtues, be they as pure as grace, shall in the general censure take corruption from one particular fault, even so ' the dram of eale ' reduces all the noble substance to its own low level.
The difficulty of the passage lies in (i,) ' eale ' and (ii.) ' Jotk . ... of a doubt ' ; a simple explanation of (i) is that ' eale ' = 'e'il ' i.e. ' evil' (similarly in Quarto 2,11. ii. Slj, ' deale'=:' de'ile' = ^ devil'). The chief objection to this plausible conjecture is that one would expect some rather more definite than ' dram of evil ' ; it is said, however, that ' eale ' is still used in the sense of ' reproach ' in the western counties. Theobald proposed ' base,' probably having in mind the lines in Cymbeline (III. v. 88) : —
" From whose so many weights of baseness cannot A dram 0/ worth be drawn."
As regards (ii.), no very plausible emendation has been proposed ; '■ of a doubt ' has been taken to be a printer's error for ' often dout,' ' oft endoubt,' ' ofer doubt,' ' oft ivork out,' etc. To the many questions which these words have called forth, the present writer is rash enough to add one more: — Could, perhaps, 'doth of a doubt ' = deprives of the benefit of a doubt? Is there any instance of ' do ' in XVIth century English = ' deprive ' ; the usage is common in modern English slang. I. iv. 75-78. Omitted in Folio i.
I, V. 22. 'List, list, 0, list!' so Quartos; Folio i, '■list, Hamlet, oh list.'
II. i. The stage direction in Quartos : — Enter old Polonius, -with his man or two; Folios, Polonius and Reynaldo; in Quarto \, Reynaldo is called Montana, hence perhaps the reading of later Quartos.
II. i. 4. ' to make inquire ' ; SO Quartos ; ' Folios read, ^ you make inquiry.' II. ii. 17. Omitted in Folios.
Notes
HAMLET,
II. ii. 73. ' three ' • so Quarto I and Folios ; Quartos read ' threescore.'' II. i). 216-217, 244-276. The reading of Folios ; omitted in Quartos.
II. ii, 234. ' On Fortune's cap ive are not the very button.'' For an example of this orna- ment cp. the accompanying cut which is reproduced from a tapestry of the time of Henry VII.
II. ii. 336-337. ' the cloivn . . . sere,' omitted in Quartos; vide Glossary, '^tickle 0 the sere."
II. ii. 346, 347. ' / think their inhibition comes by the means of the late innovation '; vide PREFACE. II. ii. 351-377. Omitted in Quartos. II. ii. 354-358- 'P--—
'■ I sazu the children of Powles last night; And troth they pleas' d me pretty, pretty well. The apes, in time, will do it handsomely. — / like the audience that frequenteth there With m.uch applause.''
Jack Drum's Entertainment (1601).
II. ii. 466. '■ Mneas^ tale of Dido' ; one cannot but believe that Hamlet's criticism of the play is throughout ironical, and that the speeches quoted are burlesque. "The fancy that a burlesque was intended," wrote Coleridge, " sinks below criticism ; the lines, as epic narrative, are superb " ; perhaps he would have changed his mind, and would have recognised them as mere parody, if he had read Dido, Queen of Carthage, a play left incomplete by Marlowe and finished by Nash {^cp. e.g. Act II. Sc. i., which seems to be the very passage Shakespeare had in view).
II. ii. 485. Omitted in Folios.
II. ii. 493. 'Then senseless Ilium'; 527, ' mobled . . . good'; omitted in Quartos.
II. ii. 540. ' -whether': Malone's emendation; Quartos. Folios, '-where' (i.e. ' ivh'ere = "whether *).
II. ii. 562. ' a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines ' ; here was much throwing about of brains in the attempt to find these lines in the play-scene in Act III. Sc. ii. "The discussion," as Furness aptly puts it, "is a tribute to Shakespeare's consummate art," and the view of this scholar commends itself — viz., that "in order to give an air of probability to what everyone would feel [otherwise] highly improbable, Shakespeare represents Hamlet as adapting an old play to his present needs by inserting in it some pointed lines."
PRINCE OF DENMARK Notes
II. ii. 614: —
' Hum, I have heard That guilty creatures, sitting at a play,' etc.,
•vide Heywood's Apology for Actors, where a number of these stories are col- lected ; perhaps, however, Shakespeare had in mind the plot of A Warning fur Fair e Women, a play on this theme published in 1599, referring to a cause celehre which befell at Lynn in Norfolk.
III. i. 13-14. ' Niggard of question, but of our oivn demands most free ^ ; Hanmer, ' Most free of our question, but to our demands most niggard^ ; Warburton, ' Most
free of question, but of our demands most niggard^; Collier MS., ^niggard of our question, but to our demands most free.'
III. i. 59. ' to take arms against a sea of troubles,' etc. ; the alleged confusion of metaphors in this passage was due to the commentator's ignorance, not to Shakespeare's ; vide Glossary, ' taie arms.'
III. i. 79, 80:—
* The undiscovered country frcrm whose bourne No traveller returns'
In Catullus' Elegy on a Sparroiv, occur the words : —
" Qui nunc ii per iter tenebricosum Illuc unde negant redire quenquam.""
III. i. 147. 'paintings' ; SO (Quarto i) Quartos; Folio i, ' pratlings ' ; Folios 2, 3, 4, 'pratling ' ; Pope, 'painting ' ; Macdonald conj. ' prancings.'
III. ii. 36. ' nor man ' ; so Quartos ; Folios, ' or Norman.'
III. ii. 49. There is a striking passage in Quarto \, omitted in Quarto 2 and Folio, concerning those ' that keep one suit of jests, as a man is known by one suit of apparell ' ; the lines have a Shakespearian note, and are probably of great interest.
III. ii. 142. Much has been said to explain the introduction of the dumb-show ; from the historical point of view its place in a court-play is not surprising, vide Glossary, * Dumb Shoiv.'
III. ii. 174. The reading of the Folios; Quartos read : —
' For women/eare too much, even as they love, And women' s fear and love holds quantity.'
Johnson believed that a line was lost rhyming with ' lo-ve.'
III. ii. 175. 'In neither aught, or in extremity': Malone's emendation;
Folios, ' In neither ought,' etc. ; Quartos, ' Eyther none, in neither ought,' etc. III. ii. 211. 'favourite' ; Folio I, 'favourites,' a reading for which much
is to be said.
III. ii. 246. 'Vienna'; Quarto i, 'Guyana'; for ' Gonzago,' Quarto I
Notes HAMLET,
reads Albertus, who is throughout called Duke ; in Quarto 2 it is always King ; except here where Hamlet says ' Gonzago is the Duie's name.' III. ii. 261. ' The croaking raven doth helloiv for revenge' '^
cp. " The screeking raven sits croaking for revenge,
Whole herds of beasts comes bellowing for revenge."
The True Tragedie of Rich. III.
III. ii. 400. ' hitter business as the day ' ; so Folios ; Quartos read ' business as the bitter day,'
III. iii. 7. ^lunacies':, so Folios; Quartos, ^ broives.'
III. iii. 79. ^ hire and salary' ; SO Folios; Quartos misprint, ^ base and silly.'
III. iv. 71-76, 78-81, 161-165, 167-170, 202-210. omitted in Folios. HI. iv. 169. ^ And either . . . the devil'; some such word as * master '
' quell,' ' shame,' \iz.s been omitted in Quartos, which read 'and either the devil.'
IV. i. 4. Omitted in Folios.
IV. i. 40-44. Folio I omits these lines, and ends scene with the words —
' And what's untimely done. Oh, come away. My soul is full of discord and dismay.'
Theobald proposed to restore the line by adding 'for, haply, slander.'
IV. ii. 19. 'like an ape'; so Folios; Quartos, 'like an apple'; Farmer conj. ' like an ape, an apple ' ; Singer, from Quarto l , ' like an ape doth nuts ' ; Hudson (1879), Hudson, ' as an ape doth nuts.'
IV. ii. 24. ' A knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear ' ; a sentence proverbial since Shakespeare's time, but not known earlier.
IV. ii. 31. cp. Psalm cxliv., 'Man is like a thing of naught' ; 32-33, ' Hide fox, and all after,' the reading of Folios ; omitted in Quartos.
IV. iii. 27-30. Omitted in Folios.
IV. iii. 42. 'this deed, for thine'; so QuartOS ; Folios, 'deed of thine, for thine. '
IV. iii. 45. ' iiiith fiery quickness ' ; SO Folios ; omitted in Quartos.
IV. iii. 70. ^ my haps, my joys ivere ne'er begun '; SO Folios ; Quartos, 'my haps, my ioyes •will nere begin ' ; Johnson conj. ' my hopes, my joys are not begun ' ; Heath conj. ' '/ may hap, my joys ivill ne'er begin' ; Collier MS., ' my hopes, my joyes ivere ne're begun ' ; Tschischwitz, ' my joys "will ne'er begun.'
IV. iv. 3. ' Craves'; SO Quartos; Folios i, 2, ' Claimes.'
IV. iv. 9-66. the reading of the Quartos ; omitted in Folios.
IV. V. 14-16; Quartos and Folios assign these lines to Horatio; Blackstone re-arranged the lines as in the text.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Notes
IV. V. 38. 'gra-ve,' SO Quarto i, Folios; Quartos, 'ground' \ ' did go' ; Pope's emendation of Quartos ; Folios, ' did not go.'
IV. V. 48-55. Song in Quartos ; omitted in Folios.
IV. V. 77. 'death, 0'; Quartos, 'death, and no-w behold, 0.'
IV. V. 89. ' Feeds on his tvonder ' : Johnson's emendation ; Quartos, ' Feeds on this 'wonder' ; Folios, ' Keepes on his tvonder'; Hanmer, 'Feeds on his an^er.'
IV. V. 96. ' Alack, ivhat noise is this ' ; omitted in Quartos.
IV. V. 119. ' unsmirched broivs ' ; Grant White's emendation; Folio i, unsmirched broil'.'
IV. V. 161-163, 165, omitted in Quartos.
IV. V. i65. ' rain'd' ; so Quartos ; Folios i, 2, ' raines.'
IV. V. 172-173. ' It is the false steivard,' etc.; the Story has not yet been identified.
IV. V. 195. cp. ' Eastivard Hoe' (1604), by Jonson, Marston & Chap- man, for a travesty of the scene and this song (Act III. Sc. i.).
IV. vi. 2. ' Sea-faring men ' ; SO Quartos ; Folios read ' Sailors.'
IV. vii. 14. 'She's so conjuncti'ue ' ; so Folios; Quartos read 'She is so concline ' ; Quarto, 1676, ' She is so precious.'
IV. vii. 22. 'loud a ivind,' SO Folios; Quartos 2, 3, ' loued Arm'd' • Quartos 4, 5, ' loued armes.'
IV. vii. 69-82. ' my lord . . . gra-veness ' ; omitted in Folios ; so, too, 11. 115-124.
IV. vii. 163. 'But stay, tvhat 7ioise ? ' \ the reading of Quartos ; omitted in Folios.
IV. vii. 179. 'tunes'; so Folio I and Quarto x ; Quarto 2, ' lauds' {i.e. chants).
IV. vii. 193. ' douts'; Knight's emendation ; Folio i , ' doubts '; Quartos, ' droivnes.'
V. i. 36-39, 110-112. 'is this
recoveries' ; 126, I95, omitted in Quartos.
V. i. 81. ' Cain's jaiv-hone, that did the frst murder.' Tradition assigned this implement to Cain, since weapons were not invented until the days of Tubal-cain, Gen. iv. 22. (^Cp. illustration.)
V. i. 258. 'treble tvoe ' ; the reading of Quartos 2, 3, 6 ; Folio i, 'ter- rible ivoer ' ; Folios 2, 3,4, ' terrible ivooer.'
' The first 7mirder.' From Coverdale's Old Testament, 1535.
Notes
HAMLET
V. i. 287. '■ ivoot drink up eiseV \ -vide Glossary, ' «W ; the various emendations ' Wdssel,' ' Yssei' (a northern branch of the Rhine), ' Nile,' Nilus, are all equally unnecessary.
V. ii. 9. ^ pair ; so Quarto 2; Folio i, ^ park' \ Pope, ^fail.'
V. ii. 31. 'they' i.e. my brains.
V. ii. 57, 68-80. Omitted in Quartos.
V. ii. 78. 'court':, Rowe's emendation of Folios, 'count.'
V. ii. 99. 'or'; Folios read 'for.'
V. ii. 107-143. These lines are omitted in Folios, which read, 'Sir, vou are not ignorant of ivhat excellence Laertes is at his "weapon.
V. ii. 1:6. 'another tongue' \ Johnson conj, 'a mother tongue'; Heath conj. ' a mother tongue ? ' No change is necessary; it is a bit of sarcasm.
V. ii. 155-156. Omitted in Folios.
V. ii. 188, 9. 'many more of the same breed' ; SO QuartOS ; Folio I reads, ' mine more of the same Beauy ' ; Folios 2, 3, 4, ' nine more of the same Bea-vy.'
V. ii. 195-209. Omitted in Folios.
V. ii. 225-227. ' Since no man has aught of ivhat he lea-ues, ivhat is 't to leave betimes ? Let he ' The reading is taken partly from the Folios and partly from the Quartos ; a long list of proposed emendations is given by the Cambridge editors.
V. ii. 243. Omitted in Quartos.
V. ii. 247. 'brother' \ SO Quartos ; Folios read 'mother.'
V. ii. 290. ' He's fat and scant of breath' \ "y/aV Glossary, 'Fat.'
V. ii. 339. (^. the accompanying drawing from a cut in the Z)a«c(fo/"Z)i?a/^.
V. ii. 348. 'Hue'; so Folios ; Quartos, ' I lea-ve.'
V. ii. 386. 'forced cause' ; SO Folios ; Quartos read ' or no cause.'
' this fell sergeant. Death."
THE TRAGEDY OF KING LEAR.
Preface.
The Early Editions. Two Quarto editions of King Lear appeared in the year 1608, with the following title-pages: — (i.) " M. William Shak-speare : | HIS | True Chronicle Historie of the life and | death ot King Lear and his three Daughters. | With the unfortunate life of Edgar, fonne \ and heire to the Earle of Gloster, and his | sullen and assumed humor of | Tom of Bedlam : | As io was flayed before the Kings Maieftie at Whitehall -vpon \ S. Stephans night in Chriftmas Hollidayes. | By his Maiesties Seruants playing vsually at the Gloabe | on the Bancke-fide. [Device.] London, | Printed for Nathaniel Butter, and are to be sold at his Ihop in Pauls I Church-yard at the figne of the Pide Bull neere | St. Auftins Gate, 1608."
(ii.) The title of the Second Quarto is almost identical with that ot (i.), but the device is different, and there is no allusion to the shop " at the signe of the Pide Bull."
It is now generally accepted that the <' Pide Bull" Quarto is the first edition of the play, but the question of priority depends on the minutest of bibliographical criteria, and the Cambridge editors were for a long time misled in their chronological order of the Quartos {yide Cambridge editors' Preface, pp. v.-ix.); the problem is complicated by the fact that no two of the extant six copies of the First Quarto are exactly alike ; * they diffef in having one, two, three, or four, uncorrected sheets. The Second Quarto was evidently printed from a copy 01 the First Quarto, having three uncorrected sheets. A reprint of this edition, with many additional errors, appeared in 1655.
The Folio Edition of the play was derived from an independent manu- script, and the text, from a typographical point of view, is much better than that of the earlier editions ; but it is noteworthy that some two
* Capell's copy ; the Duke of Devonshire's ; the British Museum's two copies ; the Bodleian two copies.
Preface THE TRAGEDY OF
hundred and twenty lines found in the Quartos are not found in the Folio, while about fifty lines in the Folio are wanting in the Quartos.*
Much has been written on the discrepancies between the two versions ; among modern investigations perhaps the most important are those of (i.) Delius and (ii.) Koppel ; according to (i.), " in the Quartos we have the play as it was originally performed before King James, and before the audience of the Globe, but sadly marred by misprints, printers' sophistications, and omissions, perhaps due to an imperfect and illegible MS. In the Folio we have a later MS. belonging to the Theatre, and more nearly identical with what Shakespeare wrote. The omissions of the Quartos are the blunders of the printers ; the omissions of the Folios are the abridgements of the actors ; " according to (ii.), " it was Shake- speare's own hand that cut out many of the passages both in the Quarto text and the Folio text. . , . The original form was, essentially, that of the Quarto, then followed a longer form, -wit/i the additions in the Folio, as substantially our modern editions have again restored iliem ; then the shortest form, as it is preserved for us in the Folio." f
It seems probable that the quarto represents a badly printed revised version of the original form of the play, specially prepared by the poet for performance at Court, whereas the folio is the actors' abridged version It seems hardly possible to determine the question more definitely.
Tate's Version. For more than a century and a half, from the year 1680 until the restoration of Shakespeare's tragedy at Covent Garden in 1838, Tate's per-versionof Zifar held the stage, J delighting audiencas with "the Circumstances of Lear's Restoration, and the virtuous Edgar's Alliance with the amiable Cordelia." It was to this acting-edition that Lamb referred in his famous criticism, " Tate has put his hook into the nostrils of this leviathan for Garrick and his followers," etc. Garrick, Kemble, Kean, and other great actors were quite content with this travesty, but " the Lear of Shakespeare cannot be acted."
* To the latter class belong I. ii. 119-124 ; I. iv. 345-356 ; III. i. 22-29 ! HI. ii. 79-95; to the former, I. iii. 17-23; I. iv. 154-169, 252-256; II. ii. 148-151 ; m. vi. 18-59, 109- 122 ; III. vii. 98-107 ; IV. i. 60-66 ; IV. ii. 31-50, 53-59, 62-69 ; IV. iii. ; IV. vii. 88-95 ; V. i. 23-2S ; V. iii. 54-59 ; V. iii. 204-221. Vide Praetorius' facsimiles of Quarto i and Quarto 2 ; Victor's Parallel Text of Quarto i and Folio i (Marburg, 18S6), Furness' Variorum, etc,
t Delius' Essay appeared originally in the German Shakespeare Society Year-Book X. ; and was subsequently translated into English {New. Sliak. Soc. Trans. 1875-6).
Dr Koppel's investigations are to be found in his Text-Kritische Studien iiber Richard III. u. King Lear (Dresden, 1877). ^ resume of the various theories is given in Furness' edition, pp. 359-373.
J Vide Furness, pp. 467-478.
KING LEAR Preface
The Date of Composition. The play of King Lear may safely be assigned to the year 1605 : — (i.) According to an entry in the Stationers' Register, dated 26th November 1607, it was "played before the King's Majesty at Whitehall upon S. Stephens' night at Christmas last," i.e. on the twenty-sixth of December 1606; (ii.) the names of Edgar's devils, and many of the allusions in Act III. Sc. iv. were evidently derived from Harsnett's Declaration of egregrious Popish Impostures, which was first published in 1603; (iii.) the substitution of " .ffr/^/j^ wa/i " for " Englishman " in the famous nursery-rhyme (Act III. Sc. iv. 189) seems to point to a time subsequent to the Union of England and Scotland under James I. ; the poet Daniel in a congratulatory address to the King (printed in 1603) wrote thus: —
" O thou mightie state, Now thou art all Great Britain, and no more. No Scot, no English now, nor no debate ; " *
(iv.) the allusions to the "late eclipses" (I. ii. 112, 148, 153) have been most plausibly referred to the great eclipse of the sun, which took place in October 1605, and this supposition is borne out by the fact that John Harvey's Discoursive Probleme concerning Prophesies, printed in 1588, actually contains a striking prediction thereof (hence the point of Edmund's comment, " / am thinking of a prediction I read this other day" etc. ) ; perhaps, too, there is a reference to the Gunpowder Plot in Gloucester's words, ^'■machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves."
The Sources of the Plot. The story of "Leir, the son of Balderd, ruler over the Britaynes, in the year of the world 3105, at what time Joas reigned as yet in Juda," was among the best-known stories of British history. Its origin must be sought for in the dim world of Celtic legend, or in the more remote realm of simple nature-myths,t but its place in literature dates from Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin history of the Britons, Historia Britonum, composed about 11 30, based in all proba- bility on an earlier work connected with the famous name of Nennius, though Geoffrey alleges his chief authority was " an ancient British book." To the Historia Britonum we owe the stories of Leir, Gorboduc, Locrine; there, too, we find rich treasures of Arthurian romance. Welsh, French,
* It is noteworthy that in IV. vi. 256 the Folio reads "English," where the Quartos have " British.'"
t According to some Celtic folk-lorists, " Lir" = Neptune ; the two cruel daughters= the rough Winds ; Cordelia = the gentle Zephyr. I know no better commentary on the tempestuous character of the play ; Shakespeare has unconsciously divined the germ of the myth.
Preface THE TRAGEDY OF
and English histories of Britain were derived, directly or indirectly, from this Latin history. The first to tell these tales in English verse was Layamon, son of Leovenath, priest of Arley Regis, in Worcestershire on the right bank of the Severn, who flourished at the beginning of the thirteenth century, and whose English Brut was based on Wace's French Geste des Bretons — a versified translation of Geoffrey's history. At the end of the century the story figures again in Robert of Gloucester's Metrical Chronicle ; in the fourteenth century Robert of Brunne, in the fifteenth John Hardyng, re-told in verse these ancient British stories. In the sixteenth century we have Warner's Albion's England — the popular metrical history of the period ; we have also the prose chronicles of Fabyan, Rastell, Grafton, and over and above all, Holinshed's famous Historic of England; * the story oi Leir is to be found in all these books Three versions of the tale at the end of the sixteenth century show that the poetical possibilities of the subject were recognised before Shakespeare set thereon the stamp of his genius f : — (i.) in the Mirourfor Magistrates " Queene Cordila " tells her life's " tragedy," how " in dispaire " she slew herself " the year before Christ, 800 " ; (ii.) Spenser, in Canto X. of the Second Book of the Faery Queene, summarises, in half a dozen stanzas, the story of "Cordelia" — this form of the name, used as a variant of " Cordeill " for metrical purposes, occurring here for the first time ; the last stanza may be quoted to illustrate the closing of the story in the pre-Shakespearian versions: —
" So to his crown she him. restored again In which he died, tnade ripe /or death by eld, A nd after wiltd ii should to her re7nain ; Who peacefully the same long time did weld. And all meri s hearts in due obedience held; Till that her sisters children woxen strong Through proud ambition, against her rebeUd, A nd overcommen kept in prison long. Till weary of that wretched life herself she hong" ;
(iii.) of special interest, however, is the pre-Shakespearian drama, which was entered in the books of the Stationers' Company as early as 1594 under the title of " The moste famous Chronicle htstorye o^Leire, Kinge of Eng- land, and his Three Daughters," but evidently not printed till the year 1605, when perhaps its publication was due to the popularity of the newer Chronicle History on the same subject ; " The | True Chronicle Hi | story
* In Camden's Remains the " Lear " story is told of the West-Saxon King Ina ; in the Gesta Ronianorum Theodosius takes the place of King Lear.
t The ballad of King Leir, and his three Daughters {vide Percy's Religues) is, in all probability, later than Shakespeare's play.
KING LEAR Preface
of King Leir | and his three | daughters, Gonorill, Ragan, and Cor- delia. I As it hath bene divers and sundry | times lately acted. | London I printed | by Simon Stafford for John | Wright, and are to bee sold at his shop at I Christes Church dore, next Newgate- | Market, 1605."*
It is noteworthy that the play was entered in the Registers on the 8th of May as " the tragicall historie of Kinge Leir," though the play is any- thing but a "tragedy " — its ending is a happy one. It looks, indeed, as though the original intention of the publishers was to palm off their " Leir" as identical with the great tragedy of the day.
But however worthless it may seem when placed in juxtaposition with " the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world, "f yet this less ambitious and humble production is not wholly worthless, if only for "a certain childlike sweetness" in the portraiture of " faire Cordelia,"
" Myrrour o/vertue, Phsnix o/our age ! Too kind a daughter for an unkind father I "
It may be pronounced a very favourable specimen of the popular ' comedies ' of the period to which it belonged (circa 1592), with its conventional classicism, its characteristic attempts at humour, its rhyming couplets ; like so many of its class, it has caught something of the tenderness of the Greenish drama, and something — rather less— of the aspiration of the Marlowan.J " With all its defects," says Dr Ward, " the play seems only to await the touch of a powerful hand to be converted into a tragedy of
* Vide "Six Old Plays on which Shakespeare founded his Measure for Measure," etc. ; Hazlitt's Shakespeare's Library, etc. ; an abstract of the play is given by Furness, pp. 393-401. t Shelley, Defence of Poetry, Essays, etc., 1840, p. 20.
J Here are a few lines — perhaps ' the salt of the old play ' — by way of specimen :— [the Gallian king is wooing Cordelia disguised as a Palmer].
" King. Your birth's too high for any but a king. Cordelia. My mind is low enough to love a palmer,
Rather than any king upon the earth. King. O, but you never can endure their life.
Which is so straight and full of penury. Cordelia. O yes, I can, and happy if I might : I'll hold thy palmer's staff within my hand, And think it is the sceptre of a queen. Sometime I'll set thy bonnet on my head And think I wear a rich imperial crown. Sometime I'll help thee in thy holy prayers, And think I am with thee in Paradise. Thus I'll mock fortune, as she mocketh me. And never will my lovely choice repent; For having thee, I shall have all content."
Preface THE TRAGEDY OF KING LEAR
supreme effectiveness ; and while Shakespeare's genius nowhere exerted itself with more transcendent force and marvellous versatility, it nowhere found ffiore promising materials ready to its command."*
Yet Shakespeare's debt to the old play was of the slightest, and some have held that he may not even have read it, but in all probability he derived therefrom at least a valuable hint for the character of Kent, whose prototype Perillus is by no means unskillfuUy drawn ; perhaps, too, the original of the steward Oswald is to be found in the courtier Scaliger ; again it is noteworthy that messengers with incriminating letters plav an important part in the earlier as in the later drama ; and possibly the first rumblings of the wild storm-scene of ' Lear ' may be heard in the mimic thunder which in ' Leir' strikes terror in the heart of the assassin hired to murder king and comrade — " the parlosest old men that ere he heard."
There is in the " Chronicle History" no hint of the underplot of Lear, the almost parallel story of Gloster and Edmund, whereby Shakespeare subtly emphasies the leading motif oi the play ; the vague original thereof is to be found in Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia (Book II. pp. 133-158, ed. 1508), (" the fitifull state and story of the Pafhlagonian vnkinde king, and his kind Sonne, first related by the son, then by the blind father ").
Duration of Action. The time of the play, according to Mr Daniel {vide Transactions of Neiv Shakesfere Soc, 1 877-79), covers ten days, distributed as follows : —
Day I, Act I. Sc. i. Day 2, Act I. Sc. ii. An interval of something less than afortnight. Day 3, Act I. Sc. iii., iv. Day 4, Act II. Sc. i., ii. Day 5, Act II. Sc. iii., iv. ; Act III. Sc. i.-vi. Day 6, Act III. Sc. vii. ; Act IV. Sc. i. Day 7, Act IV. Sc. ii. Perhaps an interval oi a, day or two. Day 8, Act IV. Sc. iii. Day 9, Act IV. Sc. iv., v., vi. Day \o. Act IV. Sc. vii.; Act V. Sc. i.-iii.
" The longest period, including intervals, that can be allowed for this play is one month ; though perhaps little more than three weeks is sufficient."
• History of English Dramatic Literature-, Vol. I., p. 126.
The Lear of Shakespeare cannot be acted. The contemptible machinery by which they mimic the storm which he goes out in, is not more in- adequate to represent the horrors of the real elements, than any actor can be to represent Lear: they might more easily propose to personate the Satan of Milton upon a stage, or one of Michael Angelo's terrible figures. The greatness of Lear is not in corporal dimension, but in intellectual: the explosions of his passion are terrible as a volcano : they are storms turning up and disclosing to the bottom that sea his mind, with all its vast riches. It is his mind which is laid bare. This case of flesh and blood seems too insignificant to be thought on ; even as he him- self neglects it. On the stage we see nothing but corporal infirmities and weakness, the impotence of rage; while we read it, we see not Lear, but we are Lear, — we are in his mind, we are sustained by a grandeur which baffles the malice of daughters and storms ; in the aberrations of his reason we discover a mighty irregular power of reasoning, immethodised from the ordinary purposes of life, but exerting its powers, as the wind blows where it listeth, at will upon the corruptions and abuses of man- kind. What have looks, or tones, to do with that sublime identification of his age with that of the heavens themselves, when in his reproaches to them for conniving at the injustice of his children, he reminds them that "they themselves are old"? What gestures shall we appropriate to this? What has the voice or the eye to do with such things ? But the play is beyond all art, as the tamperings with it show : it is too hard and stony ; it must have love scenes, and a happy ending. It is not enough that Cordelia is a daughter, she must shine as a lover too. Tate has put his hook in the nostrils of this Leviathan, for Garrick and his followers, the showmen of scene, to draw the mighty beast about more easily. A happy ending ! — as if the living martyrdom that Lear had gone through, — the flaying of his feelings alive, did not make a fair dismissal from the stage of life the only decorous thing for him. If he is to live and be happy after, if he could sustain this world's burden after, why all this pudder and preparation, — why torment us with all this unnecessary sympathy? As if the childish pleasure of getting his gilt robes and sceptre again could tempt him to act over again his misused station, — as if at his years, and with his experience, anything was left but to die. Charles Lamb,
DRAMATIS PERSONS
Lear, king of Britain.
King of France.
Duke of Burgundy.
Duke of Cornwall.
Duke of Albany.
Earl of Kent.
Earl of Gloucester.
Edgar, son to Gloucester.
Edmund, bastard son to Gloucester.
CuRAN, a courtier.
Old Man, tenant to Gloucester.
Doctor.
Fool.
Oswald, steivard to Goneril.
A captain employed by Edmund.
Gentleman attendant on Cordelia.
Herald.
Servants to Cornwall.
Goneril, "i
Regan, \ daughters to Lear.
Cordelia, )
Knights of Lear's train. Captains, Messengers, Soldiers, and Attendants.
Scene : Britain.
The Tragedy of King Lear
ACT FIRST. Scene I.
King Lear s palace. Enter Kent, Gloucester, and Edmund.
Kent. I thought the king had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.
Glou. It did always seem so to us : but now, in the division of the kingdom, it appears not which of the dukes he values most ; for equaUties are so weighed that curiosity in neither can make choice of either's moiety.
Kent. Is not this your son, my lord ?
Glou. His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge : I
have so often blushed to acknowledge him that lo now I am brazed to it.
Kent. I cannot conceive you.
Glou. Sir, this young fellow's mother could : where- upon she grew round-wombed, and had indeed, sir, a son for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell a fault ?
Kent. I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it being so proper.
Glou. But I have, sir, a son by order of law, some
year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in 20 my account : though this knave came something
Act I. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
saucily into the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair ; there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknow- ledged. Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund ?
Edm. No, my lord.
Glou. My lord of Kent : remember him hereafter as my honourable friend.
Edm. My services to your lordship. gO
Kent. I must love you, and sue to know you better.
Edm. Sir, I shall study deserving.
Glou. He hath been out nine years, and away he shall again. The king is coming.
Sennet. Enter one bearing a coronet, King Lear, Cornnvall, Albany, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, and Attendants.
Lear. Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, Glou- cester. Glou. I shall, my liege. \_Exeunt Gloucester and Edmund.
Lear. Meantime we shall express our darker purpose. Give me the map there. Know we have divided In three our kingdom : and 'tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age, 40
Conferring them on younger strengths, while we Unburthen'd crawl toward death. Our son of Corn- wall, And you, our no less loving son of Albany, We have this hour a constant will to publish Our daughters' several dowers, that future strife May be prevented now. The princes, France and
Burgundy, Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love.
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. i.
Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn,
And here are to be answer'd. Tell me, my daughters,
Since now we will divest us both of rule, 50
Interest of territory, cares of state,
Which of you shall we say doth love us most ?
That we our largest bounty may extend
Where nature doth with merit challenge. Goneril,
Our eldest-born, speak first.
Gon. Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter, Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty, Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare. No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour, As much as child e'er loved or father found ; 60
A love that makes breath poor and speech unable ; Beyond all manner of so much I love you.
Cor. \_Aside\ What shall Cordelia do ? Love, and be silent.
Lear. Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, With shadowy forests and with champains rich'd. With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads. We make thee lady. To thine and Albany's issue Be this perpetual. What says our second daughter, Our dearest Regan, wife to Cornwall .'* Speak.
Reg. I am made of that self metal as my sister, 70
And prize me at her worth. In my true heart I find she names my very deed of love ; Only she comes too short : that I profess Myself an enemy to all other joys Which the most precious square of sense possesses, And find I am alone felicitate In your dear highness' love.
Act I. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Cor. [Aside] Then poor Cordelia !
And yet not so, since I am sure my love 's More ponderous than my tongue. 80
Lear. To thee and thine hereditary ever
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom, No less in space, validity and pleasure, Than that conferr'd on Goneril. Now, our joy. Although the last, not least, to whose young love The vines of France and milk of Burgundy Strive to be interess'd, what can you say to draw A third more opulent than your sisters ? Speak.
Cor. Nothing, my lord.
Lear. Nothing ! 90
Cor. Nothing.
Lear. Nothing will come of nothing : speak again.
Cor. Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth : I love your majesty According to my bond ; nor more nor less.
Lear. How, how, Cordelia ! mend your speech a little. Lest it may mar your fortunes.
Cor. Good my lord.
You have begot me, bred me, loved me : I Return those duties back as are right fit, Obey you, love you, and most honour you. loo
Why have my sisters husbands, if they say They love you all ? Haply, when I shall wed. That lord whose hand must take my plight shall
carry Half my love with him, half my care and duty : Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters. To love my father all.
Lear. But goes thy heart with this .''
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. i.
Cor. Ay, good my lord.
Lear. So young, and so untender ?
Cor. So young, my lord, and true.
Lear. Let it be so; thy truth then be thy dower: no
For, by the sacred radiance of the sun, The mysteries of Hecate, and the night ; By all the operation of the orbs From whom we do exist and cease to be ; Here I disclaim all my paternal care, Propinquity and property of blood. And as a stranger to my heart and me Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous
Scythian, Or he that makes his generation messes To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom 120
Be as well neighbour'd, pitied and relieved, As thou my sometime daughter.
I^ent. Good my liege, —
Lear. Peace, Kent !
Come not between the dragon and his wrath.
I loved her most, and thought to set my rest
On her kind nursery. Hence, and avoid my sight !
So be my grave my peace, as here I give
Her father's heart from her ! Call France. Who
stirs .'' Call Burgundy. Cornwall and Albany, With my two daughters' dowers digest this third : Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her. 121 I do invest you jointly with my power. Pre-eminence and all the large effects That troop with majesty, Ourself, by monthly course, With reservation of an hundred knights
Act I. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
By you to be sustain'd, shall our abode
Make with you by due turns. Only we still retain
The name and all the additions to a king ;
The sway, revenue, execution of the rest.
Beloved sons, be yours : which to confirm, 140
This coronet part betwixt you.
Kent. Royal Lear,
Whom I have ever honour'd as my king. Loved as my father, as my master foUow'd, As my great patron thought on in my prayers, —
Lear. The bow is bent and drawn ; make from the shaft.
Kent. Let it fall rather, though the fork invade
The region of my heart : be Kent unmannerly. When Lear is mad. What wouldst thou do, old man ? Think'st thou that duty shall have dread to speak, When power to flattery bows .'' To plainness honour's bound, 150
When majesty stoops to folly. Reverse thy doom. And in thy best consideration check This hideous rashness : answer my life my judgement. Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least ; Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound Reverbs no hollowness.
Lear. Kent, on thy life, no more.
Ketit. My life I never held but as a pawn
To wage against thy enemies, nor fear to lose it, Thy safety being the motive.
Lear. Out of my sight !
Kent. See better, Lear, and let me still remain 160
The true blank of thine eye.
Lear. Now, by Apollo, —
Kent. Now, by Apollo, king,
KING LEAR Act I, Sc. i.
Thou swear'st thy gods in vain. Lear. O, vassal ! miscreant !
[Laying his hand on his sword.
_ * \ Dear sir, forbear. Lorn. J
Kent. Do ;
Kill thy physician, and the fee bestow Upon the foul disease. Revoke thy doom ; Or, whilst I can vent clamour from my throat, I '11 tell thee thou dost evil.
Lear. Hear me, recreant !
On thy allegiance, hear me ! 170
Since thou hast sought to make us break our vow, Which we durst never yet, and with strain'd pride To come between our sentence and our power. Which nor our nature nor our place can bear, Our potency made good, take thy reward. Five days we do allot thee, for provision To shield thee from diseases of the world, And on the sixth to turn thy hated back Upon our kingdom : if on the tenth day following Thy banish'd trunk be found in our dominions, 180 The moment is thy death. Away ! By Jupiter, This shall not be revoked.
Kent. Fare thee well, king : sith thus thou wilt appear. Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here. [To Cordelia] The gods to their dear shelter take thee,
maid. That justly think'st and hast most rightly said ! [To Regan and Goneril] And your large speeches may
your deeds approve, That good effects may spring from words of love.
Act I. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu ;
He '11 shape his old course in a country new. [Exit.
Flourish. Re-enter Gloucester, luith France^ Burgundy, and Attendatits.
Glou. Here's France and Burgundy, my noble lord. 191 Lear. My lord of Burgundy,
We first address towards you, who with this king
Hath rivall'd for our daughter : what, in the least,
Will you require in present dower with her.
Or cease your quest of love ? Bur. Most royal majesty,
I crave no more than what your highness offer'd.
Nor will you tender less. Lear. Right noble Burgundy,
When she was dear to us, we did hold her so ;
But now her price is fall'n. Sir, there she stands :
If aught within that Httle seeming substance, 201
Or all of it, with our displeasure pieced.
And nothing more, may fitly like your grace.
She's there, and she is yours. Bur. I know no answer.
Lear. Will you, with those infirmities she owes.
Unfriended, new adopted to our hate,
Dower'd with our curse and stranger'd with our oath.
Take her, or leave her .'' Bur. Pardon me, royal sir ;
Election makes not up on such conditions. Lear. Then leave her, sir ; for, by the power that made me,
I tell you all her wealth. \To France'] For you, great king, 2 1 1
I would not from your love make such a stray,
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. i.
To match you where I hate j therefore beseech you To avert your liking a more worthier way Than on a wretch whom nature is ashamed Almost to acknowledge hers.
France. This is most strange,
That she, that even but now was your best object, The argument of your praise, balm of your age, Most best, most dearest, should in this trice of time Commit a thing so monstrous, to dismantle 220
So many folds of favour. Sure, her offence Must be of such unnatural degree That monsters it, or your fore-vouch'd affection Fall'n into taint : which to believe of her. Must be a faith that reason without miracle Could never plant in me.
Cor. I yet beseech your majesty, —
If for I want that glib and oily art, To speak and purpose not, since what I well intend, I '11 do 't before I speak, — that you make known It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness, 230
No unchaste action, or dishonour'd step, That hath deprived me of your grace and favour ; But even for want of that for which I am richer, A still-soliciting eye, and such a tongue As I am glad I have not, though not to have it Hath lost me in your liking.
Lear. Better thou
Hadst not been born than not to have pleased me better.
Frafice. Is it but this .'' a tardiness in nature Which often leaves the history unspoke That it intends to do .? My lord of Burgundy, 240 What say you to the lady ? Love 's not love
Act I. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
When it is mingled with regards that stand Aloof from the entire point. Will you have her ? She is herself a dowry.
Bur. Royal Lear,
Give but that portion which yourself proposed, And here I take Cordelia by the hand, Duchess of Burgundy.
Lear. Nothing : I have sworn ; I am firm.
Bur. I am sorry then you have so lost a father That you must lose a husband.
Cor. Peace be with Burgundy !
Since that respects of fortune are his love, 251
I shall not be his wife.
France. Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being poor. Most choice forsaken, and most loved despised, Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon : Be it lawful I take up what 's cast away. Gods, gods ! 'tis strange that from their cold'st neglect My love should kindle to inflamed respect. Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my chance. Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair Fi-ance : 260
Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy Can buy this unprized precious maid of me. Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind : Thou losest here, a better where to find.
Lear. Thou hast her, France ; let her be thine, for we Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see That face of hers again. Therefore be gone Without our grace, our love, our benison. Come, noble Burgundy.
[^Flourish. Exeunt all but France, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia.
KING LEAR Act. I. Sc. i.
France. Bid farewell to your sisters. 270
Cor. The jewels of our father, with wash'd eyes
Cordelia leaves you : I know you what you are ;
And, like a sister, am most loath to call
Your faults as they are named. Use well our father :
To your professed bosoms I commit him :
But yet, alas, stood I within his grace,
I would prefer him to a better place.
So farewell to you both. Reg. Prescribe not us our duties. Gon. Let your study
Be to content your lord, who hath received you 280
At fortune's alms. You have obedience scanted.
And well are worth the want that you have wanted. Cor. Time shall unfold what plaited cunning hides :
Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.
Well may you prosper ! France. Come, my fair Cordelia.
\^Exeunt France and Cordelia. Gon. Sister, it is not a little I have to say of what
most nearly appertains to us both. I think our
father will hence to-night. Reg. That 's most certain, and with you ; next month
with us. 290
Gon. You see how full of changes his age is ; the
observation we have made of it hath not been
little : he always loved our sister most ; and with
what poor judgement he hath now cast her off
appears too grossly. Reg. 'Tis the infirmity of his age : yet he hath ever
but slenderly known himself. Gon. The best and soundest of his time hath been
Act I. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
but rash ; then must we look to receive from his age, not alone the imperfections of long in- ^oo grafted condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them.
Reg. Such unconstant starts are we like to have from him as this of Kent's banishment.
Gofj. There is further compliment of leave-taking between France and him. Pray you, let 's hit together : if our father carry authority with such dispositions as he bears, this last surrender of his will but offend us. 310
Reg. We shall further think on 't.
Gon. We must do something, and i' the heat. [Exeunt.
Scene II.
The Earl of Gloucester's castle.
Enter Edmund, nvith a letter.
Edm. Thou, nature, art my goddess ; to thy law My services are bound. Wherefore should I Stand in the plague of custom, and permit The curiosity of nations to deprive me, For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines Lag of a brother ? Why bastard ? wherefore base } When my dimensions are as well compact. My mind as generous and my shape as true, As honest madam's issue ? Why brand they us With base ? with baseness ? bastardy ? base, base ? Who in the lusty stealth of nature take 1 1
More composition and fierce quality
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. ii.
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed,
Go to the creating a whole tribe of fops.
Got 'tween asleep and wake ? Well then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land :
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate : fine word, 'legitimate' !
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base 20
Shall top the legitimate. I grow ; I prosper :
Now, gods, stand up for bastards !
Enter Gloucester.
Gloii. Kent banish'd thus ! and France in choler parted ! And the king gone to-night ! subscribed his power ! Confined to exhibition ! All this done Upon the gad ! Edmund, how now ! what news ?
Edm. So please your lordship, none.
[Puttitig up the letter.
Glou. Why so earnestly seek you to put up that letter ?
Edm. I know no news, my lord.
Glou. What paper were you reading ? 50
Edm. Nothing, my lord.
Glou. No? What needed then that terrible dispatch of it into your pocket ? the quality of nothing hath not such need to hide itself. Let 's see : come, if it be nothing, I shall not need spectacles.
Edm. I beseech you, sir, pardon me : it is a letter from my brother, that I have not all o'er-read ; and for so much as I have perused, I find it not fit for your o'er-looking. 40
Glou. Give me the letter, sir.
Act I. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Edm. I shall offend, either to detain or give it. The contents, as in part I understand them, are to blame.
Glou. Let 's see, let 's see.
Edm. I hope, for my brother's justification, he wrote this but as an essay or taste of my virtue.
Glou. [Reads] ' This policy and reverence of age makes the world bitter to the best of our times ; keeps our fortunes from us till our oldness 50 cannot relish them. I begin to find an idle and fond bondage in the oppression of aged tyranny ; who sways, not as it hath power, but as it is suffered. Come to me, that of this I may speak more. If our father would sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue for ever, and live the beloved of your brother, Edgar.'
Hum ! Conspiracy ! — ' Sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue ! ' — My son Edgar ! Had he a hand to write this ? a heart 60 and brain to breed it in .? When came this to you ? who brought it ?
Edm. It was not brought me, my lord ; there 's the cunning of it ; I found it thrown in at the case- ment of my closet.
G/ou. You know the character to be your brother's ?
Edm. If the matter were good, my lord, I durst swear it were his ; but, in respect of that, I would fain think it were not.
Glou. It is his. 70
Edm. It is his hand, my lord ; but I hope his heart is not in the contents.
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. ii.
Glou. Hath he never heretofore sounded you in this
business ? Edm. Never, my lord : but I have heard him oft maintain it to be fit, that, sons at perfect age, and fathers declining, the father should be as ward to the son, and the son manage his revenue.
Glou. O villain, villain ! His very opinion in the
letter! Abhorred villain ! Unnatural, detested, 80 brutish villain ! worse than brutish ! Go, sirrah, seek him ; ay, apprehend him : abominable villain ! Where is he ?
Edm. I do not well know, my lord. If it shall please you to suspend your indignation against my brother till you can derive from him better testimony of his intent, you should run a certain course ; where, if you violently proceed against him, mistaking his purpose, it would make a great gap in your own honour and shake in 90 pieces the heart of his obedience. I dare pawn down my life for him that he hath wrote this to feel my affection to your honour and to no further pretence of danger.
Glou. Think you so ?
Edm. If yaur honour judge it meet, I will place you where you shall hear us confer of this, and by an auricular assurance have your satisfaction, and that without any further delay than this very evening. lOO
Glou. He cannot be such a monster —
Edm. Nor is not, sure,
Glou. To his father, that so tenderly and entirely loves him. Heaven and earth ! Edmund, seek
Act I. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
him out ; wind me into him, I pray you : frame the business after your own wisdom. I would unstate myself, to be in a due resolution.
Edm. I will seek him, sir, presently, convey the business as I shall find means, and acquaint you withal. no
Glou. These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us : though the wisdom of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects : love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide : in cities, mutinies ; in countries, discord ; in palaces, treason ; and the bond cracked 'twixt son and father. This villain of mine comes under the prediction ; there 's son against father : the king falls from bias of nature ; there 's father against 1 20 child. We have seen the best of our time : machinations, hollowness, treachery and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves. Find out this villain, Edmund ; it shall lose thee nothing ; do it carefully. And the noble and true-hearted Kent banished ! his offence, honesty ! 'Tis strange. \^Extt.
Edm. This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune — often the surfeit of our own behaviour — we make guilty of our 130 disasters the sun, the moon and the stars : as if we were villains by necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion ; knaves, thieves and treachers, by spherical predominance ; drunkards, liars and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of planetary influence ; and all that we are evil in, by a divine
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. ii.
thrusting on : an admirable evasion of whore- master man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a star ! My father compounded with my mother under the dragon's tail, and my 140 nativity was under Ursa major ; so that it follows I am rough and lecherous. Tut, I should have been that I am, had the maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardizing. Edgar —
Enter Edgar.
And pat he comes like the catastrophe of the old comedy : my cue is villanous melancholy, with a sigh like Tom o' Bedlam. O, these eclipses do portend these divisions ! fa, sol, la, mi.
Edg. How now, brother Edmund ! what serious con- templation are you in .'' 1 50
Edm. I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I read this other day, what should follow these eclipses.
Edg. Do you busy yourself about that ?
Edm. I promise you, the effects he writ of succeed unhappily ; as of unnaturalness between the child and the parent ; death, dearth, dissolutions of ancient amities ; divisions in state, menaces and maledictions against king and nobles ; needless diffidences, banishment of friends, dissipation of cohorts, nuptial breaches, and I know not 160 what.
Edg. How long have you been a sectary astronomical .?
Edm. Come, come ; when saw you my father last !
Edg. Why, the night gone by.
Edm. Spake you with him ?
Edg. Ay, two hours together.
Act I. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Edm. Parted you in good terms ? Found you no displeasure in him by word or countenance ?
Edg. None at all.
Edw. Bethink yourself wherein you may have offended 1 70 him : and at my entreaty forbear his presence till some little time hath qualified the heat of his displeasure, which at this instant so rageth in him that with the mischief of your person it would scarcely allay.
Edg. Some villain hath done me wrong.
Edm. That's my fear. I pray you, have a continent forbearance till the speed of his rage goes slower, and, as I say, retire with me to my lodging, from whence I will fitly bring you to hear my 180 lord speak : pray ye, go ; there 's my key : if you do stir abroad, go armed.
Edg. Armed, brother !
Edm. Brother, I advise you to the best : go armed : I am no honest man if there be any good mean- ing towards you : I have told you what I have seen and heard ; but faintly, nothing like the image and horror of it : pray you, away.
Edg. Shall I hear from you anon ? 189
Edm. I do serve you in this business. [Exit Edgar.
A credulous father, and a brother noble, Whose nature is so far from doing harms That he suspects none ; on whose foolish honesty My practices ride easy. I see the business. Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit : All with me 's meet that I can fashion fit. [Exit.
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. iii.
Scene III.
The Duke of Albany's palace. Enter Goneril and Osivald, her steivard.
Gon. Did my father strike my gentleman for chiding of his fool ?
Osiu. Yes, madam.
Gon. By day and night he wrongs me ; every hour He flashes into one gross crime or other, That sets us all at odds : I '11 not endure it : His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us On every trifle. When he returns from hunting, I will not speak with him ; say I am sick : If you come slack of former services, You shall do well ; the fault of it I '11 answer. lo
Ostu. He 's coming, madam ; I hear him. [^Horns within.
Gon. Put on what weary negligence you please,
You and your fellows ; I 'Id have it come to question :
If he distaste it, let him to our sister.
Whose mind and mine, I know, in that are one,
Not to be over-ruled. Idle old man.
That still would manage those authorities
That he hath given away ! Now, by my life,
Old fools are babes again, and must be used
With checks as flatteries, when they are seen abused.
Remember what I tell you.
Osnv. Very well, madam. 21
Gon. And let his knights have colder looks among you ; What grows of it, no matter ; advise your fellows so : I would breed from hence occasions, and I shall, That I may speak : I'll write straight to my sister, To hold my very course. Prepare for dinner. \Exeunt.
Act I. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Scene IV.
A hall in the same.
Enter Kent, disguised.
Kent. If but as well I other accents borrow.
That can my speech defuse, my good intent
May carry through itself to that full issue
For which I razed my likeness. Now, banish'd Kent,
If thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemn'd.
So may it come, thy master whom thou lovest
Shall find thee full of labours.
Horns 'within. Enter Lear, Knights, and Attendants.
Lear. Let me not stay a jot for dinner ; go get it ready. [^Exit an Attendant.^ How now ! what art thou ? lo
Kent. A man, sir.
Lear. What dost thou profess ? What wouldst thou with us ?
Kent. I do profess to be no less than I seem ; to serve him truly that will put me in trust ; to love him that is honest ; to converse with him that is wise and says little ; to fear judgement ; to fight when I cannot choose, and to eat no fish.
Lear. What art thou ?
Kent. A very honest-hearted fellow, and as poor as 20 the king.
Lear. If thou be as poor for a subject as he is for a king, thou art poor enough. What wouldst thou ?
Kent. Service.
Lear. Who wouldst thou serve ?
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. iv.
Kent. You.
Lear. Dost thou know me, fellow ?
Kent. No, sir ; but you have that in your countenance which I would fain call master.
Lear. What 's that ? 20
Kent. Authority.
Lear. What services canst thou do ?
Kent. I can keep honest counsel, ride, run, mar a curious tale in telling it, and deliver a plain message bluntly : that which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in, and the best of me is diligence.
Lear. How old art thou .''
Kent. Not so young, sir, to love a woman for singing, nor so old to dote on her for any thing : I have years on my back forty eight. op
Lear. Follow me ; thou shalt serve me : if I like thee no worse after dinner, I will not part from thee yet. Dinner, ho, dinner ! Where 's my knave ? my fool ? Go you, and call my fool hither.
\Exit an Attendant.
Enter Osnvald. You, you, sirrah, where 's my daughter ?
Osnv. So please you, — \Exit.
Lear. What says the fellow there ? Call the clot- poll back. \Exit a Knight.'\ Where 's my fool, ho 1 I think the world 's asleep.
Re-enter Knight.
How now ! where 's that mongrel .'' 50
Knight. He says, my lord, your daughter is not well. Lear. Why came not the slave back to me when I
called him .''
Act I. Sc. iv THE TRAGEDY OF
Ktiight. Sir, he answered me in the roundest manner, he would not.
Lear. He would not !
Knight. My lord, I know not what the matter is ; but, to my judgement, your highness is not enter- tained with that ceremonious affection as you were wont ; there 's a great abatement of kind- 6o ness appears as well in the general dependants as in the duke himself also and your daughter.
Lear. Ha ! sayst thou so ?
Knight. I beseech you, pardon me, my lord, if I be mistaken ; for my duty cannot be silent when I think your highness wronged.
Lear. Thou but rememberest me of mine own con- ception : I have perceived a most faint neglect of late ; which I have rather blamed as mine own jealous curiosity than as a very pretence and pur- 70 pose of unkindness : I will look further into 't. But where 's my fool? I have not seen him this two days.
Knight. Since my young lady's going into France, sir, the fool hath much pined away.
Lear. No more of that ; I have noted it well. Go you, and tell my daughter I would speak with her. \^Exit an Attendant. "] Go you, call hither ray fool. [Exit an Attendant.
Re-enter Oswald. O, you sir, you, come you hither, sir: who am 80 T, sir .''
Osiu. My lady's father.
Lear. My lady's father ! my lord's knave : you whoreson dog ! you slave ! you cur !
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. iv.
Osiv. I am none of these, my lord j I beseech your
pardon. Lear. Do you bandy looks with me, you rascal ?
[^Striking him.
Osw. I '11 not be struck, my lord.
Kent. Nor tripped neither, you base foot-ball player.
[Tripping up his heels.
Lear. I thank thee, fellow ; thou servest me, and I '11 90 love thee.
Kent. Come, sir, arise, away ! I '11 teach you differ- ences : away, away ! If you will measure your lubber's length again, tarry : but away ! go to ; have you wisdom ? so. [Pushes Oswald out.
Lear. Now, my friendly knave, I thank thee : there 's
earnest of thy service. [Giving Kent money.
Enter Fool.
Fool. Let me hire him too : here 's my coxcomb.
[Offering Kent his cap.
Lear. How now, my pretty knave ! how dost thou ?
Fool. Sirrah, you were best take my coxcomb. 100
Kent. Why, fool ?
Fool. Why, for taking one's part that 's out of favour : nay, an thou canst not smile as the wind sits, thou 'It catch cold shortly: there, take my cox- comb : why, this fellow hath banished two on 's daughters, and done the third a blessing against his will J if thou follow him, thou must needs wear my coxcomb. How now, nuncle ! Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters !
Lear. Why, my boy 1 1 10
Fool. If I gave them all my living, I 'Id keep my cox-
Act I. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
combs myself. There 's mine ; beg another of thy daughters. Lear. Take heed, sirrah ; the whip. Fool. Truth's a dog must to kennel; he must be whipped out, when Lady the brach may stand by the fire and stink. Lear. A pestilent gall to me ! Fool. Sirrah, I'll teach thee a speech.
Lear. Do. 120
Fool. Mark it, nuncle :
Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest. Lend less than thou owest, Ride more than thou goest, Learn more than thou trowest, Set less than thou throwest ; Leave thy drink and thy whore, And keep in-a-door.
And thou shalt have more igo
Than two tens to a score. Kent. This is nothing, fool.
Fool. Then 'tis like the breath of an unfee'd lawyer, you gave me nothing for 't. Can you make no use of nothing, nuncle .'' Lear. Why, no, boy ; nothing can be made out of
nothing. Fool. [To Ketit\ Prithee, tell him, so much the rent of
his land comes to : he will not believe a fool. Lear. A bitter fool ! I4O
Fool. Dost thou know the difference, my boy, between
a bitter fool and a sweet fool ? Lear No, lad; teach me.
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. iv.
Fool. That lord that counsell'd thee
To give away thy land, Come place him here by me ;
Do thou for him stand : The sweet and bitter fool Will presently appear ; The one in motley here, 1 50
The other found out there. Lear. Dost thou call me fool, boy ? Fool. All thy other titles thou hast given away ; that
thou wast born with. Kent. This is not altogether fool, my lord. Fool. No, faith, lords and great men will not let me ; if I had a monopoly out, they would have part on 't : and ladies too, they will not let me have all the fool to myself j they'll be snatching. Give me an egg, nuncle, and I '11 give thee two crowns. 160 Lear. "What two crowns shall they be ? Fool. Why, after I have cut the egg in the middle and eat up the meat, the two crowns of the egg. When thou clovest thy crown i' the middle and gavest away both parts, thou borest thine ass on thy back o'er the dirt : thou hadst little wit in thy bald crown when thou gavest thy golden one away If I speak like myself in this, let him be whipped that first finds it so. [Singing] Fools had ne'er less wit in a year; 1 70
For wise men are grown foppish. And know not how their wits to wear, Their manners are so apish. Le<ir. When were you wont to be so full of songs, sirrah ?
Act I. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Fool. I have used it, nuncle, ever since thou madest thy daughters thy mother : for when thou gavest them the rod and puttest down thine own breeches,
\^inging\ Then they for sudden joy did weep.
And I for sorrow sung, i8o
That such a king should play bo-peep. And go the fools among. Prithee, nuncle, keep a schoolmaster that can teach thy fool to lie : I would fain learn to lie.
Lear. An you lie, sirrah, we '11 have you whipped.
Fool. I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters are : they'll have me whipped for speaking true, thou 'It have me whipped for lying, and some- times I am whipped for holding my peace. I had rather be any kind o' thing than a fool : and 190 yet I would not be thee, nuncle ; thou hast pared thy wit o' both sides and left nothing i' the middle. Here comes one o' the parings.
Enter Goneril.
Lear. How now, daughter ! what makes that frontlet on ? Methinks you are too much of late i' the frown. Fool. Thou wast a pretty fellow when thou hadst no need to care for her frowning ; now thou art an O without a figure : I am better than thou art now J I am a fool, thou art nothing. [To Gon?\ 200 Yes, forsooth, I will hold my tongue ; so your face bids me, though you say nothing.
Mum, mum :
He that keeps nor crust nor crumb.
Weary of all, shall want some.
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. iv.
[^Pointing to Lear] That 's a shealed peascod.
Gon. Not only, sir, this your all-licensed fool. But other of your insolent retinue Do hourly carp and quarrel, breaking forth In rank and not to be endured riots. Sir, 210
I had thought, by making this well known unto you, To have found a safe redress ; but now grow fearful, By what yourself too late have spoke and done. That you protect this course and put it on By your allowance ; which if you should, the fault Would not 'scape censure, nor the redresses sleep. Which, in the tender of a wholesome weal. Might in their working do you that offence Which else were shame, that then necessity Will call discreet proceeding. 220
Fool. For, you know, nuncle,
The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long. That it had it head bit off by it young. So out went the candle, and we were left darkling.
Lear. Are you our daughter .''
Gon. Come, sir,
I would you would make use of that good wisdom Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away These dispositions that of late transform you From what you rightly are. 230
Fool. May not an ass know when the cart draws the horse ? Whoop, Jug ! I love thee.
Lear. Doth any here know me ? This is not Lear :
Doth Lear walk thus? speak thus? where are his eyes ? Either his notion weakens, his discernings Are lethargied — Ha ! waking ? 'tis not so. Who is it that can tell me who I am ?
Act I. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Fool. Lear's shadow.
Lear. I would learn that ; for, by the marks of
sovereignty, knowledge and reason, I should be 240 false persuaded I had daughters.
Fool. Which they will make an obedient father.
Lear. Your name, fair gentlewoman ?
Gon. This admiration, sir, is much o' the savour Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you To understand my purposes aright : As you are old and reverend, you should be wise. Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires j Men so disorder'd, so debosh'd and bold. That this our court, infected with their manners, 250 Shows like a riotous inn : epicurism and lust Make it more like a tavern or a brothel Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak For instant remedy : be then desired By her that else will take the thing she begs A Httle to disquantity your train. And the remainder that shall still depend. To be such men as may besort your age, Which know themselves and you.
Lear. Darkness and devils !
Saddle my horses ; call my train together. 260
Degenerate bastard ! I '11 not trouble thee : Yet have I left a daughter.
Gon. You strike my people, and your disorder'd rabble Make servants of their betters.
Enter Albany.
Lear. Woe, that too late repents, — \To Alb."] O, sir, are you come ?
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. iv.
Is it your will ? Speak, sir. Prepare my horses. Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend. More hideous when thou show'st thee in a child Than the sea-monster !
Alb. Pray, sir, be patient.
Lear. [To Gon.] Detested kite ! thou liest. 270
My train are men of choice and rarest parts. That all particulars of duty know. And in the most exact regard support The worships of their name. O most small fault, How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show ! That, like an engine, wrench'd my frame of nature From the fix'd place, drew from my heart all love And added to the gall. O Lear, Lear, Lear ! Beat at this gate, that let thy folly in
[Striking his head. And thy dear judgement out ! Go, go, my people.
Alb. My lord, I am guiltless, as I am ignorant 281
Of what hath moved you.
Lear. It may be so, my lord.
Hear, nature, hear ; dear goddess, hear ! Suspend thy purpose, if thou didst intend To make this creature fruitful : Into her womb convey sterility : Dry up in her the organs of increase. And from her derogate body never spring A babe to honour her ! If she must teem, Create her child of spleen, that it may live 290
And be a thwart disnatured torment to her. Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth ; With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks ; Turn all her mother's pains and benefits
Act I. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
To laughter and contempt ; that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child ! Away, away ! [Exif.
Alb. Now, gods that we adore, whereof comes this ?
Goji. Never afflict yourself to know the cause.
But let his disposition have that scope 300
That dotage gives it.
Re-enter Lear.
Lear. What, fifty of my followers at a clap ! Within a fortnight !
Alb. What 's the matter, sir ?
Lear. I '11 tell thee, \To Gon.'\ Life and Death ! I am ashamed That thou hast power to shake my manhood thus ; That these hot tears, which break from me perforce, Should make thee worth them. Blasts and fogs upon
thee ! The untented woundings of a father's curse Pierce every sense about thee ! Old fond eyes, Beweep this cause again, I'll pluck ye out 310
And cast you with the waters that you lose To temper clay. Yea, is it come to this ? Let it be so : yet have I left a daughter, Who, I am sure, is kind and comfortable : When she shall hear this of thee, with her nails She'll flay thy wolvish visage. Thou shalt find That I '11 resume the shape which thou dost think I have cast off for ever : thou shalt, I warrant thee.
[Exeunt Lear, Kent, and Attendants.
Gon. Do you mark that, my lord ?
Alb. I cannot be so partial, Goneril, 320
To the great love I bear you, —
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. iv.
Gon. Pray you, content. What, Oswald, ho !
\To the Foot] You, sir, more knave than fool, after your master. Fool. Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry ; take the fool with thee.
A fox, when one has caught her. And such a daughter. Should sure to the slaughter, If my cap would buy a halter : So the fool follows after. [Fxit. 350
Gon. This man hath had good counsel : a hundred knights ! 'Tis politic and safe to let him keep At point a hundred knights : yes, that on every dream. Each buzz, each fancy, each complaint, dislike. He may enguard his dotage with their powers And hold our lives in mercy. Oswald, I say ! j4/i>. Well, you may fear too far.
Gon. Safer than trust too far :
Let me still take away the harms I fear, Not fear still to be taken : I know his heart. What he hath utter'd I have writ my sister : 340
If she sustain him and his hundred knights, When I have show'd the unfitness, —
Re-enter Ostuald.
How now, Oswald ! What, have you writ that letter to my sister }
Osnv. Yes, madam.
Gon. Take you some company, and away to horse : Inform her full of my particular fear, And thereto add such reasons of your own As may compact it more. Get you gone ;
Act I. Sc. V. THE TRAGEDY OF
And hasten your return. [Exit Oswald.'] No, no,
my lord, This milky gentleness and course of yours 350
Though I condemn not, yet, under pardon. You are much more attask'd for want of wisdom Than praised for harmful mildness.
Alb. How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell : Striving to better, oft we mar what 's well.
Gon. Nay, then —
Alb. Well, well ; the event. [Exeunt.
Scene V.
Court before the same. Enter Lear, Kent, and Fool.
Lear. Go you before to Gloucester with these letters. Acquaint my daughter no further with any thing you know than comes from her demand out of the letter. If your diligence be not speedy, I shall be there afore you.
Kent. I will not sleep, my lord, till I have delivered
your letter. [Exit.
Fool. If a man's brains were in 's heels, were 't not in danger of kibes ?
Lear. Ay, boy. 10
Fool. Then, I prithee, be merry ; thy wit shall ne'er go slip-shod.
Lear. Ha, ha, ha !
Fool. Shalt see thy other daughter will use thee kindly ; for though she 's as like this as a crab 's like an apple, yet I can tell what I can tell.
Lear. Why, what canst thou tell, my boy ?
KING LEAR Act I. Sc. v.
Fool. She will taste as like this as a crab does to a
crab. Thou canst tell why one's nose stands i'
the middle on 's face ? 20
Lear. No. Fool. Why, to keep one's eyes of either side 's nose,
that what a man cannot smell out he may spy into. Lear. I did her wrong —
Fool. Canst tell how an oyster makes his shell ? Lear. No. Fool. Nor I neither; but I can tell why a snail has
a house. Lear. Why ? Fool. Why, to put 's head in ; not to give it away to 30
his daughters, and leave his horns without a case. Lear. I will forget my nature. — So kind a father !
— Be my horses ready ? Fool. Thy asses are gone about 'em. The reason
why the seven stars are no more than seven is a
pretty reason. Lear. Because they are not eight ? Fool. Yes, indeed : thou wouldst make a good fool. Lear. To take 't again perforce ! Monster ingratitude ! Fool. If thou wert my fool, nuncle, I 'Id have thee 40
beaten for being old before thy time. Lear. How 's that } Fool. Thou shouldst not have been old till thou
hadst been wise. Lear. O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven !
Keep me in temper : I would not be mad !
Enter Gentleman. How now ! are the horses ready ?
10 u
Act II. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Gent. Ready, my lord.
Lear. Come, boy. 49
Fool. She that 's a maid now and laughs at my departure Shall not be a maid long, unless things be cut shorter.
\_Exeunt.
ACT SECOND. Scene I.
The Earl of Gloucester s castle.
Enter Edmutid and Curan, meeting.
Edtn. Save thee, Curan.
Cur. And you, sir. I have been with your father, and
given him notice that the Duke of Cornwall and
Regan his duchess will be here with him this
night. Edm. How comes that ? Cur. Nay, I know not. You have heard of the news
abroad, I mean the whispered ones, for they are
yet but ear-kissing arguments ? Edm. Not I : pray you, what are they ? lo
Cur. Have you heard of no likely wars toward, 'twixt
the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany ? Edm. Not a word.
Cur. You may do then in time. Fare you well, sir. \Exit. Edm. The Duke be here to-night ? The better ! best !
This weaves itself perforce into my business.
My father hath set guard to take my brother ;
And I have one thing, of a queasy question.
Which I must act : briefness and fortune, work ! 20
Brother, a word ; descend : brother, I say !
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. i.
Enter Edgar.
My father watches : O sir, fly this place ;
Intelligence is given where you are hid ;
You have now the good advantage of the night :
Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall ?
He's coming hither, now, i' the night, i' the haste.
And Regan with him : have you nothing said
Upon his party 'gainst the Duke of Albany ?
Advise yourself. Edg. I am sure on 't, not a word.
Ed7n. I hear my father coming : pardon me : 30
In cunning I must draw my sword upon you :
Draw: seem to defend yourself: now quit you well.
Yield : come before my father. Light, ho, here !
Fly, brother. Torches, torches ! So farewell.
[Exit Edgar.
Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion
\Wounds his arm.
Of my more fierce endeavour : I have seen drunkards
Do more than this in sport. Father, father !
Stop, stop ! No help ?
Enter Gloucester ^ and Servants luith torches.
Glou. Now, Edmund, where 's the villain ?
Edm. Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out, 40
Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon
To stand 's auspicious mistress. Glou. But where is he ?
Edm. Look, sir, I bleed.
Gtou. Where is the villain, Edmund ?
EdfH. Fled this way, sir. When by no means he could —
Act II. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Glou. Pursue him, ho ! — Go after. [Exeunt some Servants.^ ' By no means ' what ?
Edm. Persuade me to the murder of your lordship j But that I told him the revenging gods 'Gainst parricides did all their thunders bend, Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond The child was bound to the father ; sir, in fine, 50 Seeing how loathly opposite I stood To his unnatural purpose, in fell motion With his prepared sword he charges home My unprovided body, lanced mine arm : But when he saw my best alarum'd spirits Bold in the quarrel's right, roused to the encounter. Or whether gasted by the noise I made, Full suddenly he fled.
G/ou. Let him fly far :
Not in this land shall he remain uncaught ;
And found — dispatch. The noble duke my master,
My worthy arch and patron, comes to-night : 6 1
By his authority I will proclaim it,
That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks,
Bringing the murderous caitiff" to the stake j
He that conceals him, death.
Edm. When I dissuaded him from his intent
And found him pight to do it, with curst speech
I threaten'd to discover him : he replied,
* Thou unpossessing bastard ! dost thou think.
If I would stand against thee, could the reposure 70
Of any trust, virtue, or worth, in thee
Make thy words faith'd ? No : what I should deny —
As this I would ; ay, though thou didst produce
My very character — I 'Id turn it all
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. i.
To thy suggestion, plot, and damned practice : And thou must make a dullard of the world, If they not thought the profits of my death Were very pregnant and potential spurs To make thee seek it.' Gloti. Strong and fasten'd villain !
Would he deny his letter ? I never got him. 80
\Tucket ivithin. Hark, the duke's trumpets ! I know not why he comes. All ports I '11 bar ; the villain shall not 'scape ; The duke must grant me that : besides, his picture I will send far and near, that all the kingdom May have due note of him ; and of my land. Loyal and natural boy, I '11 work the means To make thee capable.
Enter Cornnvall, Regan, and Attendants.
Corn. How now, my noble friend ! since I came hither, Which I can call but now, I have heard strange news.
Reg. If it be true, all vengeance comes too short 90
Which can pursue the offender. How dost, my lord ?
Ghu. O, madam, my old heart is crack'd, is crack'd !
Reg. What, did my father's godson seek your life ,'' He whom my father named ? your Edgar ^.
Glou. O, lady, lady, shame would have it hid !
Reg. Was he not companion with the riotous knights That tend upon my father ?
Glou. I know not, madam : 'tis too bad, too bad.
Edm. Yes, madam, he was of that consort.
Reg. No marvel then, though he were ill affected : lOO 'Tis they have put him on the old man's death, To have the waste and spoil of his revenues.
Act II. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
I have this present evening from my sister
Been well inform'd of them, and with such cautions
That if they come to sojourn at my house,
I '11 not be there.
Corn. Nor I, assure thee, Regan.
Edmund, I hear that you have shown your father A child-like office.
Edm. 'Twas my duty, sir.
Glou. He did bewray his practice, and received
This hurt you see, striving to apprehend him. 1 lo
Corn. Is he pursued ?
Glou. Ay, my good lord.
Corn. If he be taken, he shall never more
Be fear'd of doing harm : make your own purpose. How in my strength you please. For you, Edmund, Whose virtue and obedience doth this instant So much commend itself, you shall be ours : Natures of such deep trust we shall much need : You we first seize on.
Edm. I shall serve you, sir,
Truly, however else.
Glou. For him I thank your grace.
Cor/i. You know not why we came to visit you, — 120
Reg. Thus out of season, threading dark-eyed night : Occasions, noble Gloucester, of some poise. Wherein we must have use of your advice : Our father he hath writ, so hath our sister. Of differences, which I least thought it fit To answer from our home ; the several messengers From hence attend dispatch. Our good old friend, Lay comforts to your bosom, and bestow Your needful counsel to our business.
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. ii.
Which craves the instant use. Glou. I serve you, madam : 130
Your graces are right welcome. [Flourish. Exeunt.
Scene II.
Before Gloucester's castle. Enter Kent and Oswald, severally.
Osnv. Good dawning to thee, friend : art of this house ?
Kent. Ay.
Osw. Where may we set our horses ?
Kent. V the mire.
Osiv. Prithee, if thou lovest me, tell me.
Kent. I love thee not.
Osiv. Why then I care not for thee.
Kent. If I had thee in Lipsbury pinfold, I would make thee care for me.
Osw. Why dost thou use me thus ? T know thee not. lo
Kent. Fellow, I know thee.
Osw. What dost thou know me for ?
Kent. A knave ; a rascal ; an eater of broken meats ; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave ; a lily-livered, action-taking knave ; a whoreson, glass-gazing, superserviceable, finical rogue; one- trunk-inheriting slave ; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, 20 pandar, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch : one whom I will beat into clamorous whining, if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition.
Act II. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Osiv. "Why, what a monstrous fellow art thou, thus to rail on one that is neither known of thee nor knows thee !
Kent. What a brazen-faced varlet art thou, to deny thou knowest me ! Is it two days ago since I tripped up thy heels and beat thee before the king ? Draw, you rogue : for, though it be 30 night, yet the moon shines ; I '11 make a sop o' the moonshine of you : draw, you whoreson culHonly barber-monger, draw. [Drawing his sword.
Osw. Away ! I have nothing to do with thee.
Kent. Draw, you rascal: you come with letters against the king, and take vanity the puppet's part against the royalty of her father : draw, you rogue, or I '11 so carbonado your shanks : draw, you rascal ; come your ways.
Osw. Help, ho ! murder ! help ! 40
Kent. Strike, you slave ; stand, rogue ; stand, you
neat slave, strike. [Beating him.
Osw. Help, ho ! murder ! murder !
Enter Edmund, tuith his rapier draivn, Cornwall, Regan, Gloucester, and Servants.
Edm. How now ! "What 's the matter ? [Parting them.
Kent. With you, goodman boy, an you please : come,
I '11 flesh you ; come on, young master. Glou. Weapons ! arms ! What 's the matter here } Corn. Keep peace, upon your lives ;
He dies that strikes again. What is the matter ? Reg. The messengers from our sister and the king. 50 Corn. What is your difference ? speak. Osw. I am scarce in breath, my lord.
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. ii.
Kent. No marvel, you have so bestirred your valour. You cowardly rascal, nature disclaims in thee: a tailor made thee.
Corn. Thou art a strange fellow : a tailor make a man?
Ketit. Ay, a tailor, sir: a stone-cutter or a painter could not have made him so ill, though he had been but two hours at the trade.
Corn. Speak yet, how grew your quarrel ? 60
Osnv. This ancient ruffian, sir, whose life I have spared at suit of his gray beard, —
Kent. Thou whoreson zed ! thou unnecessary letter ! My lord, if you will give me leave, I will tread this unbolted villain into mortar, and daub the wall of a Jakes with him. Spare my gray beard, you wagtail ?
Corn. Peace, sirrah !
You beastly knave, know you no reverence.
Ketit. Yes, sir, but anger hath a privilege. 70
Corn. Why art thou angry ?
Kent. That such a slave as this should wear a sword.
Who wears no honesty. Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite the holy cords a-twain Which are too intrinse to unloose ; smooth every passion That in the natures of their lords rebel ; Bring oil to fire, snow to their colder moods ; Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks With every gale and vary of their masters. Knowing nought, like dogs, but following. 80
A plague upon your epileptic visage ! Smile you my speeches, as I were a fool ? Goose, if I had you upon Sarum plain, I 'Id drive ye cackling home to Camelot.
Act II. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Corn. What, art thou mad, old fellow ?
G/ou. How fell you out ? say that.
Kent. No contraries hold more antipathy Than I and such a knave.
Corn. Why dost thou call him knave ? What is his fault ?
Kent. His countenance likes me not. 90
Corn. No more perchance does mine, nor his, nor hers.
Kent. Sir, 'tis my occupation to be plain : I have seen better faces in my time Than stands on any shoulder that I see Before me at this instant.
Corn. This is some fellow,
Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb Quite from his nature : he cannot flatter, he, — An honest mind and plain, — he must speak truth ! An they will take it, so ; if not, he 's plain. loo
These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends Than twenty silly ducking observants That stretch their duties nicely.
Kent. Sir, in good faith, in sincere verity.
Under the allowance of your great aspect, Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire On flickering Phcebus' front, —
Corn. What mean'st by this ?
Kent. To go out of my dialect, which you discom- mend so much. I know, sir, I am no flatterer : I lo he that beguiled you in a plain accent was a plain knave ; which, for my part, I will not be, though I should win your displeasure to entreat me to't.
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. ii.
Corn. What was the offence you gave him ?
Ostu. I never give him any :
It pleased the king his master very late
To strike at me, upon his misconstruction ;
When he, conjunct, and flattering his displeasure,
Tripp'd me behind; being down, insulted, rail'd, 120
And put upon him such a deal of man,
That worthied him, got praises of the king
For him attempting who was self-subdued,
And in the fleshment of this dread exploit
Drew on me here again.
Kent. None of these rogues and cowards
But Ajax is their fool.
Corn. Fetch forth the stocks !
You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend braggart. We '11 teach you —
Kent. Sir, I am too old to learn
Call not your stocks for me : I serve the king. On whose employment I was sent to you : 1 30
You shall do small respect, show too bold malice Against the grace and person of my master, Stocking his messenger.
Corn. Fetch forth the stocks ! As I have life and honour, There shall he sit till noon.
Reg. Till noon ! till night, my lord, and all night too.
Kent. Why, madam, if I were your father's dog. You should not use me so.
Reg. Sir, being his knave, I will.
Corn. This is a fellow of the self-same colour 139
Our sister speaks of. Come, bring away the stocks !
\Stocks brought out.
Glou. Let me beseech your grace not to do so :
Act II. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
His fault is much, and the good king his master "Will check him for 't : your purposed low correction Is such as basest and contemned'st wretches For pilferings and most common trespasses Are punish'd with : the king must take it ill, That he, so slightly valued in his messenger. Should have him thus restrain'd.
Corn. I '11 answer that.
Reg. My sister may receive it much more worse,
To have her gentleman abused, assaulted, 150
For following her affairs. Put in his legs.
\^Kent is put in the stocks. Come, my good lord, away.
\_Exeunt all but Gloucester and Kent.
Glou. I am sorry for thee, friend ; 'tis the duke's pleasure. Whose disposition, all the world well knows, Will not be rubb'd nor stopp'd : I '11 entreat for thee.
Kent. Pray, do not, sir : I have watch'd and travell'd hard j Some time I shall sleep out, the rest I '11 whistle. A good man's fortune may grow out at heels : Give you good morrow !
Glou. The duke 's to blame in this j 'twill be ill taken. 160
{Exit.
Kent. Good king, that must approve the common saw. Thou out of heaven's benediction comest To the warm sun !
Approach, thou beacon to this under globe, That by thy comfortable beams I may Peruse this letter ! Nothing almost sees miracles But misery : I know 'tis from Cordelia, Who hath most fortunately been inform'd Of my obscured course; and shall find time
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. iii.
From this enormous state, seeking to give 1 70
Losses their remedies. All weary and o'er-watch'd, Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold This shameful lodging.
Fortune, good night : smile once more ; turn thy wheel ! [S/eeps.
Scene III.
^ wood.
Enter Edgar.
Edg. I heard myself proclaim'd ;
And by the happy hollow of a tree
Escaped the hunt. No port is free ; no place.
That guard and most unusual vigilance
Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may 'scape
I will preserve myself : and am bethought
To take the basest and most poorest shape
That every penury in contempt of man
Brought near to beast : my face I '11 grime with filth,
Blanket my loins, elf all my hair in knots, 10
And with presented nakedness out-face
The winds and persecutions of the sky.
The country gives me proof and precedent
Of Bedlam beggars, who with roaring voices
Strike in their numb'd and mortified bare arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary ;
And with this horrible object, from low farms,
Poor pelting villages, sheep-cotes and mills, 18
Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers,
Enforce their charity. Poor Turlygod ! poor Tom !
That 's something yet : Edgar I nothing am. \Exit.
Act II. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Scene IV.
Before Gloucester^ s castle. Kent in the stocks. Enter Lear, Fool, and Gentleman.
Lear. 'Tis strange that they should so depart from home,
And not send back my messenger. Gent. As I learn'd,
The night before there was no purpose in them
Of this remove. Kent. Hail to thee, noble master !
Lear. Ha !
Makest thou this shame thy pastime ? Ket2t. No, my lord.
Fool. Ha, ha ! he wears cruel garters. Horses are
tied by the heads, dogs and bears by the neck,
monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs : when
a man's over-lusty at legs, then he wears wooden lo
nether-stocks. Lear. What 's he that hath so much thy place mistook
To set thee here .'' Kent. It is both he and she ;
Your son and daughter. Lear. No. Kent. Yes. Lear. No, I say. Kent. I say, yea. Lear. No, no, they would not.
Kent. Yes, they have. 20
Lear. By Jupiter, I swear, no. Kent. By Juno, I swear, ay. Lear. They durst not do 't ;
KING LEAR Act II. Sc, iv.
They could not, would not do't; 'tis worse than murder, To do upon respect such violent outrage : Resolve me with all modest haste which way Thou mightst deserve, or they impose, this usage. Coming from us. Kent. My lord, when at their home
I did commend your highness' letters to them. Ere I was risen from the place that show'd My duty kneeling, came there a reeking post, 30
Stew'd in his haste, half breathless, panting forth From Goneril his mistress salutations ; Deliver'd letters, spite of intermission, Which presently they read : on whose contents They summon'd up their meiny, straight took horse ; Commanded me to follow and attend The leisure of their answer ; gave me cold looks : And meeting here the other messenger, "Whose welcome, I perceived, had poison'd mine — Being the very fellow that of late 40
Display'd so saucily against your highness — Having more man than wit about me, drew : He raised the house with loud and coward cries. Your son and daughter found this trespass worth The shame which here it suffers. Fool. Winter 's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.
Fathers that wear rags
Do make their children blind ;
But fathers that bear bags 50
Shall see their children kind.
Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne'er turns the key to the poor.
Act II. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
But, for all this, thou shalt have as many dolours for thy daughter as thou canst tell in a year. Lear. O, how this mother swells up toward my heart ! Hysterica passio, down, thou climbing sorrow, Thy element 's below ! Where is this daughter ? Kent. With the earl, sir, here within.
Lear. Follow me not ; stay here. \^Exit. 60
Gent. Made you no more offence but what you speak of ? Kent. None.
How chance the king comes with so small a train ? Fool. An thou hadst been set i' the stocks for that
question, thou hadst well deserved it. Kent. Why, fool ?
Fool. We'll set thee to school to an ant, to teach thee there 's no labouring i' the winter. All that follow their noses are led by their eyes but blind men j and there 's not a nose among 70 twenty but can smell him that's stinking. Let go thy hold when a great wheel runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck with following it ; but the great one that goes up the hill, let him draw thee after. When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again : I would have none but knaves follow it, since a fool gives it. That sir which serves and seeks for gain,
And follows but for form, 80
Will pack when it begins to rain,
And leave thee in the storm. But I will tarry ; the fool will stay,
And let the wise man fly : The knave turns fool that runs away j The fool no knave, perdy.
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. iv.
Kent. Where learned you this, fool ? Fool. Not i' the stocks, fool.
Re-enter Lear, ivith Gloucester.
Lear. Deny to speak with me ? They are sick ? they are weary ? They have travell'd all the night ? Mere fetches j The images of revolt and flying off. 9 1
Fetch me a better answer.
Glou. My dear lord,
You know the fiery quality of the duke ; How unremoveable and fix'd he is In his own course.
Lear. Vengeance ! plague ! death ! confusion !
Fiery ? what quality ? Why, Gloucester, Gloucester, I 'Id speak with the Duke of Cornwall and his wife.
Glou. Well, my good lord, I have inform'd them so.
Lear. Inform'd them ! Dost thou understand me, man t
Glou. Ay, my good lord. loi
Lear. The king would speak with Cornwall; the dear father Would with his daughter speak, commands her
service : Are they inform'd of this ? My breath and blood ! ' Fiery ' ? ' the fiery duke ' ? Tell the hot duke that— No, but not yet : may be he is not well : Infirmity doth still neglect all office Whereto our health is bound ; we are not ourselves When nature being oppress'd commands the mind To suffer with the body : I '11 forbear ; I lo
And am fall'n out with my more headier will. To take the indisposed and sickly fit
Act II. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
For the sound man. [Looking on Kent] Death on
my state ! wherefore Should he sit here ? This act persuades me That this remotion of the duke and her Is practice only. Give me my servant forth. Go tell the duke and 's wife I 'Id speak with them, Now, presently : bid them come forth and hear me, Or at their chamber-door I '11 beat the drum Till it cry sleep to death. I20
G/ou. I would have all well betwixt you. [Exit.
Lear. O me, my heart, my rising heart ! But down !
Fool. Cry to it, nuncle, as the cockney did to the eels when she put 'em i' the paste alive ; she knapped 'em o' the coxcombs with a stick, and cried ' Down, wantons, down ! ' 'Twas her brother that, in pure kindness to his horse, buttered his hay.
Re-enter Gloucester, nvith Cornivall, Regan, and Servants.
Lear. Good morrow to you both.
Corn. Hail to your grace !
[Kent is set at liberty.
Reg. I am glad to see your highness. 130
Lear. Regan, I think you are ; I know what reason I have to think so : If thou shouldst not be glad, I would divorce me from thy mother's tomb, Sepulchring an adultress. [To Kent] O, are you free } Some other time for that. Beloved Regan, Thy sister's naught : O Regan, she hath tied Sharp-tooth'd unkindness, like a vulture, here :
[Points to his heart. I can scarce speak to thee ; thou 'It not believe
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. iv.
With how depraved a quality — O Regan !
Reg. I pray you, sir, take patience: I have hope 140
You less know how to value her desert Than she to scant her duty.
Lear, Say, how is that ?
Reg. I cannot think my sister in the least
Would fail her obligation : if, sir, perchance She have restrain'd the riots of your followers, 'Tis on such ground and to such wholesome end As clears her from all blame.
Lear. My curses on her !
Reg. O, sir, you are old j
Nature in you stands on the very verge Of her confine: you should be ruled and led 150
By some discretion that discerns your state Better than you yourself. Therefore I pray you That to our sister you do make return ; Say you have wrong'd her, sir.
Lear. Ask her forgiveness ?
Do you but mark how this becomes the house : [Kneeling'] ' Dear daughter, I confess that I am old ; Age is unnecessary : on my knees I beg That you '11 vouchsafe me raiment, bed and food.'
Reg. Good sir, no more 5 these are unsightly tricks : Return you to my sister.
Lear. [Rising'] Never, Regan : 160
She hath abated me of half my train ; Look'd black upon me; struck me with her tongue, Most serpent-like, upon the very heart : All the stored vengeances of heaven fall On her ingrateful top ! Strike her young bones, You taking airs, with lameness.
Act II. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Corn. Fie, sir, fie !
Lear. You nimble lightnings, dart your blinding flames Into her scornful eyes. Infect her beauty, You fen-suck'd fogs, drawn by the powerful sun To fall and blast her pride. 170
Reg. O the blest gods ! so will you wish on me. When the rash mood is on.
Lear, No, Regan, thou shalt never have my curse : Thy tender-hefted nature shall not give Thee o'er to harshness : her eyes are fierce, but
thine Do comfort and not burn. 'Tis not in thee To grudge my pleasures, to cut off my train. To bandy hasty words, to scant my sizes. And in conclusion to oppose the bolt Against my coming in: thou better know'st 1 80
The offices of nature, bond of childhood, Effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude ; Thy half o' the kingdom hast thou not forgot, Wherein I thee endow'd.
Reg. Good sir, to the purpose.
Lear. Who put my man i' the stocks ? \Tuckei nulthin.
Corn. What trumpet 's that ?
Reg. I know 't ; my sister's : this approves her letter. That she would soon be here.
Enter Oswald.
Is your lady come .? Lear, This is a slave whose easy-borrow'd pride
Dwells in the fickle grace of her he follows. 189
Out, varlet, from my sight ! Corn. What means your grace ?
KING LEAR Act II.Sc. iv.
Lear. Who stock'd my servant ? Regan, I have good hope Thou didst not know on 't. Who comes here ?
Enter Goneril.
O heavens, If you do love old men, if your sweet sway Allow obedience, if yourselves are old. Make it your cause ; send down, and take my part ! \To Gon.'\ Art not ashamed to look upon this beard ?
0 Regan, wilt thou take her by the hand ?
Gon. Why not by the hand, sir ? How have I offended ?
All 's not offence that indiscretion finds
And dotage terms so. Lear. O sides, you are too tough j 200
Will you yet hold ? How came my man i' the stocks ? Corn. I set him there, sir : but his own disorders
Deserved much less advancement. Lear. You ! did you .?
Reg. I pray you, father, being weak, seem so.
If, till the expiration of your month,
You will return and sojourn with my sister.
Dismissing half your train, come then to me :
1 am now from home and out of that provision Which shall be needful for your entertainment.
Lear. Return to her, and fifty men dismiss'd .? 2lo
No, rather I abjure all roofs, and choose To wage against the enmity o' the air, To be a comrade with the wolf and owl, — Necessity's sharp pinch ! Return with her ? Why, the hot-blooded France, that dowerless took Our youngest born, I could as well be brought To knee his throne, and, squire-like, pension beg
Act II. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
To keep base life afoot. Return with her ? Persuade me rather to be slave and sumpter To this detested groom. [Pointing at Oswald.
Gon. At your choice, sir. 220
Lear. I prithee, daughter, do not make me mad : I will not trouble thee, my child j farewell : We '11 no more meet, no more see one another : But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter; Or rather a disease that 's in my flesh, Which I must needs call mine : thou art a boil, A plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle, In my corrupted blood. But I '11 not chide thee ; Let shame come when it will, I do not call it : I do not bid the thunder-bearer shoot, 230
Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove : Mend when thou canst ; be better at thy leisure : I can be patient ; I can stay with Regan, I and my hundred knights. *
Reg. Not altogether so :
I look'd not for you yet, nor am provided For your fit welcome. Give ear, sir, to my sister ; For those that mingle reason with your passion Must be content to think you old, and so — But she knows what she does.
Lear. Is this well spoken .?
Reg. I dare avouch it, sir : what, fifty followers .'* 240
Is it not well .'' What should you need of more ? Yea, or so many, sith that both charge and danger Speak 'gainst so great a number ? How in one house Should many people under two commands Hold amity ? 'Tis hard, almost impossible.
Gon. Why might not you, my lord, receive attendance
KING LEAR Act II. Sc. iv.
From those that she calls servants or from mine ?
Reg. Why not, my lord? If then they chanced to slack you. We could control them. If you will come to me, For now I spy a danger, I entreat you 250
To bring but five and twenty : to no more Will I give place or notice.
Lear. I gave you all —
Reg. And in good time you gave it.
Lear. Made you my guardians, my depositaries, But kept a reservation to be follow'd With such a number. What, must I come to you With five and twenty, Regan ? said you so ?
Reg. And speak 't again, my lord ; no more with me.
Lear. Those wicked creatures yet do look well-favour'd, When others are more wicked ; not being the worst Stands in some rank of praise. \To Gon.'\ I '11 go with thee : 261
Thy fifty yet doth double five and twenty, And thou art twice her love.
Gon. Hear me, my lord :
What need you five and twenty, ten, or five, To follow in a house where twice so many Have a command to tend you ? Reg. What need one .?
Lear. O, reason not the need : our basest beggars Are in the poorest thing superfluous : Allow not nature more than nature needs, Man's life 's as cheap as beast's : thou art a lady ; If only to go warm were gorgeous, 271
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear'st. Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But for true need, —
Act II. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need !
You see me here, you gods, a poor old man,
As full of grief as age ; wretched in both :
If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts
Against their father, fool me not so much
To bear it tamely ; touch me with noble anger,
And let not women's weapons, water-drops, 280
Stain my man's cheeks ! No, you unnatural hags,
I will have such revenges on you both
That all the world shall — I will do such things, —
"What they are, yet I know not, but they shall be
The terrors of the earth. You think I '11 weep ;
No, I '11 not weep :
I have full cause of weeping •, but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws.
Or ere I '11 weep. O fool, I shall go mad !
\_Exeunt Lear, Gloucester, Kent, and Fool.
Corn. Let us withdraw ; 'twill be a storm. 290
[Storm and tempest.
Reg. This house is little : the old man and his people Cannot be well bestow'd.
Gon. 'Tis his own blame ; hath put himself from rest, And must needs taste his folly.
Reg. For his particular, I '11 receive him gladly, But not one follower.
Gon. So am I purposed.
Where is my lord of Gloucester ^
Corn. Follow'd the old man forth : he is return'd.
Re-enter Gloucester.
Glou. The king is in high rage.
Corn. Whither is he going ^
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. i.
Glou. He calls to horse ; but will I know not whither. 300 Corn. 'Tis best to give him way ; he leads himself. Gon. My lord, entreat him by no means to stay. Glou. Alack, the night comes on, and the bleak winds
Do sorely ruffle j for many miles about
There's scarce a bush. Reg. O, sir, to wilful men
The injuries that they themselves procure
Must be their schoolmasters. Shut up your doors :
He is attended with a desperate train ;
And what they may incense him to, being apt
To have his ear abused, wisdom bids fear. 310
Corn. Shut up your doors, my lord ; 'tis a wild night :
My Regan counsels well : come out o' the storm.
[^Exeunt.
ACT THIRD. Scene I.
A heath. Storm still. Enter Kent and a Gentleman, meet i fig.
Kent. Who 's there, besides foul weather .?
Gent. One minded like the weather, most unquietly.
Kent. I know you. Where's the king?
Gent. Contending with the fretful elements ; Bids the wind blow the earth into the sea. Or swell the curled waters 'bove the main, That things might change or cease ; tears his white
hair, Which the impetuous blasts, with eyeless rage, Catch in their fury, and make nothing of;
Act III. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Strives in his little world of man to out-scorn 10
The to-and-fro-conflicting wind and rain. This night, wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch, The lion and the belly-pinched wolf Keep their fur dry, unbonneted he runs, And bids what will take all. Kent. But who is with him \
Gent. None but the fool ; who labours to out-jest
His heart-struck injuries. Kent. Sir, I do know you ;
And dare, upon the warrant of my note. Commend a dear thing to you. There is division, Although as yet the face of it be cover'd 20
With mutual cunning, 'twixt Albany and Cornwall ; Who have — as who have not, that their great stars Throned and set high } — servants, who seem no less, Which are to France the spies and speculations Intelligent of our state ; what hath been seen. Either in snuffs and packings of the dukes. Or the hard rein which both of them have borne Against the old kind king, or something deeper. Whereof perchance these are but furnishings, — But true it is, from France there comes a power 30 Into this scatter'd kingdom ; who already, Wise in our negligence, have secret feet In some of our best ports, and are at point To show their open banner. Now to you : If on my credit you dare build so far To make your speed to Dover, you shall find Some that will thank you, making just report Of how unnatural and bemadding sorrow The king hath cause to plain.
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. ii.
I am a gentleman of blood and breeding, 40
And from some knowledge and assurance offer This office to you.
Gent. I will talk further with you.
Kent. No, do not.
For confirmation that I am much more Than my out-wall, open this purse and take What it contains. If you shall see Cordelia, — As fear not but you shall, — show her this ring, And she will tell you who your fellow is That yet you do not know. Fie on this storm ! I will go seek the king.
Gent. Give me your hand : $0
Have you no more to say ?
Kent. Few words, but, to effect, more than all yet ;
That when we have found the king, — in which your
pain That way, I '11 this, — he that first lights on him Holla the other. [Exeunt severally.
Scene II.
Another part of the heath. Storm still.
Enter Lear and Fool.
Lear. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks ! rage ! blow ! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the
cocks ! You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head ! And thou, all-shaking thunder. Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world !
Act III. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Crack nature's moulds, all germins spill at once That make ingrateful man ! Fool. O nuncle, court holy-water in a dry house is lo better than this rain-water out o' door. Good nuncle, in, and ask thy daughters' blessing : here's a night pities neither wise man nor fool. Lear. Rumble thy bellyful ! Spit, fire ! spout, rain ! Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters : I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness j I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children. You owe me no subscription : then let fall Your horrible pleasure ; here I stand, your slave, A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man : 20
But yet I call you servile ministers. That have with two pernicious daughters join'd Your high-engender'd battles 'gainst a head So old and white as this. O ! O ! 'tis foul ! Fool. He that has a house to put 's head in has a good head-piece.
The cod-piece that will house
Before the head has any. The head and he shall louse
So beggars marry many. 3^
The man that makes his toe
What he his heart should make Shall of a corn cry woe.
And turn his sleep to wake. For there was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass. Lear. No, I will be the pattern of all patience ; I will say nothing.
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. ii.
Enter Kent.
Kent. Who 's there ?
Fool. Marry, here 's grace and a cod-piece ; that 's a 40 wise man and a fool.
Kent. Alas, sir, are you here ? things that love night Love not such nights as these ; the wrathful skies Gallow the very wanderers of the dark, And make them keep their caves : since I was man, Such sheets of fire, such bursts of horrid thunder. Such groans of roaring wind and rain, I never Remember to have heard : man's nature cannot carry The affliction nor the fear.
Lear. Let the great gods,
That keep this dreadful pother o'er our heads, 5o
Find out their enemies now. Tremble, thou wretch,
That hast within thee undivulged crimes,
Unwhipp'd of justice : hide thee, thou bloody hand ;
Thou perjured, and thou simular man of virtue
That art incestuous : caitiff, to pieces shake,
That under covert and convenient seeming
Hast practised on man's life : close pent-up guilts,
Rive your concealing continents and cry
These dreadful summoners grace. I am a man ^^
More sinn'd against than sinning.
Kent. Alack, bare-headed !
Gracious my lord, hard by here is a hovel ; Some friendship will it lend you 'gainst the tempest : Repose you there j while I to this hard house — More harder than the stones whereof 'tis raised ; Which even but now, demanding after you, Denied me to come in — return, and force Their scanty courtesy.
Act III. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Lear. My wits begia to turn.
Come on, my boy : how dost, my boy ? art cold ? I am cold myself. Where is this straw, my fellow } The art of our necessities is strange, 70
That can make vile things precious. Come, your hovel. Poor fool and knave, I have one part in my heart That 's sorry yet for thee. Fool. [Singing'\
He that has and a little tiny wit, — With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, — Must make content with his fortunes fit, For the rain it raineth every day. Lear. True, my good boy. Come, bring us to this hovel.
[^Exeunt Lear and Kent. Fool. This is a brave night to cool a courtezan. I '11
speak a prophecy ere I go : 80
When priests are more in word than matter •, When brewers mar their malt with water ; When nobles are their tailors' tutors ; No heretics burn'd, but wenches' suitors ; When every case in law is right ; No squire in debt, nor no poor knight ; When slanders do not live in tongues. Nor cutpurses come not to throngs ; When usurers tell their gold i' the field. And bawds and whores do churches build ; 90
Then shall the realm of Albion Come to great confusion : Then comes the time, who lives to see 't, That going shall be used with feet. This prophecy Merlin shall make ; for I live before his time. \_Exit.
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. iii.
Scene III.
Gloucester' s castle. Enter Gloucester and Edmund.
Glcu. Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this unnatural dealing. When I desired their leave that I might pity him, they took from me the use of mine own house j charged me, on pain of their perpetual displeasure, neither to speak of him, entreat for him, nor any way sustain him.
Edm. Most savage and unnatural !
Glou. Go to; say you nothing. There's a division betwixt the dukes, and a worse matter than that : I have received a letter this night j 'tis dangerous lO to be spoken ; I have locked the letter in my closet : these injuries the king now bears will be revenged home ; there is part of a power already footed : we must incline to the king. I will seek him and privily relieve him : go you, and maintain talk with the duke, that my charity be not of him perceived : if he ask for me, I am ill and gone to bed. Though I die for it, as no less is threatened me, the king my old master must be relieved. There is some strange thing 20 toward, Edmund ; pray you, be careful. [_Exit.
Edm. This courtesy, forbid thee, shall the duke Instantly know, and of that letter too : This seems a fair deserving, and must draw me That which my father loses ; no less than all : The younger rises when the old doth fall. [^ExiL
Act III. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
Scene IV.
The heath. Before a hovel. Enter Lear, Kent, and Fool.
Kent. Here is the place, my lord ; good my lord, enter : The tyranny of the open night 's too rough For nature to endure. [Storm still.
Lear. Let me alone.
Kent. Good my lord, enter here.
Lear. Wilt break my heart ?
Kent. I had rather break mine own. Good my lord, enter.
Lear. Thou think'st 'tis much that this contentious storm Invades us to the skin : so 'tis to thee ; But where the greater malady is fix'd The lesser is scarce felt. Thou 'Idst shun a bear, But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea lo
Thou 'Idst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the
mind's free The body 's delicate : the tempest in my mind Doth from my senses take all feeling else Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude ! Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand For lifting food to 't ? But I will punish home. No, I will weep no more. In such a night To shut me out ! Pour on ; I will endure. In such a night as this ! O Regan, Goneril ! Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave you all, — 20
O, that way madness lies ; let me shun that ; No more of that.
Kent. Good my lord, enter here.
Lear. Prithee, go in thyself; seek thine own ease :
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. iv.
This tempest will not give me leave to ponder On things would hurt me more. But I'll go in. [To the FooF] In, boy ; go first. You houseless
poverty, — Nay, get thee in. I '11 pray, and then I '11 sleep.
[Fool goes in. Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are. That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm. How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, 30 Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these ? O, I have ta'en Too little care of this ! Take physic, pomp ; Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, That thou mayst shake the superflux to them And show the heavens more just.
Edg. {Within] Fathom and half, fathom and half!
Poor Tom ! \The Fool runs out from the hovel.
Fool. Come not in here, nuncle, here 's a spirit.
Help me, help me ! 40
Kent. Give me thy hand. "Who's there?
Fool. A spirit, a spirit : he says his name 's poor Tom.
Kent. What art thou that dost grumble there i' the straw ? Come forth.
Enter Edgar disguised as a madman.
Edg. Away ! the foul fiend follows me !
* Through the sharp hawthorn blows the cold wind.'
Hum ! go to thy cold bed and warm thee. Lear. Hast thou given all to thy two daughters .'' and
art thou come to this ? Edg. Who gives any thing to poor Tom ? whom the 50
foul fiend hath led through fire and through
10 Y
Act III. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
flame, through ford and whirlpool, o'er bog and quagmire ; that hath laid knives under his pillow and halters in his pew ; set ratsbane by his porridge ; made him proud of heart, to ride on a bay trotting-horse over four-inched bridges, to course his own shadow for a traitor. Bless thy five wits ! Tom 's a-cold. O, do de, do de, do de. Bless thee from whirlwinds, star-blasting, and taking ! Do poor Tom some charity, whom 60 the foul fiend vexes. There could I have him now, and there, and there again, and there. [Storm still.
Lear. What, have his daughters brought him to this pass ? Couldst thou save nothing ? Didst thou give them all ?
Fool. Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed.
Lear. Now, all the plagues that in the pendulous air
Hang fated o'er men's faults light on thy daughters ?
Kent. He hath no daughters, sir.
Lear. Death, traitor ! nothing could have subdued nature To such a lowness but his unkind daughters. 71
Is it the fashion that discarded fathers Should have thus little mercy on their flesh ? Judicious punishment ! 'twas this flesh begot Those pelican daughters.
Edg. Pillicock sat on Pillicock-hill :
Halloo, halloo, loo, loo !
Fool. This cold night will turn us all to fools and madmen.
Edg. Take heed o' the foul fiend : obey thy parents ; 80 keep thy word justly ; swear not ; commit not with man's sworn spouse ; set not thy sweet heart on proud array. Tom's a-cold.
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. iv.
Lear. What hast thou been?
Edg. A serving-man, proud in heart and mind ; that curled my hair ; wore gloves in my cap ; served the lust of my mistress' heart and did the act of darkness with her ; swore as many oaths as I spake words and broke them in the sweet face of heaven : one that slept in the contriving of 90 lust and waked to do it : wine loved I deeply, dice dearly, and in woman out-paramoured the Turk : false of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand ; hog in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf in greedi- ness, dog in madness, lion in prey. Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray thy poor heart to woman : keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen from lenders' books, and defy the foul fiend. * Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind.' lOO Says suum, mun, ha, no, nonny. Dolphin my boy, my boy, sessa ! let him trot by.
\Storm still.
Lear. Why, thou wert better in thy grave than to answer with thy uncovered body this extremity of the skies. Is man no more than this ? Con- sider him well. Thou owest the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Ha ! here 's three on 's are sophisti- 1 10 cated. Thou art the thing itself: unaccom- modated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art. Off, off, you lend- ings ! come, unbutton here. [Tearing off his clothes.
Fool. Prithee, nuncle, be contented ; 'tis a naughty night to swim in. Now a little fire in a wild
Act III. Sc. iv. THE TRAGEDY OF
field were like an old lecher's heart, a small spark, all the rest on's body cold. Look, here comes a walking fire.
Enter Gloucester, tuith a torch.
Edg. This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet : he begins at curfew and walks till the first cock ; he gives the web and the pin, squints the eye 120 and makes the hare-lip ; mildews the white wheat and hurts the poor creature of earth.
Saint Withold footed thrice the 'old ; He met the night-mare and her nine-fold \
Bid her alight.
And her troth plight. And aroint thee, witch, aroint thee !
Kent. How fares your grace ?
Lear. What 's he }
Kent. Who 's there ? What is 't you seek .'* 1 30
Glou. What are you there ? Your names ?
Edg. Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the toad, the tadpole, the wall-newt and the water ; that in the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend rages, eats cow-dung for sallets ; swallows the old rat and the ditch-dog ; drinks the green mantle of the standing pool ; who is whipped from tithing to tithing, and stock-punished, and imprisoned ; who hath had three suits to his back, six shirts to his body, horse to ride and weapon to wear; 140
But mice and rats and such small deer Have been Tom's food for seven long year.
Beware my follower. Peace, Smulkin j peace, thou fiend!
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. iv.
Glou. What, hath your grace no better company ?
Edg. The prince of darkness is a gentleman : Modo he 's call'd, an(| Mahu.
Glou. Our flesh and blood is grown so vile, my lord. That it doth hate what gets it.
Edg. Poor Tom 's a-cold.
Glou. Go in with me : my duty cannot suffer 1 50
To obey in all your daughters' hard commands : Though their injunction be to bar my doors And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you, Yet have I ventured to come seek you out And bring you where both fire and food is ready.
Lear. First let me talk with this philosopher. What is the cause of thunder ?
Kent. Good my lord, take his offer ; go into the house.
Lear. I '11 talk a word with this same learned Theban.
What is your study ? 1 60
Edg. How to prevent the fiend and to kill vermin.
Lear. Let me ask you one word in private.
Kent. Importune him once more to go, my lord ; His wits begin to unsettle.
Glou. Canst thou blame him ?
[Storm still. His daughters seek his death : ah, that good Kent ! He said it would be thus, poor banish'd man ! Thou say'st the king grows mad : I '11 tell thee, friend, I am almost mad myself: I had a son. Now outlaw'd from my blood ; he sought my life. But lately, very late: I loved him, friend, 1 70
No father his son dearer : truth to tell thee, The grief hath crazed my wits. What a night 's this ! I do beseech your grace, —
Act III. Sc. V. THE TRAGEDY OF
Lear. O, cry you mercy, sir.
Noble philosopher, your company. Edg. Tom's a-cold.
Glou. In, fellow, there, into the hovel : keep thee warm. Lear. Come, let 's in all. Kent. This way, my lord.
Lear. With him ;
I will keep still with my philosopher. Kent. Good my lord, soothe him ; let him take the fellow. Glou. Take him you on. 1 80
Kent. Sirrah, come on ; go along with us. Lear. Come, good Athenian. Glou. No words, no words : hush. Edg. Child Rowland to the dark tower came :
His word was still ' Fie, foh, and fum,
I smell the blood of a British man.' \Exeunt.
Scene V.
Gloucester' s castle. Enter Cornwall atid Edmund.
Corn. I will have my revenge ere I depart his house.
Edm. How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature thus gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think of.
Corn. I now perceive, it was not altogether your brother's evil disposition made him seek his death, but a provoking merit, set a-work by a reproveable badness in himself.
Edm. How malicious is my fortune, that I must re- pent to be just ! This is the letter he spoke of, 10 which approves him an intelligent party to the
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. vi.
advantages of France. O heavens ! that this treason were not, or not I the detector !
Corn. Go with me to the duchess.
Edm. If the matter of this paper be certain, you have mighty business in hand.
Corn. True or false, it hath made thee earl of Glou- cester. Seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our apprehension.
Edm. [^side] If I find him comforting the king, it will 20 stuff his suspicion more fully. — I will persever in my course of loyalty, though the conflict be sore between that and my blood.
Corn. I will lay trust upon thee, and thou shalt find a
dearer father in my love. [Exeunt.
Scene VI.
^ chamber in a farmhouse adjoining the castle. Enter Gloucester , Lear, Kent, Fool, and Edgar.
Glou. Here is better than the open air ; take it thank- fully. I will piece out the comfort with what addition I can : I will not be long from you.
Kent. All the power of his wits have given way to his impatience : the gods reward your kindness !
[Exit Gloucester.
Edg. Frateretto calls me, and tells me Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness. Pray, innocent, and beware the foul fiend.
Fool. Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be
a gentleman or a yeoman. lO
Lear. A king, a king !
Fool. No, he 's a yeoman that has a gentleman to his
Act III. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
son, for he 's a mad yeoman that sees his son a
gentleman before him. Lear. To have a thousand with red burning spits
Come hissing in upon 'em, — Edg. The foul fiend bites my back. Fool. He 's mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf,
a horse's health, a boy's love, or a whore's
oath. 20
Lear. It shall be done ; I will arraign them straight.
\To Edgar"] Come, sit thou here, most learned justicer;
\To the Fool] Thou, sapient sir, sit here. Now, you she foxes ! Edg. Look, where he stands and glares f Wantest
thou eyes at trial, madam .''
Come o'er the bourn, Bessy, to me. Fool. Her boat hath a leak.
And she must not speak Why she dares not come over to thee. Edg. The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the voice of 30
a nightingale. Hopdance cries in Tom's belly
for two white herring. Croak not, black angel ;
I have no food for thee. Kent. How do you, sir } Stand you not so amazed :
Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions ."* Lear. I Ml see their trial first. Bring in the evidence.
\To Edgar] Thou robed man of justice, take thy place ;
\To the Foof] And thou, his yoke-fellow of equity,
Bench by his side. \To Kent] You are o' the com- mission j
Sit you too. 4°
Edg. Let us deal justly.
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. vi.
Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd ?
Thy sheep be in the corn ; And for one blast of thy minikin mouth, Thy sheep shall take no harm. Pur ! the cat is gray. Lear. Arraign her first ; 'tis Goneril. I here take my oath before this honourable assembly, she kicked the poor king her father. FooL Come hither, mistress. Is your name Goneril ? 50 Lear. She cannot deny it.
Fool. Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-stool. Lear. And here 's another, whose warp'd looks proclaim What store her heart is made on. Stop her there ! Arms, arms, sword, fire ! Corruption in the place ! False justicer, why hast thou let her 'scape .'' Edg. Bless thy five wits ! Kent. O pity ! Sir, where is the patience now,
That you so oft have boasted to retain } Edg. [^Aside] My tears begin to take his part so much, 60
They '11 mar my counterfeiting. Lear. The little dogs and all.
Tray, Blanch, and Sweet-heart, see, they bark at me. Edg. Tom will throw his head at them. Avaunt, you curs !
Be thy mouth or black or white,
Tooth that poisons if it bite ;
Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim.
Hound or spaniel, brach or lym,
Or bobtail tike or trundle-tail, 70
Tom will make them weep and wail :
For, with throwing thus my head,
Dogs leap the hatch, and all are fled.
Act III. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
Do de, de, de. Sessa ! Come, march to wakes and fairs and market-towns. Poor Tom, thy horn is dry.
Lear. Then let them anatomize Regan ; see what 80 breeds about her heart. Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts ? \To Edgar] You, sir, I entertain for one of my hundred ; only I do not like the fashion of your garments. You will say they are Persian attire ; but let them be changed.
Kent. Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awhile.
Lear. Make no noise, make no noise ; draw the curtains : so, so, so. We '11 go to supper i' the morning. So, so, so.
Fool. And I '11 go to bed at noon.
Re-enter Gloucester.
Glou. Come hither, friend : where is the king my master ?
Kent. Here, sir j but trouble him not : his wits are gone.
Glou. Good friend, I prithee, take him in thy arms ; 91 I have o'erheard a plot of death upon him : There is a litter ready ; lay him in 't. And drive toward Dover, friend, where thou shalt
meet Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master : If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life, With thine and all that offer to defend him, Stand in assured loss. Take up, take up. And follow me, that will to some provision Give thee quick conduct.
Kent. Oppressed nature sleeps. lOO
This rest might yet have balm'd thy broken sinews.
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. vii.
Which, if convenience will not allow,
Stand in hard cure. [To the Fool'\ Come, help to bear
thy master ; Thou must not stay behind.
Glou. Come, come, away.
\_Exetint all but Edgar.
Edg. When we our betters see bearing our woes, We scarcely think our miseries our foes. Who alone suffers suffers most i' the mind, Leaving free things and happy shows behind : But then the mind much sufferance doth o'erskip, When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship, no How light and portable my pain seems now. When that which makes me bend makes the king bow. He childed as I father'd ! Tom, away ! Mark the high noises, and thyself bewray When false opinion, whose wrong thought defiles thee, In thy just proof repeals and reconciles thee. What will hap more to-night, safe 'scape the king ! Lurk, lurk. \Exit.
Scene VII.
Gloucester' s castle. Enter Cornivall, Regan, Goneril, Edmund, and Servants.
Corn. Post speedily to my lord your husband ; show him this letter: the army of France is landed. Seek out the traitor Gloucester.
\_Exeunt some of the Servants.
Reg. Hang him instantly.
Gon. Pluck out his eyes.
Corn. Leave him to my displeasure. Edmund, keep
Act III. Sc. vii. THE TRAGEDY OF
you our sister company : the revenges we are bound to take upon your traitorous father are not fit for your beholding. Advise the duke, where you are going, to a most festinate preparation : lo we are bound to the like. Our posts shall be swift and intelligent betwixt us. Farewell, dear sister : farewell, my lord of Gloucester.
Enter Ostuald.
How now ! where 's the king ?
Oj-w. My lord of Gloucester hath convey'd him hence : Some five or six and thirty of his knights. Hot questrists after him, met him at gate ; Who, with some other of the lords dependants, Are gone with him toward Dover ; where they boast To have well-armed friends.
Corn. Get horses for your mistress. 20
Gon. Farewell, sweet lord, and sister.
Corn. Edmund, farewell.
\Exeunt Goneril, Edmund, and Osivald. Go seek the traitor Gloucester. Pinion him like a thief, bring him before us.
\_Exeunt other Servants. Though well we may not pass upon his life "Without the form of justice, yet our power Shall do a courtesy to our wrath, which men May blame but not control. Who's there ? the traitor?
Enter Gloucester, brought in by tiuo or three.
Reg. Ingrateful fox ! 'tis he.
Corn. Bind fast his corky arms.
G/ou. What mean your graces .'' Good my friends, consider
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. vii.
You are my guests : do me no foul play, friends. 31 Corn. Bind him, I say. \_Servafits bind him.
Reg. Hard, hard. O filthy traitor !
Glou. Unmerciful lady as you are, I 'm none. Corn. To this chair bind him. Villain, thou shalt find —
[Regan plucks his beard. Glou. By the kind gods, 'tis most ignobly done
To pluck me by the beard. Reg. So white, and such a traitor ! Glou. Naughty lady,
These hairs which thou dost ravish from my chin
Will quicken and accuse thee : I am your host :
With robbers' hands my hospitable favours 40
You should not ruffle thus. What will you do ? Corn. Come, sir, what letters had you late from France ? Reg. Be simple answerer, for we know the truth. Corn. And what confederacy have you with the traitors
Late footed in the kingdom? Reg. To whose hands have you sent the lunatic king ?
Speak. Glou. I have a letter guessingly set down,
Which came from one that 's of a neutral heart,
And not from one opposed. Corn. Cunning.
Reg. And false. 50
Corn. Where hast thou sent the king ? Glou. To Dover.
Reg. Wherefore to Dover .'* Wast thou not charged at
peril — Corn. Wherefore to Dover .? Let him first answer that. Glou. I am tied to the stake, and I must stand the course. Reg. Wherefore to Dover, sir ?
Act III. Sc. vii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Glou. Because I would not see thy cruel nails
Pluck out his poor old eyes, nor thy fierce sister In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs. The sea, with such a storm as his bare head In hell-black night endured, would have buoy'd up, And quench'd the stelled fires : 6 1
Yet, poor old heart, he holp the heavens to rain. If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that stern time, Thou shouldst have said, * Good porter, turn the key,' All cruels else subscribed : but I shall see The winged vengeance overtake such children.
Corn. See 't shalt thou never. Fellows, hold the chair. Upon these eyes of thine I '11 set my foot.
Glou. He that will think to live till he be old.
Give me some help ! O cruel ! O you gods ! 70
Reg. One side will mock another ; the other too.
Corn. If you see vengeance —
First Serv. Hold your hand, my lord :
I have served you ever since I was a child ; But better service have I never done you Than now to bid you hold.
Reg. How now, you dog !
First Serv. If you did wear a beard upon your chin,
I 'Id shake it on this quarrel. What do you mean ?
Corn. My villain ! \They draw and fight.
First Serv. Nay, then, come on, and take the chance of anger.
Reg. Give me thy sword. A peasant stand up thus ! 80
[Takes a sword and runs at him behind.
First Serv. O, I am slain ! My lord, you have one eye left To see some mischief on him. O ! \_Dies.
Corn. Lest it see more, prevent it. Out, vile jelly ! Where is thy lustre now ?
KING LEAR Act III. Sc. vii.
GIou. All dark and comfortless. Where 's my son Edmund ?
Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature,
To quit this horrid act. Reg. Out, treacherous villain !
Thou call'st on him that hates thee : it was he
That made the overture of thy treasons to us ;
Who is too good to pity thee. 90
Glou. O my follies ! Then Edgar was abused.
Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him ! Reg. Go thrust him out at gates, and let him smell
His way to Dover. \_Exit one nvkh Gloucester.'] How is 't, my lord ? how look you ? Corn. I have received a hurt : follow me, lady.
Turn out that eyeless villain : throw this slave
Upon the dunghill. Regan, I bleed apace :
Untimely comes this hurt : give me your arm.
[Exit Cornwall, led by Regan. Sec. Serv. I'll never care what wickedness I do,
If this man come to good. Third Serv. If she live long, 100
And in the end meet the old course of death.
Women will all turn monsters. Sec. Serv. Let 's follow the old earl, and get the Bedlam
To lead him where he would : his roguish madness
Allows itself to any thing. Third Serv. Go thou : I '11 fetch some flax and whites of
eggs To apply to his bleeding face. Now, heaven help him ! \Exeunt severally.
Act IV. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
ACT FOURTH. Scene I.
The heath.
Enter Edgar.
Edg. Yet better thus, and known to be contemn'd,
Than still contemn'd and flatter'd. To be worst,
The lowest and most dejected thing of fortune.
Stands still in esperance, lives not in fear :
The lamentable change is from the best ;
The worst returns to laughter. Welcome then,
Thou unsubstantial air that I embrace !
The wretch that thou hast blown unto the worst
Owes nothing to thy blasts. But who comes here ?
Enter Gloucester , led by an Old Man.
My father, poorly led ? World, world, O world !
But that thy strange mutations make us hate thee, II
Life would not yield to age. Old Man. O, my good lord, I have been your tenant,
and your father's tenant, these fourscore years. Glou. Away, get thee away ; good friend, be gone :
Thy comforts can do no good at all ;
Thee they may hurt. Old Man. Alack, sir, you cannot see your way. Glou. I have no way and therefore want no eyes ;
I stumbled when I saw : full oft 'tis seen, 20
Our means secure us, and our mere defects
Prove our commodities. Ah, dear son Edgar,
The food of thy abused father's wrath !
Might I but live to see thee in my touch.
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. i.
I 'Id say I had eyes again ! Old Man. How now ! Who 's there ?
Ecfg. \^Aside\ O gods ! Who is 't can say ' I am at the worst ' ?
I am worse than e'er I was. Old Man. 'Tis poor mad Tom.
Edg. [Aside] And worse I may be yet : the worst is not
So long as we can say ' This is the worst.' Old Man. Fellow, where goest ?
Glou. Is it a beggar-man? 30
Old Man. Madman and beggar too. Glou. He has some reason, else he could not beg.
I' the last night's storm I such a fellow saw.
Which made me think a man a worm : my son
Came then into my mind, and yet my mind
Was then scarce friends with him : I have heard more since.
As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods ;
They kill us for their sport. Edg. [Aside] How should this be ?
Bad is the trade that must play fool to sorrow,
Angering itself and others. Bless thee, master ! 40 Glou. Is that the naked fellow ? Old Man. Ay, my lord.
Glou. Then, prithee, get thee gone : if for my sake
Thou wilt o'ertake us hence a mile or twain
I' the way toward Dover, do it for ancient love ;
And bring some covering for this naked soul.
Who I '11 entreat to lead me. Old Man. Alack, sir, he is mad.
Glou. 'Tis the times' plague, when madmen lead the blind.
Do as I bid thee, or rather do thy pleasure ;
Act IV. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Above the rest, be gone.
Old Man. I'll bring him the best 'parel that I have, 50 Come on 't what will. [Exit.
Glou. Sirrah, naked fellow, —
Edg. Poor Tom 's a-cold. \_Aside\ I cannot daub it further.
Glou. Come hither, fellow.
Edg. [Aside] And yet I must. — Bless thy sweet eyes, they bleed.
Glou. Know 'st thou the way to Dover .''
Edg. Both stile and gate, horse-way and foot-path. Poor Tom hath been scared out of his good wits. Bless thee, good man's son, from the foul fiend ! Five fiends have been in poor Tom at once ; of 60 lust, as Obidicut ; Hobbididence, prince of dumb- ness ; Mahu, of stealing ; Modo, of murder ; Flibbertigibbet, of mopping and mowing ; who since possesses chambermaids and waiting-women. So, bless thee, master !
Glou. Here, take this purse, thou whom the heavens' plagues Have humbled to all strokes : that I am wretched Makes thee the happier. Heavens, deal so still ! Let the superfluous and lust-dieted man. That slaves your ordinance, that will not see 70
Because he doth not feel, feel your power quickly j So distribution should undo excess And each man have enough. Dost thou know Dover .''
Edg. Ay, master.
Glou. There is a cliff whose high and bending head Looks fearfully in the confined deep : Bring me but to the very brim of it. And I '11 repair the misery thou dost bear
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. ii.
With something rich about me : from that place I shall no leading need. Edg. Give me thy arm : 80
Poor Tom shall lead thee. [Exeunt.
Scene II.
Before the Duke of Albany's palace.
Enter Goneril and Edmund.
Gon. Welcome, my lord : I marvel our mild husband Not met us on the way.
Enter Osivald.
Now, where 's your master } Osiv. Madam, within ; but never man so changed. I told him of the army that was landed ; He smiled at it : I told him you were coming ; His answer was, ' The worse ' : of Gloucester's
treachery And of the loyal service of his son When I inform'd him, then he call'd me sot And told me I had turn'd the wrong side out : What most he should dislike seems pleasant to him ; What like, offensive. 1 1
Gon. \To Edm.~\ Then shall you go no further.
It is the cowish terror of his spirit. That dares not undertake : he '11 not feel wrongs. Which tie him to an answer. Our wishes on the way May prove effects. Back, Edmund, to my brother ; Hasten his musters and conduct his powers : I must change arms at home and give the distaff Into my husband's hands. This trusty servant
Act IV. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Shall pass between us : ere long you are like to hear, If you dare venture in your own behalf, 20
A mistress's command. "Wear this j spare speech ;
[Giving a favour. Decline your head : this kiss, if it durst speak. Would stretch thy spirits up into the air : Conceive, and fare thee well.
Edm. Yours in the ranks of death.
Gon, My most dear Gloucester !
\Exit Edmund. O, the difference of man and man ! To thee a woman's services are due : My fool usurps my body.
Osnv. Madam, here comes my lord.
\Exit. Enter Albany.
Gon. I have been worth the whistle.
Alb. O Goneril !
You are not worth the dust which the rude wind 30
Blows in your face. I fear your disposition :
That nature which contemns it origin
Cannot be border'd certain in itself ;
She that herself will sliver and disbranch
From her material sap, perforce must wither
xA-nd come to deadly use. Gon. No more ; the text is foolish. Alb. Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile :
Filths savour but themselves. What have you done ?
Tigers, not daughters, what have you perform'd .'' 40
A father, and a gracious aged man,
Whose reverence even the head-lugg'd bear would lick.
Most barbarous, most degenerate ! have you madded.
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. ii.
Could my good brother suffer you to do it ?
A man, a prince, by him so benefited !
If that the heavens do not their visible spirits
Send quickly down to tame these vile offences.
It will come,
Humanity must perforce prey on itself,
Like monsters of the deep.
Gon. Milk-liver'd man ! 50
That bear'st a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs ; Who hast not in thy brows an eye discerning Thine honour from thy suffering ; that not know'st Fools do those villains pity who are punish'd Ere they have done their mischief. Where 's thy drum ? France spreads his banners in our noiseless land. With plumed helm thy state begins to threat. Whiles thou, a moral fool, sit'st still and criest * Alack, why does he so ? '
Alb. See thyself, devil !
Proper deformity seems not in the fiend 60
So horrid as in woman.
Gon. O vain fool !
Alh. Thou changed and self-cover'd thing, for shame, Be-monster not thy feature. Were 't my fitness To let these hands obey my blood. They are apt enough tb dislocate and tear Thy flesh and bones : howe'er thou art a fiend, A woman's shape doth shield thee.
Gon. Marry, your manhood ! mew !
Enter a Messenger. Alb. What news ? Mess. O, my good lord, the Duke of Cornwall 's dead.
Act IV. Sc. ii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Slain by his servant, going to put out 71
The other eye of Gloucester. Alb. Gloucester's eyes !
Mess. A servant that he bred, thrill'd with remorse,
Opposed against the act, bending his sword
To his great master j who thereat enraged
Flew on him and amongst them fell'd him dead.
But not without that harmful stroke which since
Hath pluck'd him after. Alb. This shows you are above,
You justicers, that these our nether crimes
So speedily can venge. But, O poor Gloucester !
Lost he his other eye ? Mess. Both, both, my lord. 81
This letter, madam, craves a speedy answer ;
'Tis from your sister. Gon. \_Aside'\ One way I like this well ;
But being widow, and my Gloucester with her,
May all the building in my fancy pluck
Upon my hateful life : another way.
The news is not so tart. — I '11 read, and answer.
[Exit. Alb. Where was his son when they did take his eyes ? Mess. Come with my lady hither. Alb. He is not here.
Mess. No, my good lord ; I met him back again. 90
Alb. Knows he the wickedness ? Mess. Ay, my good lord ; 'twas he inform'd against him.
And quit the house on purpose, that their punishment
Might have the freer course. Alb. Gloucester, I live
To thank thee for the love thou show'dst the king,
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. iii.
And to revenge thine eyes. Come hither, friend : Tell me what more thou know'st. [Exeunt.
Scene III.
The French camp near Dover. Enter Kent and a Gentlemati.
Kent. Why the King of France is so suddenly gone back know you the reason ?
Gent. Something he left imperfect in the state which since his coming forth is thought of, which im- ports to the kingdom so much fear and danger that his personal return was most required and necessary.
Kent. Who hath he left behind him general ?
Gent. The Marshal of France, Monsieur La Far.
Kent. Did your letters pierce the queen to any lo demonstration of grief?
Gent. Ay, sir ; she took them, read them in my presence. And now and then an ample tear trill'd down Her delicate cheek : it seem'd she was a queen Over her passion, who most rebel-like Sought to be king o'er her.
Kent. O, then it moved her.
Gent. Not to a rage : patience and sorrow strove
Who should express her goodliest. You have seen Sunshine and rain at once : her smiles and tears Were like a better way : those happy smilets 20
That play'd on her ripe lip seem'd not to know What guests were in her eyes ; which parted thence As pearls from diamonds dropp'd. In brief.
Act IV. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Sorrow would be a rarity most beloved, If all could so become it.
Kent. Made she no verbal question ?
Gent. Faith, once or twice she heaved the name of ' father ' Pantingly forth, as if it press'd her heart ; Cried ' Sisters ! sisters ! Shame of ladies ! sisters ! Kent ! father ! sisters ! What, i' the storm? i' the night ? Let pity not be believed ! ' There she shook 30
The holy water from her heavenly eyes, And clamour moisten'd : then away she started To deal with grief alone.
Kent. It is the stars.
The stars above us, govern our conditions ;
Else one self mate and mate could not beget
Such different issues. You spoke not with her since .''
Gent. No.
Kent. Was this before the king return'd ?
Gent. No, since.
Kent. Well, sir, the poor distress'd Lear 's i' the town ; Who sometime in his better tune remembers 40
What we are come about, and by no means Will yield to see his daughter.
Gent. Why, good sir ?
Kent. A sovereign shame so elbows him : his own un- kindness That stripp'd her from his benediction, turn'd her To foreign casualties, gave her dear rights To his dog-hearted daughters : these things sting His mind so venomously that burning shame Detains him from Cordelia.
Gent. Alack, poor gentleman !
Kent. Of Albany's and Cornwall's powers you heard not ?
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. iv.
Gent. 'Tis so ; they are afoot. 5°
Kent. Well, sir, I '11 bring you to our master Lear, And leave you to attend him : some dear cause Will in concealment wrap me up awhile ; When I am known aright, you shall not grieve Lending me this acquaintance. I pray you, go Along with me. [Exeunt.
Scene IV.
The same. A tent.
Enter, with drum and colours, Cordelia, Doctor, and Soldiers.
Cor. Alack, 'tis he : why, he was met even now As mad as the vex'd sea ; singing aloud ; Crown'd with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds. With bur-docks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow In our sustaining corn. A century send forth ; Search every acre in the high-grown field, And bring him to our eye. [Exit an Officer'] What
can man's wisdom In the restoring his bereaved sense ? He that helps him take all my outward worth. lo
Doct. There is means, madam :
Our foster-nurse of nature is repose, The which he lacks : that to provoke in him. Are many simples operative, whose power Will close the eye of anguish.
Cor. All blest secrets.
All you unpublish'd virtues of the earth. Spring with my tears ! be aidant and remediate
Act IV. Sc. V. THE TRAGEDY OF
In the good man's distress ! Seek, seek for him j Lest his ungovern'd rage dissolve the life That wants the means to lead it.
Enter a Messenger.
Mess. News, madam j 20
The British powers are marching hitherward.
Cor. 'Tis known before j our preparation stands In expectation of them. O dear father, It is thy business that I go about ; Therefore great France
My mourning and important tears hath pitied. No blown ambition doth our arms incite. But love, dear love, and our aged father's right : Soon may I hear and see him ! \Exewit
Scene V.
Gloucester s castle. Enter Regan and Osivald.
Reg. But are my brother's powers set forth ?
Osw. Ay, madam.
Reg. Himself in person there ?
Osnv. Madam, with much ado :
Your sister is the better soldier.
Reg. Lord Edmund spake not with your lord at home ?
Os'w. No, madam.
Reg. What might import my sister's letter to him }
Osnv. I know not, lady.
Reg. Faith, he is posted hence on serious matter.
It was great ignorance, Gloucester's eyes being out. To let him live : where he arrives he moves lo
AH hearts against us : Edmund, I think, is gone,
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. v.
In pity of his misery, to dispatch
His nighted life j moreover, to descry
The strength o' the enemy. Osiv. I must needs after him, madam, with my letter. Reg. Our troops set forth to-morrow : stay with us ;
The ways are dangerous. Osiv. I may not, madam :
My lady charged my duty in this business. Reg. Why should she write to Edmund .'' Might not you
Transport her purposes by word } Belike, 20
Something — I know not what : I '11 love thee much,
Let me unseal the letter. Osiv. Madam, I had rather —
Reg. I know your lady does not love her husband ;
I am sure of that : and at her late being here
She gave strange oeillades and most speaking looks
To noble Edmund. I know you are of her bosom. Osiv. I, madam ? Reg. I speak in understanding : you are ; I know 't :
Therefore I do advise you, take this note :
My lord is dead ; Edmund and I have talk'd ; 30
And more convenient is he for my hand
Than for your lady's : you may gather more.
If you do find him, pray you, give him this ;
And when your mistress hears thus much from you,
I pray, desire her call her wisdom to her.
So, fare you well.
If you do chance to hear of that blind traitor,
Preferment falls on him that cuts him off. Osiv. Would I could meet him, madam ! I should show
What party I do follow. Reg. Fare thee well. [Exeunt. 40
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
Scene VI.
Fields near Dover. Enter Gloucester, and Edgar dressed like a peasant.
Glou. When shall we come to the top of that same hill ?
Edg. You do climb up it now : look, how we labour.
Glou. Methinks the ground is even.
Edg. Horrible steep.
Hark, do you hear the sea ?
Glou. No, truly.
Edg. Why then your other senses grow imperfect By your eyes' anguish.
Glou. So may it be indeed :
Methinks thy voice is alter'd, and thou speak'st In better phrase and matter than thou didst.
Edg. You 're much deceived : in nothing am I changed But in my garments.
Glou. Methinks you 're better spoken.
Edg. Come on, sir ; here 's the place : stand still. How fearful 1 1
And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low ! The crows and choughs that wing the midway air Show scarce so gross as beetles : half way down Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade ! Methinks he seems no bigger than his head : The fishermen that walk upon the beach Appear like mice ; and yond tall anchoring bark Diminish'd to her cock ; her cock, a buoy Almost too small for sight : the murmuring surge 20 That on the unnumber'd idle pebbles chafes Cannot be heard so high. I '11 look no more,
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. vi.
Lest my brain turn and the deficient sight Topple down headlong.
Glou. Set me where you stand.
Edg. Give me your hand : you are now within a foot Of the extreme verge : for all beneath the moon Would I not leap upright.
Glou. Let go my hand.
Here, friend, 's another purse ; in it a jewel Well worth a poor man's taking : fairies and gods Prosper it with thee ! Go thou further off; go
Bid me farewell, and let me hear thee going.
Edg. Now fare you well, good sir.
Glou. With all my heart
Edg. Why I do trifle thus with his despair Is done to cure it.
Glou. [Kneeling] O you mighty gods !
This world I do renounce, and in your sights
Shake patiently my great affliction off:
If I could bear it longer and not fall
To quarrel with your great opposeless wills.
My snufF and loathed part of nature should
Burn itself out. If Edgar live, O bless him ! 40
Now, fellow, fare thee well. [He falls forward.
Edg. Gone, sir : farewell.
And yet I know not how conceit may rob The treasury of life, when life itself Yields to the theft : had he been where he thought. By this had thought been past. Alive or dead ? Ho, you sir ! friend ! Hear you, sir ! speak ! Thus might he pass indeed : yet he revives. What are you, sir ?
Glou. Away, and let me die.
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
Edg. Hadst thou been aught but gossamer, feathers, air. So many fathom down precipitating, 50
Thou 'dst shiver'd like an egg : but thou dost breathe ; Hast heavy substance; bleed'st not; speak'st; art sound. Ten masts at each make not the altitude Which thou hast perpendicularly fell : Thy life 's a miracle. Speak yet again.
Glou. But have I fall'n, or no ?
Edg. From the dread summit of this chalky bourn. Look up a-height ; the shrill-gorged lark so far ■ Cannot be seen or heard : do but look up.
Glou. Alack, I have no eyes, 60
Is wretchedness deprived that benefit, To end itself by death ? 'Twas yet some comfort, When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage And. frustrate his proud will.
Edg. Give me your arm :
Up : so. How is 't ? Feel you your legs ? You stand.
Glou. Too well, too well.
Edg. This is above all strangeness.
Upon the crown o' the cliff, what thing was that Which parted from you ?
Glou. A poor unfortunate beggar.
Edg. As I stood here below, methought his eyes
Were two full moons ; he had a thousand noses, 70 Horns whelk'd and waved like the enridged sea : It was some fiend ; therefore, thou happy father. Think that the clearest gods, who make them honours Of men's impossibilities, have preserved thee.
Glou. 1 do remember now : henceforth I '11 bear Affliction till it do cry out itself
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. vi.
* Enough, enough,' and die. That thing you speak of I took it for a man j often 'twould say ' The fiend, the fiend ' : he led me to that place. Edg. Bear free and patient thoughts. But who comes here ? 80
Enter Lear , fantastically dressed with tuildjlowers.
The safer sense will ne'er accommodate His master thus.
Lear. No, they cannot touch me for coining ; I am the king himself.
Edg. O thou side-piercing sight !
Lear. Nature 's above art in that respect. There 's your press-money. That fellow handles his bow like a crow-keeper; draw me a clothier's yard. Look, look, a mouse ! Peace, peace ; this piece of toasted cheese will do 't. There 's my gauntlet ; 90 I'll prove it on a giant. Bring up the brown bills. O, well flown, bird ! i' the clout, i' the clout : hewgh ! Give the word.
Edg. Sweet marjoram.
Lear. Pass.
Glou. I know that voice.
Lear. Ha ! Goneril, with a white beard ! They flattered me like a dog, and told me I had white hairs in my beard ere the black ones were there. To say * ay ' and ' no ' to every thing that I said ! loo * Ay ' and ' no ' too was no good divinity. When the rain came to wet me once and the wind to make me chatter ; when the thunder would not peace at my bidding ; there I found 'em, there I smelt 'em out. Go to, they are not men o' their
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
words : they told me I was every thing ; 'tis a
lie, I am not ague-proof. Glou. The trick of that voice I do well remember :
Is 't not the king ? Lear. Ay, every inch a king :
When I do stare, see how the subject quakes. lio
I pardon that man's life. What was thy cause }
Adultery ?
Thou shalt not die : die for adultery ! No :
The wren goes to 't, and the small gilded fly
Does lecher in my sight.
Let copulation thrive j for Gloucester's bastard son
Was kinder to his father than my daughters
Got 'tween the lawful sheets.
To 't, luxury, pell-mell ! for I lack soldiers.
Behold yond simpering dame, 120
Whose face between her forks presages snow,
That minces virtue and does shake the head
To hear of pleasure's name ;
The fitchew, nor the soiled horse, goes to't
With a more riotous appetite.
Down from the waist they are Centaurs,
Though women all above :
But to the girdle do the gods inherit.
Beneath is all the fiends' ;
There's hell, there 's darkness, there's the sulphurous pit, 130
Burning, scalding, stench, consumption ; fie, fie,
fie ! pah, pah ! Give me an ounce of civet, good
apothecary, to sweeten my imagination : there 's
money for thee. Glou. O, let me kiss that hand !
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. vi.
Lear. Let me wipe it first ; it smells of mortality.
Glou. O ruin'd piece of nature ! This great world
Shall so wear out to nought. Dost thou know me .''
Lear. I remember thine eyes well enough. Dost thou
squiny at me? No, do thy worst, blind Cupid; 140 I '11 not love. Read thou this challenge ; mark but the penning on 't.
Glou. "Were all the letters suns, I could not see one.
Edg. I would not take this from report : it is. And my heart breaks at it.
Lear. Read.
Glou. What, with the case of eyes .?
Lear. O, ho, are you there with me ^ No eyes in your head, nor no money in your purse ? Your eyes are in a heavy case, your purse in a light : i ^o yet you see how this world goes.
Glou. I see it feelingly.
Lear. What, art mad ? A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears : see how yond justice rails upon yond simple thief. Hark, in thine ear : change places, and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief.? Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar .?
Glou. Ay, sir. l5o
Lear. And the creature run from the cur .'' There thou mightst behold the great image of author- ity : a dog 's obeyed in office. Thou rascal beadle, hold thy bloody hand ! Why dost thou lash that whore ,? Strip thine own
back ; Thou hotly lust'st to use her in that kind
'° A 2
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
For which thou whip'st her. The usurer hangs the
cozener. Through tatter'd clothes small vices do appear ; Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks ; 170 Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it. None does offend, none, I say, none ; I '11 able 'em : Take that of me, my friend, who have the power To seal the accuser's lips. Get thee glass eyes, And, like a scurvy politician, seem To see the things thou dost not. Now, now, now, now : pull off my boots : harder harder, so,
Edg. O, matter and impertinency mix'd ! Reason in madness !
Lear. If thou wilt weep my fortunes, take my eyes. 180 I know thee well enough ; thy name is Gloucester : Thou must be patient ; we came crying hither : Thou know'st, the first time that we smell the air, We wawl and cry. I will preach to thee : mark.
Glou. Alack, alack the day !
Lear. When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools. This 's a good block.
It were a delicate stratagem, to shoe
A troop of horse with felt : I '11 put 't in proof ;
And when I have stol'n upon these sons-in-law, 190
Then, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill !
Enter a GentlematJ, ivith Attendants.
Gent. O, here he is : lay hand upon him. Sir,
Your most dear daughter — Lear. No rescue ^ What, a prisoner ? I am even
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. vi.
The natural fool of fortune. Use me well
»
You shall have ransom. Let me have a surgeon j
I am cut to the brains. Gent. You shall have any thing.
Lear. No seconds ? all myself ?
Why, this would make a man a man of salt,
To use his eyes for garden water-pots, 200
Aye, and laying autumn's dust. Gent. Good sir, — Lear. I will die bravely, like a smug bridegroom. What !
I will be jovial : come, comej I am a king.
My masters, know you that. Gent. You are a royal one, and we obey you. Lear. Then there 's life in 't. Nay, an you get it,
you shall get it by running. Sa, sa, sa, sa.
[Exit running ; Attendants follonv. Gent. A sight most pitiful in the meanest wretch.
Past speaking of in a king ! Thou hast one daughter,
Who redeems nature from the general curse 210
. Which twain have brought her to. Edg. Hail, gentle sir.
Gent. Sir, speed you : what 's your will ?
Edg. Do you hear aught, sir, of a battle toward ? Gent. Most sure and vulgar : every one hears that.
Which can distinguish sound. Edg. But, by your favour,
How near 's the other army ? Gent. Near and on speedy foot j the main descry
Stands on the hourly thought. Edg. I thank you, sir : that 's all.
Gent. Though that the queen on special cause is here.
Her army is moved on.
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE TRAGEDY OF
Edg. I thank you, sir. [Exit Gent. 220
Glou. You ever-gentle gods, take my breath from me ;
Let not my worser spirit tempt me again
To die before you please ! Edg. Well pray you, father.
Glou. Now, good sir, what are you ? Edg. A most poor man, made tanie to fortune's blows ;
Who, by the art of known and feeling sorrows.
Am pregnant to good pity. Give me your hand,
I '11 lead you to some biding. Glou. Hearty thanks ;
The bounty and the benison of heaven
To boot, and boot !
Enter Osnvald.
Osnv. A proclaim'd prize ! Most happy !
That eyeless head of thine was first framed flesh 231
To raise my fortunes. Thou old unhappy traitor.
Briefly thyself remember : the sword is out
That must destroy thee. Glou. Now let thy friendly hand
Put strength enough to 't. [Edgar interposes.
Osiv. Wherefore, bold peasant.
Barest thou support a publish'd traitor ? Hence !
Lest that the infection of his fortune take
Like hold on thee. Let go his arm. Edg. Chill not let go, zir, without vurther 'casion. Osiv. Let go, slave, or thou diest ! 240
Edg. Good gentleman, go your gait, and let poor volk
pass. An chud ha' been zwaggered out of my life,
'twould not ha' been zo long as 'tis by a vortnight.
Nay, come not near th' old man ; keep out, che
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. vi.
vor ye, or I 'se try whether your costard or my ballow be the harder : chill be plain with you.
Osiu. Out, dunghill ! \They fight.
Edg. Chill pick your teeth, zir : come ; no matter vor
your foins. [Ostu aid falls.
Osiv. Slave, thou hast slain me. Villain take my purse : If ever thou wilt thrive, bury my body ; 25 1
And give the letters which thou find'st about me To Edmund earl of Gloucester ; seek him out Upon the British party. O, untimely death ! Death ! [Dies.
Edg. I know thee well : a serviceable villain, As duteous to the vices of thy mistress As badness would desire.
Glou. What, is he dead .''
Edg. Sit you down, father ; rest you.
Let's see these pockets : the letters that he speaks of May be my friends. He 's dead ; I am only sorry 261 He had no other deathsman. Let us see : Leave, gentle wax ; and, manners, blame us not : To know our enemies' minds, we 'Id rip their hearts ; Their papers, is more lawful. [Reads'l * Let our reciprocal vows be remembered. You have many opportunities to cut him off j if your will want not, time and place will be fruit- fully offered. There is nothing done, if he return the conqueror: then am I the prisoner, and his 2 70 bed my gaol ; from the loathed warmth whereof deliver me, and supply the place for your labour. * Your — wife, so I would say —
* affectionate servant,
' GONERIL.'
Act IV. Sc. vii. THE TRAGEDY OF
0 undistlnguish'd space of woman's will ! A plot upon her virtuous husband's life ;
And the exchange my brother ! Here, in the sands,
Thee I '11 rake up, the post unsanctified
Of murderous lechers ; and in the mature time 280
With this ungracious paper strike the sight
Of the death-practised duke : for him 'tis well
That of thy death and business I can tell,
Glou. The king is mad : how stiff is my vile sense. That I stand up, and have ingenious feeling Of my huge sorrows ! Better I were distract : So should my thoughts be sever'd from my griefs, And woes by wrong imaginations lose The knowledge of themselves. [Drum afar off.
Edg. Give me your hand :
Far off, methinks, I hear the beaten drum : 290
Come, father, I '11 bestow you with a friend. [Exeunt.
Scene VII.
A tent in the French camp. Lear on a bed asleep, soft music playing ; Gentlemen, and others attending.
Enter Cordelia, Kent, and Doctor.
Cor. O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work,
To match thy goodness ? My life will be too short,
And every measure fail me. Kent. To be acknowledged, madam, is o'erpaid.
All my reports go with the modest truth.
Nor more nor clipp'd, but so. Cor. Be better suited :
These weeds are memories of those worser hours :
1 prithee, put them off.
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. vii.
Kent. Pardon me, dear madam j
Yet to be known shortens my made intent :
My boon I make it, that you know me not lo
Till time and I think meet. Cor. Then be 't so, my good lord. \To the Doctor] How
does the king ? Doct. Madam, sleeps still. Cor. O you kind gods.
Cure this great breach in his abused nature !
The untuned and jarring senses, O, wind up
Of this child-changed father ! Doct. So please your majesty
That we may wake the king : he hath slept long. Cor. Be govern'd by your knowledge, and proceed
r the sway of your own will. Is he array'd ? 20
Gent. Ay, madam ; in the heaviness of his sleep
We put fresh garments on him. Doct. Be by, good madam, when we do awake him j
I doubt not of his temperance. Cor. Very well.
Doct, Please you, draw near. Louder the music there ! Cor. O my dear father ! Restoration hang
Thy medicine on my lips, and let this kiss
Repair those violent harms that my two sisters
Have in thy reverence made ! Kent. Kind and dear princess !
Cor. Had you not been their father, these white flakes 30
Had challenged pity of them. Was this a face
To be opposed against the warring winds .''
To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder .''
In the most terrible and nimble stroke
Of quick, cross lightning ? to watch — poor perdu ! —
Act IV. Sc. vii. THE TRAGEDY OF
With this thine helm ? Mine enemy's dog,
Though he had bit me, should have stood that night
Against my fire ; and wast thou fain, poor father,
To hovel thee with swine and rogues forlorn,
In short and musty straw ? Alack, alack ! 40
'Tis wonder that thy life and wits at once
Had not concluded all. He wakes ; speak to him.
Doct. Madam, do you ; 'tis fittest.
Cor. How does my royal lord ? How fares your majesty ?
Lear. You do me wrong to take me out o' the grave : Thou art a soul in bliss j but I am bound Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears Do scald like molten lead.
Cor. Sir, do you know me .''
Lear. You are a spirit, I know : when did you die ?
Cor. Still, still, far wide ! 50
Doct. He 's scarce awake : let him alone awhile.
Lear. Where have I been .'' Where am I ? Fair daylight ? I am mightily abused. I should e'en die with pity. To see another thus. I know not what to say. I will not swear these are my hands : let 's see ; I feel this pin prick. Would I were assured Of my condition !
Cor. O, look upon me, sir.
And hold your hands in benediction o'er me. No, sir, you must not kneel.
Lear. Pray, do not mock me :
I am a very foolish fond old man, 60
Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less ; And, to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Methinks I should know you and know this man ;
KING LEAR Act IV. Sc. vii.
Yet I am doubtful j for I am mainly ignorant What place this is, and all the skill I have Remembers not these garments, nor I know not Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me ; For, as I am a man, I think this lady To be my child Cordelia.
Cor. And so I am, I am. 70
Lear. Be your tears wet .-* yes, faith. I pray, weep not : If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me ; for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong : You have some cause, they have not.
Cor. No cause, no cause.
Lear. Am I in France ?
Kent. In your own kingdom, sir.
Lear. Do not abuse me.
Doct. Be comforted, good madam : the great rage, You see, is kill'd in him : and yet it is danger To make him even o'er the time he has lost. 80
Desire him to go in ; trouble him no more Till further settling.
Cor. Will 't please your highness walk ?
Lear. You must bear with me.
Pray you now, forget and forgive : I am old and
foolish. [Exeunt all but Kent and Gentleman.
Gent. Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of Cornwall was so slain .?
Kent. Most certain, sir.
Gent. Who is conductor of his people ?
Kent. As 'tis said, the bastard son of Gloucester.
Gent. They say Edgar, his banished son, is with the 90 Earl of Kent in Germany.
Act V. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Kent. Report is changeable. 'Tis time to look about ;
the powers of the kingdom approach apace. Gent. The arbitrement is like to be bloody. Fare you
well, sir. \_Exit.
Kent. My point and period will be thoroughly wrought,
Or well or ill, as this day's battle 's fought. [Exit.
ACT FIFTH. Scene I.
The British camp near Dover.
Enter, ivith drum and colours, Edmund, Regan, Gentlemen, and Soldiers.
Edm. Know of the duke if his last purpose hold, Or whether since he is advised by aught To change the course : he 's full of alteration And self-reproving : bring his constant pleasure.
[To a Gentleman, nvho goes out.
Reg. Our sister's man is certainly miscarried.
Edm. 'Tis to be doubted, madam.
Reg. Now, sweet lord,
You know the goodness I intend upon you : Tell me, but truly, but then speak the truth, Do you not love my sister .?
Edm. In honour'd love.
Reg. But have you never found my brother's way lo
To the forfended place?
Edm. That thought abuses you.
Reg. I am doubtful that you have been conjunct And bosom'd with her, as far as we call hers.
Edm. No, by mine honour, madam.
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. i.
Reg. I never shall endure her : dear my lord,
Be not familiar with her. Edm. Fear me not. —
She and the duke her husband !
Enter y with drum and colours, Albany, Goneril, and Soldiers.
Gon. [Jside] I had rather lose the battle than that sister Should loosen him and me.
Alb. Our very loving sister, well be-met. , 20
Sir, this I hear ; the king is come to his daughter, With others whom the rigour of our state Forced to cry out. Where I could not be honest, I never yet was valiant : for this business, It toucheth us, as France invades our land, Not holds the king, with others, whom, I fear. Most just and heavy causes make oppose.
Edm. Sir, you speak nobly.
Reg, Why is this reason'd ?
Gon. Combine together 'gainst the enemy ;
For these domestic and particular broils 30
Are not the question here.
^/l,. Let 's then determine
With the ancient of war on our proceedings.
Edm. I shall attend you presently at your tent.
Reg. Sister, you '11 go with us .-*
Gon. No.
Reg. 'Tis most convenient ; pray you, go with us.
Gon. [Aside] O, ho, I know the riddle. — I will go.
As they are going out, enter Edgar disguised. Edg. If e'er your grace had speech with man so poor, Hear me one word.
Act V. Sc. i. THE TRAGEDY OF
Alb. I '11 overtake you. Speak.
[^Exeunt all but Albany and Edgar.
Edg. Before you fight the battle, ope this letter. 40
If you have victory, let the trumpet sound For him that brought it : wretched though I seem, I can produce a champion that will prove What is avouched there. If you miscarry. Your business of the world hath so an end, And machination ceases. Fortune love you !
Alb. Stay till I have read the letter.
Edg. I was forbid it.
When time shall serve, let but the herald cry, And I '11 appear again.
Alb. Why, fare thee well : I will o'erlook thy paper. 50
\E»:'it Edgar. Re-enter Edmund.
Edm. The enemy 's in view : draw up your powers.
Here is the guess of their true strength and forces By diligent discovery ; but your haste Is now urged on you.
Alb. We will greet the time. [Exit.
Edm. To both these sisters have I sworn my love ; Each jealous of the other, as the stung Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take ? Both ? one .? or neither ? Neither can be enjoy'd, If both remain alive : to take the widow Exasperates, makes mad her sister Goneril j 60
And hardly shall I carry out my side. Her husband being alive. Now then we '11 use His countenance for the battle ; which being done, Let her who would be rid of him devise His speedy taking off. As for the mercy
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. ii.
Which he intends to Lear and to Cordeha,
The battle done, and they within our power,
Shall never see his pardon ; for my state
Stands on me to defend, not to debate. [Exit.
Scene IL
Afield between the tnvo camps.
Alarum ivithin. Enter, tuith drum and colours, Lear,
Cordelia, and Soldiers, over the stage ; and exeunt.
Enter Edgar and Gloucester.
Edg. Here, father, take the shadow of this tree
For your good host ; pray that the right may thrive : If ever I return to you again, I'll bring you comfort.
Glou. Grace go with you, sir !
\_Exit Edgar.
Alarum and retreat ivithin. Re-enter Edgar.
Edg. Away, old man j give me thy hand ; away !
King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en :
Give me thy hand ; come on. Glou. No further, sir ; a man may rot even here. Edg. "What, in ill thoughts again ? Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither : lo
Ripeness is all : come on. Glou. And that 's true too.
[Exeunt
Act V. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Scene III.
The British camp near Dover.
Enter, in conquest, nvith drum and colours, Edmund; Lear and Cordelia, as prisoners'^ Captain, Soldiers, l^c.
Edm. Some officers take them away : good guard, Until their greater pleasures first be known That are to censure them.
Cor. We are not the first
Who with best meaning have incurr'd the worst. For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down ; Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown. Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters }
Lear. No, no, no, no ! Come, let 's away to prison : We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage : When thou dost ask me blessing, I '11 kneel down And ask of thee forgiveness : so we '11 live, 1 1
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues Talk of court news ; and we '11 talk with them too. Who loses and who wins, who 's in, who 's out ; And take upon 's the mystery of things. As if we were God's spies : and we '11 wear out. In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones That ebb and flow by the moon.
Edm. Take them away.
Lear. Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia, 20
The gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught
thee ? He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven. And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes j
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. iii.
The good-years shall devour them, flesh and fell, Ere they shall make us weep ; we '11 see 'em starve
first. Come. \^Exeunt Lear and Cordelia, guarded.
Edm. Come hither, captain j hark.
Take thou this note : go follow them to prison :
One step I have advanced thee ; if thou dost
As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way
To noble fortunes : know thou this, that men 30
Are as the time is : to be tender-minded
Does not become a sword : thy great employment
Will not bear question ; either say thou 'It do 't,
Or thrive by other means.
Capt. I '11 do 't, my lord.
Edm. About it j and write happy when thou hast done. Mark ; I say, instantly, and carry it so As I have set it down.
Capt. I cannot draw a cart, nor eat dried oats ;
If it be man's work, I '11 do 't. [^Exit.
Flourish. Enter Albany, Goneril, Regan, another Captain,
and Soldiers.
Alb. Sir, you have shown to-day your valiant strain, 40 And fortune led you well : you have the captives That were the opposites of this day's strife : We do require them of you, so to use them As we shall find their merits and our safety May equally determine.
Edm. Sir, I thought it fit
To send the old and miserable king To some retention and appointed guard ; , Whose age has charms in it, whose title more.
Act V. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
To pluck the common bosom on his side,
And turn our impress'd lances in our eyes 50
Which do command them. With him I sent the queen :
My reason all the same ; and they are ready
To-morrow or at further space to appear
Where you shall hold your session. At this time
We sweat and bleed : the friend hath lost his friend ;
And the best quarrels, in the heat, are cursed
By those that feel their sharpness.
The question of Cordelia and her father
Requires a fitter place.
Alb. Sir, by your patience,
I hold you but a subject of this war, 60
Not as a brother.
Reg. That 's as we list to grace him.
Methinks our pleasure might have been demanded, Ere you had spoke so far. He led our powers. Bore the commission of my place and person ; The which immediacy may well stand up And call itself your brother.
Gon. Not so hot :
In his own grace he doth exalt himself More than in your addition.
Reg. In my rights,
By me invested, he compeers the best.
Gon. That were the most, if he should husband you. 70
Reg. Jesters do oft prove prophets.
Gon. Holla, holla !
That eye that told you so look'd but a-squint.
Reg. Lady, I am not well ; else I should answer From a full-flowing stomach. General, Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony ;
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. iii.
Dispose of them, of me ; the walls are thine : Witness the world, that I create thee here My lord and master.
Gon. Mean you to enjoy him ?
Alb. The let-alone lies not in your good will.
Edm. Nor in thine, lord.
Alb. Half-blooded fellow, yes. 80
^eg. \To Edmund^ Let the drum strike, and prove my title thine.
Alb. Stay yet j hear reason. Edmund, I arrest thee On, capital treason ; and in thine attaint This gilded serpent [pointing to Gon.']. For your claim,
fair sister, I bar it in the interest of my wife ; 'Tis she is sub-contracted to this lord, And I, her husband, contradict your bans. If you will marry, make your loves to me ; My lady is bespoke.
Gon. An interlude !
Alb. Thou art arm'd Gloucester : let the trumpet sound : If none appear to prove upon thy person 9 1
Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons. There is my pledge [throwing down a glove] : I '11
prove it on thy heart, Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less Than I have here proclaim'd thee.
Reg. Sick, O, sick !
Gon. [Aside] If not, I '11 ne'er trust medicine.
Edm. [Throwing down a glove] There 's my exchange : what in the world he is That names me traitor, villain-like he lies : Call by thy trumpet : he that dares approach.
Act V. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
On him, on you, — who not ? — I will maintain loo
My truth and honour firmly. Alb. A herald, ho !
Edm. A herald, ho, a herald !
Alb. Trust to thy single virtue ; for thy soldiers.
All levied in my name, have in my name
Took their discharge. Reg. My sickness grows upon me.
Alb. She is not well ; convey her to my tent.
\_Exit Regan, led. Enter a Herald.
Come hither, herald, — Let the trumpet sound, — And read out this.
Capt. Sound, trumpet ! [^A trumpet sounds.
Her. \_Reads~\ ' If any man of quality or degree within no the lists of the army will maintain upon Edmund, supposed Earl of Gloucester, that he is a mani- fold traitor, let him appear by the third sound of the trumpet : he is bold in his defence.'
Edm. Sound ! \_First trumpet.
Her. Again ! [Second trumpet.
Her. Again ! \Thtrd trumpet.
[Trumpet answers ivithin.
Enter Edgar, at the third sound, armed, nvith a trumpet
before him.
Alb. Ask him his purposes, why he appears
Upon this call o' the trumpet. Her. What are you ?
Your name, your quality ? and why you answer 1 20
This present summons ? Edg. Know, my name is lost ;
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. iii.
By treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit : Yet am I noble as the adversary I come to cope.
Alb. Which is that adversary ?
Edg. What's he that speaks for Edmund, Earl of Gloucester ?
Edm. Himself : what say'st thou to him ?
Edg. Draw thy sword,
That if my speech offend a noble heart, Thy arm may do thee justice : here is mine. Behold, it is the privilege of mine honours. My oath, and my profession: I protest, 1 30
Maugre thy strength, youth, place and eminence, Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune, Thy valour and thy heart, thou art a traitor, False to thy gods, thy brother and thy father, Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince. And from the extremest upward of thy head To the descent and dust below thy foot, A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou ' No,' This sword, this arm and my best spirits are bent To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak, 140
Thou liest.
Edm. In wisdom I should ask thy name.
But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike And that thy tongue some say of breeding breathes, What safe and nicely I might well delay By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn : Back do I toss these treasons to thy head ; With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart ; Which for they yet glance by and scarcely bruise. This sword of mine shall give them instant way.
Act V. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Where they shall rest for ever. Trumpets, speak ! \Alar tints. Theyjight. Edmund falls. Alb. Save him, save him ! Gon. This is practice, Gloucester: 151
By the law of arms thou wast not bound to answer
An unknown opposite ; thou art not vanquish'd,
But cozen'd and beguiled. Alb. Shut your mouth, dame.
Or with this paper shall I stop it. Hold, sir ;
Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil.
No tearing, lady j I perceive you know it. Gon. Say, if I do, the laws are mine, not thine :
Who can arraign me for 't ? Alb. Most monstrous !
Know'st thou this paper ? Gon. Ask me not what I know. 160
[Exit. Alb. Go after her : she 's desperate ; govern her. Edm. What you have charged me with, that have I done ;
And more, much more ; the time will bring it out :
'Tis past, and so am I. But what art thou
That hast this fortune on me ? If thou 'rt noble,
I do forgive thee. Edg. Let 's exchange charity.
I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund ;
If more, the more thou hast wrong'd me.
My name is Edgar, and thy father's son.
The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices 170
Make instruments to plague us :
The dark and vicious place where thee he got
Cost him his eyes. Edm. Thou hast spoken right, 'tis true ;
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. iii.
The wheel is come full circle ; I am here.
Alb. Methought thy very gait did prophesy A royal nobleness : I must embrace thee : Let sorrow split my heart, if ever I Did hate thee or thy father !
Edg. Worthy prince, I know 't.
Alb. Where have you hid yourself?
How have you known the miseries of your father ?
Edg. By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale, i8l And when 'tis told, O, that my heart would burst ! The bloody proclamation to escape That follow'd me so near, — O, our lives' sweetness ! That we the pain of death would hourly die Rather than die at once ! — taught me to shift Into a madman's rags, to assume a semblance That very dogs disdain'd : and in this habit Met I my father with his bleeding rings, 1 89
Their precious stones new lost ; became his guide, Led him, begg'd for him, saved him from despair ; Never — O fault ! — reveal'd myself unto him. Until some half-hour past, when I was arm'd ; Not sure, though hoping, of this good success, I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last Told him my pilgrimage : but his flaw'd heart, — Alack, too weak the conflict to support ! — 'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief. Burst smilingly.
Edm. This speech of yours hath moved me,
And shall perchance do good : but speak you on ; You look as you had something more to say. 201
Alb. If there be more, more woful, hold it in ; For I am almost ready to dissolve,
Act V. Sc. iii THE TRAGEDY OF
Hearing of this.
Edg. This would have seem'd a period
To such as love not sorrow j but another, To amplify too much, would make much more. And top extremity.
Whilst I was big in clamour, came there in a man. Who, having seen me in my worst estate, Shunn'd my abhorr'd society; but then, finding 210 Who 'twas that so endured, with his strong arms He fasten'd on my neck, and bellow'd out As he 'Id burst heaven ; threw him on my father ; Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him That ever ear received : which in recounting His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life Began to crack : twice then the trumpet sounded, And there I left him tranced.
Alb. But who was this .?
Edg. Kent, sir, the banish'd Kent ; who in disguise
Follow'd his enemy king, and did him service 220 Improper for a slave.
Enter a Gentleman, nvith a bloody knife.
Gent. Help, help, O, help !
Edg. What kind of help .?
Alb. Speak, man.
Edg. What means this bloody knife ^
Gent. 'Tis hot, it smokes ;
It came even from the heart of — O, she 's dead ! Alb. Who dead? speak, man. Gent. Your lady, sir, your lady : and her sister
By her is poisoned ; she hath confess'd it. Edm. I was contracted to them both : all three
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. iii.
Now marry in an instant. Edg. Here comes Kent.
Alb. Produce the bodies, be they alive or dead. 22o
\^Exit Gentleinan.
This judgement of the heavens, that makes us tremble,
Touches us not with pity.
Enter Kent.
O, is this he }
The time will not allow the compliment
Which very manners urges. Kent. I am come
To bid my king and master aye good night :
Is he not here ? Alb. Great thing of us forgot !
Speak, Edmund, where 's the king ? and where 's Cordelia ?
See'st thou this object, Kent ?
\The bodies of Goneril and Regan are brought in. Kent. Alack, why thus ? Edm. Yet Edmund was beloved :
The one the other poison'd for my sake, 240
And after slew herself. Alb. Even so. Cover their faces. Edm. I pant for life : some good I mean to do,
Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send,
Be brief in it, to the castle j for my writ
Is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia :
Nay, send in time. Alb. Run, run, O, run !
Edg. To who, my lord .? Who hath the office .? send
Thy token of reprieve.
Act V. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Edm. Well thought on : take my sword, 250
Give it the captain. Alb. Haste thee, for thy life.
\_Exit Edgar. Edm. He hath commission from thy wife and me
To hang Cordelia in the prison, and
To lay the blame upon her own despair,
That she fordid herself. Alb. The gods defend her ! Bear him hence awhile.
[Edmund is borne cff.
Re-enter Lear, nuith Cordelia dead in his arms ; Edgar, Captain, and others folloiving.
Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl ! O, you are men of stones ;
Had I your tongues and eyes, I 'Id use them so
That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever !
I know when one is dead and when one lives ; 260
She 's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass ;
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,
Why, then she lives. Kent. Is this the promised end ?
Edg. Or image of that horror .'' Alb. Fall and cease.
Lear. This feather stirs ; she lives. If it be so,
It is a chance which does redeem all sorrows
That ever I have felt. Kent. [Kneeling] O my good master !
Lear. Prithee, away.
Edg. 'Tis noble Kent, your friend.
Lear. A plague upon you, murderers, traitors all
I might have saved her ; now she 's gone for ever !
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. iii.
Cordelia, Cordelia ! stay a little. Ha! 271
What is 't thou say'st ? Her voice was ever soft.
Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman.
I kill'd the slave that was a-hanging thee. Capt. 'Tis true, my lords, he did. Lear. Did I not, fellow ?
I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion
I would have made them skip : I am old now,
And these same crosses spoil me. Who are you ?
Mine eyes are not o' the best : I '11 tell you straight. Kent. If fortune brag of two she loved and hated, 280
One of them we behold. Lear. This is a dull sight. Are you not Kent ? Kent. The same,
Your servant Kent. Where is your servant Caius ? Lear. He 's a good fellow, I can tell you that ;
He'll strike, and quickly too : he 's dead and rotten. Kent. No, my good lord ; I am the very man — Lear. I'll see that straight. Kent. That from your first of difference and decay
Have follow'd your sad steps. Lear. You are welcome hither.
Kent. Nor no man else : all 's cheerless, dark and deadly.
Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves, 291
And desperately are dead. Lear. Ay, so I think.
Alb. He knows not what he says, and vain is it
That we present us to him. Edg. Very bootless.
Enter a Captain. Capt. Edmund is dead, my lord.
10 c2
Act V. Sc. iii. THE TRAGEDY OF
Jib. That 's but a trifle here.
You lords and noble friends, know our intent.
What comfort to this great decay may come
Shall be applied : for us, we will resign,
During the life of this old majesty,
To him our absolute power : \To Edgar and Kent] you, to your rights ; 300
With boot, and such addition as your honours
Have more than merited. All friends shall taste
The wages of their virtue, and all foes
The cup of their deservings. O, see, see ! Lear. And my poor fool is hang'd ! No, no, no life !
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life.
And thou no breath at all ? Thou 'It come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never !
Pray you, undo this button : thank you, sir.
Do you see this ? Look on her, look, her lips, 310
Look there, look there ! \^Dies.
Edg. He faints. My lord, my lord !
Kejit. Break, heart ; I prithee, break ! Edg. Look up, my lord.
Kent. Vex not his ghost : O, let him pass ! he hates him
That would upon the rack of this tough world
Stretch him out longer. Edg. He is gone indeed.
Kent. The wonder is he hath endured so long
He but usurp'd his life. Alb. Bear them from hence. Our present business
Is general woe. \To Kent and Edgar] Friends of my soul, you twain
Rule in this realm and the gored state sustain. 320 Kent. I have a journey, sir, shortly to go ;
KING LEAR Act V. Sc. iii.
My master calls me, I must not say no. Alb. The weight of this sad time we must obey, Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. The oldest hath borne most : we that are young Shall never see so much, nor live so long.
[^Exeunt, ivith a dead march.
THE TRAGEDY OF
Glossary.
Abated, diminished, deprived ; II. iv. i6o.
Able, uphold, answer for; IV. vi. 172.
Abused, deceived ; IV. i. 23.
Action-taking, " resenting an injury by a law-suit, instead of fighting it out like a man of honour " (Schmidt); II. ii. 16.
Addition, distinction, title ; II. ii. 26; V. iii. 301. "Your a.," the title you have given him ; V. iii. 68.
Additions, outward honour, titles ; I. i. 137.
Address, address ourselves ; I. 1. 192.
Admiration, amazement, astonish- ment ; I. iv. 244.
Advise yourself , consider; II. i. 28.
Affected; " had more a.," had better liked, been more partial to ; I. i. I.
After, afterwards; V. iii. 241.
A-height, aloft, to the height ; IV. vi. 58.
Aidant, helpful; IV. iv. 17.
Ajax, taken as a typical boaster (ac- cording to some, a plain, blunt, brave fellow) ; II. ii. 126.
Alarunid; "best a. spirits," spirits thoroughly aroused to the com- bat; II. i. 54.
All, altogether; I. i. 105.
Allay, be allayed ; I. ii. 175.
Alloiv, approve of ; II. iv. 193.
Alloivance, countenance, permission ; I. iv. 214.
Alms ; " at fortune's a.," as an alms of Fortune ; I. i. 280.
Amity, friendship ; II. iv. 244
An, if; I. iv. 185.
Ancient of IV ar, experienced officers;
V. i. 32. Answer; "a. my life," let my life
answer for; I. i. 152. Apollo; " by Apollo," an oath ; I.
i. 161. Appear; "wilt a.," dost wish to
seem ; I. i. 182. Approve, prove; II. ii. i6r. Approves, confirms; II. iv. 185.
, proves; III. v 11.
Arbitrement, contest, decision ; IV.
vii. 94. Arch, chief; II. i. 60. Argument, subject; I. i. 217. Aroint thee, make room, away with
thee (Quartos, " arint thee ") ; III.
iv. 129. As, as if; III. iv. 15. Assured loss, certainty of loss ; III.
vi. 98. Attaint, impeachment ; V. iii. 83. Attask' d for , blamed for (Folios i, 2,
3, '■^ at task for" ; some copies of
Quarto i, ^' attasktfor" ; Quartos
2, 3, ''alapt"); I. iv. 366. Attend, 2iW2iit ; II. i. 126.
, watch, wait; II. iii. 5.
Auricular, got by hearing (Quartos,
^' aurigular"); I. ii. 98. Avert, turn ; I. i. 213. Avouch, own, acknowledge; II. iv.
239- Avouched, asserted ; V. i. 44.
Back, on his way back ; IV. ii.
90. Balloiv, cudgel (Quarto 2, "ia<"j;
IV. vi. 246. Balm'd, cured, healed ; III. vi. loi
I
KING LEAR
Glossary
Bandy, beat to and fro (a term in
tennis) ; I. iv. 87. Bans, curses; II. iii. 19. Bar, shut; II. i. 81.
, debar, exclude ; V. iii. 85.
Barber-monger, frequenter of barbers'
shops, fop ; II. ii. 33. Bearing, suffering; III. vi. no. Becomes, suits, agrees with ; II. iv.
154. .5*i//^OT, lunatic ; III. vii. 103. Bedlam beggars, mad beggars ; II. iii.
14. {Cf. illustration.)
From a sketch by Inigo Jones of the Palmer's dress worn by Romeo in the Masquerade Scene.
Beguiled, deceived; II. ii. m. Belike, it may be, perhaps ; IV. v
20. Bemadding, maddening; III. i. 38 Be-met, met ; V. i. 20. Bench, sit on the judgment-seat;
Hi. vi. 39.
Bending, directing, raising ; IV. ii.
74- Benison, blessing ; I, i. 267. Besort, become; I. iv. 259. Best; " were b.," had better; I. iv.
100.
Bethought; "am b.,"have decided;
II. iii. 6. Bestoiv, place, lodge ; IV. vi. 293. Bestoiv'd, housed, lodged; II. iv.
291. Betivixt, between ; I. i. 139. Be-wray, betray, reveal (Quartos,
'■'betray"); II. i. 108. Bias of nature, natural direction,
tendency ; I. ii. 120. Bide, bear ; III. iv. 29. Biding, abiding place ; IV. vi. 228. Big, loud ; V. iii. 208. Blame, fault ; II. iv. 292. Blank, the white mark in the centre
of the butt at which the arrow is
aimed ; I. i. 161. Block, fashion of a hat; IV. vi. 187. Blood, nature ; III. v. 23. , impulse, passion (Theobald,
''boiling blood"); IV. ii. 64. Bloiiin, ambitious, inflated ; IV. iv.
27- .
Boil, inflamed tumour (Quartos, Folios, "bile," "byle"); II. iv. 225.
Bolds, encourages; V. i. 26.
Bond, duty, obligation ; I i. 94.
Bones; " young b.," «.f. unborn in- fant; II. iv. 164.
Boot; "to b., and b.," for your re- ward (? "over and above my thanks"); IV. vi. 230.
Bootless, useless ; V. iii. 294.
Bordered, limited, confined ; IV. ii.
33-
Bosom; "of her b.," in her con- fidence ; IV. V. 26.
, "common b.," affection of
the people ; V. iii. 49.
Bosom'd, in her confidence; V. i. 13.
Bound, ready; III. vii. 11,
Bourn, brook ; III. vi. 27.
, limit, boundary ; IV. vi. 57.
Brack, a female hound (Folios, "the Lady Brach" ; Quartos, "Lady otVe brack"; A. Smith, "Lye the brack"); I. iv. 116
Brazed, brazened, hardened ; I. i. 11.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Brief; " be b. in it," be quick about
it; V. iii. 245. British (Folios, "£/j^/mA"); IV. vi. 254. Broiv of youth, youthful brow ; I. iv.
292. Broiun bills, browned halberds used
by foot-soldiers ; IV. vi. 91. (^Cf.
illustration.)
From original specimens (a) XVIth century, {b) later.
Buoy'd, lifted itself (Quarto i, Mus. per. and Bodl. 2, ^^ bod" -^ Quarto I, Cap. Dev. Mus. imp. and Bodl. I, ^^ layd" ; Quartos, 2, 3, ''laid"); III. vii. 60.
Bur-docks, the plant Arctrum Lappa (Hanmer's emendation ; Quartos, ''hordocks" ; Folios ■l,Z,"Hardokes"; Folios 3, 4, " Hardocks " ; Farmer conj. 1778, "harlocis"; Collier, Steevens con]., " Aoar-docis" ; IV. iv. 4.
But, only; IV. vi. 128.
Buzz, whisper; I. iv. 334.
By, from (Folios, *'o«"); I. ii. 132.
Cadent, falling (Quartos i, 1, "accent"; Quarto 3, " accient") ; I. iv. 293.
Caitiff, wretch (Folios, '' coivard"); II. i. 63.
Camelot, " I'd drive ye cackling home to C"; probably a proverb not yet satisfactorily explained ; it is said that near Cadbury in Somersetshire, the supposed site of Camelot, there are large pools, upon which many geese are bred ; II. ii. 84.
Can, can do ; IV. iv. 8.
Canker-bit, canker-bitten ; V. iii. 122.
Capable, capable of inheriting ; II. i. 85.
Carbonado, cut across like a piece of meat for broiling or grilling ; II. ii. 38.
Carry, bear ; III. ii. 49.
, carry out, contrive ; V. iii. 36.
Carry out my side, " be a winner in the game" (Schmidt) ; V. i. 61.
Case, empty socket ; IV. vi. 126.
Cat, civet cat ; III. iv. 109.
Cataracts, water-spouts (Quarto i, <■' caterickes ") ; III. ii. 2.
Censure, judge, pass sentence upon ; V. iii. 3.
Centaurs, fabulous monsters, half man, half horse ; IV. vi. 126.
Century, troop of a hundred men ; IV. iv. 6.
Challenge, claim as due ; I. i. 54.
Challenged, claimed ; IV. vii . 31.
Ckampains, plains, open country ; [. i. 65.
Chance, chances it ; II. iv. 63.
Character, handwriting ; I. ii. 66.
Charge, expense, cost ; II. iv. 242.
Check, censure, rebuke; II. ii. 149.
Che "uor ye, I warn you ; IV. vi. 244.
Child- changed, changed by children's conduct; IV. vii. 17.
Child Roivland {v Note) ; III. iv. 184
Chill, I will (Somerset or south- country dialect) ; IV. vi. 239.
Chud, I should, or I would (ep. ''chill")', IV. vi. 242
Clearest, most pure, most glorious ; IV. vi. 73.
KING LEAR
Glossary
Clipp'd, curtailed ; IV. vii. 6.
Closet, room, chamber ; I. ii. 65.
Clot/tier^s yard, cloth - yard - shaft, arrow ; IV. vi. 88.
Clotpoll, blockhead (Folios, " Clot- pole" ; Quartos, 'Ulat-pole"'); I. iv. 50.
Clout, the white mark in the centre of the target ; IV. vi. 92,
Cock, cockcrow; III. iv. 121.
, cockboat ; IV. vi. 19.
Cockney, a cook's assistant (origin- ally a person connected with the Kitchen ; later, a pampered child); II. iv. 123.
Cochs, weathercocks ; III. ii. 3.
Cod-piece, a part of the male attire ; III. ii. 27.
Cold; "catch c," be turned out of doors ; I. iv. 113.
Colour, kind (Quartos, ^^ nature"); II. ii. 145.
Comfortable, able to comfort ; I. iv. 328.
, comforting; II. ii. 171.
Comforting, " giving aid and comfort to " (used in a technical legal sense) ; III. v. 21.
Commend, deliver ; II. iv. 28.
Commission, warrant to act as repre- sentative ; V. iii. 64.
Commodities, advantages ; IV. i. 23.
Compact, put together; I. ii. 7.
, give consistency to ; I. iv.
362.
Compeers, is equal with ; V. iii. 69.
Conceit, imagination; IV. vi. 42.
Conceive, understand ; IV. ii. 24.
Concluded; "had not c. all," had not come to an end altogether ; IV. vii. 42. Condition, character, habit ; I. i.
301. Conditions, character, temper ; IV. iii.
35- Confine, limit, boundary ; II. iv, 150.
Confined, restricted, limited ; I. ii.
Conjunct, in concert with (Folios,
" compact" ) ; II. ii. 125.
, closely united ; V. i. 12.
Conjuring, employing incantations ;
II. i. 41. Consort, company ; II. i. 99. Conj^/ra^/, conspirator ; V. iii. 135. Constant pleasure, fixed resolve ; V.
i. 4. Constrains, {orces; II. ii. 103. Contemned' st, most despised (Quartos,
" temnest " ; Pope, " the meanest "') ;
II. ii. 150. Continent, restraining; I. ii. 181. Continents, that which contains or
encloses ; III. ii. 58. Convenient, proper; V. i. 36. Converse, associate, have intercourse ;
I. iv. 16. Convey, manage with secrecy ; I. ii.
109. Cope, cope with ; V. iii. 124. Coriy, withered, dry ; III. vii. 29. Coronet, crown ; I. i. 141. Costard, head ; IV. vi. 247. Couch, lie close and hidden ; III. i.
12. Course, way of life; II. ii. 175. , "my very c," the same course
as I do (Folios, "my course"'); I.
iii. 26. , "gentleness and c. of yours,"
gentleness of your course ; I. iv.
364-
"the old c. of death," a
natural death ; III. vii. loi. Court holy-ivater, flattery ("Ray,
among his proverbial phrases,
mentions court holy-ivater meaning fair -words. The French have the
same phrase : Eau benite de Cour,"
Steevens); III. ii. 10. Courtesy; " do a c. to " ; yield, give
way to ; III. vii. 26. Cover, hide ; I. i. 284. Cozvish, " cowish terror," cowardly
terror [Quarto i (some copies),
"co-wish curre" ; Wright conj.
" currish terror"'\; IV. ii. 12.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Coxcomb, tool's cap ; I iv. 105. illustration.)
(C/.
From the Troyes Dance of Death, 1499.
Coxcombs, heads ; II. iv. 125.
Coz4'«V, cheated, deceived ; V.iii.154.
Co7.ener, cheater; IV. vi. 167.
Crab, crab-apple ; I. v. 15.
Craves, demands ; II. i. 130.
Croiv-keefer, one who scares crows away from a field ; IV. vi. 88.
Crue/,a. play upon crewel /.f. worsted, of which garters were made (Quartos i, 2, ''crezvell"; Quarto 3, "crezvill"; Folios 3,4, "Trewel"); II. iv. 7. (£^. illustration.)
' Cruel garters '
Cruds; "all c. else," "all their other cruelties " {y. Note) ; III. vii. 65.
Cry; " till it c. sleep to death," till its clamour murders sleep ; II. iv. 120.
Cry grace, cry for pardon ; III. ii. 58.
Cub-dratun, sucked dry by cubs, famished ; III. i. 12.
Cuckoo-Jloivers , cowslips ; IV. iv. 4.
Cue, catch-word ; I. ii. 147.
CuUionly, wretched; II. ii. 36.
Cunning, dissimulation; II. i. 31.
Curiosity, minute scrutiny ; I. i. 6.
, suspicious watchfulness, scru- pulousness ; I. iv. 75.
over-nice scrupulousness
(Theobald, Warburton conj.,
'■'■ curtesie") ; I. ii. 4. Curious, nice, elegant ; I. iv. 35 Curst, shrewish ; II. i. 67.
Darkling, in the dark ; I. iv. 237. Daub it, keep up my disguise
(Quartos, '■^ dance it"^; IV. i. 54. Z)i2Ti'n//zg-, morn ing ( Quartos, " faf« " ;
Pope, " evening ") ; II. ii. I . Day and night, an oath ; I. iii. 4. Dear, precious, valued ; I. iv. 294.
, important; III. i. 19.
Death-practised; "the d. duke," ».<;.
whose death is plotted ; IV. vi.
284. Deaihsman, executioner ; IV. vi. 263. Debosh'd, debauched (Quartos, " dl;-
boyst"); I. iv. 263. Decline, bend ; IV. ii. 22. Declining, becoming feeble (Folios,
''declined"); I. ii. 78. Deed; "my very d. of love," my
love in very deed; I. i. 72. Deer, game ; III. iv, 144. Deficient, defective ; IV. vi. 23. Defuse, disorder, disguise ; I. iv. 2. Dejected; " d. thing of fortune,"
thing dejected by fortune ; IV.
i- 3- Demanding, asking, enquiring ; IIL
ii. 65.
KING LEAR
Glossary
Deny, refuse; II. iv. 88. Depart, depart from ; III. v. i. Depend, be dependent, remain ; I. iv.
271. Deprive, "disinherit"; I. ii. 4. Derogate, degraded ; I. iv. 302. Descry ; " main d.," full view of the
main body ; IV. vi. 217.
, spy out, discover; IV. v. 13.
Deserving, desert; III. iii. 24. Desperately, in despair; V. iii. 292. Detested, detestable; I. ii. 81. Difference; "your first of d.," the first
reverse of your fortune; V.iii.288. Differences, dissensions; II. i. 125. Diffidences, suspicions; I. ii. 161. Digest, dispose of, use, enjoy; I.i.130. Dimensions, parts of the body; I. ii. 7. Disasters (visedi perhaps in its original
astrological sense); I. ii. 131. Disbranch, slip, tear off from the
tree ; IV. ii. 34. Disclaims in, disowns; II. ii. 59. Discommend, disapprove; II. ii. 115. Discovery, reconnoitring; V. i. 53. Discretion, common sense, wisdom, =
discreet person ; II. iv. 151. Diseases, discomforts (Folios,
"disasters"); I. i. 1 77. Disnatured, unnatural; I. iv. 305. Displayd so saucily, made SO saucy a
display ; II. iv. 41. 2)/j-^oji//onj, moods, humours; I.iv. 242. Disquantity, diminish ; I. iv. 270. Disquietly, causing disquiet; I. ii. 124. Distaff, spinning wheel; IV. ii. 17. Distaste, dislike (Quartos, "dislike") ;
I. iii. 15. Distract, distracted; IV. vi. 288. Dolours, used with a play upon
"dollars" (Folios i, 2, 3,
"Dolors"); II. iv. 54. Dolphin my boy, probably a fragment
of an old song; III. iv. 104. Doom, sentence (Folio i, " guift" ;
Foliosz, 3, 4, ''gift"); I. i. 167. Doubted, feared ; V. i. 6. Doubtful, fearful; V. i. 12. Dre-w, I drew my sword ; II. iv. 42.
Ducking, bowing, fawning ; II,ii.i09. Dullard, idiot ; II. i. 76.
Each; "at e.," fastened each to
each ; IV. vi. 53. Ear-kissing, whispered in the ear
(Quartos, " eare-bussing"); II. i. 9. Earnest, earnest money, money paid
beforehand as a pledge ; I. iv. 104. Effects, outward show; I. i. 133. , actions, manifestations ; II. iv.
182. • ; " prove e.," be realised ; IV.
n. 15.
Elboivs, stands at his elbow ; IV. iii.
44. Elements, air and sky (Quartos,
"element'''); III. i. 4. Elf all my hair, tangle, mat my hair
(supposed to be the work of elves
or fairies) ; II. iii. 10. Embossed, protuberant, swollen ; II.
iv. 227. End, end of the world ; V. iii. 263, Engine, rack ; I. iv. 290. Enguard, guard ; I. iv. 349. Enormous, abnormal; II. ii. 176. Enridged,iorme6.'\nto nAges; IV.vi.71. Entertain, engage; III. vi. 83. Entire, main ; I. i. 243. Epileptic, "distorted by grinning";
II. ii. 87. Equalities, equal conditions (Folios,
"qualities"); I. i. 5. Esperance, hope ; IV. i. 4. Essay, assay, trial; I. ii. 47. Estate, condition ; V. iii. 209. Even; "even o'er," pass over in his
memory ; IV. vii. 80. Event; "the e.," i.e. the result will
prove ; I. iv. 371. Evidence, witnesses; III. vi. 37. Exhibition, allowance ; I. ii. 25. Eyeless, blind ; III. i. 8.
i^a/n, gladly ; I. iv. 196 Faint, slight ; I. iv. 73. Faith'd, believed ; II. i. 72. Fall, cause to fall; II. iv. 170.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Fast, firm, fixed (Quartos, "first'"^;
I. i. 39.
Fault, mistake; V. iii. 192.
Favours; "my hospitable f.," the features of me your host ; III. vii. 40.
Fear, am afraid of; IV. ii, 31.
/■farj, frightens ; III. v. 4.
Feature, outward form; IV. ii. 63.
Feeling, heartfelt ; IV. vi. 226.
Felicitate, made happy ; I. i. 76.
Fellotu, companion ; III. i. 48.
Felloivs, comrades; I. iii. 14.
Fetch, bring (Folios 3, 4, •■'■fet " ; Pope, " bring ") ; II. iv. 92.
Fetches, pretexts, excuses ; II. iv. 90.
Fire; " f . us like foxes," alluding to the practice of smoking foxes out of their holes; V. iii. 23.
Fire-neiv, brand new, fresh from the mint ; V. iii. 132.
Fish; "eat no f. ," i.e. be a Pro- testant (alluding to the Papist custom of eating fish on Fri- days); I. iv. 18.
Fiicheiv, polecat; IV. vi. 124.
Fitness ; " my f. ," a thing becoming me ; IV. ii. 63.
Flatv d, shattered, broken; V.iii.196.
Flaivs, shivers, particles ; II. iv. 288.
Flesh, "feed with flesh for the first time, initiate" (Schmidt); (Quartos, "jieash"); II. ii. 49.
Flesh and Jell, flesh and skin; V. iii. 24.
Fleshment ; "in the f. of," being fleshed with (Quartos i, 2, '■^fiechuent"; Quarto 3, '■^ fiech- •vent ") ; II. ii. 130.
Flibbertigibbet, the name of a friend ;
III. iv. 120.
Flying off, desertion ; II. iv. 91. Foins, thrusts in fencing ; IV. vi. 25 1 . Fond, foolish ; I. ii. 52; I. iv. 323 ;
IV. vii. 60.
Fool; "poor fool," used as a term of endearment (addressed to Cor- delia) ; V. iii. 305.
; "their f.," a fool to them;
II. ii. 132.
Foot-ball; I. iv. 89. Cp. the annexed illustration copied from a French etching dated 1647.
Footed, landed ; III. iii. 14. Foppish, foolish ; I. iv. 182. For, because; I. i. 227.
, as for ; II. i. 1 14 ; V. i. 24.
Forbid, forbidden ; III. iii. 22. Fordid, destroyed; V. iii. 255. Fordone, destroyed ; V. iii. 291. Fore-vouched, affirmed before ; I. i. 223. Forf ended, forbidden ; V. i. 11. Forgot, forgotten ; V. iii. 236. Fork, barbed arrow head ; I. i. 146. {Cp. illustration.)
(a)
ib)
{a) From a specimen found in a tumulus. ib) From the Cotton MS., Tib. C. 6 (Xth century).
KING LEAR
Glossary
Forked, "man is . . = a poor, bare, forked animal"; III. iv. 112. Cp, the Chinese character for man.
For that, because ; I. ii. v. Fortune, success; V, iii. 165= Frame, manage; I. ii. 107. /■ra««. King of France ; II. iv. 215. Frateretto, the name of one of Hars-
net's fiends; III. vi. 7. Fraught, filled ; I. iv. 241. Free, sound, not diseased ; IV. vi. 80, Fret, wear ; I. iv. 307. From, away from ; II. i. 126. Frontlet, frown ; I. iv. 207. Fruitfully, fully ; IV. vi. 270. Full, fully ; I. iv. 360. Full-foiving, "freely venting its
passion " ; V. iii. 74. Fumiter, fumitory ; IV, iv. 3. Furnishings, pretences, outward
shows ; III. i. 29. Furroiv-iveeds, weeds growing on
ploughed land ; IV. iv. 3.
Gad; "upon the g.," on the spur of the moment, suddenly ; I, ii. 26.
Gait, way ; IV. vi. 242.
, bearing; V. iii. 175.
Galloiu, frighten, terrify ; III. ii. 44.
Garb, manner of speech ; II. ii. 103.
Garden ivater-pots ; IV. vi. 200. {Cp. illustration.)
Gasted, frightened ; II. i. 57.
Gate; " at g.," at the gate ; III.vii.17.
Generation, offspring; I. i. 1 19.
Cermins, germs, seeds (Theobald's emendation ; Quartos, " Ger- mains'; Folios I, 2, '' germaines" • Folios 3,4, "germanes" ; Capell, ''germens"); III. ii. 8.
Gt've you good morroiv, God give you good morning ; II. ii, 165.
Glass-gazing, contemplating himself in a mirror, vain, foppish; II. ii.19.
Gloves ; " woreg. in my cap," i.e. as favours of my mistress ; Ill.iv. 88.
Good; "made g.," maintained, as- serted ; I. 1. 175.
Goodman boy, a contemptuous mode of address ; II. ii. 48,
Good-years, supposed to be corrupted from goujere, the French disease (Quartos, '■'■good"; Theobald, *' goodjers " ; Hanmer, " goujeres " ) ; V. iii. 24.
Got, begot ; II. i. 80.
Go to, an exclamation ; III, iii. 8.
Govern, restrain ; V. iii. 161.
Graced, dignified (Quartos, "great") ;
I. iv. 267.
Greet the time, ' ' be ready to greet
the occasion " ; V. i. 54. Gross, large; IV. vi. 14. Grossly, "palpably, evidently"; I.
i. 295. Groiv out at heels, reduced to poor
condition {cp. "out at elbows");
II. ii. 164.
Garden water-pot.
From a specimen exhumed in Goodmans Fields, Whitechapel.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Guardi<mA; "my g.," the guardians under me of my realm ; II. iv. 254.
Habit, dress, garb ; V. iii. 188.
Halcyon, kingfisher ("a lytle byrde called the King's Fysher, being hanged up in the ayre by the neck, his nebbe or byll wyll be alwayes dyrect or strayght against ye winde" — Thomas Lupton, Notable Things, B. x.) ; II. ii. 84.
Half -blooded, partly of noble, partly of mean birth; V. iii. 80.
Handy-dandy, the children's game ; "which hand will you have?";
IV. vi. 157.
Hap; " what will h.," let what will happen ; III. vi. 121.
Haply, perhaps ; I. i. 102.
Happy, fortunate ; II. iii. 2.
Hatch, half-door; III. vi. 76.
Headier; "more h.," more head- strong, impetuous; II. iv. iii.
Head-luggd, led by the head; IV. ii. 42.
Heat; " i' the heat," a reference probably to the proverb, " Strike the iron while it is hot"; I. i. 312.
Hecate (dissyllabic) ; (Quartos and Folio I, ''Heccat"; Folio 2, " Hecat"); I. i. 112.
Hell-hated, "abhorred like hell";
V. iii. 147.
Helps, heals, cures ; IV. iv. 10. Here (used substantively) ; I. i.
264. High-engendered, engendered on high,
in the heavens ; III. ii. 23. Him, himself; V. iii. 213. Hit, agree, be of one mind (Folios,
"j/V"); I. i. 307. Hold, keep, maintain ; II. iv. 245. Holp, helped; III. vii. 62. Home, thoroughly, vitally ; III. iii.
Honoured, honourable ; V. i. 9.
Hopdance, the name of a fiend (pro- bably " Hoberdidance") ; (Quartos,. ' ' Hoppedance " ; Cap ell , " Hop- dance") ; III. vi, 32.
Horn; "Poor Tom, thy horn is dry"; III. vi. 79. i^Cp. illustration and see Notes.)
From the portrait of the knave, MuU'd Sack.
Horse's health, alluding to the belief that " a horse is above all other animals subject to disease " (John- son) ; III. vi. 20.
Hot-blooded, passionate; II. iv. 215.
House; "the h.," i.e. "the order of families, the duties of relation " ; (Theobald, "the use.^"; Collier MS., ^Uhe mouth?"); II. iv. 155.
Hoive'er, although ; IV. ii. 66.
Hundred-pound, used as a term of reproach for a person who had saved just enough to pose as a gentleman); II. ii. 17.
Hurricanoes, water-spouts (Folios 2, 3, 4, '■^Hurricanoes" ; Folio i, '^ Hyrricano's" ; Quartos I, z, " Hircanios" ; Quarto 3, " Her- cantos ") ; III. ii. 2.
KING LEAR
Glossary
Hysterica fassio, hysteria (Quartos, Folios I, 2, ^' HistorUa fassio" ; Folio 3, ^^ Hysterica passio"') ] II, iv. 56.
Idle, foolish, silly ; I. iii. 17.
, worthless ; IV. iv. 5.
/// affected, evilly disposed ; II. i. lOO. Images, signs ; II. iv. 91. Immediacy, being immediately next
in authority ; V. iii. 65. Impertinency, that which is not to
the point ; IV. vi. 179. Important, importunate ; IV. iv. 26. Impossibilities; "men's i.," things
impossible to man ; IV. vi. 74, Impressed, pressed into our service ;
V. iii. 50. In, at, I. iv. 350 ; into, IV. i. 77. Incense, incite, instigate ; II. iv.
309. Incite, impel ; IV. iv. 27. Infect, pollute, poison; II. iv. 168. Influence (used as astrological term) ;
I. ii. 136. Ingenious, intelligent, conscious ; IV.
vi. 287. Ingrateful, ungrateful ; II. iv. 165. Innocent, idiot (addressed to the
fool); III. vi. 8. Intelligent, bearing intelligence ;
(Quartos, '■^intelligence"); III. vii.
12. Intend upon, i.e. intend to confer
upon ; V. i. 7. Intent, intention ; I. i. 39. Intent; "made i.," intention, plan
I had formed (Collier MS., " main
i."); IV. vii. 9. Interess'd, interested (Folios, '^in- terest"); I. i. 87. Interlude; properly, a short play
performed during a banquet ;
used loosely for a comedy or
farce ; V. iii. 89. Intrinse, tightly drawn; II. ii. 81. Invade, pierce, penetrate into ; I. i.
146. Invades, penetrates ; III. iv. 7.
//, its ; I. iv. 236.
// is, it is true ; IV. vi. 144.
Jakes, privy ; II. ii. 72.
Jealous, suspicious ; V. i. 56.
Joint-stool, a folding-chair (used in proverbial expression, "I took you for a joint-stool"); III. vi. 54.
Judicious, judicial ; III. iv. 76.
Justicer, justice (Theobald's emen- dation ; Quartos, '^ iustice"); III. vi. 23.
Knapped, cracked, tapped (Quartos,
"rapt"); II. iv. 125. Knee, kneel down before ; II. iv
217.
Lag of, later than ; I. ii. 6.
Lanced, cut (Theobald's emendation;
Quartos, " launcht " and " lancht " ;
Folios, "latcVd"); II. i. 54. Lances, i.e. soldiers carrying lances,
lancers ; V. iii. 50. Late, lately; I. iv. 226, III. iv. 173.
, " of 1.," lately ; II. iv. 40.
Least, " in the 1.," at the least ; I. i.
194. Leave, with your permission ; IV.
vi. 264. Light of ear, foolishly credulous ;
III. iv. 95. Lights on, comes across his path ;
III. i. 54. Like, please ; I. i. 203.
, likely ; I. i. 304.
Likes, pleases ; II. ii. 96. Lily-livered, white-livered, cowardly;
II. ii. 18.
Lipsbury pinfold; perhaps a coined name = the teeth, as being the pinfold, or pound, within the lips (Nares) ; II. ii. 9.
List, please ; V. iii. 61.
, listen to ; V. iii. 181.
Litter, couch for carrying sick per- sons and ladies when travelling ;
III. vi. 97.
Living, possessions; I. iv. 120.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Loathly, with abhorrence ; II. i.
Look'dfor, expected; II. iv. 235.
Loop'd, full of holes (loop-holes); III. iv. 31.
Luxury, lust; IV. vi. 119.
Lym, bloodhound led in a line of leash (Hanmer's correction ; Quartos i, 3, '^ him" ; Quarto 2, " Him" ; Folios, " Hym" ; Collier MS., ''Trim"); III. vi. 72.
Madded, maddened ; IV. ii. 43. Mahu, a name in Harsnet's category
of devils ; III. iv. 149. Main, sea, ocean (? mainland); III.
i. 6. Mainly, mightily ; IV. vii. 65. Make from, get out of the way of;
I. i. 145. Makes up, decides ; I. i. 209. Mate; "one self m. and m.," the
same husband and wife, one and
the same pair ; IV. iii. 36. Material, forming the substance
(Theobald, ''maternal"; Collier
COnj. "natural"); IV. ii. 35. Matter, cause of quarrel ; II. ii. 47. , meaning, good sense; IV.
vi. 179. ; "nom.," does not matter;
I. iii. 23.
Maugre, in spite of; V. iii. 131. Means, resources; IV. i. 22. Meet, good, fit ; I. ii. 97. Meiny, household, retinue (Folios 1,2," meiney " ; Quartos " men ") ;
II. iv. 35.
Memories, memorials ; IV. vii. 7. Merit. = desert, in a bad sense; III.
V. 8. Merlin, the ancient magician of the
Arthurian romance ; III. ii. 95. Meiv, (v. note) ; IV. ii. 68. Milk-li'uered,iz.\nt-htzned; IV. ii. 50. Minikin; " m. mouth," i.e. pretty
little mouth ; III. vi. 45. Miscarried, lost ; V. i. 5. Miscarry, lose ; V. i. 44.
Mischitf; " with the m. of your person," with harm to your life (Hanmer, "-without"; Johnson conj. " but -with"); I. ii. 178.
Misconstruction; "upon his m.," through his misunderstanding me ; II. ii. 124.
Miscreant, vile wretch, (?) misbe- liever (Quartos, "recreant") ; I. i. 163.
Modest, becoming; II. iv. 25.
, moderate ; IV. vii. 5.
Modo, a name from Harsnet's cate- gory of devils ; III. iv. 148.
Moiety, share, portion ; I. i. 7.
Monsters, makes monstrous ; I. i. 223.
Moonshines, months ; I. ii. 5.
Mopping and mozving, i.e. making grimaces (Theobald's emendation; Quartos, " Mobing, and mohing ") ; IV. i. 64.
Moral, moralizing; IV. ii. 58.
Mortijied, insensible; II. iii. 15.
Mother, i.e. Hysterica passio, hys- teria; II. iv. 56.
Motion, thrust, impulse; II. i. 52.
Motley, the parti-coloured dress of the fool or jester ; I. iv. 160.
Mouths; " made m.," made grimaces ; III. ii. 36.
Much, great; II. ii. 148.
Mumbling of, mumbling (Quartos, "•warbling"); II. i. 41.
Natural, used in the two senses of the word ; II. i. 86.
Naught, naughty, wicked ; II. iv. 136.
Naughty, bad; III. iv. 115.
Neat, finical, foppish, spruce; II. ii. 45.
Needof have need of, need ; II.iv.241.
Nero (Upton conj. " Trajan," be- cause, according to Rabelais, Nero is a fiddler in hell, and Trajan a fisher of frogs); III. vi. 7.
Nether, committed on earth ; IV, ii. 79.
KING LEAR
Glossary
iV^/Z/^r-j^oc^f J, short stockings (Quarto
2, ^^ neather-stockes"); II. iv. ii. Nicely, with the greatest exactness ;
II. ii. no. Nighted, darkened; IV. v. 13. Nine-fold, "nine imps" (? = nine
foals) ; III. iv. 126. Noisekss,ie\o\A of noise betokening
preparations for war ; IV. ii. 56. Nor, neither; III. ii. 15. Note; " take this n.," take note of
this, observe this ; IV. v. 29.
, notice; II. i. 85.
Noted, noticed ; I. iv. 81.
Nothing ; " I n. am," I cease to be ;
II. iii. 21. " Nothing "will come of nothing," an
allusion to the old proverb, " Ex
nihilo nihil fit " ; I. i. 92. Notice, attention, countenance ; II.
iv. 252. Notion, intellectual power, mind ; I.
iv. 248. Nuncle, " the customary address of
a licensed fool to his superiors " ;
I. iv. 117. Nursery, nursing; I. i. 126.
Object; " your best o.," the " delight
of your eye"; I. i. 217. Obscured, disguised ; II. ii. 175. Observants, obsequious courtiers ; II.
ii. 109. Occasions, causes; II. i. 122. (Eillades, glances of the eye (Quartos, ' ' aliads " ; Folio I , " Eliads " ;
Folios 2, 3, 4, ''Iliads"); IV. v.
Overlook, read over ; V. i. 50. e'er-looking, looking over ; I. ii. 40. Overpaid, to be overpaid ; IV. vii. 4. O'er-read, read over; I. ii. 38. O'er-ivatch'd, worn out, exhausted
with watching; II. ii. 177. Of, from ; IV. vii. 31. Offend, injure; I. i. 310. Offce, duty, service; II. iv. 107. 'Old, wold; III. iv. 125. Oldness, old age ; I. ii. 50.
On, of, I. i. 144; III. vi. 57; V. iii. 250.
, at ; II. ii. 28.
, " our wishes on the way,"
i.e. expressed to each other on the way hither; IV. ii. 14.
0«'/, of it ; II. i. 29.
Ope, open ; V. i. 40.
O/^ra/iw, effective ; IV. iv. 14.
Oppose; " make o.," compel to fight against us ; V. i. 27.
Opposeless, not to be opposed, irre- sistible ; IV. vi. 38.
Opposite, adverse, hostile; II. i. 51.
Opposites, opponents ; V. iii. 42.
Ordinance, divine law ; IV. i. 71.
Or ere, before; II iv. 289.
OM^r, others ; I. iv. 221.
Out, abroad ; I. i. 33.
Out-wall, outward appearance ; III. i. 45.
Overture, opening, disclosure ; III. vii. 89.
0, ivell Jloivn, bird! a phrase taken from falconry, here used figura- tively for an arrow; IV. vi. 92.
Owes, possesses; I. i. 205.
Owest, dost own ; I. iv. 133.
Pad, make off; II. iv. 81.
Packings, plottings ; III. i. 26.
Pacij, confederacies ; V. iii. 18.
Pain, pains, labour, lies ; III. i. 53.
'Parel, apparel; IV. i. 51.
Particular; "for his p.," as regards himself personally ; II. iv. 295.
, personal; V. i. 30.
Party, side (Quartos, " Lady ") ; IV. v. 40.
Party; "intelligent p.," party in- telligent to ; III. v. 12.
; "upon his p.," on his side;
II. i. 28.
Pass, pass away, die ; IV. vi. 47.
Pass upon, pass Sentence upon ; III. vii. 24.
Pat, just to the purpose, in the nick of time ; I. ii. 146.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Paivn, a Stake hazarded in a wager ;
L i. 157. Pa-wn doivn, pledge ; I, ii. 92. Peace, hold its peace ; IV. vi. 104. Pelican; the pelican is supposed to
feed her young with her own
blood ; III. iv. 77. Pelting, paltry; II, iii. 18. Pendulous, hanging, impending ; III.
iv. 69. Perdu, lost one ; IV. vii. 35. Perdy, a corruption of Fr. par
Dieu; II. iv. 85, Perfect, mature ; I. ii. 77, Perforce, of necessity ; IV. ii. 49. Period, end, termination; V. iii
104. Perse-ver, the older pronunciation
of the word perseijere ; IIL v,
21.
Plague; "stand in the p. of,"' per- haps, be plagued by (Warburton, "^/<2g-i' " = place ; Simpson conj. ^^ place," etc.) ; I. ii. 3.
Plain, complain ; III. i. 39.
Plaited, folded (Quartos i, 2, ^'pleated"; Folios, ''plighted"); I. i. 283.
Plate, "clothe in plate armour" (Folios, '^ place" ; corrected by Theobald); IV. vi. 169.
i'/Zg-Zz/, troth-plight ; I. i. 103.
Plumed helm; IV. ii. 57. Cp. the annexed cut from a print depict- ing the triumph of the Emperor Maximilian I., c. 1519. The second illustration shows the socket (a) in which the plume was held, and is from a specimen in the Londesborough collection.
Persian attire, alluding to the gor- geous robes of the East (used ironically) ; (Folios, " Persian ") ; III. vi. 85.
i'/W,master-piece,model;IV.vi.i37.
Pieced, rdded ; \ i. 202.
Pight, firmly resolved ; II. i. 67.
Pillicock, properly a term of endear- ment used in old nursery rhymes ; suggested by "pelican"; III. iv. 78.
Plackets, part of a woman's attire ; IIL iv. 100.
Point ; " at p ," ready for any emer- gency ; I. iv. 347.
, "at p., "on the point of, pre- pared ; III. i- 33.
Poise, moment (Quartos 2, 3, Folios, ''prize" ; Hanmer, "peize"); II. i. 122.
Policy and reverence, " policy of hold- ing in reverence" (Schmidt); I. ii. 48.
Port, harbour ; II. iii. 3.
Portable, bearable: III. vi. 115,
KING LEAR
Glossary
Ports, gates, (?) harbours; II. i. 82. Potency, power; I. i. 175. Potential, powerful ; II. i. 78. Pother, turmoil ; III. ii. 50. Poiver, armed force ; III. i. 30. Practice, plotting, stratagem ; II. i.
75- , stratagem, artifice ; II. iv. 1 16.
Practices, plots; I. ii. 198.
Practised on, plotted against ; III. ii.
57- Predominance, induence ; I. ii. 134.
Prefer, recommend ; I. i. 277.
Pregnant, ready, easily moved ; II. i. 78 ; IV. vi. 227.
Presently, immediately; I. ii. 109.
Press-money, money given to a soldier when pressed into service ; IV. vi. 87.
Pretence, intention, purpose ; I. ii. 95.
, "very p.," deliberate inten- tion ; I. iv. 75.
Prevent, to anticipate and check- mate; III. iv. 164.
Proceedings, course of action ; V. i.
32- Profess, pretend ; (?) with play upon
" profess " = " to set up for " ; I.
iv. 14. ; "what dost thou p.," what
is thy trade, profession ; I. iv. 12. Professed, full of professions ; I. i.
275-
Proper, handsome ; I. i. 18.
; "p. deformity," moral de- pravity which is natural to him \i.e. the fiend); IV. ii. 60.
Puissant, powerful, masterful; V. iii. 216.
Puppet, used perhaps contemptuously for a wanton ; II. ii. 39.
Pur, imitation of the noise made by a cat (but " Purre " also the name of a devil in Harsnet) ; III. vi. 47.
Put on, encourage ; I. iv. 227.
, incited to; II. i. loi.
Quality, nature, disposition ; II. iv. 93; II. iv. 139. '°D2
Qiiality, rank ; V. iii. 110, 120. Queasy, ticklish; II. i. 19. Question, matter, cause; V. iii. 58. , " bear q.," bear to be argued
about; V. iii. 33. Questrists, searchers; III. vii. 17. Quicken, come to life ; III. vii. 39. Quit, requite, revenge ; III. vii.
87. Quit you, acquit yourself; II. i. 32.
Raging, angry, furious (Folios,
^'roaring" ) ; III. iv. 10. Pake up, cover with earth ; IV. vi.
281. Pani, gross, flagrant; I. iv. 223. Razed, erased ; I. iv. 4. Reason, argue ; II. iv. 267. Reasoned, argued, talked about ; V.
i. 28. Regards, considerations (Quartos,
" respects ") ; I. i. 242. Remediate, healing; IV. iv. 17. Remember; " r. thyself," confess thy
sins ; IV. vi. 233. Rememberest, remindest ; I. iv. 72. Remorse, compassion, pity ; IV. ii.
73- Remotion, rem.0V2.\; II. iv. 115. Remove, removal ; II. iv. 4. Renege, deny (Folio I, " Reuenge" ;
Schmidt, '' Renegue"); II. ii. 84. Repeals, recalls; III. vi. 120. Reposure, attributing ; the act of
reposing (Quartos, " could the re- posure" ; Folios, ^^ -would the
reposal"^ ; II. i. 70. Reproveable, blameable ; III. v. 9. Resolution; "due r.," freedom from
doubt ; I, ii. 108. Resolve me, tell me, satisfy me ; II
iv. 25. Respect; "do r. ," show respect,
reverence (Folios, '' respects") ;
II. ii. 137. , "upon r.," deliberately; II.
iv. 24. Respects, consideration, motive ; I.
i. 251.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Rest; "set my r.," repose myself (derived probably from the game of cards = to stand upon the cards in one's hand) ; I. i. 125
Retention, custody ; V. iii. 47.
Return; "make r.," return; II. iv.
153- Revenging, avenging, taking venge- ance (Quartos, " reuengiue ") ; II.
i. 47. Re-verbs, reverberates, re-echoes ; I.
i. 156. Reverend, old (QuartO 2, " "vn-
reuerent"); 11. ii. 133. Rich'd, enriched ; I. i. 65. Rings, sockets; V. iii. 189. Ripeness, readiness ; V. ii. ii. Ri-uaWd; "hath r.," hath been a
rival; I. i. 194. Roundest, moiX. direct, plainest; I.iv.58. Rubb'd, hindered (a term in the
game of bowls) ; II. ii. 161. Ruffe; "do r.," are boisterous
(Quartos, '^ russel," "russeil";
Capell, ''rustle"); II. iv. 304.
Safer, sounder, more sober ; IV. vi. 81.
Saint IVithold, a corruption of Saint Vitalis, who was supposed to protect from nightmare (Quartos, '' szvithald" ; Folios, " swithold") ;
III. iv. 125.
Sallets, sallads ; III. iv. 137.
Salt ; " a man of s.," a man of tears ;
IV. vi. 199.
Samphire, SQSi-iennt\; IV. vi. 15. Save thee, God save thee ; II. i. i. Savour but, have only a relish for ; IV.
»• 39- Saiv, saying, proverb ; II. ii. 167. Say, assay, proof (Pope, " ^say ") ; V.
iii. 143. Scant, fall short in ; II. iv. 142.
, diminish; II. iv. 178.
Scanted, grudged; I. i. 281. Scattered, disunited; III. i. 31. Scythian, considered as a type of
cruelty ; I. i. 118.
Sea-monster, perhaps an allusion to the hippopotamus or the whale ; I. iv. 283.
Sectary, disciple; I. ii. 164.
Secure, make careless ; IV. i. 22.
Seeming, hypocrisy ; III. ii. 56.
, " little seeming," seemingly
small, little in appearance ; I. i. 201.
Self, self-same ; I. i. 70.
Self-cover'd, " thou s. thing," thou who a woman hast disguised thy- self in this diabolical shape (Theo- bald, " self- converted " ; Crosby, " sex-cover'd") ; IV, ii. 62.
Sennet, a set of notes on the cornet or trumpet ; I. i. 34-35, Stage Direc.
Sequent, consequent, following ; I. ii. 115.
Servant, lover ; IV. vi. 275.
Sessa, onward ! (probably a hunting term); III. vi. 77.
5^/, stake, wager ; I. iv. 136.
Settling; "till further s.," till his mind is more composed ; IV.vii.82.
Seven stars, the Pleiades ; I. v. 38.
Shadoivy, shady (Quartos, " shady ") ;
I. i. 65,
Shealed peascod, shelled pea-pod ; I.
iv. 219. Shotvs, seems, appears ; I. iv. 265. Shrill-gorged, shrill-throated ; IV. vi.
58. Simple ; " simple answerer," simply
answerer (Folios, " simple an-
siver'd") ; III. vii. 43. Simples, medicinal herbs ; IV. iv. 14. Simular ; " s. man of virtue," man
who counterfeitest virtue ; III. ii.
54- Sir, man (" that sir which," Folio 4,
"that, sir, -which"); II. iv. 78. Sith, since (Quartos, "since"); I. i.
183. 5iz«, allowance ; II. iv. 178. Slack you, neglect their duty to you ;
II. iv. 248.
Slaves, treats as a slave (" by making it subservient to his views of pleasure or interest"); IV. i. 71.
KING LEAR
Glossary
Sleep out, sleep away (Quarto i, " sleep
ont"); II. ii. 163. Sliver, tear off like a branch from a
tree ; IV. ii. 34. Smile, smile at, laugh to scorn (Folios
and Quartos, " smoile " or "jmoyle") ;
II. ii. 88.
Smilets, smiles ; IV. iii. 21.
Smooth, flatter, humour; II. ii. 81.
Smug, trim, spruce ; IV. vi. 202
Smulting, a fiend's name, borrowed from Harsnet's category of devils (Quartos, " snuliug"; Theobald, " Smoliin") ; III. iv. 146.
Snuff, flickering old age ; IV. vi. 39.
Snuffs, quarrels, "huffs" ; III. i. 2"6.
So, so be it ; II. ii. 106.
Soiled; " s. horse," said of " a horse turned out in the spring to take the first flush of grass " ; IV, vi. 124.
Something, somewhat; I. i, 21.
Some, someone ; III. i. 37.
Sometime, once, former ; I. i. 122.
, sometimes (Folios, ^^some- times "); II. iii. 19.
Soothe, humour; III. iv. 182.
Sophisticated, adulterated, not genu- ine ; III. iv. no.
Sop 0' the Moonshine ; probably allud- ing to the dish called eggs in moonshine, i.e. " eggs broken and boiled in salad-oil till the yolks became hard ; they were eaten with slices of onion fried', in oil, butter, verjuice, nutmeg, and salt " ; II. ii. 34.
Sot, blockhead ; IV. ii. 8.
Space, i.e. "space in general, the world " ; I. i. 57.
Speak for, call for ; I. iv. 267.
Speculations, scouts (Johnson, ^'specu- lators"; Collier MS., '^ spectators");
III. i. 24.
Speed you, God speed you ; IV. vi.
212. Spherical, planetary (Quartos, "spirit-
udl"); I. ii. 134. Spill, destroy ; III. ii. 8.
Spite of intermission, in spite of in- terruption ; II. iv. 33.
Spoil, wasting, ruining; II. i. 102.
Spurs, incentives, incitements (Folios, ''spirits"); II. i. 78.
Square; "the most precious s. of sense," i.e. "the most delicately sensitive part " (Wright) ; I. i.
75- Squints, makes to squint ; III. iv.
122. Squire-like, like a squire, attendant ;
II. iv. 217. Squiny, squint ; IV. vi. 140. Stands ; " s. on the hourly thought,"
is hourly expected ; IV. vi. 218. Stand's, stands his (Quartos 2, 3,
"stand his";^ Folios, "stand");
II. i. 42. Stands on, it becomes, is incumbent
on ; V. i. 69. Star-blasting, blighting by the in- fluence of the stars ; III. iv. 60. Stelled, Starry; III. vii. 61. Still, continually, always ; III. iv.
181. Still-soliciting, ever begging ; I. i. 234. Stirs; "who s. ? " does no one
stir? ; I. i. 128. Stocked, put in the stocks (Folios,
" stockt" ; Quarto i, "struck";
Quartos 2, 3, " strucke"); II. iv.
191. Stocking, putting in the stocks
(Quartos, " Stopping") ; II. ii. 139. Stock-punished, punished by being set
in the stocks (Folios, " stockt, punish'd") ; III. iv. 140. Stomach, anger, resentment; V, iii.
74- Stone, crystal ; V. iii. 262.
Straight, Straightway, immediately ;
II. iv. 35. Strain, descent, race ; V. iii. 40. Strained, excessive (Quartos,
"straied"); I. i, 172. Stranger' d, estranged ; I. i. 207. Stray ; " make such a s.," go so far
astray ; I. i. 212.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
Strength; "in my s.," with power from me, with my authority ; II. i. 114.
Strings of life, heart-Strings ; V. iii. 216.
Strong and fastened, determined and hardened (so Quartos ; Folios, <■' 0 strange and fast'ned"); II. i.
79- Subscribed, surrendered (Folios, " Pre-
scrib'd") ; I. ii. 24.
, forgiven ; III. vii. 65
Subscription, submission ; III. ii. 18.
Succeed, come true, follow ; I. ii. 156.
Success; "good s.," favourable re- sult, issue; V. iii. 194.
Sufferance, suffering; III. vi. 113.
Suggestion, prompting, tempting ; II. i. 75.
Suited, clad, dressed ; IV. vii. 6.
Sumpter, pack-horse, hence a drudge; II. iv. 219.
Superfuous , having too much ; IV. i. 70.
Superfux, superfluity ; III. iv. 35.
Superserviceable, one who is above his WOrk(Folios, " superserviceable, fnical" ; Quartos, " superfnicall" ) ; II. ii. 19.
Supposed, pretended; V. iii. 113.
Sustain, support ; V. iii. 320.
Sustaining, nourishing; IV. iv. 6.
S-wear'st, swearest by ; I. i. 163.
Taint, disgrace ; I. i. 224. Taken, overtaken; I. iv. 353. Taking, infection; III. iv. 61. ; "my t.," to capture me; II.
111. 5.
bewitching, blasting; II. iv.
166. Taking off, slaughter, death ; V. i. 65. Taste, test, trial ; I. ii. 47. Tell, count, recount; II. iv. 55. Temperance, self-restraint, calmness ;
IV. vii. 24. Tend, wait on ; II. iv. 266. Tend upon. Wait upon ; II. i. 97 Tender, regard, care for; I. iv. 230.
Tender-hefted, tenderly framed ; II.
iv. 174. Terrible, terrified, affrighted ; I. ii.
^^■
That, in that; I. i. 73.
There; " are you therewith me?" is that what you mean ? ; IV. vi. 148.
This, this time forth ; I. i. 118.
This 's = this is (Quartos, Folios, "this"); IV. vi. 187.
Thought-executing, "doing execution with rapidity equal to thought " ; III. ii. 4,
Threading, passing through (like a thread through the eye of a needle); (Folios, " thredding " • Quartos, '' threatning" ; Theobald conj. "treading"); II. i. 121.
Three-suited, used contemptuously for a beggarly person ; probably, having three suits of apparel a year; or the allowance from a master to his servant; II. ii. 16.
Throughly, thoroughly ; IV. vii. 97.
TViwar/, perverse, (Quartos "Mo:/rt");
I. iv. 305.
Tike, a small dog ; III. vi 73.
Time, life ; I. i. 298.
Times; "best of our t.," best part
of our lives ; I. ii. 49. Tithing; district, ward; III. iv. 140. To, as to ; III. i. 52.
, against ; IV. ii. 75.
, into; II. iv. 120.
Toad-spotted, " tainted and polluted
with venom like the toad " ; V
iii. 138. Tom 0' Bedlam, " the common name
of vagabond beggars, either mad
or feigning to be so"; I. ii. 148. Took, taken ; V. iii. 105. Top, head; II. iv. 165.
, overtop, surpass; V. iii. 207.
Toward, at hand ; IV. vi. 213.
Toivards, to ; I. i. 193.
Train, retinue, (Folios,*^ number");
II. iv. 63.
Tranced, entranced; V. iii. 218.
KING LEAR
Glossary
Treachers, traitors ("Quartos, " Trech- erers"); I. ii. 133.
Trick, peculiarity, characteristic ; IV. vi. 108.
Trife; "on every tr.," on every trifling opportunity ; I. iii. 8.
Trill'd, trickled ; IV. iii. 14.
Troop ivHh, accompany, follow in the train of; I. i. 134.
Troiueit, knovirest ; I. iv. 135.
Trumpet, trumpeter (Folio 1 , " Trum- per") ; V. iii. 1 07.
Trundle-tail, a curly-tailed dog ; III. vi. 73.
Trust, reliance; II. i. 117.
Tucket, a set of notes played on the trumpet or cornet ; II. i. 80-81.
Tune, humour; IV, iii. 41.
Turlygod, a name given to mad beggars ; possibly a corruption of "Turlupin," the name of a fraternity of naked beggars in the 14th century (Quarto i, <■' Tuelygod" ; Theobald, ''Turly- good" ; Warburton conj. "Tur- lupin ") ; II. iii. 20
Turns; "by due t.," in turn; I. i. 137.
Unaccommodated, Un supplied with
necessaries; III. iv. iii. i/nW/fa', unsifted, coarse ; II ii. 71. Unbonneted, with uncovered head ;
III, i. 14. Unconstant, inconstant, fickle ; I. i,
304. Vndistinguish''d, indistinguishable ;
boundless ; IV, vi, 278, Unkind, unnatural, I, i. 263 ; III. iv,
73- Unnumbered, innumerable ; IV, vi, 21,
Unpossessing, landless ; II. i. 69. Unprized, not appreciated, or, per- haps, priceless ; I. i. 262. Unremoveable, immovable ; II. iv. 94, Unsanctijied, wicked ; IV. vi. 281. Unspoke, unspoken ; I. i. 239. Unstate, deprive of estate ; I. ii. 108. Untented, incurable ; I. iv, 322.
Untimely, inopportunely ; III. vii. 98. Upon, against ; III. vi. 96. Upzuard, top ; V. iii. 136. Usage, treatment ; II. iv. 26.
Validity, value; I. i. 83.
Vanity the Puppet's Part, " alluding to the old moralities or allegorical plays, in which Vanity, Iniquity, and other vices were personified " (Johnson); II. ii. 39.
Varlet, rascal ; II. ii. 30.
Vary, change; II. ii. 85.
Vaunt-couriers, forerunners ("Quartos, " "uaunt-currers " ; Folios, " Vaunt- curriors"; Capell, " Vant-cou- riers"); III. ii. 5.
Venge, avenge ; IV. ii. 80.
Villain, serf, servant; III. vii. 78.
Virtue, valour; V. iii. 103.
Vulgar, commonly known ; IV. vi. 214.
Wage, wage war, struggle, II. iv.
212 ; stake, I. i. 158. Wagtail, the name of a bird; II. ii.
73- Wake, waking ; III. ii. 34. Wall-netvt, lizard; III. iv. 135. Wash'd; " w. eyes," eyes washed
with tears ; I. i, 271. Waste, wasting, squandering ; II, i,
102, Water, water-newt ; III. iv. 135. Waterish, abounding with rivers
(used contemptuously); I. i. 261. Waiul, cry, wail; IV. vi, 184, Ways; •' come your w.," come on;
II, ii. 42. Weal; "wholesome w.," healthy
commonwealth ; I. iv. 230. Web and the Pin, a disease of the eye,
cataract; III, iv. 122, Weeds, garments, dress ; IV, vii, 7, Well-favour'd, handsome, good- looking; II. iv. 259. What, who; V. iii. 119. Wheel, the wheel of fortune ; V. iii.
174.
Glossary
THE TRAGEDY OF
WheWd, swollen, protruding like whelks ; IV. vi. 71.
Where (y\ie.A substantively); I. i. 264.
— — , w^hereas ; I. ii. 89.
Which, who ; IV. vi. 215.
White Herring, fresh herrings (? pickled herring, as in Northern dialects); III. vi. 33.
Who, which ; I. ii. 53.
Whoop, Jug/ I love thee, probably a line from an old song; 1. iv. 232.
Wield, manage, express; I. i. 56.
Wind; " w. me into him," i.e. worm yourself into his confidence ("ot;;," used redundantly); I. ii. 106.
Windoiv'd, holes forming windows ; III. iv. 31.
Wisdom of nature, natural philosophy ; I. ii. 113.
With, by ; II. iv. 256.
Wits; " fivew.," the five intellectual powers (common w^it, imagina- tion, fantasy, estimation, and memory); III. iv. 59.
Wont, accustomed to be ; I. iv. 64.
Wooden pricks, skewers ; II, iii, 16.
Word, pass-word ; IV. vi. 93.
, word of mouth ; IV. v. 20.
Worships, dignity; I. iv. 288.
Worsted-stocking, worn by the lower classes and serving-men in dis- tinction to silk ones which were worn by the gentry; II. ii. 15.
Worth; " are w.," deserve ; I. i. 282.
Worthied him, won him reputation ; II. ii. 128,
Would, should ; II. 1. 70.
Writ, ^varrant ; V. iii. 245.
Write happy, consider yourself fortunate; V. iii. 35.
Wrote, written; I, ii. 93.
Teaman, a freeholder not advanced to the rank of a gentleman ; III. vi. II.
Toke-felloiv , companion ; III. vi. 39,
Un'whipp'd of Justice (III. ii. 53). From an engraving by H. Cock, c. 1550.
KING LEAR
Notes.
I. i. 40. ^from our age ' • SO Folios ; Quartos, ' of our state.'
I, i. 41-46. (^ ivhile ive . . . noiu')-^ 50-51, 164; I. ii. 18 {' fae -word, legitimate'); 48 {^ and reverence ') ; I18-124 ; I. iv. 6 {^ so may ii come'); 282 ; 331-342 ; omitted in Quartos.
I. i. 54. ' Where nature doth -with merit challenge. Gcneril ' ; SO Folios ; Quartos read, ' Where merit doth most challenge it.'
I. i. 63. ^ do' ; so Quartos ; Folios read, ^ speak.'
I. i. 79. ' Ponderous ' ; SO Folios ; Quartos, ' richer.'
I. i. 85. ^ the last, not least'; so Quartos; Folios read, 'our last and least.'
I. i. 106; I. ii. 102-104; ii. 155-163 {'as of unnaturalness . . . come'); 182 ('go armed'); I. iii. 17-21; 24-25; I. iv. 154-169 ; 239; 252-256; omitted in Folios.
I. i. 1 12. ' mysteries,' the reading of Folios 2, 3, 4 ; Quartos, ' mistresse ' ; Folio I , ' miseries. '
I. i. 148. ' What zvouldst thou do, old man?'; "This is spoken on see- ing his master put his hand to his sword" (Capell) ; Folios i, 2, 3, ' luouldest ' ; Quartos, ' wilt.'
I. i. 151. 'stoops to /oily'; so Quartos; Folios, 'falls to folly' (Folio 3, 'fall to folly ') : ' Re-verse thy doom ' ; so Quartos ; Folios read, ' reserue thy state.'
I. i. 169. 'recreant'; omitted in Quartos.
I. i. 176. 'fve' ; so Folios ; Quartos, ' Foure.'
I. i. 178. 'sixth' ; so Folios; Quartos, 'fift.'
I. i. 191. This line is given to Cordelia in Folios.
I. 1. 236. ' Better' ; so Folios ; Quartos, 'go to, go to, better.'
I. i. 251. ' respects of fortune' ; SO Quartos ; Folios, ' respect and fortunes.'
I. i. 282. ' -want'; Quartos, 'worth.' Theobald explains the Folio read- ing, " You well deserve to meet with that -want of love from your husband, which you have professed to want for our Father."
I. i. 284. ' shame them derides ' ; SO Quartos ; Folios, ' tvith shame derides ' ; Warburton, ' -with shame abides,' etc.
I. i. 292. ' hath not been ' ; so Quartos ; Folios, ' hath been.'
Notes
THE TRAGEDY OF
I. ii. 10. so Folios ; Quartos read, ' -with base, base bastardie.''
I. ii. 21. '■top the'; Edward's conj. of Quartos i, 2, 'ioo///"; Quarto 3, ^too h' ; Folios 1,2,' to'th ' ; Folios, 3, 4, ' to th\ etc.
I. ii. 68. ' that,^ i.e. the matter, contents.
I. li. III. ' These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good' 1 v. Preface.
I. ii. 1 29. ' surfeit ' ; so Quarto i ; Quartos 2,3,' sur/et ' ; Folios 1,2, 3 ; ' surfets ' ; Folio 4, ' surfeits ' ; Collier conj. 'forfeit.'
I. ii. 177-183. That's my fear . . . Brother' SO Folios; Quartos read, ' That's myfeare brother,' omitting rest of speech.
I. iii. 21. 'With checks as fatteries, -when they are seen abused'; Tyrwhitt's explanation seems the most plausible, " with checks, as well as flatterers, when they {i.e. flatterers) are seen to be abused." The emendators have been busy with the line without much success.
I. iv. 10 1. 'Kent. Why, fool?' \ the reading of Quartos; Folios read ' Lear. Why my Boy ? '
I. iv. 158. 'Ladies'; Capell's emendation; Quartos 'lodes'; Collier, 'loads.'
I. iv, 165. ' Thou barest thine ass on thy back.' Cp. the annexed cut from
Hans Sachs's rhyming para- phrase of the well - known JEsopian fable, c. 1550.
I. iv, 236. 'Ha! ivaking?' Quartos read ' sleeping or -waking ; ha ! sure. '
II. i. II -13. Omitted in Quartos 2, 3.
II. i. 48= ' their thunders ' ; so the Quartos ; Folios, ' the thunder ' ; Johnson, 'their thunder.'
II. i. 60. 'dispatch'; i.e. 'dis- patch him ' ; or perhaps, ' dis- patch is the word.'
II. i. 72. * ivhat I should deny ' ; SO Quartos ; Folios, ' What should I deny ' ; Rowe, ' by ivhat I should deny ' ; Hanmer, ' "what I'd deny ' ; Warburton, ' ivhen I should deny ' ; Schmidt, ' ivhat, should I deny.'
II. i. 80. ' I neuer got him'; so Quartos ; Folios, ' said he. ^' IL i, 99. 'of that consort' ; SO Folios ; omitted in Quartos. II. i. 102. ' the ivaste and spoil of his ' ; Quarto I,' the ivast and spoyle of his ' ; Quartos 2, 3, 'these — and ivaste of this his'; Quarto I (Dev. and Cap.) 'these — and ivaste of this his ' ; Folio I, ' th' expence and ivast of his ' ; Folios 2, 3, 4> ' th' expence and ivast of. '
KING LEAR Notes
II. ii. 59. '^ hours ' ; Folios, 'years,'
II. ii. 75. Which are too intr'tnse to unloose ' ; Folio I, ' are <' intrince ' ; Folios 2, 3, 4, 'art t'intrince ' ; Quartos, 'are to intrench'', Pope, 'Too intricate'; Theobald, ' Too 'intrinsecate ' ; Hanmer, ' too intrinsick ' : ' to unloose ' ; Folios, ' t'unloose ' ; Quartos, ' to inloose ' ; Seymour conj. ' to enloose.'
II. ii. 142-146. ' His fault ... punish' d with' ; omitted in Folios.
II. ii. 146. ' the king must take it ill' ; Folios read, ' the King his Master, needs must take it ill.'
II. ii. 151. Omitted in Folios.
II. ii. 162-163. 'out of heaven's benediction earnest To the ■warm sun' ; cp, Hey- wood's Dialogues on Proverbs ' ; ' In your rennyng from hym to me, ye runne out of God's blessing into the -warm sunne ' ; i.e. from good to worse. Professor Skeat suggests to me that the proverb refers to the haste of the congregation to leave the shelter of the church, immediately after the priest's benediction, running from God's blessing into the warm sun. This explanation seems by far the best that has been suggested. *
II. ii. 166. 'miracles'; so Folios; Quartos i, 2, 3, 'my-wracke'; Quarto I (Bodl.), 'my raciles.'
II. ii. 169-171. 'and shall . . remedies'; many emendations have been proposed to remove the obscurity of the lines, but none can be considered satisfactory. Kent, it must be remembered, is ' all weary and o'er- watched.' Jennens suggested that Kent is reading disjointed fragments of Cordelia's letter. ' From this enormous state ' seems to mean ' in this abnormal state of affairs.'
II. iv. 19-20. Omitted in Folios.
II. iv. 99-100; 142-147. Omitted in Quartos.
II. iv. 103. 'commands her service' ; so Quartos; Folios, 'commands, tends, service.'
II. iv. 170. 'and blast her pride'; so Quartos; Folios, 'and blister'; Collier MS. and S. Walker conj. ' and blast her'; Schmidt conj. 'and blister pride.'
II. iv. 174. 'tender-hefted' ; so Folios; Quarto 2, ' tender hested' ; Quarto I, ' teder hested'; Quarto 3, 'tender hasted'; Rowe (Ed. 2) and Pope, 'tender-hearted'; etc.
II. iv. 303. 'bleak' ; so Quartos; Folios, 'high.'
III. i. 7-15; vi. 18-59; 104-108 {'oppressed . . . behind'^; 109-122; vii. 99-107 ; omitted in the Folios.
III. i. 22-29; ii. 79-96; iv. 17-18; 26-27; 37-3^) ^i- '3-1^; 9^; omitted in the Quartos.
III. ii. 7. 'smite' ; SO Quartos ; Folios, 'strike.' III. ii. 9. ' make ' ; Folios, ' makes.'
Notes THE TRAGEDY OF
III. ii. 22. ^ have . . . join'd' ; the reading of Quartos; Folios read, • "will . . . Join,'
III. ii. 37. ' N'o, I •will be the pattern of all patience ' ; cp. the description of Leir by Perillus in the old play : — ' But he, the myrrour of mild patience, Puts up all -wrongs, and never gives reply.'
III. ii. 64. ' More harder than the stones ' ; SO Folios ; Quartos, ' More hard then is the stone.'
III. ii. 73. ' That's sorry ' ; SO Folios ; Quartos, ' That sorrcwes.'
III. ii. 74-77. Cp. Clown's song in T-welfth Night, V. vi. 398.
III. ii. 95. '7 live before his time' ; according to the legend, Lear was contemporary with Joash, King of Judah. The whole prophecy, which does not occur in the Quartos, was probably an interpolation, tacked on by the actor who played the fool. The passage is an imitation of some lines formerly attributed to Chaucer, called ' Chaucer's Prophecy.'
III. iv. 6. ^contentious' ; so Folios; Quarto i (some copies), ' tempestious'; Quartos 2, 3, and Quarto i (some copies), ' crulentious.'
III. iv. 29. ' storm ' ; so Quartos ; Folios, ' night.'
III. iv. 47. ' Through the sharp hwwthorn blo-ws the cold "wind' probably the burden of an old song.
III. iv, 54-55. 'knives under his pillo-w and halters in his pew' (to tempt him to suicide). Theobald pointed out that the allusion is to an incident mentioned in Harsnet's Declaration.
III. iv. 81. '■ thy -word justly' ; Pope's emendation; Quartos read, '■thy "words justly' ; Folio I, ' thy "words Justice.'
III. iv. 102. '• sessa' ; Malone's emendation; Folio i, ' Sesey' ; Quarto i, 'caese'; Quarto 2, 'cease'; Capell, 'sesse'; etc.
III. iv. 141-142. Cp. ' The Romance of Sir Bevis of Hamptoun ' : —
" Rattes and ntyce and sucJie small dere. Was his nteate that seuen yere.'"
III. iv. 184-186. ' Child Ro-wland to the dart to-wer came,' etc. Jamieson, in his Illustrations of Northern Antiquities (1814) has preserved the Story as told him by a tailor in his youth ; this Scottish Version has since been re- printed and studied {Cp. Childs' English and Scottish Ballads, and Jacob's English Fairy Tales').
III. iv. 185. ' His -word -was still' refers, of course, to the giant, and not to Childe Rowland. The same story (with the refrain Feefofum, Here is the Englishman) is alluded to in Peele's Old Wives Tale, and it is just possible that it may be the ultimate original of the plot of Milton's Comus {v. Preface, on British for English).
III. vi. 27. < Come o'er the bourn, Bessy, to me.' Mr Chappell (Popular
KING LEAR Notes
Music of the Olden Time, p. 305, note) says, "The allusion is to an English ballad by William Birch, entitled, ' A Songe betwene the Quene's Majestic and England,' a copy of which is in the library of the Society of Antiquaries. England commences the dialogue, inviting Queen Elizabeth in the following words : —
" Come over the horn, Bessy, come over the bom, Bessy, Swete Bessy, come over to tne."
The date of Birch's song is 1558, and it is printed in full in the HarUian
Miscellany, X. 260.
III. vi. 43-46. Put into verse by Theobald. Steevens quotes a line from
an old song,
" Sieepeysi thou, ivakyst thou, Jeffery Coke,"
found in * The Interlude 0/ the Four Elements' (15 1 9).
III. vi. 79. ' Thy horn is dry.' "A horn was usually carried about by every Tom of Bedlam, to receive such drink as the charitable might afford him, with whatever scraps of food they might give him " (Malone), etc.
III. vi. 97-110. "Every editor from Theobald downwards," as the Cambridge editors observe, "except Hanmer, has reprinted this speech from the Quartos. In deference to this consensus of authority we have retained it, though, as it seems to us, internal evidence is conclusive against the supposition that the lines were written by Shakespeare."
III. vii. 58. ' stick,' the reading of Folios ; Quartos, ' rash.'
III. vii, 63. ^ hozul'd that stern'; Quartos, ^ heard that dearne' ; Capell, ' ho-wl'd that deam ' (' dearn ' = obscure, dark, gloomy).
III. vii. 65. ^ All cruels else subscribed'; so Quartos; Folios, ^subscribe.' The passage has been variously interpreted ; the weight of authority favouring the Folio reading, Schmidt's explanation being perhaps the most plausible: — "Everything which is at other times cruel, shows feeling of regard ; you alone have not done so." Furness makes the words part of the speech addressed to the porter, "acknowledge the claims of all creatures, however cruel they may be at other times " ; or " give up all cruel things else ; i.e. forget that they are cruel." This approximates to the interpretation given by Mr Wright to the reading in the text, " all their other cruelties being yielded or forgiven."
IV. i. 6-9. ' Welcome . . . blasts'; vi, 169-174 (' Plate . I'fs'); vii. 61 ; omitted in the Quartos,
IV. i. 12. ' Life -would not yield to age,' i.e. life would not gladly lapse into old age and death.
IV. i. 38. 'Kill'; Quarto 1, 'bitt'; Quartos 2, 3, 'bit' (probably an €rror for ' hit ').
Notes THE TRAGEDY OF
IV. i. 60-65; ii. 31-50, 53-59) 62-68, 69; iii. (the whole scene); vii. 24-25, 33-36, 79-80, 85-98, omitted in the Folios.
IV. ii. 28. ' My fool usurps my body ' ; so Folios ; Quarto 1, ' AfooU usurps my beef ; Quarto 2, ' My foote usurps my head' ; Malone, ' My fool usurps my bed.^
IV. ii. 47. ' tame these -vile offences ' ; Schmidt conj. ' take the vild offenders ' • Heath conj. ' these -vile ' ; Quarto i, ' this vild' ; Pope, ' the vile.'
IV. ii. 57. ' thy state begins to threat ' ; Jennens conj. ; Quarto I , ' thy state begins thereat ' ; Quartos 2, 3, * thy slaier begins threats ' ; Theobald, ' thy slayer begins his threats^' etc.
IV. ii. 68. 'your manhood f menu ! ' \ some copies of Quarto I read ' man- hood meiu' \ others ' manhood no-w ' ; so the later Quartos; according to the present reading 'meiv' is evidently a cat-like interjection of contempt.
IV. iii. 20. ' like a better ivay ' ; so Quartos ; the passage seems to mean that her smiles and tears resembled sunshine and rain, but in a more beautiful manner; many emendations have been proposed — ' like a ivetter ikfaj^ ' (Warburton) ; * like a better May' (Malone) ; 'like; — a better ivay' (Boaden), etc.
IV. iii. 30. 'Let pity not be believed'; Pope, 'Let pity ne'er believe it' \ Capell, ' Let it not be believed' (but ' believed' — 'hQ\\Q\ed to exist ').
IV. iii. 32. ' clamour moisten' d' \ Capell's reading; Quartos, ' And clamour moistened her'; Theobald, 'And, clamour-motion' d' ; Grant White, 'And, clamour-moisten d' etc.
IV. V. 4. ' lord' ; so Folios; Quartos read 'lady.'
IV. vi. 98-99. ' I had "white hairs in my beard ere the black ones ivere there' ; i.e. " I had the wisdom of age before I had attained to that of youth" (Capell).
IV. vi. 225. 'tame to,' SO Folios ; Quartos, 'lame by.'
IV. vii. 32. 'opposed against the -warring -winds'; Quartos, ' Exposd' ; Folios, 'jarring.'
IV. vii. 36. 'Mine enemy's'; Folios, 'Mine Enemies'; Quartos 1, 2, 'Mine iniurious' ; Quarto 2, 'Mine injurious'; Theobald, 'My very enemy's,' etc.
IV. vii. 79. ' iill'd' ; so Folios ; Quartos, 'cured' ; Collier conj. ' quell'd.'
V. i. 11-13, 18-19, 23-28, 33; iii. 38-39, 47, 54-59, 102, 109,204-221, omitted in the Folios.
V. i. 46. ' and . . . ceases ' ; iii. 76, 90, 144, 282, omitted in the Quartos.
V. i. 25-26. Mason's conj. 'Not the old king' for 'not bolds the king' is worthy of mention. Albany's point is that the invading enemy is France and not the wronged king, together with others whom heavy causes compel to fight against them; otherwise 'not bolds the king' =:' not as it emboldens the king,' an awkward and harsh construction.
KING LEAR Notes
V. ii. 5. Mr Spedding {Neiv Shak, Soc. Tram., Part I.) plausibly sug- gested that the Fifth Act really begins here, and that the battle takes place between Edgar's exit and re-entrance, the imagination having leisure to fill with anxiety for the issue.
V. iii. 76. ' the -walls are thine' ; Theobald conj. 'they all are thine'' (but perhaps the castle-walls are referred to).
V. iii. 93. 'prove it '; so Quartos ; Folios, ' make it ' ; Anon. conj. ' mark it ' ; Collier MS. , ' make good.'
V. iii. 96. ' medicine,' Folios ; Quartos, 'foyson.'
V. iii. 129-130. ' the privilege of mine honours' ; Pope's reading; Quartos read ♦ the priuiledge of my tongue ' ; Folios, ' my priuiledge, The priuiledge of mine Honours.' Edgar refers to ' the right of bringing the charge' as the privilege of his profession as knight.
V. iii. 146. Omitted in Quarto 2 ; Quarto i reads ' Heere do I iosse those treasons to thy head.'
V. iii. 156. '• name' ; Quartos read 'thing.'
V. iii. 159. 'Most monstrous.' kno-w'st" Steevens' emendation ; Quarto i rtdids ' Most monstrous ino-wst' • Quartos 2, ^, 'Monster, knoivst' ; Folios, ' Most monstrous/ 0 knotv'st' ; Capell, ' most monsterous ! ino-w'st'; Edd. Globe Ed., ' Most monstrous .' 0 / ino-w'st.'
V. iii. 160. ' jisi me not -what I kno-w ' ; the Folios give this line to Edmund ; the Quartos to Goneril.
V. iii. 170-171. ' -uices . . . plague us' ; so Folios ; Quartos read ' vertues . . . scourge us ' ; Hanmer, ' vices , . . plague and punish us ' ; Keightley, ' vices . plague us in their time' ; Anon. conj. ' vices . . . scourge us and to plague us ' ; cp, ' Wherewith a man sinneth, by the same also shall he be punished,' Wisdom, xi. 16.
V. iii. 205. ' but another,' etc., i.e. " one more such circumstance only, by amplifying what is already too much, would add to it, and so exceed what seemed to be the limit of sorrow " (Wright).
V. iii. 281. ' One of them -we behold,' i.e. each beholding the other sees one of fortune's two notable objects of love and hate ; (? for ' -we' read 'ye,' as has been suggested).
V. iii. 310. ' Look on her, look, her lips' ; Johnson's emendation ; Folio i reads ' Looke her lips ' ; Folios, 'looke (or look") on her lips.'
v. iii. 323. This speech is given in the Folios to Edgar, and probably it was so intended by the poet. It has been suggested that the first two lines should be given to Edgar, the last two to Albany
453
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