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HAMLET,  PRINCE  OF  DENMARK. 


MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON    ■    BOMBAY    •  CALCUTTA    •   MADRAS 
^iELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK    •   BOSTON    .   CHICAGO 
DALLAS    •   SAN    FRANCISCO 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.   OF  CANADA,   Ltd. 

TORONTO 


^  "n>^ 


Hamlet 


V 


Prince  of  Denmark 


By 

William   Shakespeare 

WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES  BY 

K.   Deighton 


/^ 


MACMILLAN    AND   CO..    LIMITED 

ST.    .MAK'IINS    STREET,    LONDON 

lyiy 


COPYRIGHT. 

First  Edition  ISOl. 

Reprinted  1S04,  1S95,  ISOfi. 

June  and  December  ]S!>7,  1903,  1905,  1910,  1912.  1910. 


1 ' 


OLASOOVV  :    PRINTED    AT   THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS 
BY   ROBERT   IJACLEHOSE   ANP   CO.    LTD, 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introduction, ...        .  vii 

Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark, 1 

Notes, 122 

Index  to  Notes, 286 


INTRODUCTION. 

Thol(;h  some  fourteen  or  sixteen  years  before  the  date  Text  and 
ot  the  nrst  edition  or  Ilumlet  known  to  us,  there  are  Piay. 
alhisions  in  contemporary  literature  to  a  play  apparently 
bearing  the  same  title  and  containing  the  same  plot,  the 
weight  of  authority  seems  against  Shakespeare's  having 
had  any  hand  in  it.  The  quarto  of  1G03  is  the  first 
certain  date  of  the  publication  of  Shakespeare's  play,  and 
in  this  edition  we  have  but  a  meagre  draft  of  what  in  the 
following  year  appeared  in  nnich  the  same  shape  as  it  now 
bears.  Opinions  are  greatly  divided  as  to  whether  the 
first  quarto  was  an  imperfect  version  of  the  play  as  origin- 
ally written  and  afterwards  largely  recast ;  or  whether 
it  represents  a  mangled  and  piratical  version  of  the  play 
taken  down  in  shorthand  while  being  acted,  or  surrep- 
titiously prniteel  from  an  imperfect  manuscript  of  the 
prompt  books.  The  former  supposition  is  abl}'  main- 
tained by  Knight,  with  whom  Delius,  Eltze,  Staunton, 
Dyce,  and  Gervinus  agree  in  the  main.  Of  i\w.  latter 
supposition  the  strongest  supi)orters  are  Collier,  Momm- 
sen,  and  (irant  \\'liite.  The  points  on  which  Knight 
and  those  in  agreement  witli  liim  especially  insist,  are 
briefly  these  :  That,  while  all  the  action  of  the  i)lay  as 
we  now  have  it,  is  to  be  fuiuid   in  the  first  sketch,  the 

vii 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

amended  version  differs  too  widely  from  the  original  one 
to  be  due  to  mere  mutilation  or  imperfect  transcription, 
that  diff'erence  being  conspicuous  in  the  careful  working 
up  of  the  first  idea  of  the  play  ;  in  the  studied  alterations 
of  diction  ;  in  the  elaboration  of  thought ;  the  maturity 
of  the  philosophic  spirit  and  contemplative  part  of 
•  Hamlet's  nature ;  the  modification  of  Hamlet's  frenzy  ; 
the  uncertainty  in  which  we  are  left  as  to  the  Queen's 
privity  to  the  murder  of  her  husband  ;  the  transposition 
and  omission  of  scenes ;  and  the  change  of  names  in 
certain  of  the  characters.  Collier,  and  his  followers, 
hold  that  the  greater  part  of  the  play  as  found  in  the 
first  quarto  was  taken  down  in  shorthand  ;  that  where 
mechanical  skill  failed  the  shorthand  writer,  he  either 
filled  up  the  blanks  badly  from  memory,  or  employed  an 
inferior  writer  to  assist  him  ;  that  although  some  of  the 
scenes  were  carelessly  transposed,  and  others  entirely 
omitted,  the  drama,  as  it  was  acted  Avhile  the  shorthand 
writer  was  employed  in  taking  it  down,  was  in  all  its 
main  features  the  same  as  the  more  perfect  copy  printed 
in  1604.  To  me,  Knight's  arguments  seem  unanswerable. 
As  to  the  date  at  which  the  play  was  originally  written 
we  have  nothing  but  conjectures,  and  these  vary  from 
1597  to  1602,  the  latter  being  the  more  probable  date. 
Source  of  the  The  more  remote  source  of  the  plot  is  Saxo  Gram- 
raaticus,  from  whom  Belleforest,  a  French  writer,  derived 
the  story  to  be  found  in  his  Histories  Tragiques,  1570, 
which,  under  the  title  of  The  Hystorie  of  Hamhlet,  Avas 
later  on  translated  into  English.  Whether  Shakespeare 
used  the  original  or  its  translation,  or  took  the  plot  from 
an  earlier  play  on  the  same  subject  is  doubtful ;  but 
Eltze  has  put  forward  arguments  which  make  it  seem 


plot. 


IN  riu)i)r(  riox.  ix 

probable  that  the  translation  was  subsequent  to  the 
earlier  play,  whoever  its  autiior. 

In  front  of  the  Castle  of  Elsinore,  the  residence  of  the  Outline  of 

,     .  ,.  ,  •  T     •    1        the  Play. 

Danisli  Court,  the  guard  is  being  relieved  at  midnight. 
Willi  the  relieving  officers  conies  Horatio,  a  friend  of 
Prince  Hamlet,  to  ascertain  whether  there  is  any  truth 
in  a  rumour  that  has  reached  his  ears  of  a  Ghost  having 
appeared  to  the  sentinel  on  two  previous  occasions. 
Horatio,  a  man  of  philosophical  and  sceptical  character, 
disbelieves  the  story,  and  is  in  conversation  on  the  sub- 
ject witli  the  two  officers,  when  suddenly  a  figure  re- 
sembling the  dead  king  is  seen  confronting  them. 
Horatio  questions  the  apparition,  which,  however,  Avith- 
out  giving  any  answer,  stalks  away  ;  and  now  convinced 
by  the  evidence  of  his  own  eyes  that  the  Ghost  is  no 
illusion,  Horatio  predicts  that  its  coming  bodes  some  evil 
about  to  fall  upon  the  state.  A  conversation  follows, 
in  which  the  three  friends  discuss  the  warlike  prepara- 
tions that  have  of  late  been  going  on  so  vigorously 
throughout  Denmark,  when  suddenly  the  Ghost  appears 
for  the  second  time.  Again  Horatio  questions  it  without 
result,  and  at  the  sound  of  cock-crow  it  slowly  fades 
from  sijcht.  Horatio  advises  that  Hamlet  be  told  of  the 
apparition,  and  the  watch  being  over,  he  and  his  com- 
panions separate.  With  the  second  Scene  we  come  to  a 
room  of  state  in  the  Castle  wherein  are  assembled  the 
king  and  queen  attended  by  Hamlet,  Polonius,  the  lord- 
chamberlain,  his  son,  Laertes,  and  others.  X^^e  king  re- 
counts how  by  the  death  of  his  brother  he  has  succe  ded 
to  the  throne  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  his  ministers, 
taken  his  brother's  widow  to  wife  ;  how  he  has  of  late 
been   making  preparations  to   resist  the  threatened  in- 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

vasion  of  Fortinbras,  prince  of  Norway,  and  is  now  about 
to  send  an  embassy  to  the  king  of  that  country  to  re- 
monstrate on  the  subject.  At  this  point  he  turns  to 
Laertes,  who,  he  hears,  has  some,  request  to  make  to  him. 
Laertes  wishes  to  return  to  Paris  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion, and  permission  being  granted  to  him,  the  king  and 
queen  reason  with  Hamlet  upon  the  continued  and  ex-* 
cessive  grief  he  has  shown  for  his  father's  death,  ,and 
entreat  him  to  give  up  his  project  of  returning  to  the 
University  of  Wittemberg.  Hamlet  assents,  and  when 
left  alone  pours  forth  in  soliloquy  his  contempt  for  the 
king  and  his  horror  at  his  mother's  marriage  with  one  so 
unworthy  of  her  love.  Wliile  he  is  thus  engaged, 
Horatio  with  Marcellus  and  Bernardo  enter  to  relate  the 
circumstances  of  the  apparition.  Convinced  by  their 
description  that  the  Ghost  must  be  that  of  his  father, 
Hamlet  arranges  to  watch  with  them  the  next  night  in 
order  to  discover  the  meaning  of  the  mystery.  This 
Scene  is  followed  by  one  in  which  Laertes,  about  to 
embark  for  Paris,  takes  the  opportunity  of  cautioning 
his  sister,  Ophelia,  not  to  place  too  much  faith  in  the 
proffers  of  love  which  Hamlet  has  made  to  her.  To 
them  enters  Polonius,  their  father,  who  sententiously 
counsels  Laertes  as  to  his  behaviour  and  manner  of  life 
in  Paris.  On  the  departure  of  his  son,  Polonius  turns  to 
his  daughter,  questions  her  as  to  Hamlet's  attentions, 
and  enjoins  her  for  the  future  to  give  him  less  encourage- 
ment. The  fourth  vScene  is  again  at  midnight  on  the 
platform  before  the  Castle,  Hamlet,  Horatio,  and  Mar- 
cellus being  there  in  expectation  of  the  Ghost's  appear- 
ance. While  tjiey  are  in  conversation  upon  the  drunken 
festivities   of  the    Court,    the   Ghost   appears;    Hamlet 


iN'iii^Drcriox.  xi 

aiUirt'ssc'S  it,  and  by  every  form  nf  entreaty  urges  it  to 
state  the  reason  of  its  comiiii?.  The  Ghost  beckons 
Hanik't  awa}',  and,  in  spite  of  his  friends'  remonstrance, 
lie  follows.  When  at  some  distance  from  Horatio  and 
Marcellus,  the  Ghost  explains  that  though  it  had  been 
given  out  that  he  had  died  of  a  sudden  disease,  he  had  in 
reality  been  poisoned  by  his  brother  while  asleep  in  his 
orchard,  that  brother  having  secretly  won  aw'ay  the 
affections  of  his  queen.  His  appearance  on  earth  is  to 
urge  his  son  to  vengeance,  wdiich  Hamlet  undertaking, 
the  Ghost  disappears.  On  Hamlet's  rejoining  them, 
Horatio  and  ■\Iarcellus  question  him  as  to  what  has 
haitpened.  xVt  first  he  plays  with  them,  putting  off 
their  questions,  but  afterwards,  without  relating  to  them 
what  the  Ghost  had  told  him,  calls  upon  them  to  swear 
that  they  will  not  reveal  to  any  one  what  they  had  wit- 
nessed. As  he  is  administering  the  oath,  the  voice  of 
the  Ghost  is  heard  beneath  the  ground  enforcing 
obedience  to  obey  Hamlet's  injunction.  The  oath  being 
taken,  Hamlet  confides  to  his  companions  that  it 
may  be  necessary  to  him  "to  put  an  antic  disposition 
on,"  and  conjures  them,  however  strangely  he  may  bear 
himself,  never  to  allow  the  slightest  hint  to  escape  them 
as  to  his  intention,  the  Ghost  from  beneath  again  calling 
upon  them  to  take  the  oath. 

At  the  opening  of  the  second  Act,  between  which  and 
the  first  some  weeks  have  elapsed,  Polonius  is  despatch- 
ing his  servant,  Keynaldo,  to  Laertes  in  Paris,  and 
enjoining  upon  him  to  find  out  what  manner  of  life 
Laertes  is  there  leading.  Reynaldo  has  hardly  left  wlien 
Ol)helia  entering  relates  how  Hamlet  in  wild  attire  and 
distracted  mood  has  paid  her  a  visit  which  has  terribl} 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

alarmed  her.  Polonius,  attributing  his  behaviour  to  the 
freiiz}'  of  love,  determiues  to  acquaint  the  king  with  the 
matter.  Meanwhile  we  have  a  scene  in  which  Rosen- 
craiitz  and  Guildenstern,  two  of  Hamlet's  youthful  com- 
panions, are  introduced.  They  have  been  sent  for  by 
the  king  in  the  hopes  that  they  might  eHcit  from  Hamlet 
the  cause  of  his  sudden  transformation,  and  for  this  they 
engage  to  use  their  best  efforts.  As  they  leave  the 
presence,  Polonius  enters  to  report  the  return  of  the 
ambassadors  sent  to  Norway,  and  further  to  announce 
that  he  has  discovered  the  secret  of  Handet's  wild  be- 
haviour. The  ambassadors  having  received  their  inter- 
view, Polonius  proceeds  to  expound  with  pompous  pro- 
lixity his  discovery  that  Hamlet  has  been  driven  out  of 
nis  senses  by  his  love  for  Ophelia.  The  king,  whose 
guilty  conscience  suggests  that  something  else  than  love 
is  at  the  bottom  of  the  matter,  wishes  to  probe  it 
further  ;  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Polonius  agrees  to 
hide  himself  where  he  may  overhear  a  conversation 
between  Ophelia  and  Hamlet,  who  for  that  purpose  are 
to  be  brought  together.  Hamlet  now  enters,  and  in  a 
talk  with  the  foohsh  old  chamberlain  skilfully  strengthens 
the  impression  that  he  is  not  in  his  right  mind.  Polonius 
is  followed  by  Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern.  Their 
efforts  to  sound  Hamlet  are  as  futile  as  those  of  Polonius. 
Hamlet  in  fact  completely  turns  the  tables  upon  them, 
shows  them  that  he  has  divined  the  object  of  their 
visit,  and  by  a  mixture  of  keen  questioning,  easy 
satire,  pretended  confidence  as  to  his  condition,  and  an 
occasional  show  of  unsoundness  of  intellect,  sends  them 
away  utterly  baffled  and  conscious  of  being  outwitted. 
To  Hamlet  the  one  point  of  importance  in  the  conversa- 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

tion  is  the  information  given  him  that  a  company  of 
l)layers  has  arrived  at  Elsinore,  and  that  some  dramatic 
entertainment  may  be  expected.  Hamlet  at  once  con- 
ceives the  idea  of  turning  their  presence  to  acconnt  by 
arranging 'that  they  shall  play  a  piece  into  which  may  be 
introduced  circumstances  closely  resembling  those  of  his 
father's  murder.  To  this  the  players  assent,  and  the  Act 
closes  with  a  soliloquy  in  which  Hamlet  reproaches  him- 
self for  having  so  long  delayed  his  measures  of  vengeance. 
An  account  by  Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern  of  their 
interview  with  Hamlet  opens  the  third  Act.  This  is 
followed  by  the  meeting  of  Ophelia  and  Hamlet  already 
planned,  in  which  the  latter  again  assumes  the  guise  of 
distraction,  though  the  king,  who  overhears  the  conver- 
sation, doubts  the  reality  of  the  seeming  madness  and 
suspects  some  dangerous  design.  He  therefore  conies  to 
the  decision  to  get  rid  of  Hamlet  by  sending  him  off  to 
England,  where  he  intends  to  have  him  put  to  death. 
The  next  .Scene  brings  in  the  court-play,  and  this  so 
closely  reproduces  the  details  of  the  murder  that  the 
king  in  his  alarm  suddenly  leaves  the  hall,  now  fully 
aware  that  by  Hamlet  at  all  events  his  guilt  has  been 
detected.  Shortly  afterwards  in  a  private  interview 
with  his  mother,  Hamlet,  throwing  off  his  disguise, 
bitterly  rejjroaches  her  with  her  guilt,  wrings  from  her  a 
promise  of  repentance,  and  a  further  promise  that  she 
will  not  reveal  to  the  king  his  simulation  of  madness, 
Polonius,  who,  in  order  to  overhear  the  conversation 
and  report  it  to  thp  king,  had  hidden  himself  behind  the 
arras,  on  hearing  the  queen  cry  for  help  echoes  her  cries  ; 
whereupon  Hamlet,  drawing  his  rapier,  makes  a  pass 
through  the  hangings  and  kills  the  old  man  on  the  sjiot. 


xiv  INTRODUCTIOiSr. 

At  the  opening  of  the  fourth  Act,  the  queen  reports  to 
the  king  the  death  of  Polonius,  but,  faitliful  to  her  pro- 
mise, pretends  that  Hamlet  did  the  deed  in  a  fit  of  mad- 
ness. Hamlet  is  sent  for  by  the  king  who,  under  the  guise 
of  anxiety  for  his  safety,  tells  him  that  to  avoid  the 
con.'^equences  of  his  act  he  must  at  once  leave  Denmark. 
Hamlet's  departure  for  England  is  followed  by  intelligence 
of  Ophelia's  having  lost  her  senses  in  consequence  of  her 
father's  death,  and  by  the  return  of  Laertes  to  demand 
vengeance  for  the  murder.  His  wrath,  at  first  directed 
against  the  king,  is  soon  diverted  against  Hamlet,  the 
king  showing  him  that  he  himself  was  equally  an  ol)ject 
of  Hamlet's  ill-will.  ^Yhile  they  are  in  consultation,  a 
letter  is  brought  from  Hamlet  announcing  his  having 
been  captured  hy  pirates  and  put  naked  upon  the  shores 
of  Denmark.  A  plot  for  his  miu'der  is  then  devised 
between  the  king  and  Laertes.  Hamlet  is  to  be  per- 
suaded to  engage  in  a  fencing  match  with  the  latter, 
who,  during  a  pause  in  the  combat,  is  to  manage  to  take 
up  a  foil  that  has  no  button  at  its  point,  and  with  it  to 
run  Hamlet  through  the  body.  To  make  things  more 
certain.  Laertes  arranges  to  poison  the  point  of  this  foil, 
while  the  king  on  his  part  promises  to  have  ready  a  cup 
of  poisoned  wine  of  which  Hamlet  between  the  heats  is  to 
be  induced  to  drink.  Just  as  their  compact  is  concluded, 
news  comes  of  Ophelia's  having  in  her  madness  accident- 
ally drowned  herself  Her  funeral  shortly  follows,  and 
at  it  a  violent  altercation  takes  place  between  Laertes 
and  Hamlet,  who  has  just  made  his  way  back  to  Elsinore. 
They  are,  however,  so  far  pacified  that  on  the  morrow 
Hamlet  accepts  Laertes's  challenge  to  a  fencing  match. 
At  this  match  Laertes  manages  to  wound  Hamlet  with 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

the  poisoned  rapier ;  but  in  a  scufHc  they  exchange 
weapons,  and  Handet  wounds  Laertes.  While  the 
combat  is  proceeding,  tlie  queen,  who  knows  nothing  of 
the  wine  1)eing  poisoned,  tb-inks  some  of  it  and  falls 
dead  ;  Laertes  knowing  that  his  wound  is  fatal,  confesses 
to  Hamlet  the  treachery  of  wliich  he  and  the  king 
have  been  guilty,  whereupon  Hamlet  rushes  upon  the 
latter  and  stabs  him  to  death.  Laertes  and  Hamlet 
almost  immediately  succumb  to  the  poison  in  their 
wounds,  and  the  play  ends  with  the  election  to  the 
throne  of  Fortinbras,  who  has  just  arrived  on  the 
scene. 

On  this  question  there  are  four  different  hypotheses  :  ^^'^^J^'fjf^!^" 
(1)  That  Hamlet  was  throughout  perfectly  sane,  but  sanity, 
feigned  insanity  ;  (2)  that  Hamlet  was  after  his  inter- 
view with  the  Ghost  more  or  less  insane  ;  (3)  that  in 
Hamlet  insanity  was  latent,  but  was  only  fully  developed 
after  the  Court-play;  (4)  that  Hamlet  was  neither 
insane,  nor  feigned  to  be  so.  From  the  outline  already 
given  it  will  be  seen  that  the  first  of  these  hypotheses  is 
assumed.  But  l)efore  stating  reasons  in  support  of  this; 
assumption,  it  will  be  convenient  to  consider  the  views 
of  those  who  hold  that  Hamlet  was  more  or  less  insane 
from  the  time  at  which  the  (iliost  appeared  to  him.  On 
this  point  the  experts,  the  "  mad-doctors ",  as  they  are 
sometimes  called,  are  tolerably  unanimous.  Thus  Dr. 
Ray  asserts  that  "  the  integrity  of  every  tiain  of  reason 
is  maired  by  some  intrusion  of  disease  :  the  smootl), 
deep  current  of  his  feelings  is  turned  into  eddies  and 
whirlpools  under  its  infiuence,  and  his  most  solemn  under- 
takings conducted  to  an  abortive  issue"  ...  that  "in  all 
Ifandet's  interviews  with   I'olonius  the  style  of  his  dis 


Xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

course    is   indicative   of   the    utmost   contempt  for   the 
old    courtier,    and   he  exhibits   it  in   a    manner    quite 
characteristic    of    the    insane  ...  Nothing    is    more    so 
than  a  fondness  of  annoying  those  whom   they  dislike 
by  ridicule,  raillery,  satire,  vulgarity,  and  every  other 
species  of  shame"...     Dr.  Ray  goes  on  to  note  Hamlet's 
"bad  dreams"  as  one  of  the  symptoms  of  impending 
insanity ;    his  behaviour  to  Ophelia  he  says  "  discloses 
an  interesting  feature  in  mental  pathology, — the  change 
which  insanity  brings  over  the  warmest  affections  of  the 
heart,  whereby  the  golden  chain  wrought  b}-  love  and 
kindness  are  utterly  dissolved,   and  the  forsaken  and 
desolate  spirit,  though  it  continues  among  men,  is  no 
longer  of  them"...    Dr.  Bucknill  notes  in  regard  to  the 
same  matter  that  Hamlet's  conduct  here  "  is  a  mixture 
of  feigned  madness,  of  the  selfishness  of  passion  blasted 
by  the  cursed  blight  of  fate,   of  harshness   which  he 
assumes  to  protect  himself  from  an  affection  which  he 
feels  hostile  to  the  present  purpose  of  his  life,  and  of 
that  degree  of  real  unsoundness,  his  unfeigned  'weak- 
ness and  melancholy,'  which  is  the  subsoil  of  his  mind  " 
. . .  Further  he  draws  attention  to  Hamlet's  confession  of 
melancholy,  another  peculiarity  of  the  melancholiac  ... 
to  the  vehemence  inconsistent  with  a  sound  mind  which 
Hamlet  betrays  after  killing  Polonius  ;  he  asserts  that 
the  tests  of  his  sanity  which  he  offers  to  his  mother  are 
not  in  the  least  inconsistent  with  madness ;    and  con- 
cludes that  though  a  reasoning  melancholiac,  he  is  not  a 
veritable   lunatic.      Dr.   Conolly  adverts,   among  other 
things,  to  Hamlet's  exhortations  to  secrecy  as  among 
the  symptoms  of  madness  recognisable  as  such  by  all 
physicians  intimately  acquainted  with  the  beginnings  of 


IXTRODULilU.N.  xvii 

insanity  ;  to  the  Hit^'htiut'ss  ami  cynical  disdain  hy 
wliicli  on  almost  all  occasions  his  conversation  is 
nianvtl ;  to  the  gradual  i)rogress  of  the  disease  as 
dt'scrihed  l)y  Polonius ;  to  his  conversations  with 
liosencrantz  and  Guildi'nstern  exhibiting  the  acuteness 
which  an  insane  man  will  for  a  short  time  display  ;  to 
his  extravagance  of  behaviour  at  Ophelia's  funeral,  etc., 
itc.  Dr.  Kellogg  notices  Hamlet's  restlessness,  imper- 
fect sleep,  bad  dreams ;  the  successive  steps  in  the 
progress  of  his  disease  ;  Ophelia's  conviction  of  iiis  mad- 
ness, in  which  she  woulil  not  be  likely  to  be  di'ceived ; 
tlie  reatliness  with  which  the  genuine  manifestations 
burst  forth  upon  occasions  of  unusual  excitement,  etc., 
etc.  Now  I  am  not  of  course  going  to  set  my  ignorance 
against  the  profound  knowledge  of  these  experts;  nor 
Would  it  be  fair,  if  I  contemplated  any  such  hardihood, 
to  give  only  such  scanty  abridgments  of  what  has 
already  been  abridged  l»y  Furness.  I  readily  accept 
all  the  statements  set  out  a.s  to  the  sym[>toms  of 
madness ;  and  yet  I  deny  the  conclusion  at  which  the 
experts  have  arrived.  Hamlet's  declared  intention  of 
assuming  "  an  antic  disposition,"  his  assurance  to  his 
mother  that  he  is  only  "mad  in  craft,"  the  test  he 
proposes  in  prdof  of  his  assertion,  niay  all  be  conceded 
as  valueless  in  determining  the  question.  But  the 
fact  that  Shakespeare  has  deceived  even  the  elect 
into  a  ])elief  of  Hamlet's  madness  is  nothing  more 
than  the  very  highest  testimony  to  his  consummate 
art.  If  he  could  acquire  a  knowledge  so  intimate,  so 
accurate,  so  profouml,  of  madness  in  its  various  ])hases, 
what  is  there  to  hinder  his  endowing  one  (if  his 
characters   with  the  power  of  assuming  those  phases  1 


-^ 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

"If  a  dramatist,"  observes  Cardinal  Wiseman,*  "wished 
to  represent  one  of  his  persons  as  feigning  madness, 
that  assumed  condition  would  be  naturally  desired  by 
the  writer  to  be  as  like  as  possible  to  the  real 
affliction.  If  the  other  persons  associated  with  him 
could  at  once  discover  that  the  madness  was  put  on, 
of  course  the  entire  action  would  be  marred,  and  the 
object  for  which  the  pretended  madness  would  be  de- 
signed would  be  defeated  by  the  discovery."  But  the 
proof,  to  my  mind,  that  Hamlet  was  merely  feigning 
madness  lies  in  the  fact  of  his  entire  consistency  of 
///'  action  in  rec;ard  to  that  disguise  from  the  moihent  in 
which  he  conceived  the  idea  of  assuming  it.  To  show 
this  consistency,  it  will  be  necessary  to  follow  his 
behaviour  step  by  step.  The  first  show  of  eccentricity, 
then,  is  immediately  after  the  revelation  made  to  him  by 
the  Ghost,  t  and  this  is  closely  followed  by  the  Avarning 
to  Horatio  and  Marcellus  that  he  mnv  hereafter  find  it 
expedient  "  to  puit  ^n_  antic  disposition  on."  Why  he 
should  at  first  have  behaved  towards  Horatio  and  Mar- 
cellus in  a  mysterious  manner,  I  shall  endeavour  to 
explain  when  I  come  to  the  last  of  the  four  hypotheses 
mentioned.  It  is  upon  Polonius  that  we  first  see  the 
effect  of  Hamlet's  experiment  in  acting  the  madman  ;  an 
experiment  producing  exactly  the  desired  impression, 
viz.,  that  intense  love  for  Ophelia  is  at  the  bottom 
of  the  sudden  transformation.  Hamlet  knows  well 
enough  that  a  father's  vanity  will  lie  tickled  by  the 
belief  that  his  daughter  is  loved  to  such  distraction 
by  one  so  much  above  her  in  station,  and  that  the 
garrulous  old  courtier  will  not  only  at  once  carry  the 
*  William  Shal-espeare,  1 86.5,  p.  4 1 .       +  See  additional  note,  p.  xxxi. 


iX'i'KdDi  (  riox.  xix 

news  to  the  king,  but  will  do  his  best  to  instil  into  him 
the  same  faith.  No  moic  crafty  design  could  have 
been  conceived  for  hoodwinking  Polonius,  and  through 
him  the  king  b}-  whom  he  was  held  in  so  high  esteem 
for  his  penetration.  The  next  manifestation  we  have 
of  Hamlet's  insanity  is  in  his  conversation  with  Kosen- 
crantz  and  Gnildenstcrn.  Their  sudden  return  to  Elgi- 
nore  strikes  Hamlet  as  something  strange,  and  he 
quickly  guesses  that  the  king  is  at  the  bottom  of  it. 
With  them,  however,  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  play  a 
.somewhat  different  role.  His  first  object  is  to  ascertain 
whether  they  have  been  set  as  spies  upon  him,  and 
without  much  difficulty  he  turns  them  completely  inside 
out,  while  the  apparently  irrelevant  observations  he 
makes  from  time  to  time,  together  with  the  confidence 
he  pretends  to  repose  in  them  as  to  his  state  of  mind, — 
a  confidence  which  would  seem  natural  towards  the 
companions  of  his  boyhood, — impresses  them  with  the 
idea  uf  his  insanity  none  the  less  firmly  that  he  de- 
piecates  such  an  idea  by  declaring  that  he  is  "but  mad 
north-north-west."  Upon  the  entrance  of  Polonius  and 
the  players,  Hamlet  keeps  up  a  sufficient  show  of  in- 
sanity to  deceive  the  old  man,  though  at  the  same  time 
behaving  rationally  enough  to  make  his  wishes  known 
to  the  players  regarding  the  piece  he  has  determined  fo 
have  performed.  That  the  .strain  ui)on  him  has  been 
great  in  keeping  up  appearances  is  ])]ain  enough  fiom 
the  relief  he  exjjresses  when  left  alone  ;  and  the  soli- 
lo(juy  which  follows  betrays  nothing  of  incoherence  or 
mental  derangement.  His  want  of  resolution  to  act 
immediately  is  indeed  manifest,  but  it  is  as  juanifest  to 
himself  as   to  us.      We   next  see   him   just  befoie   his 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

interview  with  Ophelia,  and  to  his  despairing  mono- 
logue then  no  one  has  ever  imputed  the  smallest  taint 
of  diseased  intellect,  though  it  has  been  argued  that  a 
madman  in  a  lucid  interval  might  reason  with  equal 
force  and  clearness.  Ophelia's  entry  cuts  short  liis 
reflections,  and  Hamlet  has  now  doubly  to  be  on  his 
guard.  He  no  doubt  suspects  that  Ophelia,  like 
Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern,  has  been  sent  to  probe 
his  malady.  He  probably  further  suspects  that  he  is 
being  secretly  watched,  and  he  can  be  quite  certain  that 
his  words  and  actions  will  be  reported  to  Polonius,  that 
is,  to  the  king.  But  over  and  above  all  this  his 
feelings  towards  Ophelia  place  him  in  a  perilous 
position.  Against  the  fond  dictates  of  a  love  which 
bid  him  take  her  to  his  heart,  he  has  to  wage  a 
terrible  struggle.  One  moment's  lapse  into  tenderness 
will  undo  everything.  To  give  her  the  slightest 
opportunity  of  exercising  her  magic  influence  will  be 
to  sacrifice  his  oath  to  the  spirit  of  his  father.  Short, 
sharp,  questions  to  herself,  bitter  invectives  against  the 
fickleness  of  her  sex,  mingled  with  cynical  accusations 
of  himself  and  his  sex,  alone  will  serve  his  turn ;  and  if 
it  is  urged  that  his  stern  resolve  passes  into  cruelty,  it 
may  be  answered  that  beneath  the  ice  of  seeming 
heartlessness  are  raging  the  fierce  fires  of  well-nigh 
overpovvering  love.  For  awhile  after  this  torturing 
scene  Hamlet  has  no  need  to  assume  his  disguise. 
For  we  next  find  him  with  the  players,  to  whom 
^  he  is  giving  directions  as  to  the  manner  of  their  acting. 
With  them  it  matters  nothing  that  he  should  appear  in 
his  sound  senses  ;  they  are  not  likely  to  have  either  the 
opportunity  or  the  wish  to  betray  him.     In  his  instruc- 


INTRODUCTION.  xx-i 

tions  to  them,  therefore,  there  is  uo  admixture  of  "  wild 
and  whirling  words " ;  nothing  in  fact  that  is  not 
eminently  judicious  and  to  the  point.  So,  too,  when 
Horatio  joins  him,  his  intellect  is  as  calm  and  clear,  his 
reasoning  as  sound,  the  expression  of  his  feelings  as 
sober,  and  the  plan  of  action  he  announces  as  practical, 
as  the  most  exacting  judge  coidd  desire.  Contrast  his  /''/  \ 
demeanour  then  with  the  instantaneous  change  upon  the  - 
entry  of  the  king  ;  contrast  it  with  his  behaviour  to 
Polonius  while  the  play  is  preparing,  and  to  Ophelia 
during  the  action  of  the  play  ;  note  his  irrepressible  ex- 
ultation, when  alone  with  Horatio,  at  the  success  of  his 
stratagem,  and  again  the  immediate  resumption  of  his 
"  antic  disposition "  upon  the  re-entry  of  Eosencrantz 
and  Guildeustern.  Passing  over  his  reflections  when 
watching  the  king  at  prayer  with  the  remark  that 
passionate  as  thej-  are,  they  betray  nothing  of  an  im- 
paired intellect,  we  come  to  the  interview  to  which  his 
mother  has  summoned  him.  And  here,  if  his  reproaches 
are  vehement,  if  his  taunts  are  armed  with  the  fiercest 
stings,  there  is  nothing  in  them  which  a  sense  of  terrible 
wrong  to  himself  and  deep  disgrace  to  her  might  not 
prompt.  Throwing  off  his  disguise,  he  plainly  declares 
that  his  seeming  madness.is  but  craft.  Such  a  declara- 
tion I  have  already  admitted  is  in  itself  no  absolute 
])roof ;  yet,  as  Stearns  *  observes,  Hamlet  had  special 
reasons  for  disabusing  his  mother  of  her  belief  in  his  in- 
sanitv.  Such  a  belief  would  act  as  a  "  flattering  unction" 
to  her  soul,  and  thus  frustrate  his  purpose  of  driving 
home  to  lu'r  conscience  that  recognition  of  her  guilt 
which  it  is  his  aim  to  awaken.  Instead,  then,  of  waiting 
*  The  Sliake.it pear e  TrvoHury  of  Wit  and  Knonicdtje,  1871,  p.  .352. 


XX]  I 


INTRODUCTION. 


to  learn  his  mother's  object  in  sending  for  him,  Hamlet 
plunges  ,'it  once  into  the  lesson  he  intends  to  read  her ; 
and  when  she,  frightened  at  his  manner  of  address, 
would  put  an  end  to  the  interview  he  tells  her  "  You  go 
not  till  I  set  you  up  a  glass  Where  you  may  see  the  in- 
^niost  part  of  you."  Fearing  that  he  is  about  to  murder 
her,  the  queen  shrieks  for  help,  and  when  her  words  are 
echoed  by  Pol<)nius  behind  the  arras,  Hamlet  drawing 
his  rapier  makes  a  pass  through  the  hangings  and  kills 
the  intrusive  courtier.  For  the  moment,  anger  at  the 
trick  sought  to  be  put  upon  him  evokes  nothing  but  con- 
tempt for  his  victim,  though  later  on  contrition  succeeds 
to  his  passionate  outburst.  Turning  from  the  dead 
body,  he  reproaches  his  mother  with  having  blurred  the 
grace  of  all  womanly  modesty,  with  having  made  marriage 
vows  a  hideous  mockery,  and  religion  a  mere  rhapsody 
of  words.  Then  comparing  his  father  and  his  uncle,  he 
dwells  on  the  noble  nature  of  the  one,  and  the  vileness 
of  the  other ;  anticipates  any  excuses  she  might  make  by 
telling  her  that  at  her  time  of  life  a  plea  of  having  been 
carried  away  by  love  would  be  an  absurdity,  and  that  if 
passion  dominated  her  it  was  all  the  more  shameful  in 
a  matron.  His  words  at  length  penetrate  to  her  soul, 
and  she  confesses  her  guilt.  Hamlet,  not  yet  satisfied, 
is  enforcing  his  lesson  when  suddenly  the  Ghost  appears, 
and  while  rebuking  him  for  his  delay  in  taking  vengeance 
upon  the  king,  enjoins  greater  tenderness  to  the  queen. 
The  colloquy  with  the  Ghost,  who  to  the  queen  is  in- 
visible, leads  her  to  imagine  that  her  son  is  subject  to 
some  hallucination.  Hamlet  quickly  dispels  this  idea 
and,  though  in  less  vehement  language,  eloquently  calls 
upon  her  to  manifest  contrition    by    a   change   of  life, 


INTRODLXTIUX.  xxiii 

and  exacts  a  solemn  promise  that  she  will  not  reveal  to 
the  king  what  had  passed  between  them.  His  mother 
thus  sworn  to  amendment  of  life,  and  to  secrecy  as  re- 
gards himself,  Hamlet  has  effected  his  purpose  with  her. 
But  to  all  else,  Horatio  excepted,  he  has  still  to  maintain 
his  disguise  ;  and  when  shortly  afterwards  Rosencrantz 
and  Guildenstern  come  upon  him,  he  instantly  relapses 
into  irrelevant  language.  So,  when  summoned  by  the 
king,  he  befools  him  as  before  with  witty  extravagance 
and  badinage,  though  when  left  alone  again  abandoning 
all  incoherency  of  thought.  For  a  while  we  hear  noth- 
ing more  of  him,  for  he  is  on  his  voyage  to  England. 
But  on  a  sudden  two  letters  arrive  from  him,  one  to 
Horatia,_calm,  practical,  and  exact ;  the  other  to  the 
king,  fantastic  and  exaggerated.  The  letters  are  shortly 
fijllowed  by  hislippearance^Tn  the  churchyard  where 
(Ophelia's  oravp.  is  being  dug.  There,  as  neither  the 
sexton  nor  the  clown  knows  him,  he  is  free  to  talk 
without  di.sguise,  and  the  most  critical  disputants  of  his 
sanity  would  be  at  a  loss  to  find  anything  in  his  remarks 
which  savours  of  a  disordered  mind.  While  yet  in  con- 
versation with  Horatio,  he  is  interrupted  by  the  funeral 
procession  bearing  to  her  grave  his  fondly  loved  Oj)lielia, 
of  whose  death  he  is  so  far  unaware.  "When  the 
coffin  is  lowered  into  the  earth,  Laertes  in  a  passion  of 
extravagant  grief  leaps  into  tin,'  grave,  and  Handet  rush- 
ing forward  in  equal  frenzy  leaps  after  him,  declaring 
that  "forty  thousand  brothers  could  not  with  all  their 
quantity  of  love  Make  up  my  .sum."  A  struggle 
follows  between  Hamlet  and  Laertes ;  but  they  are  at 
length  ])arted,  and  the  former,  accompanied  by  Horatio, 
leaves  the  scene.     Later  on,  al(»ne  with  his  one  friend, 


(^) 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION. 

Hamlet  relates  in  minute  detail  the  circumstances  of  his 
escape  from  being  carried  into  England,  and  plainly 
announces  his  intention  of  killing  the  king.  To  them  at 
this  point  comes  a  fantastic  courtier,  Osric,  with  a  chal- 
lenge from  Laertes  to  a  bout  at  fencing,  the  king  having 
laid  a  wager  that  Hamlet,  with  certain  odds  given,  will 
prove  himself  more  than  a  match  for  his  opponent. 
Osric  is  too  great  a  fool  for  it  to  be  necessary  that 
Hamlet  should  assume  the  cloak  of  insanity  ;  but  answer- 
ing him  with  a  Avitty  imitation  of  his  own  affected 
jargon,  he  dismisses  him  with  an  acceptance  of  the  chal- 
lenge ;  and  shortly  afterwards  engages  in  the  corabaf- 
which,  as  we^ave  seen,  ends  fatally  to  both  Laertes  and 
himself.      V 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  every  single  instance  in  which 
Hamlet's  madness  is  manifested,  he  has  good  reason  for 
assuming  that  disguise  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  wher- 
ever there  was  no  necessity  to  hoodwink  any  one,  his 
thought,  language,  and  actions  bear  no  resemblance  to 
unsoundness  of  intellect.  Two  further  facts  have  to  be 
borne  in  mind.  The  one  is  that  Hamlet's  single  friend, 
in  whom  he  placed  a  thorough  trust,  neither  by  word  nor 
act  shows  the  slightest  sign  of  a  belief  in  his  insanity. 
On  the  contrary,  he  at  once  accepts  the  idea  of  the  per- 
sonation, pledges  himself  to  secrecy,  takes  an  active  part 
in  the  discovery  of  the  king's  guilt,  and  encourages 
~'  Hamlet  to  execute  his  vengeance.  The  other  fact  is 
,^.that  in  the  story  from  which  Shakespeare  takes  his  plot 
'''  the  insanity  of  the  hero  is  avowedly  a  disguise  ;  and  that 
while  in  the  earlier  quarto  Shakespeare  gives  the  imita- 
tion a  much  closer  resemblance  to  reality,  in  the  later 
quarto  he  softens  down  the  picture,  apparently  in  ordei' 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

that  with  his  audience  there  may  arise  no  misconception 
of  the  truth. 

Incidentally  I  have  now  considered  the  question 
whether  Hamlet,  though  not  mad  at  the  outset,  becomes 
so  after  the  acting  of  the  Court-play ;  and  there  remains 
only  the  theory  that  he  was  neithe?-  mad  at  any  period 
nor  protended  to  be  mad.  This  is  Furncss's  position, 
and  "in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  has  faithfully  read  and 
reported  all  the  arguments  on  that  side,"  he  "  begs  the 
advocates  of  the  theory  of  feigned  insanity  to  allow  him, 
out  of  reciprocal  courtesy,  to  ask  how  they  account  for 
Hamlet's  being  able,  in  the  flash  of  time  between  the 
vanishing  of  the  Ghost  and  the  coming  of  Horatio  and 
MarccUus,  to  form,  horror-struck  as  he  was,  a  plan  for 
the  whole  conduct  of  his  future  lifel"  To  this  1  would 
reply  by  asking.  Does  Hamlet  form  such  plan  in  this 
moment  of  time  ?  I  think  not.  His  first  assumption  of 
eccentricity  or  mysterious  reserve  is  when  to  the  shouts 
of  Horatio  and  Marcellus,  "  HIo,  ho,  ho,  my  lord  ! ",  he 
answers  with  the  cry  used  by  falconers  to  reclaim 
their  hawk.s,  which  those  shouts  have  suggested. 
Now,  this  is  not  immediately  after  the  Ghost  has 
left  him,  for  he  has  had  time  for  considerable 
reflection,  and  for  Avriting  down  a  memorandum 
as  to  the  oath  he  has  given  to  the  Ghost.  If  during  that 
interval  he  also  comes  to  the  decision  that  it  Avill  not  Ije 
advisable  to  communicate  to  Horatio  and  Marcellus  what 
had  passed  since  he  left  them,  there  is  nothing  to  be 
wondered  at.  To  Horatio  alone  he  would  probably  Tiot 
have  hesitated  to  tell  the  whole  story,  but  with  Mar- 
cellus, a  mere  acquaintance,  it  is  dilVcrent.  He  has 
therefore  to  plan  .some  way  of  getting  out  of  the  diflicuVy, 


Xxvi  INTRODUCTION. 

and  the  accidental  form  of  the  shouts  to  which  he  replies 
suggests,  I  think,  the  idea  of  baffling  inquiry  by  the  use 
of  incoherent,  or  at  least  irrelevant,  answers.  His 
stratagem  succeeds,  and  for  a  time  he  holds  Horatio  and 
Mareellus  at  arms'  length.  But  before  separating  from 
them  he  determines  to  bind  his  companions  by  an  oath 
not  to  reveal  what  they  have  seen.  As  the  oath  is  being 
administered,  the  Ghost  from  beneath  three  several  times 
calls  upon  them  to  swear,  and  thus  greatly  emphasizes 
the  sanctity  of  their  pledge.  Possibly  under  temptation 
they  might,  or  at  least  Mareellus  might,  break  an  oath 
made  to  Hamlet  alone  ;  but  an  oath  fortified  by  terrors  of 
the  supernatural  is  something  too  dread  for  any  such 
treachery.  Hamlet  therefore  now  feels  secure  on  this 
point.  But  he  has  baffled  his  companions  by  an  appear- 
ance of  strangeness,  and  it  probably  now  occurs  to  him 
that  a  like  simulation  may  be  useful  in  the  difficulties 
before  him.  Such  simulation,  ho-\vever,  would  be  of  no 
avail  if  Mareellus  and  Horatio  were  free  to  speak  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  met  their  inquiries,  and  there- 
fore he  anticipates  all  risk  by  a  confession  that  he  may 
perchance  hereafter  think  meet  to  put  on  a  disposition 
similar  to  that  already  assumed  towards  them ;  while  by 
a  second  oath  of  equal  solemnity  to  the  former  one  he 
binds  them  not  so  much  as  to  give  the  faintest  hint  that 
if  they  chose  they  could  explain  his  strangeness,  and  to 
this  pledge  as  before  the  Ghost  from  beneath  adjures 
them.  It  therefore  seems  to  me  that  Hamlet's  resolu- 
tion, so  far  culy  a  "perchance,"  is  not  formed  in  the 
sudden  way  that  Furness  supposes ;  and  it  is  to  be 
further  observed  that  we  have  no  proof  of  that  resolution 
being  put  into  immediate  action.     Between  the  first  and 


INTRODUCTION.  xxvii 

second  Acts  a  considerable  time  has  elapsed,  lor 
Polonius's  conversation  with  his  servant  shows  that 
Laertes  must  have  been  in  Paris  for  some  weeks  at  all 
events.*  That  Hamlet's  lunacy  has  for  some  time  past 
been  observed  is,  indeed,  clear  ;  but  we  have  nothing  to 
show  that  he  has  not  had  an  ample  interval  to  mature 
into  a  distinct  and  consistent  plan  an  idea  which  at  first 
shadowed  itself  out  to  him  in  a  vague  indeterminate  shape. 

Since  the  days  of  Warburtun,  it  has  been  vigorously  The  "one 

•'  _  o  J    speech    ;  il 

disputed  whether  this  speech  was  of  Shakespeare's  own  '-i-  42(i-94. 
writing,  or  was  borrowed  from  some  old  drama  ;  whether, 
if  Shakespeai'e's,  it  was  Avritten  for  the  occasion,  or  was 
part  of  a  tragedy  he  had  lying  by  him  ;  whether,  again, 
if  his  own,  it  was  intended  to  be  a  satirical  imitation  of 
the  turgid  dramas  in  vogue  before  his  time,  or  an  attempt 
to  show  how  much  better  than  his  contemporaries  he 
could  write  on  such  a  theme ;  finally,  Avhether,  whoever 
the  author,  Handet's  commendations  are  to  be  taken  as 
serious  or  as  ironical.  My  own  conviction  is  that  it  is 
Shakespeare's  own  work  speciall}'  done  for  the  occasion  ; 
that  the  intention  is  incidentally  to  ridicule  the  tumid 
style  of  the  older  tragedians;!  that  the  praise  put  into 
Hamlet's  moutli  is  in  ironical  excuse  for  introducing  such 
bombast ;  that  the  effect  produced  upon  the  actor  who 
recites  the  lines  is  emphasized  merely  in  order  to  contrast 
the  weakness  of  the  motive  by  which  he  is  stirred  to  such 
emotion  with  the  greatness  of  the  motive  by  which 
Hamlet  ought  to  have  been  aroused  to  action.  It  seems 
impossible  to  believe  that  Shakespeare  could  at  any  time 
have  regarded  as  real  poetry  such  lines  as  435-40,  449-55, 
471-3,  481-94;  still  less  that  when  he  wrote  Ilamld  he 
should  seriously  commend  them. 

*  Op.  al.Ho  Opliclia's  wuiJs,  iii.  •_'.  lai.         tSeo  additioiiiil  note  on  \>.  xxxiL 


Xxviii  INTRODUCTION. 

The  "dozen         Oil  this  point  the  controversv  is  as  to  whether  the  lines 

or  sixteen  .,. 

lines " ;  ii.  •-'.  vvhich  Hamlet  had  promised  to  insert  in  the  play  are  to 
be  found  in  it  at  all,  and,  if  so,  Avhich  they  are.  Sievers, 
who  was  apparently  the  first  critic  to  draw  attention  to 
the  question,  supposed  that  11.  245-50,  in  iii.  2.,  represent 
all  that  were  actually  delivered,  the  speech  being  inter- 
rupted by  the  king's  rising.  To  the  Cowden  Clarkes  the 
marked  difference  in  diction  and  thought  of  11.  182-207 
as  compared  with  the  rest  of  the  play  indicates  them  as 
Hamlet's  insertion  ;  and  further  they  point  out  that  if 
those  lines  be  omitted,  there  is  no  break  in  the  sense. 
Malleson,  in  answer  to  this  supposition,  remarks  first 
that  these  lines  "  do  not  apply  to  the  king's  character  or 
position,  but  rather  to  Hamlet  himself:  (2)  there  is 
nothing  in  them  of  the  torrent,  tempest,  and  whirlwind 
of  passion  that  Hamlet  was  so  anxious  should  not  be 
torn  into  tatters;  and,  lastly,  there  was  one  scene 
which  Hamlet  tells  Horatio  is  to  be  the  test,  during 
which  he  is  to  watch  the  king  with  every  faculty  of  his 
being,  while  Hamlet  will  do  the  same  during  one  speech. 
Beyond  doubt  the  scene  is  where  poison  is  poured  into 
the  Player-King's  ear,  and  here,  likewise,  at  the  crisis  of 
the  plot  is  to  be  found  the  speech,  viz.  '  Thoughts  black,' 
etc.,  and  this  is  Hamlet's  addition  to  the  play  "...  Seeley, 
on  the  other  hand,  believed  that  the  dozen  or  sixteen 
lines  were  some  of  those  which  make  up  the  long  speech 
beginning  '  I  do  believe  you  think  what  now  you  speak.' 
Two  chai-acteristics,  he  points  out,  the  inserted  speech 
must  have,  (1)  it  must  consist  of  some  dozen  or  sixteen 
lines  ;  (2)  being  an  insertion,  it  must  be  such  a  speech 
as  can  be  removed  without  affecting  the  action  of  the 
play )  and  in  no  other  speech  ai'e  these  characteristics 


INTRODUCTION  xxix 

found.  Ingleb}-  holds  that  Hamlet  writes  no  speech  at 
all,  whether  of  six,  twelve  or  sixteen  lines,  nor  recites 
such  a  speech.  Finally,  Furness  sums  up  the  contro- 
versy, and  as  it  seems  to  me  conclusively,  in  the  follow- 
ing words  :  "  It  is  to  task  the  credulity  of  an  audience  too 
severely  to  represent  the  possibility  of  Hamlet's  finding 
an  old  play  exactly  fitted  to  Claudius's  crime,  not  only 
in  the  plot,  but  in  all  the  accessories,  even  to  a  single 
speech  which  should  tent  the  criminal  to  the  very  quick. 
In  order,  therefore,  to  give  an  air  of  probability  to  wliat 
everyone  would  feel  to  be  thus  highly  improbable, 
Shakespeare  represents  Hamlet  as  adapting  an  old  play 
to  his  present  needs  by  inserting  in  it  some  jjointed  lines. 
Not  that  such  lines  were  actually  inserted,  but,  mindful 
of  this  proposal  of  Hamlet's,  the  spectator  is  prepared  to 
listen  to  a  play  which  is  to  unkennel  the  king's  occulted 
guilt  in  a  certain  speech;  the  verisimilitude  of  all  the 
circumstances  is  thus  maintained.  No  matter  how  direct 
or  pointed  the  allusion  to  the  king's  guilt  may  be,  we 
accept  it  all,  secure  under  Shakespeare's  promise  that  the 
play  shall  be  made  to  hit  Claudius  fatally.  And  we  hear 
the  allusion  to  this  promise  in  Hamlet's  cry  of  exultation 
over  the  .success  of  his  attempt  at  play-writing  "...  The 
arguments  as  I  have  stated  them  are  but  a  brief  summary 
of  the  controversy  as  summarized  in  tlie  New  Vanwnm 
Shale.<!peare. 

If  the  word  of  the  Grave  digger  in  v.  1.  is  to  ])e  taken,  namiefs 
Hamlet  was  at  the  time  exactly  thirty  years  old.  There 
are,  however,  several  difficulties  in  the  way  of  Vjelieving 
his  statement.  Some  of  these  are  that  Hamlet  and  his 
associates  are  still  at  the  University  ;  that  to  sjjcak  of 
the  love  of  a  man  of  thirty  as  "  a  violet  in  the  youth  of 


XXX 


INTRODUCTION. 


primy  nature "  would  be  ridiculous ;  that  if  Hamlet 
were  thirty,  his  mother  would  hardly  be  the  object  of 
such  a  passion  as  that  of  Claudius  ;  that  Laertes  when 
cautioning  his  sister  against  entertaining  Hamlet's  profters 
of  love,  evidently  speaks  of  him  as  being  at  an  age  of 
changeful  fancies  and  fleeting  attachments  ;  that  much 
of  Hamlet's  behaviour  indicates  the  daring,  wilful, 
defiant  action  of  a  high-spirited,  sensitive  youth  ;  that  at 
the  age  of  thirty  Hamlet  would  not  have  tamely  sub- 
mitted to  his  uncle's  usurpation  and  been  contented  to 
go  back  to  the  University.  On  the  other  hand  it  is 
urged  as  utterly  improbable  that  Hamlet's  soliloquies 
should  have  been  put  into  the  mouth  of  a  youth  of 
seventeen ;  that  none  of  Shakespeare's  heroes  are  so 
juvenile  ;  that  Hamlet's  observations  on  societj*  ]>oint  to 
considerable  experience  of  the  ways  of  the  world  ;  that 
his  schoolfellov/s  would  not  be  of  an  age  to  be  sent  on  a 
critical  mission  to  England  ;  that  Shakespeare  elsewhere 
speaks  of  men  as  being  still  young  at  thirty-five,  or  even 
forty.  The  only  satisfactory  conclusion  on  the  subject 
seems  to  me  that  suggested  by  Furnivall.  "  I  look  upon 
it  as  certain,"  he  says,  "  that  when  -Shakespeare  began 
the  play  he  conceived  Hamlet  as  quite  a  young  man. 
But  as  the  play  grew,  as  greater  weight  of  reflection,  of 
insight  into  character,  of  knowledge  of  life,  etc.,  were 
wanted,  Shakespeare  necessarily  and  naturally  made 
Hamlet  a  formed  man  ;  and,  by  the  time  that  he  got  to 
the  Grave-diggers'  scene,  told  us  the  Prince  was  thirty, — 
the  right  age  for  him  then ;  but  not  his  age  when 
Laertes  and  Polonius  warned  Ophelia  against  his  blood 
that  burned,  his  youthful  fancy  for  her, — '  a  toy  in 
blood.' " 


INTRODUC:rU)X.  xxxi 

The  followini^  is  Daniel's  Time  Anah'sis  as  o;iven  in  Pmation  of 

1  -  I      I     *"  o  y       m  ^'"^  Action. 

the  i\i'u-  tihakspere  Sonety s  Transactions  for  1877-9,  pp. 
214,:.: 

* 

Dav  1.   Act  i.  sc.  1-3. 

Day  2.   Act  i.  sc   4  and  5.     An  interval  of  rather 

more  than  two  months. 
Day  3.   Act  ii.  sc.  1  and  2. 
Day  4.  Act  iii.  sc.  1-4 — Act.  iv.  sc.  1-3. 
Day  5.  Act  iv.  sc.  i.\\  An  interval — a  week? 
Day  6.  Act  iv.  sc.  5-7. 
Day  7.   Act  v.  sc.  1  and  2. 

For  the  interval  of  one  week  Marshall,  A  Study  of  Hamlet, 
gives  two  niunths,  which  Daniel  considers  "  inconsistent 
with  the  movements  of  the  principal  personage  of  the 
drama.  Hamlet's  •  sudden  and  more  strange  return  '  (iv. 
7.  47,  8),  and  the  king's  comment  thereon  (11.  Gl-3),  are 
op])Osed  to  the  notion  of  a  longer  period  than  the  lapse 
of  a  few  days  since  his  departure  ". . .  Marshall  marks  an 
interval  of  two  days  after  iv.  7,  and  gives  two  days  as 
the  time  of  Act  v. 


xxxii  INTRODUCTION. 


Note  referred  to  on  page  xviii. 

When  Marston,  The  Malcontent,  iii.  1.  250,  puts  into  the 
mouth  of  the  disguised  Malevole  the  words  "  lUo,  ho,  ho,  \\o\ 
art  there,  old  trufpeuny  ?  "  he  does  it  to  mark  the  sudden  cluuige 
of  Malevole's  liehaviour  on  the  entrance  of  Mendoza,  before 
whom  it  is  necessary  to  keep  up  the  disguise  which  for  a  time 
he  had  laid  aside  when  talking  with  his  contidant,  Celso. 


Note  referred  to  on  page  xxvii. 

Though  Shakespeare  may  have  known  other  English  versions 
of  the  story,  I  think  he  must  have  had  in  mind  (not  necessarily 
for  the  purpose  of  ridicule)  Marlowe's  Tragedy  of  Dido,  Queen  of 
Carthage.  With  11.  431-4,  cp.  Dido,  ii.  1.  215-17,  "At  last  came 
Pj'rrhus,  fell  and  full  of  ire.  His  harness  dropping  blood,  and  on 
his  spear  The  mangled  head  of  Priam's  youneest  son  "'  ;  with 
1.  4.39,  cp.  11.  230,  31,  "He  [Pyrrhus],  with  his  falchion  point 
raised  up  at  once.  And  with  Meg;era's  eyes,"  etc.  ;  Mith  11.  444-50, 
cp.  11.  251-55,  "Whereat  he  [Priam]  lifted  up  his  bed-rid  limbs. 
And  would  have  grappled  with  Achilles'  son,  Foi'getting  both  his 
want  of  strength  and  hands  ;  Which  he  disdaining,  whisk'd  his 
sword  about.  And  with  the  wind  thereof  the  king  fell  down." 
Of  Virgil's  account,  Aeneid,  Bk.  ii.,  there  is  scarcely  an  echo  in 
Shakespeare,  unless  11.  544-46,  "  >Sic  fatus  senior,  telum(|ue  inbelle 
.sine  ictu  Coniecit,  I'auco  quod  pi'otinus  aere  repulsuni,  Et  summo 
clipei  nequic|uaTn  lunbone  pependit  "  be  thought  to  have  suggested 
"  Anon  ...  command." 


HAMLET,  PRINCE    OF    DENMARK. 


V  courtiers. 


DRAMATIS   PERSON.^. 

Claudhts,  king  of  Denmark. 

Hamlet,  son  to  the  late,  and  nephew  to  the  present  king. 

PoLONius,  lord  chamberlain. 

Horatio,  friend  to  Hamlet. 

Laertes,  son  to  Polonius. 

voltimand,         \ 

Cornelius, 

rosencrantz, 

Guildenstern, 

OSRIC, 

A  Gentleman, 

A  Priest. 

Marcellus.  \  ^^^^^3 

Bernardo,     ' 

Francisco,  a  soldier. 

Reynaldo,  servant  to  Polonius. 

Players. 

Two  Clowns,  grave-diggers. 

FoRTiNBRAS,  prince  of  Norway. 

A  Captain. 

English  Ambassadors. 

Gertrude,  queen  of  Denmark,  and  mother  to  Hamlet. 
Ophelia,  daughter  to  Polonius. 

Lords,  Ladies,  Officers,  Soldiers,  Sailors,  Messengers,  and  other 

Attendants. 

Ghost  of  Hamlet's  Father. 

Scene  :  Denmark, 


\\ 


G.TT^V^V 


HAMLET,  PRINCE   OF   DENMARK. 

ACT  I. 

Scene  I.     Elsinore.     A  platform  before  the  castle. 
Francisco  at  his  post.     Enter  to  him  Bernardo. 

Ber.  Who's  theie? 

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.     10 

Ber.  Well,  good  night. 
If  you  do  meet  Horatio  and  Marcellus, 
The  rivals  of  my  watch,  bid  them  make  haste. 

/^mn.  I  think  I  hear  them.     Stand,  ho  !     Who's  there? 

Enter  Horatio  and  Marcellus. 

Hot.  Friends  to  this  ground. 

Mar.  And  liegemen  to  the  Dane./«..Cc.-'<!L^/>C-^ 

Fran.  Give  you  good  night.  j/ 

«  3 


4  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

Mar.  O,  farewell,  honest  soldier  : 

Who  hath  relieved  you  ? 

Fran.  Bernardo  has  my  place. 

Give  you  good  night.  \^Exit. 

Mar.  Holla  !  Bernardo  ! 

Ber.  Say.  J^^  > 

What,  is  Horatio  there ?  -  1  %Y^y^*^ 

Hor.  A  piece  of  him.  VflM-'^     V^ 

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  awhile  ;      30 

And  let  us  once  again  assail  your  ears. 

That  are  so  fortified  against  our  story, 

What  we  have  two  nights  seen. 

Hor.  Well,  sit  we  down, 

And  let  us  hear  Bernardo  speak  of  this. 
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  !  40 
Ber.  In  the  same  figure,  like  the  king  that's  dead. 
Mar.  Thou  art  a  scholar  ;  speak  to  it,  Horatio. 
Ber.  Looks  it  not  like  the  king  ?  mark  it,  Horatio. 


)^ 


SCENE  I.]  HAMLET.  6 

Hor.  Most  like  :  it  l>ari(v\vs  nie  with  fear  and  wonder. iJ^  ^*SiiZ^^,/^^^<3 . 

Ber.  It  would  be  spoke  to.  / 

Mar.  Question  it,  Homtio. 

Hor.  What  art  thou  that  usurp'st  this  time  of  night, 
Tojrether  with  that  fair  and  warlike  form 
In  which  the  majesty  of  buried  Denmark 
Did  sometimes  march  ?  bv  heaven  I  charge  thee,  speak  ! 

Mar.   It  is  oflended. 

lier.  See;  it  stalks  away  !  50 

Har.  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? 

Ilur.  Before  my  God,  I  might  not  this  believe 

Without  *]\f  <t-i^<ih\f>  and  triip  avniirh     //..Ayr-i^  <-  i 

Of  mine  own  eyes.  ^*^^^?^'^^V^'W' J  yZU^i^^^ 

Mar.  Is  it  not  like  the  king  ;'-'^ZLfc     I ^  <f  i^^y^i^ /'^^^      . 


Hor.  As  thou  art  to  thyself  : 
Such  was  the  very  armour  he  had  on 
When  he  the  ambitious  Norway  combated  ; 
So  frown'd  he  once,  when,  in  an  angry  parle, 
He  smote  the  sledded  Polacks  on  the  ice. 
'Tis  strange. 

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  o|)iiiion, 
This  IxKJes  some  strange  eruption  to  our  state. 

Mar.  Goo<l  now,  sit  down,  and  tell  me,  he  that  knows,    70 
Why  this  same  strict  and  most  observant  watch 
So  nightly  toils  tlie  subjwt  of  the  land, 
And  why  such  daily  cast  of  brazen  cannon. 
And  foreign  mart  for  implements  of  war  ; 
Why  such  inn)re8S  of  shipwrights,  whose  sore  task 


80 


6  HAMLET.  [acti. 

Does  not  divide  the  Sunday  from  the  week  ; 
Wliat  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, 
Whose  image  even  but  now  api)ear'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  : 
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  Handet.     Now,  sir,  young  Fortinbras, 
Of  unimproved  mettle  hot  and  full, 
Hath  in  the  skirts  of  Norway  here  and  there 
Shark'd  up  a  list  of  lawless  resolutes, 
For  food  and  diet,  to  some  enterprise 

That  hath  a  stomach  in 't ;  which  is  no  other —  100 

As  it  doth  well  appear  unto  our  state — 
But  to  recover  of  us,  by  strong  hand 
And  terms  compulsative,  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  110 


f 


SCENK  I.] 


HAMLET. 


That  was  and  is  the  question  of  these  wars. 

Hor.  A  mote  it  is  to  trouble  tlie  mind's  eye. 
In  the  most  liigli  and  pahny  state  of  Rome, 
A  little  ere  the  mightiest  Julius  fell, 
The  graves  stood  tenantless  and  the  sheeted  dead 
Did  squeak  and  gibber  in  the  Roman  streets : 
As  stars  witli  trains  of  tire  and  dews  of  blood, 
Disasters  in  the  sun  ;  and  the  moist  star 
Upon  whose  influence  Neptune's  empire  stands 
Was  sick  almost  to  doomsda}'  with  eclipse 
And  even  the  like  precurse  of  fierce  events 
As  harbingers  preceding  still  the  fates. 
And  prologvie  to  the  omen  coming  on, 
Have  heaven  and  earth  together  demonstrated 
l^nto  our  climatures  and  countrymen. — 
But  soft,  behold  !  lo,  where  it  comes  again  ! 

Re-enter  Ghost. 

I  '11  cross  it,  though  it  blast  me.     Stay,  illusion  ! 

If  thou  hast  any  sound,  or  use  of  voice, 

Speak  to  me  : 

If  there  be  any  good  thing  to  be  done, 

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  whicli,  they  say,  you  spirits  oft  walk  in  death, 

Speak  of  it :  stay,  and  speak  !     Stop  it,  Marcellus. 

Mar.  Shall  I  strike  it  with  my  partisan  ? 

Ilor.  Do,  if  it  will  not  stand. 

Brr.  'Tis  here  ? 

Hor.  'Tis  here  ? 


130 


[Cock  crows. 


140 


Mar    'Tis  gone  I 


[£xit  Ghost. 


8  HAMLET.  [A9T1. 

We  do  it  wrong,  being  so  majestical, 

To  offer  it  the  show  of  violence  ; 

For  it  is,  as  the  air,  invuhierable. 

And  our  vain  blows  malii-i'^"'^  i-[^pfl-Qr^r  /v^    19A 

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, 
Wliether  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. 
Some  say  that  ever  'gainst  that  season  comes 
Wherein  our  Saviour's  birth  is  celebrated. 
The  bird  of  dawning  singeth  all  night  long  :  160 

And  then,  they  say,  no  spirit  dare  stir  abroad  ;  jl 

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  eastern  hill  : 
Break  we  our  watch  up  ;  and  by  my  advice, 
Let  us  impart  what  we  have  seen  to-night 
Unto  young  Hamlet  ;  for,  upon  my  life,  170 

This  spirit,  dumb  to  us,  will  speak  to  him. 
Do  you  consent  we  shall  acquaint  him  Avith  it. 
As  needful  in  our  loves,  fitting  our  duty  ? 

Mar.  Let 's  do 't,  I  pray  ;  and  I  this  morning  know 
Where  we  shall  find  him  most  conveniently.  [Exeimt. 


SCENE  II.]  HAMLET.  9 

Scene  II.     A  room  of  state  in  the  castle. 

Enter  the  King,  Queen,  Hamlet,  Polonius,  Laertes,  Volti- 
MAND,  Cornelius,  Lords,  and  Attendants. 

King.  Tliough  yet  of  Hamlet  our  dear  brother's  death 
The  memory  ]>e  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. 
Therefore  our  sometime  sister,  now  our  queen, 
The  imperial  jointress  to  this  warlike  state, 
Have  we,  as  'twere  with  a  defeated  joy, —  10 

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. 
N(nv  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  he  disjoint  and  out  of  frame,  20 

Colleagued  with  the  dream  of  his  advantage, 
He  hath  not  fail'd  to  pester  us  with  message. 
Importing  the  surren<ler  of  those  lands 
Lost  by  his  father,  with  all  bonds  of  law, 
To  our  most  valiant  brother.     So  niuch  foi'  him. 
Now  for  ounself  and  for  this  time  of  meeting  : 
\Tlius  much  the  business  is\  we  have  here  writ 
To  Norway,  uncle  of  young  Fortinbras, — 
Who,  impotent  ami  bed-rid,  scarcely  hears 
Of  this  his  nephew's  p\irpo.se, — to  suppress  30 

His  further  gait  herein  ;  in  that  the  levies, 


10  HAMLET.  [ACT  i. 

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  dilated  articles  allow. 

Fai'ewell,  and  let  your  haste  commend  your  duty. 

J-  In  that  and  all  things  will  we  show  our  duty.        40 

King.  We  doubt  it  nothing  :  heartily  farewell. 

[^Exeunt  Voltimand  and  Cornelius. 
And  now,  Laertes,  what 's  the  news  with  you  ? 
You  told  us  of  some  suit ;  what  is 't,  Laertes  ? 
You  cannot  speak  of  reason  to  the  Dane, 
And  lose  your  voice  :  what  wouldst  thou  beg,  Laertes, 
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.  Mv  dread  lord. 

Your  leave  and  favour  to  return  to  France  ; 
From  whence  though  willingly  I  came  to  Denmai'k, 
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. 

King.  Take  thy  fair  hour,  Laertes  ;  time  be  thine, 
And  thy  best  graces  spend  it  at  thy  will  ! 
But  now,  my  cousin  Hamlet,  and  my  son, — 


scENK  n.]  HAMLKT.  11 

Ham.  [Aside]  A  little  more  than  kin,  and  less  than  kind. 

Kinij.  How  is  it  that  the  clouds  still  hang  on  you  ? 

Ham.  Not  so,  my  lord  ;  I  am  too  much  i'  the  sun. 

Qiteeii.  Goo<i  Hamlet,  cast  thy  nighted  colour  off, 
And  let  thine  eye  look  like  a  friend  on  Denmark. 
Do  not  for  ever  with  thy  vailed  lids  70 

Seek  for  thy  noble  father  in  the  dust  : 
Thou  know'st  'tis  connnon  ;  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  ? 

Hayn.  Seems,  madam  !  nay,  it  is  ;  I  know  not  'seems.' 
'Tis  not  alone  my  inky  cloak,  good  mother, 
Nor  customary  suits  of  solemn  black,  "^^^ 

Nor  windv  .suspiration  of  forced  breath,  ^^'y^/      j- 
No,  nor  the  fruitful  river  in  the  eye,       '^'^'If*^^"  /j 
Nor  the  dejected  'haviour  of  the  visage,  u^^T^*^"^^ 
Together  with  all  forms,  modes,  shapes  of  {ip'ief,      / 
That  can  denote  me  truly  :  these  indeed  seem, 
For  they  are  actions  that  a  man  might  l>lay  : 
But  I  have  that  within  which  passeth  show ; 
These  but  the  trappings  and  the  suits  of  woe. 

Kinq.  '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  soriow  :  but  to  persever 
In  obstinate  condolfnient  is  a  course 
Of  impious  .stubbornness  ;  'tis  unmanly  grief  ; 
It  shows  a  will  most  incorrect  to  heaven, 
A  licait  unfortified,  a  luiud  ini](;i.ticiit, 
An  un<lcrstun<ling  siniplc  and  unschool'd  : 
For  what  we  know  must  be,  an<l  is  as  common 
As  any  the  most  vulgar  thing  to  sense, 


12  HAMLET.  [act  1. 

Why  should  we  in  our  peevish  opposition  100 

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  110 

Than  that  wliich  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. 

Queen.  Let  not  thy  mother  lose  her  prayers,  Hamlet : 
I  pray  thee,  stay  with  us  ;  go  not  to  Wittenberg. 

Ham.  I  shall  in  all  my  best  obey  you,  madam.  120 

King.  Why,  'tis  a  loving  and  a  fair  reply  : 
Be  as  ourself  in  Denmark.     Madam,  come  ; 
This  gentle  and  unforced  accord  of  Hamlet 
Sits  smiling  to  m}'  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  heavens  shall  bruit  again. 
Re-speaking  earthly  thunder.     Come  away. 

[E.veunt  all  hut  Hamlet. 

Ham.  O,  that  this  too  too  solid  flesh  would  melt. 
Thaw  and  resolve  itself  into  a  dew  !  130 

Or  that  the  Everlasting  had  not  fix'd 
His  canon  'gainst  self-slaughter  !     O  God  !  God  I 
How  weary,  stale,  fiat  and  unprofitable. 
Seem  to  me  all  the  uses  of  this  world  ! 


SCENE  11.]  HAMLET.  13 

Fie  on  't !  all  fie  !  'tis  an  unweeded  garden, 

Tliat  grows  to  seed  ;  tilings  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, 

H^gerion  to  a  satyr  ;  so  loving  to  my  mother  140 

That  he  might  not  beteem  the  winds  of  heaven 

Visit  her  face  t()o  roughly.     Heaven  and  earth  ! 

Must  I  remember  ?  why,  she  would  hang  on  him, 

As  if  increase  of  appetite  had  grown 

By  wliat  it  fed  on  :  and  yet,  within  a  month — 

Let  me  not  think  on 't — .Frailty,  tliy  nanu^  is  wouioh  ! — 

A  little  month,  or  ere  those  shoes  were  olil 

With  which  she  follow'd  my  poor  fathers  body, 

Like  Niobe,  all  tears  : — why  she,  even  she — 

O  Gotl  !  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  mo.st  unrighteous  tears 

Had  left  tlie  flushing  in  her  j^alled  eyes. 

She  married.     O,  most  wicked  speed,  to  jKist  ^     jL//^    ^  {l.^C^^i^*l^ 

With  such  dexterity  to  incestuous  sheets  !  fil^    i»-t«-^'*^       7 

It  is  not  nor  it  cannot  come  to  good  :  f  { 

But  break,  my  heart  ;  for  I  mu.st  hold  my  tongue. 

Enter  Horatio,  Maucellus,  and  Bernakdo. 

Hor.  Hail  to  your  lord.ship  ! 

Ham.  I  am  glad  to  see  you  wtll  :     160 

Horatio, — or  do  I  forget  myself. 

Hor.  The  same,  my  lord,  and  your  poor  servant  ever. 

Ham.  Sir,  my  good  friend;    I'll  change  that   name  with 
you  : 
And  what  make  you  from  Wittenberg,  Horatio  ? 
MarcelluB  ? 


U  HAMLET.  [ACT  I. 

Mar.  M}'  good  loi'd — 

Ham.  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you.     Good  even,  sir. 
But  what,  ill  faith,  make  you  from  Wittenberg?       -       - 

Hor.  A  truant  disposition,  good  my  lord.  ^14^/  ^^-CX-'y^ 

Ham.  I  would  not  hear  your  enemy  say  so,    t^^u*^*^^jh^ 
Nor  shall  you  do  mine  ear  that  violence,  ^.^X-^'-'^^*^^ 

To  make  it  truster  of  your  own  report 
Against  yourself  :  I  know  you  are  no  truant. 
But  what  is  your  affair  in  Elsinore  ? 
We  'II  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.  181 

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.  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. 

Ham.  Saw?  who?  190 

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. 

Ham.  For  God's  love,  let  me  hear. 

Hor.  Two  nights  together  had  these  gentlemen. 
Marcellus  and  Bernardjo,  on  their  watch, 
In  the  dead  vast  and  middle  of  the  night, 


SCENE  II.]  HAMLET,  15 

Been  thus  encountei-'d.     A  figure  like  your  father, 

Armed  at  point  exactly,  cap-a-pe,  200 

A]i|x>ai-s  before  tliem,  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  kej)t  the  watch  : 

Where,  as  they  had  deliver'd,  both  in  time, 

Form  of  the  thing,  each  word  made  true  and  good,  210 

Tlie  apparition  comes  :  I  knew  your  father  ; 

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. 
And  at  the  sound  it  shrunk  in  haste  away. 
And  vanish'd  from  our  sight. 

Ham.  'Tis  very  strange.  220 

Hot:  As  I  do  live,  my  honour'd  lord,  'tis  true  ; 
And  we  diil  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? 

We  do,  my  lord. 

H:im.  Arm'd,  say  you  ? 

Mar. )  A       » 1  1      1 

_       \  Armd,  m\  lord. 

Her.  ) 

Hum.  From  top  to  toe  ? 


1 6  HAMLET.  [ACT  I. 

^^"''-  \  Mv  lonl,  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  lie  frowningly  ? 

Hor.  A  countenance  more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger.        230 

Ham.  Pale  or  red  ? 

Hor.  Nay,  very  pale. 

Ham.  And  fix'd  his  eyes  upon  you  ? 

//^o/'.  Most  constantly. 

Ho7n.  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. 

^^"^'■-  \   Longer,  longer. 
Ber.  ) 

Hor.  Not  when  I  saw 't. 

Ham.  His  beard  was  grizzled, — no  ? 

Hor.  It  was,  as  I  have  seen  it  in  his  life, 
A  sable  silver'd. 

Ham.  I  will  watch  to-night ;  240 

Perchance  'twill  walk  again. 

Hor.  I  warrant  it  will. 

Ham.  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 : 
Upon  the  platform,  'twixt  eleven  and  twelve,  250 

I  '11  visit  you. 

All.  Our  duty  to  your  honour. 

Ham.  Your  loves,  as  mine  to  you  :  farewell. 

[Exeunt  all  hut  Hamlet. 


SCENE  II.]  HAMLET.  17 

My  father'.s  spirit  in  arms  !  all  is  not  wi'll  ; 

I  doubt  some  foul  play  :  would  the  night  were  come  ! 

Till  then  sit  still,  my  sovd  :  foul  deeds  will  ri.se, 

Though  all  the  eaitli  d'erwhelm  them,  to  men's  eyes.      [Exit. 


Scene  III.     .1  room  in  Polonms'  ho%ise. 
Enter  Laertes  and  Ophelia. 

Laer.  My  necessaries  are  embark'd  :  farewell : 
And,  sister,  as  the  winds  give  benefit 
And  convoy  is  assistant,  do  not  sleep, 
But  let  me  hear  from  you. 

Oph.  Do  you  doubt  that  ? 

Laer.  For  Hamlet  and  the  trifling  of  his  favour, 
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  siippliance  of  a  minute  ; 
No  more 

Oph.         No  more  but  so  ? 

Laer.  Think  it  no  more :  10 

For  nature,  crescent,  does  not  grow  alone 
In  thews  and  bulk,  but,  as  this  temjjle  waxes. 
The  inward  service  of  the  mind  and  soul 
Grows  wide  withal.     Perhaps  he  loves  you  now, 
And  now  no  soil  nor  cautel  doth  besmiich 
The  virtue  of  his  will  :  but  you  must  fear, 
His  greatness  weigh'd,  his  will  is  not  his  own  ; 
For  he  himst'lf  is  suV)ject  to  his  birth  : 
He  may  not,  as  luivalued  jiersons  do. 

Carve  for  himself  ;  for  on  his  choice  depends  20 

The  safety  and  the  health  of  the  whole  state  ; 
And  therefoie  must  his  choice  be  cir(um.scril>e<l 
Unto  the  voice  and  yielding  of  that  body 
Whereof  he  is  the  head.     Then  if  he  says  he  loves  you, 

e 


18  HAMLET.  [ACT  I. 

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, 

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  jmstors  do, 
Show  me  the  steep  and  thorny  way  to  heaven  ; 
Whiles,  like  a  puff  d  and  reckless  libertine, 
Himself  the  primrose  path  of  dalliance  treads,  50 

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  ! 


II 


SCENE  III.]  HAMLET.  19 

And  tliese  few  precepts  in  thy  memory 
See  thou  character.     Give  thy  thoufflita  no  tongue, 
Nor  any  unproportionVi  thought  hi.s  act.  60 

Be  tliou  familiar,  but  by  no  means  vulgar. 
Those  friends  thou  hast,  and  their  adoption  tried, 
(}rapj)le  them  to  thy  soul  with  hoops  of  steel  ; 
But  do  not  dull  thy  jialm  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  ;  rich,  not  gaudy  ; 
For  the  apjiarel  oft  proclaims  the  man, 
And  they  in  France  of  the  best  rank  and  station 
Are  most  select  and  generous,  chief  in  that. 
Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be  ;        • 
For  loan  oft  loses  both  itself  and  friend. 
And  boiTowing  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  you  ;  go  ;  your  servants  tend. 

Laer.  Farewell,  Ophelia  ;  and  remember  well 
What  I  liave  said  to  you. 

Oph.  'Tis  in  my  memory  lock'd. 

And  you  yourself  shall  kee|)  the  key  of  it. 

Laer.   Farewell.  \E.vit. 

Pol.  What  is't,  Ophelia,  he  hath  saiil  to  you  ? 

Oph.  So  plea.se  you,  something  touching  the  Lord  Hamlet. 

Pol.  Marry,  well  bethougiit  :  90 

'Tis  told  me,  he  hath  very  oft  of  late 
Given  private  time  to  you  ;  and  you  yijunself 


20  HAMLET.  [ACT  T. 

Have  of  your  audience  been  most  free  and  bounteous  : 

If  it  be  so,  as  so  'tis  put  on  nie, 

And  that  in  way  of  caution,  I  must  tell  you, 

You  do  not  understand  yourself  so  clearly 

As  it  behoves  my  daughter  and  your  honour. 

What  is  between  you  ?  give  me  up  the  truth. 

Oph.  He  hath,  my  lord,  of  late  made  many  tenders 
Of  his  affection  to  me.  100 

Pol.  Affection  !  pooh  !  you  speak  like  a  green  girl, 
Unsifted  in  such  perilous  circumstance. 
Do  you  believe  his  tenders,  as  you  call  them  ? 

Oph.  I  do  not  know,  my  lord,  what  I  should  think. 

Pol.  Marry,  I  '11  teach  you  :  think  yourself  a  baby  ; 
That  you  have  ta'ea  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  110 

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  woodcocJa.     I  «lo  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  somewhat  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 
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,  ; 


a^. 


SCRNE  III.] 


HAMLET. 


21 


Bat  mere  implorator.s  of  unholy  siiits^ 
Breatliiug  like  sanctitied  and  pious  Ijawds, 
The  better  to  beguile.     This  is  for  all  : 
I  would  not,  ill  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. 

Uor.  It  is  a  nipping  and  an  eager  air. 

Ham.  What  hour  now  >. 

Hur.  I  think  it  lacks  of  twelve. 

Mar.  No,  it  is  struck. 

Hor.  Indeed  ?      I  heard  it  not :    then  it  draws  near  the 
season 
Wherein  the  spirit  held  his  wont  to  walk. 

{A  flourish  of  trumpets,  and  ordnance  shot  off,  within. 
What  does  this  mean,  my  lord  ? 

Ham.  The  king  doth  wake  to-night  and  takes  his  rouse,         >> 
Keeps  wa-ssail,  and  the  swaggering  up-sjiriiig  reels  ;  /^X^Z-^--^--^ 
And,  as  lie  drains  his  draughts  of  Rhenish  down,  10      / 

The  kettle-drum  and  trumpet  thus  bray  out 
The  triumph  of  his  pledge. 

Hor.  Is  it  a  custom  ? 

Ham.  Ay,  marry,  is 't  : 
But  to  my  miiul,  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 


I 


22  HAMLET.  [ACTi. 

Soil  our  addition  ;  and  indeed  it  takes  20 

From  our  achievements,  though  ])erform'd  at  height, 

The  ])ith  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,  30 

Carrying,  I  say,  the  stamp  of  one  defect. 

Being  nature's  livery,  or  fortune's  star, — 

Their  virtues  else,  be  they  as  pure  as  grace, 

As  infinite  as  man  may  undergo, 

Shall  in  the  general  censure  take  corruption 

From  that  particular  fault :  the  dram  of  liase 

Doth  all  the  noble  substance  often  dout 

To  his  own  scandal. 

Hor.  Look,  my  lord,  it  comes  ! 

Enter  Ghost. 

Ham.  Angels  and  ministers  of  grace  defend  us  ! 
Be  thou  a  spirit  of  health  or  goblin  damn'd,  40 

Bring  with  thee  airs  from  heaven  or  blasts  from  hell, 
Be  thy  intents  wicked  or  charitable, 
Thou  comest  in  such  a  questionable  shape 
That  I  will  speak  to  thee  :  I  '11  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  ma^  this  mean, 
That  thou,  dead  corse,  again  in  complete  steel 


scKNEiv.]  HA^ILET.  33 

Revisit'st  thus  the  glimpses  of  the  moon,' 
Makiiii^  iiiL^ht  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  inipartment  tlid  desire 
To  you  alone. 

Mar.  Look,  witli  what  cf)urteous  action  60 

It  waves  vou  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. 

JJam.  Why,  what  should  be  the  fear  I 

I  do  not  set  my  life  at  a  pin's  fee  ; 
Anil  for  my  soul,  what  can  it  do  to  that. 
Being  a  thing  innnortal  as  itself  ? 
It  waves  me  forth  again  :   I'll  follow  it. 

Hor.  What  if  it  tempt  you  toward  the  flood,  my  lord, 
Or  to  the  dreadful  summit  of  the  cliff  70 

That  beetles  o'er  his  base  into  the  sea. 
And  there  assume  some  other  horrible  form, 
Which  might  deprive  your  sovereignty  of  reason 
And  draw  you  into  maiiness  i  think  of  it : 
The  very  place  puts  toys  of  desperation, 
Without  more  motive,  into  every  brain 
That  ltx)ks  so  many  fathcjms  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, 


24  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

And  makes  each  petty  artery  in  this  body 

As  hardy  as  tlie  Neniean  lion's  nerve. 

Still  am  I  eall'd.     Unhand  me,  gentlemen. 

By  heaven,  I  '11  make  a  ghost  of  him  that  lets  me  ! 

I  say,  away  !     Go  on  ;  I  '11  follow  thee. 

[Exeunt  Ghost  and  Hamlet. 

Hor.  He  waxes  desperate  with  imagination. 

3far.  Let 's  follow  ;  'tis  not  fit  thus  to  obey  him. 

Hor.  Have  after.   •  To  what  issue  will  this  come  ? 

Mar.  Soinething  is  rotten  in  the  state  of  Denmark.  ,        90 

Hor.  Heavoi  will  direct  it. 

^f(^r.  Nay,  let 's  follow  him.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  V.     Another  part  of  the  platform. 
Enter  Ghost  and  Hamlet. 

Ham.  Where  wilt  thou  lead  me  ?  speak  ;  I  'II  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. 

Ifam.  Alas,  poor  ghost  ! 

Ghost.  Pity  me  not,  but  lend  thy  serious  hearing 
To  what  I  shall  unfold. 

Ham.  Speak  ;  I  am  bound  to  hear. 

Ghost.  So  art  thou  to  revenge,  when  thou  shalt  hear. 

Ham.  What? 

Ghost.  I  am  thy  father's  spirit, 
Doom'd  for  a  certain  term  to  walk  tlie  night,  10 

And  for  the  da}'  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, 


scKNKv.]  HAMLET.  25 

Make  thy  two  eyes,  like  stars,  start  from  their  spheres, 

Thy  knotti'il  and  coniliined  looks  to  ])art 

Ami  each  jtarticular  hair  to  stand  an  end, 

Like  quills  ui)on  the  fretful  porpentine  :  20 

But  this  eternal  blazon  must  not  be 

To  ears  of  flesh  and  blood.     List,  list,  O,  list  '. 

If  thou  diilst  ever  thy  dear  father  love — 

//am.  O  (Jod  ! 

Ghost.  Revenge  his  foul  and  most  unnatural  murder. 

1/am.  Murder  ! 

Ghost.  Murder  most  foul,  as  in  the  best  it  is  ; 
But  this  most  foul,  strange  and  unnatural. 

Ham.  Haste  me  to  know 't,  that  I,  with  wings  as  swift 
As  meditation  or  the  thoughts  of  love,  30 

May  sweep  to  my  revenge. 

Ghost.  I  find  thee  apt  ; 

And  duller  shouldst  thou  be  than  the  fat  weed 
That  roots  itself  in  ease  on  Lethe  wliarf, 
Wouldst  thou  not  stir  in  this.     Now,  Hamlet,  hear  : 
'Tis  given  out  that,  sleeping  in  my  orchard, 
A  ser])ent  stung  me  ;  so  the  whole  ear  of  Denmark 
Is  by  a  forged  process  of  my  death 
Rankly  abused  :  but  know,  thou  noble  youth- 
The  serpent  that  did  sting  thy  father's  life 
Now  wears  his  crown. 

Ham.  O  my  prophetic  soul  '.  40 

My  uncle  ! 

Ghost.  Ay,  that  ince.stnous,  that  adulterate  beast, 
With  witchcraft  of  his  wit,  with  traitorous  gifts, — 
O  wicked  wit  anti  gifts,  that  have  the  power 
So  to  seduce  I — won  to  his  shameful  lust 
Tlie  will  of  my  most  seeming-virtuous  queen  : 

0  Hamlet,  what  a  falling-ofF  was  there  I 
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 


26  HAMLET.  [ACT  I.  "  fl 


Upon  a  wretch  whose  natural  gifts  were  poor 

To  those  of  mine  ! 

But  virtue,  as  it  never  will  be  moved, 

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  orchai'd, 

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  m'own,  of  queen,  at  once  dispatch'd  : 

Cut  otf  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 

Against  thy  mother  aught :  leave  her  to  heaven 


I 


scENKv.]  HAMLKT.  27 

Anil  to  those  tliorus  that  in  her  bosom  lodge, 

To  prick  and  sting  her.     Fare  tliee  well  at  once  ! 

The  glow-worm  shows  the  matin  to  ho  near, 

And  'gins  to  pale  his  miettectual  fire  :  90 

Adieu,  adieu  1  Hamlet,  remember  me.  [Exit. 

Ham.  O  all  you  host  of  heaven  !  O  earth  !  what  else  ? 
And  shall  I  couple  hell  ?  O,  tie  I  Hold,  hold,  my  heart ; 
And  you,  my  sinews,  grow  not  instant  old,  ^^ 

But  bear  me  stiffly  up.     Reraemljer  thee  ! 
Ay,  thou  poor  ghost,  while  memory  holds  a  seat 
In  this  distracted  glolie.     Remendier  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,  100 

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  I 

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  word  ;  110 

It  is  '  Adieu,  adieu  I  remember  me.' 

1  have  sworn 't. 

^^''■\uVithin'\  My  lord,  mv  lord,— 
Jlor.  ) 

}far.  [  Witkiii]  Lord  Hamlet, — 

Ilor.  [  Within'\  Heaven  secure  him  ! 

Ham.  So  be  it  1 

Hor.   [  \Vithiv'\  Hillo,  ln\  ho,  my  lord  ! 

Ham.  .Hillo,  ho,  ho,  boy  !  come,  bird,  come. 

Enter  Horatio  and  Marcellus. 
Mar.  How  ia  't,  my  noble  lord  i 


28  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

Hor.  What  news,  my  lord  ? 

Ham.  O,  wonderful  ! 

Hor.  Good  my  lord,  tell  it. 

Ham.  No  ;  you  '11  reveal  it.  •  I 

Hor.  Not  I,  my  lord,  by  heaven. 

Mar.  Nor  I,  my  lord.  120 

Ham.  How   say   you,    then  ;    would   heart   of   man   once 
think  it  ? 
But  you  '11  be  secret ' 

■  I  Ay,  by  heaven,  my  lord. 

Mar. ) 

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. 

Ham.  Why,  right  ;  you  are  i'  the  light ; 

And  so,  without  more  circumstance  at  all, 
I  hold  it  lit  that  we  shake  hands  and  part : 
You,  as  your  business  and  desire  shall  point  you  ; 
For  every  man  has  business  and  desire,  130 

Such  as  it  is  ;  and  for  mine  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  ; 
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  desii'e  to  know  what  is  between  us, 
O'ermaster't  as  you  may.     And  now,  good  friends,  140 

As  you  are  friends,  scholars  and  soldiers, 
Give  me  one  poor  request. 

Hor.  What  is 't,  my  lord  ?  we  will. 

Ham.  Never  make  known  what  you  have  seen  to-night. 


SCENE  v.]  HAMLET.  29 

■  J.   Mv  lurd,  we  will  not. 
Mar.  J 

Ham.  Nay,  but  sweai't. 

Hor.  •  In  faith, 

My  lord,  not  I. 

Mar.  Nor  I,  ray  lord,  in  faith. 

Ham.  Upon  my  sword. 

Mar.  We  have  sworn,  my  lord,  already. 

Ham.  Indeed,  upon  my  sword,  indeed. 

Ghost.  [^BeneatJi]  Swear. 

Ham.  Ah,  ha,  boy  !   say'st  thou  so  ?  art  thou  thei'e,  true- 
penny ?  150 
Come  on — you  hear  this  fellow  in  the  cellarage — 
Consent  to  swear. 

Hor.  Propose  the  oath,  ray  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  ui)on  my  sword. 
Never  to  speak  of  this  tliat  you  liave  heard, 
Swear  by  my  sword.  160 

Ghost.  [Be7ieath]  Swear. 

//am.  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  yoni"  [)lii]()so])hy. 

But  come  ;  • 

Here,  as  before,  never,  sohelji  you  mercy, 
How  strange  or  odd  soe'er  I  bear  myself,  170 

As  T  jten-hance  hereafter  shall  think  meet 
To  put  an  antic  disposition  on, 
That  you,  at  such  times  seeing  me,  never  shall, 


30  HAMLET.  [ACT  I.  sc.  v. 

Witli  arms  encumber'd  tlius,  or  this  head-sliake, 

Or  by  pronouncing  of  some  doubtful  plirase, 

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.  Eest,  rest,   perturbed  spirit  !      [They  mnear^      So, 
gentlemen. 
With  all  my  love  I  do  commend  me  to  you  : 
And  what  so  poor  a  man  as  Handet  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. 
The  time  is  out  of  joint :  O  cursed  spite. 
That  ever  I  was  born  to  set  it  right !  1  go 

Nay,  come,  let 's  go  together.  [Exeunt. 


ACT  II. 

Scene  I.     A  room  in  Folonms'  house. 
Enter  Polonius  mid  Eeynaldo. 

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

Rey.  I  will,  my  lord. 

FoL  You  shall  do  marvellous  wisely,  good  Reynaldo, 
Before  you  visit  him,  to  make  inquire 
Of  his  behaviour. 
.   Rei/.  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  ami  drift  of  question  10 


ACT  II.  sr.  I.]  HAMLET.  31 

Tliat  tliey  do  know  my  son,  come  you  more  nearer 
Tliiui  your  particular  demands  will  touch  it  : 
Take  you,  as  "twere,  some  distant  knowledtfe  of  liim  ; 
As  thus,  '  I  know  his  father  and  his  friends. 
And  in  part  him:'  do  you  mark  this,  Reynaldo? 

Re}/.  Ay,  very  well,  my  lord. 

Pol.  'And  in  part  him  ;  but'  you  may  say  'not  well  : 
But  if  't  be  he  I  mean,  he 's  very  wild  ; 
Addicted  so  and  so:'  and  there  put  on  him 
What  forgeries  you  please  ;  marry,  none  so  rank  20 

As  may  dishonour  him  ;  take  heed  of  that  ; 
But,  sir,  such  wanton,  wild  and  usual  slips 
As  are  companions  noted  and  most  known 
To  youth  and  liberty. 

Rey.  As  gaming,  my  lord. 

Pol.  Ay,  or  drinking,  fencing,  swearing,  quarrelling, 
You  may  go  st)  far. 

Rey.  My  lord,  that  would  dishonour  him. 

Pol.  'Faith,  no  ;  as  you  may  season  it  in  the  charge. 
You  must  not  j)ut  another  scandal  on  liim. 
That  he  is  open  to  incontinency  ;  30 

That's  not  my  meaning  :  but  breathe  his  faidf,s  so  quaintly 
That  they  may  seem  the  taints  of  liberty,  .      •^ 

The  flash  and  outbreak  of  a  fiery  mind,  '^L*-*-<-«-ti.  /3-<^-o^2^ 

A  savageness  in  unreclaimed  blood,  ylAA''^/LiAy(y9'«^ 

Of  general  a.s.sault.  ^X^VC^^^^-^^t^ 

Rey.  But,  my  good  lord, — 

Pol.  Wlierefore  should  you  do  this  ? 

R<'!l.  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, 


32 


HAMLET. 


[act  ii. 


Having  ever  seen  in  the  pi'enominate  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. 

Rey.  Very  good,  my  lord. 

Pol.  And  then,  sir,  does  he  this — he  does — what  was  I 
about  to  sav  ?  Bv  the  mass,  I  was  about  to  sav  something  : 
where  did  I  leave  ?  51 

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 

I  saw  him  yesterday,  or  t'  other  day. 
Or  then,  or  then  ;  with  such,  or  such  ;  and,  as  you  say 
There  was  he  gaming  ;  there  o'ertook  in 's  rouse  ; 
There  falling  out  at  tennis.' 
See  you  now  ; 

Your  bait  of  falsehood  takes  this  carp  of  triith  ; 
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'  you  ;  fare  you  well. 

Rey.  Good  my  lord  ! 

Pol.  Observe  his  inclination  in  youi'self. 

Rey.  I  shall,  my  lord.  70 

Pol.  And  let  him  ply  Iiis  music. 

Rey.  Well,  my  lord. 

Pol.  Farewell  !  [E.n't  Reynaldo. 

Enter  Ophelia. 
How  now,  Ophelia  !  what 's  the  matter  ? 


scKNKi.]  HAMLET.  33 

Oph.  O,  my  lord,  my  lortl,  I  have  been  so  affrighted  ! 

Pol.  With  what,  i'  the  name  of  (Jod  ^ 

Oph.   My  lonl,  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  dowii-gyved  to  his  ancle  ; 
Fale  as  his  shirt  ;  his  knees  knocking  each  otiier  ; 
And  with  a  look  so  jiiteous  in  purport  80 

As  if  he  had  been  loosed  out  of  hell 
To  sjjeak  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  mc  hard  ; 
Tlien  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 
As  he  would  diaw  it.     L(jng  stay'd  he  so  ; 
At  la.st,  a  little  siiaking  of  mine  arm  90 

And  thrice  his  head  thus  waving  up  and  down, 
He  raised  a  sigh  so  jnteoiia  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  help. 
And,  to  the  la.st,  bended  their  light  on  me. 

Pol.  Come,  go  with  me  :  1  will  go  .seek  the  king. 
This  is  the  very  ecstasy  of  love,  100 

Who.se  violent  jjrojjerty  fordoes  itself 
And  leads  the  will  to  desperate  undertakings 
As  oft  as  any  passion  under  heaven 
That  does  atflict  our  natures.     I  am  sony. 
What,  have  you  given  liim  anv  lianl  uoids  of  late? 

(Jph.  No,  my  gftoti  lord    but,  as  you  did  i nmmand, 

0 


34  HAMLET.  [ACT  II. 

I  did  i'ei)t']  his  letters  and  denied 
Hi.s  access  to  nie. 

Pol.  Tliat  liath  made  him  mad. 

I  am  sorry  that  witli  better  heed  and  judgement 
I  had  not  quoted  him  :  I  fear'd  he  did  but  triHe,  110 

And  meant  to  wreck  thee  ;  but,  beshrew  mv  jealousy  ! 
By  heaven,  it  is  as  proper  to  our  age 
To  cast  beyond  oui.selves  in  our  oj)inions 
As  it  is  common  for  tlie  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.  [ExoiaH. 


Scene  II.     A  room  in  the  eas^tle. 

Enter  King,  Queen,  Rosencrantz,  (Iuildenstern, 
and  Attendants. 

King.  Welcome,  dear  Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern  ! 
Moi'eover  that  we  much  did  lonef  to  see  von. 
The  need  we  have  to  u.se  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  shoidd  Ite, 
More  than  his  father's  death,  that  tlms  hath  put  him 
So  much  from  the  understanding  of  himself, 
I  cannot  dream  of  :  I  entreat  you  both,  10 

That,  being  of  so  young  days  brought  up  with  him. 
And  sith  so  neighbonrVl  to  his  youtli  and  humour, 
That  you  vouchsafe  your  rest  here  in  oui-  court 
Some  little  time  :  so  by  your  companies 
To  draw  him  on  to  pleasuies,  and  to  gather, 
So  much  as  from  occasion  you  may  glean. 
Whether  auglit,  to  us  unknown,  afHicts  him  thus, 
That,  o];)en'd,  lies  within  our  remedy. 


srF.N'Eii.]  HAMLET.  35 

Queen.  Good  gentlemen,  he  liath  niiieli  talk'd  of  yon  ; 
Antl  sure  T  am  two  men  there  are  not  living  20 

To  Nvlioni  he  more  adlieres.      If  it  will  jilease  you 
To  show  us  so  much  gentry  and  yond  will 
As  to  expentl  your  time  with  us  awhile, 
For  the  supply  and  jirofit  of  our  hope, 
Your  visitation  shall  receive  such  thanks 
As  tits  a  king's  remembrance. 

Rii.<.  Both  your  majesties 

Might,  hy  the  sovereign  powei'  you  have  of  ns, 
Put  your  dread  jilcasures  more  into  command 
Than  to  entreaty. 

<j}iil.  But  we  both  obey, 

And  here  give  up  our.selves,  in  the  full  bent  30 

To  lay  our  service  freely  at  your  feet. 
To  be  connnanded. 

Kimi.  Thanks,  Rosencrantz  and  gentle  (Juildenstern. 

(juet'ii.  Thanks,  Gvuldenstern  and  gentle  Rosencrantz.  : 
And  I  beseech  you  instantly  to  visit 
My  toft  nnich  changed  son.     Go,  .some  of  you. 
And  bring  these  gentlemen  where  Handet  is. 

(htil.   Heavens  make  our  presence  and  our  practices 
Plea-sant  ami  liclpful  to  him  ! 

Qiiptii.  Ay,  amen  ! 

[Kveitiit  lioKeneraiitz,  (Juilfleni^tfrii,  and  some  Attettffmifn. 

Enter  Polonius. 

Pol.  The  amba.ssadors  from  Norway,  my  good  lord.  40 

Are  joyfidly  returu'd. 

h'iiif/.  Thou  still  hast  been  the  father  of  good  news. 

Pol.  Havf  1,  my  Idid  :'      I  assinc  my  guod  licgi-, 
T  hold  luy  duty,  as  1  hold  my  .soul, 
Boih  to  my  (iod  and  to  my  gracious  king  : 
And  I  do  think,  or  else  this  brain  of  miiD- 
limits  not  the  <^rail  of  policy  sfi  sure 
Ah  it  hath  u-^cd  t<.  do,  tlint    1  li;i\i-  fmind 


36  HAMLET.  [act  ii. 

The  very  cause  of  Hamlet's  lunacy. 

Kitig.  O,  speak  of  that  ;  that  do  I  long  to  hear.  50 

Pol.  Give  fiist  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  Polonins. 
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'ei'hasty  marriage. 

King.  Well,  we  shall  sift  him. 

Re-enter  Polonius,  with  Voltimand  and  Cornelius. 

Welcome,  niv  ffood  finends  ! 
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 
To  be  a  prej^aration  '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  falseh'  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  youi-  majesty. 
Whereon  okl  Norway,  overcome  with  joy, 
Gives  him  three  thousand  crowns  in  animal  fee. 
And  his  commission  to  employ  those  soldiers. 
So  levied  as  before,  against  the  Polack  : 

With  an  entreaty,  herein  further  shown,  [Giiu'iig  a  papeo- 

That  it  might  please  you  to  give  quiet  ])ass 
Through  your  dominions  for  this  enter))rise. 
On  such  regards  of  safety  and  allowance 
As  therein  are  set  down. 


SCENE  11.]  HAMLET.  37 

Kituj.  It  likes  lis  well  ;  80 

Ami  at  our  more  ronsiderM  time  we'll  read, 
Answer,  and  think  ii})on  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  Voltinuind  and  Cornelius. 

Pol.  This  business  is  well  ended. 

My  liege,  and  madam,  to  expostulate 
What  majesty  should  be,  what  duty  is, 
Wliy  day  is  day,  night  night,  and  time  is  time, 
\\'ere  nothing  but  to  waste  night,  day  and  time. 
Theiefore,  since  brevity  is  the  soul  of  wit,  90 

And  tediousness  the  limbs  and  outward  flonrishe.s, 
[  will  be  brief  :  your  noble  son  is  mad  : 
Mad  call  I  it  ;  for,  to  define  true  madness, 
What  is 't  but  to  be  nothing  else  but  mad  i 
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  100 

That  we  find  out  the  cause  of  this  effect. 
Or  rather  say,  the  cause  of  this  defect, 
For  this  effect  defective  comes  by  cause  : 
Thus  it  remains,  and  the  remainder  thus. 
Perpend. 

I  have  a  daughter     have  while  she  is  mine — 
Who,  in  her  duty  ami  obedience,  mark, 

Hath  given  me  this  :  now  gather,  and  surmise.  [Heads. 

'To  the   celestial   and    my   soul's   idol,   the    most    beautified 
Ophelia,'—  "  110 

'1  liat  's  an   ill   phra.se,  a  vile   phra.se  ;   '  beautified  '  is  a  vile 
phra.se  :  but  you  shall  hear.     Tims  :  [Rmds. 

'  in  her  excellent  white  bo.som,  the.se,  &e.' 


38  HAMLET.  [actii. 

Queen..  Came  this  from  Hamlet  to  liei- '( 

Pol.  Good  UKulam,  stay  awhile  ;  I  will  be  faithful.  \^Reads. 
'  J^oubt  thou  the  stai-s  are  fire  ; 

Doubt  that  the  sun  dotli  move  ; 
Doubt  truth  to  be  a  liar  ; 

But  never  doubt  I  love.  11!) 

'()  dear  Ophelia,  I  am  ill  at  tliese  numbers  ;  I  have  not  art 
to  reckon  my  groans  :  but  that  I  love  thee  best,  ( )  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.  130 

Pol.  I  would  fain  ])rove  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  )>lay'd  the  desk  or  table-book, 
Or  L'iven  my  heart  a  winking,  mute  and  dumb, 
(^r  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,  I'eceive  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, 


scKNKii.]  HAMLET.  3y 

TluMiif  to  a  watcli,  iIkmco  iiilo  a  weakness, 

Thence  to  a  lij,'litne.ss,  and,  by  this  declension, 

Into  the  madness  wherein  now  he  raves,  150 

And  all  we  mourn  for. 

KiiHj.  Do  you  think  'tis  this  ? 

(^uee/i.   It  may  l)e,  very  likely. 

I'vl.  Hath  there  been  such  a  time — I'd  fain  kimw  that — 
That  I  have  positively  said  '  'Tis  so,' 
When  it  proved  otherwise  ? 

KiiKj.  Not  that  1  know. 

Pol.  [^Pointing  to  his  head  and  shoulder]  Take  this  from  this, 
if  this  be  otherwise  : 
If  circumstances  lead  me,  I  will  find 
Wheie  truth  is  hid,  though  it  were  hid  indeed 
Within  the  centre. 

Kiiiff.  How  may  we  try  it  further  '  159 

Pol.   Yt)U  know,  sometimes  he  walks  four  hours  together 
Here  in  the  lobby. 

(^HC'CH.  So  he  does  iiuleed. 

Pol.  At  such  a  time  I  '11  loose  my  daughter  to  him  : 
Be  you  and  I  behind  aji  arras  then  ; 
Mark  the  encounter  :  if  he  love  her  not 
And  be  not  from  his  reason  fall'n  thereon, 
Let  me  be  no  a.ssistant  for  a  state, 
But  keep  a  farm  and  carters. 

Kiiif/.  We  will  try  it. 

i^neen.  But,    look,    where    sadly    the    poor   wretch    comes 
reading. 

/'<;/.  Away,  I  «Io  beseech  you,  both  away  : 
I'll  board  him  presently. 

[Exeunt  King,  Q^ieen,  and  Attendants. 

Enter  Hami-et,  reading. 

O,  give  me  leave  :  170 

How  floe.s  my  good  Lord  Handet  ? 
IIuiH.   Well,  Uod-a-mercy. 


40  HAMLET.  [ACT  II. 

Pol.  Do  you  know  nie,  my  lord  ( 

Ham.  Excellent  well  ;  you  are  a  fislimongei*. 

Pol.  Not  I,  my  lord. 

Ham.  Then  I  would  you  were  so  honest  a  man. 

Pol.  Honest,  my  lord  I 

Ham.  Ay,  sir  ;  to  be  honest,  as  this  world  goes,  is  to  be 
one  man  picked  out  of  ten  thousand. 

Pol.  That's  very  true,  my  lord.  180 

/  Ham.  For  if  the  sun  breed  maggots  in  a  tlead  dog,  being  a 
(   god  kissing  carrion, — Have  you  a  daughter  ? 

Pol.  I  have,  my  lord. 

Ham.  Let  her  not  walk  i'  the  sun  :  conception  is  a  blessing  : 
but  not  as  your  daughter  may  conceive.     Friend,  look  to  't. 

Pol.  \^A  side]  How  say  you  by  that  ?  Still  harping  on  my 
daughter  :  yet  he  knew  me  not  at  fii'st  ;  he  .said  I  was  a  fish- 
monger :  he  is  far  gone,  far  gone  :  and  truly  in  my  youth  I 
suffered  much  extremity  for  love  ;  very  near  this.  I  '11  speak 
to  him  again.     What  do  you  read,  my  lord  ?  190 

Ham.  Words,  words,  words. 

PoL  What  is  the  matter,  my  lord  ? 

Ham.  Between  who  ? 

Pol.  I  mean,  the  matter  that  you  read,  my  lord. 

Ham.  Slandei's,  sir  :  for  the  satirical  rogue  says  here  that 
old  men  have  grey  beards,  that  their  faces  are  wrinkled,  their 
eyes  purging  thick  amber  and  plum  tree  gum  and  that  they 
have  a  plentiful  lack  of  wit,  together  with  most  weak  hams  : 
all  wdiich,  sir,  though  I  most  powerfully  and  potently  l.>elieve, 
yet  I  hold  it  not  honesty  to  have  it  thus  set  down,  for  your- 
self, sir,  sliould  be  old  as  I  am,  if  like  a  crab  you  could  go 
backward.  202 

Pol.  [^Aside']  Though  this  be  madness,  yet  there  is  method 
in't.     Will  you  walk  out  of  the  air,  my  lord  ? 

Ham.  Into  niv  grave. 

Pol.  Indeed,  that  is  out  o'  the  air.  [^.5/(/e]  How  pregnant 
sometimes  his  replies  are  !  a  happiness  that  often  madness 
hits  on,  which  reason  and  sanity  could  not  so  prosperously  be 


srKNKii.]  HAiMLET.  41 

delivered  of.  I  will  leave  him,  and  suddenly  contrive  the 
moans  of  meetinL,'  Ix'tween  him  and  my  daughter.— My 
honoui-able  lord,  1  will  most  humbly  take  my  leave  of  you. 

Ham.  You  cannot,  sir,  take  from  me  any  thing  that  I  will 
more  willingly  part  withal :  except  my  life,  except  my  life, 
e.\ce])t  my  life.  214 

Pol.   Fare  you  well,  my  lord. 

Ham.  These  tedious  old  fools  ! 

Enter  Eosencrantz  and  Guildenstern. 


Pol.  You  go  to  seek  the  Loid  Hamlet ;  there  he  is. 

Ros.  [To  Polonim]  God  save  you,  sir  !  [Ex'it  Polo7mis. 

O'itil.  My  lionoured  lord  I 

/("o-v.  My  most  dear  lord  '.  220 

Ham.  My  excellent  good  fiiends  !  How  do.st  thou, 
Guildenstern  ?  Ah,  Rosencrantz  I  Good  lads,  how  do  you 
both  > 

lios.  As  the  indifferent  children  of  the  earth. 

(''nil.  Haj)})y,  in  that  we  are  not  over  happy  ; 
On  fortune's  cap  we  are  not  the  very  button. 

Ham.  Nor  the  soles  of  her  shoe  ? 

Ros.  Neither,  my  lord. 

Ham.  What 's  the  news  ?  229 

Ros.  None,  my  loid,  1  lut  that  tlie  world's  gi'own  honest. 

Ham.  Then  is  doomsday  near  :  but  your  news  is  not  true. 
Let  me  question  more  in  particidar  :  what  have  you,  my 
good  friends,  deserved  at  the  hands  of  fortune,  that  she  sends 
you  to  prison  hither  ? 

f/uil.  Prison,  my  lord  ! 

Ham.  Denmark  's  a  prison. 

/•OS.  Then  is  the  world  one. 

//'////.  A  goodly  one  ;  in  which  there  are  many  confines, 
wards  and  diuigeons,  Denmark  being  one  o'  the  worst. 

Ros.  We  think  not  so,  my  lord.  2^0 

Horn.   Why,  then,  'tis  none  to  vou  : 


42  HAMLET.  [act  ii. 

oitJ,i_eii.go2d.j2p4aa*Vllut  4ihin^^  jiiakes^it,.spL:JtQ3i.e  it,  is  a 
jxrisoiit  ^ 

Ros.  Wliy  then,  your  ambition  makes  it  one  ;  "tis  too 
narrow  for  your  niind. 

H<vm.  O  God,  I  could  be  bounded  in  a  nutshell  and  count 
myself  a  king  of  infinite  space,  were  it  not  that  I  liave  bad 
dreams. 

(jiail.  Which  dreams  indeed  are  andjition,  for  the  very 
substance  of  the  ambitious  is  merely  tlie  shallow  of  a  di'eam. 

Ham.  A  dream  itself  is  but  a  shadow.  251 

Ros.  Trnly,  and  I  hold  ambition  of  so  aiiy  and  light  a 
quality  that  it  is  but  a  shadow's  shadow. 

Ham.  Then  are  our  beggai's  bodies,  iuul  our  nmnarchs  and 
outstretched  heroes  the  beggars'  shadows.  Shall  we  to  the 
court  'i  for,  by  my  fay,  I  cannot  reason. 

Ros.     \  -.^J     ,,,  -L 

VWe  11  wait  upon  vou. 

Ham.  No  such  matter  :  I  Avill  not  sort  you  with  the  le.st  of 
my  servants,  for,  to  speak  to  yon  like  an  honest  man,  I  am 
most  dreadfully  atteiuled.  But,  in  the  beaten  wa^' of  friend- 
ship, what  make  you  at  Elsinore  'l  261 

Ros.  To  visit  yon,  my  lortl  ;  no  other  occasion. 

Ham.  Beggar  that  I  am,  I  am  even  poor  in  thanks  ;  but  I 
thank  you  :  and  sure,  dear  friends,  my  thanks  are  too  dear  a 
halfpenny.  Were  you  not  sent  for  ?  Is  it  your  own 
inclining  ?  Is  it  a  free  visitation  ?  Come,  deal  justly  with 
me  :  come,  come  ;  nay,  speak. 

Guil.  What  should  we  say,  my  lord  ] 

Ham.  Why,  any  thing,  but  to  the  purpose.  You  were  sent 
for  ;  and  thei'e  is  a  kind  of  confession  in  your  looks  which 
your  modesties  have  not  craft  enough  to  crilour  :  I  know  the 
good  king  and  queen  have  sent  for  you.  272 

Ros.  To  what  end,  my  lord  'I 

Ham.  That  you  must  teach  me.  But  let  me  conjure  you, 
by  the  rights  of  our  fellowship,  liy  the  consonancy  of  our 
youth,  by  the  obligation  of  our  ever-preserved  love,  and  by 


scKSfciii.]  HA.MI.KT.  43 

what  iiinro  dear  a  hottei'  ))ii>|i().sci' could  ( liaij^c  you  witlial,  lie 
oven  and  dirivt  witli  uic,  wlif tlier  yuu  weiv  sent  f(H-,  oi-  no  ! 

/ios.  [Axide  to  (j'uil.]  Wliat  say  yoii  ? 

ffam.  [Aside]  Nay,  then,  I  have  an  eye  of  you.—  If  you 
love  nie,  hold  not  off.  281 

(r'uil.  My  lord,  we  were  sent  for. 

Ham.  I  will  tell  you  why  ;  so  shall  my  anticipation  ])re- 
vent  your  discovery,  and  your  secrecy  to  the  king  and  queen 
moult  no  featlier.  I  have  of  late — but  wherefore  I  know  not 
— lost  all  my  niirtli,  forf;one  all  custom  of  exercises  ;  and 
indeed  it  goes  so  heavily  with  my  disposition  that  this  goodly 
frame,  the  earth,  seems  to  me  a  sterile  jiiomoiitoiy,  this  most 
excellent  canopy,  the  air,  look  you,  this  brave  o'erhanging 
firmament,  this  majestical  roof  fretted  with  golden  fii'e,  why, 
it  ap])ears  no  other  thing  to  me  than  a  foul  and  jjestilent 
cr)ngregation  of  vapours.  What  a  piece  of  work  is  man  ! 
how  noble  in  reason  I  how  infinite  in  faculty  !  in  form  and 
moving  how  exjtress  and  admirable  !  in  action  how  like  an 
angel  I  in  apprehension  how  like  a  god  I  the  beauty  of  the 
world  1  the  paragon  of  animals  1  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. 

/Ion.  My  lord,  there  was  no  such  stuff  in  my  thoughts. 

Ifam.  Why  did  you  laugh  then,  when  1  said  '  man  delights 
not  me'?  301 

/tos.  To  think,  my  lord,  if  you  delight  not  in  man,  what 
lenten  entertainment  the  players  shall  I'eceive  from  you  :  we 
coted  them  on  the  way  ;  anfl  hither  are  they  coming,  to 
ofi'er  you  service. 

Ham.  He  that  plays  the  king  shall  In-  welcome  ;  his 
majesty  shall  have  tribute  of  me  ;  the  adventurous  knight 
shall  use  his  foil  and  target  ;  the  lover  shall  not  sigh  gratis  ; 
the  humorous  man  shall  end  his  part  in  jieace  ;  the  clown 
shall  make  those  laugh  whose  lungs  aie  tickle  o'  the  .sere  ; 
and  the  lady  shall  .say  her  mind  freely,  or  tln'  lilank  verse 
shall  halt  for  t.     What  plavers  aie  thev  ?  312 


^ 


44  HAMLET.  [act  n. 

Eos.  Even  those  you  were  wont  to  take  delight  in,  the 
tragedians  of  the  city. 

Ham.  How  chances  it  they  travel  ?  their  residence,  both  in 
reputation  and  profit,  was  better  both  ways. 

Eos.  I  think  their  inhibition  comes  by  the  means  of  the 
late  innovation. 

Ha7n.  Do  they  hold  the  same  estimation  they  did  when  I 
was  in  the  city  ?  are  they  so  followed  ?  320 

Ros.  No,  indeed,  are  they  not. 

Ham.  How  comes  it  ?  do  thev  grow  rustv  ? 

Ros.  Nay,  their  endeavour  keeps  in  the  wonted  pace  :  but 
there  is,  sir,  an  aery  of  children,  lil^le  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.  328 

Ham.  What,  are  they  children  ?  who  maintains  'em  ?  how 
are  they  escoted  ?  Will  they  pursue  the  quality  no  longer 
than  they  can  sing  ?  will  they  not  say  afterwards,  if  they 
should  grow  themselves  to  common  players — as  it  is  most 
like,  if  their  means  are  no  better — their  writers  do  them 
^  ^//wrong,  to  make  them  exclaim  against  their  own  succession  ? 
/^'  nRos.  'Faith,  thei'e  has  been  much  to  do  on  both  sides  ;  and 
ne  nation  holds  it  no  sin  to  tarre  them  to  controversy  :  there 
was,  for  a  while,  no  money  bid  for  argument,  unless  the  poet 

d  the  player  went  to  cuflFs  in  the  question. 

Ham,.  Is 't  possible  ? 

(luil.  O,  there  has  been  much  throwing  about  of  brains. 

Ham.  Do  the  boys  carry  it  away  ?  341 

Ros.  Ay,  that  they  do,  my  lord  ;  Hercules  and  his  load  too. 

Ham.  It  is  not  very  strange  ;  for  mine  uncle  is  king  of 
Denmark,  and  those  that  would  make  mows  at  him  while 
my  father  lived,  give  twenty,  forty,  fifty,  an  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  unthin. 


jyA. 


SCENE  IT.]  HAMLET.  45 

Guil.  Tliere  are  the  jilayers. 

Ham.  Geiitleiuen,  you  are  welcome  to  Elsinore.  Your 
hands,  come  then  :  tlie  appurtenance  of  welcome  is  fashion 
and  ceremony  :  let  me  comply  with  you  in  this  garb,  lest  my 
extent  to  the  players,  which,  I  tell  you,  must  show  fairly 
outward,  should  more  appear  like  entertainment  than  yours. 
You  are  welcome  :  but  my  uncle-father  and  aunt-niotlier  are 
deceived. 

G'uil.  In  what,  mv  dear  lord  ? 

Ham.  I  am  but  mad  north-north-west  :  when  the  wind  is 
southerly  I  know  a  hawk  from  a  hand.saw. 

Re-enter  Polonius. 

Pol.   Wfll  be  with  you,  gentlemen  !  359 

Ham.  Hark  you,  Guildenstern  ;  and  you  too  :  at  each  ear 
a  hearer  :  that  great  baby  you  see  there  is  not  yet  out  of  his 
swaddling-clouts. 

Ros.  Happily  he  's  the  second  time  come  to  them  ;  for  they 
say  an  old  man  is  twice  a  child. 

Ham.  I  will  prophesy  he  comes  to  tell  me  of  the  j)layers  ; 
mark  it.  You  say  right,  sir  :  o'  Monday  morning  ;  'twas  so 
indeed. 

I'ol.  My  lord,  I  have  news  to  tell  >ou. 

Hum.  My  lord,  I  have  news  to  tell  you.  When  Roscius 
was  an  actor  in  Rome, —  370 

Rol.  The  actors  are  come  hither,  my  lord. 

Ham.  Buz,  buz  ! 

Pol.  Ujion  mine  honour, — 

Ham.  Then  came  each  actor  on  his  a.s8, — 

Pol.  The  best  actore  in  the  world,  either  for  tragedy, 
comedy,  histoiy,  pastoral,  pastoral-comical,  historical-jiastoral, 
tragical-historical,  tragical-comical-historical-pastoial,  scene 
individable,  or  poem  unlimited :  Seneca  cannot  be  too  heavy, 
nor  Plautus  too  light.  For  the  law  of  writ  and  the  liberty, 
these  HIV  tlif  oniv  men.  380 


40  HAMLET.  [ACT  II. 

Ihtm.  O  Jephtliah,  judge  of  Israel,  what  a  treasure  liiulst 
tliou  : 

Pol.   What  a  treasure  had  he,  my  lord  ? 
Ham.  Why, 

'One  fair  daughter,  and  no  moi-e. 

The  which  he  loved  passing  well.' 
Pol.  \^As{de\  Still  on  my  daughter. 
Ham.  Am  I  not  i'  the  right,  old  Jephthah  ? 
Pol.  If  you  call  me  Jephthah,  my  loid,  I  have  a  daughter 
that  I  love  passing  well.  390 

Ham.  Nay,  that  follows  not. 
Pol.  What  follow.s,  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  abriilgement  comes.  398 

Enter  four  or  five  Players. 

You  are  welcome,  masters  ;  welcome,  all.  I  am  glad  to  see 
thee  well.  Welcome,  good  friends.  O,  my  old  friend  I  thy 
face  is  valanced  since  I  saw  thee  last  :  comest  thou  to  beard 
me  in  Denmark  ?  What,  my  young  lady  and  mistress  !  By  'r 
lady,  your  ladyship  is  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  youi'  quality  ;  come,  a 
passionate  speech. 

First  Play.  What  speech,  my  lord  ?  410 

Ham.  I  heard  thee  speak  me  a  speech  once,  but  it  was 

never  acted  ;   or,  if  it  was,  not  above  once  ;  for  the  play,  1 

remember,   pleased    not    the   million  ;    'tAt2ig__enAnare_t,i>   flic 

but   it  was — as   T   received   it,   and   others,  whose 


srKNKii.]  HA.MI.Iir.  47 

juiIgeiiKMits  in  such  matters  nied  in  the  top  of  mine— an  ex- 
cellent play,  well  iliLfested  in  the  scenes,  set  down  with  as 
much  m()deaty  as  cunning.  I  renieniher,  one  said  there  were 
no  sallets  in  the  lines  to  make  tlic  luatler  sjivoury,  nm-  no 
matter  in  the  phrase  that  might  indict  the  autlior  of  affec- 
tion ;  but  ealleil  it  an  honest  method,  as  wholesome  as  sweet, 
and  by  very  much  more  handsome  than  fine.  One  speech  in 
it  I  chiefly  loved  :  'twas  yEneas'  tale  to  Dido  ;  and  thereabout 
of  it  esjoecially,  where  he  speaks  of  Priam's  slaughter  :  if  it 
live  in  your  memory,  begin  at  this  line  :  let  me  see,  let  me 

see — ^^ 

'Tlie  rugged  Pyrrhus,  like  the  Hyrcanian  beast,' — 
it  is  not  so  : — it  begins  with  Pyrrhus  : — 

'  The  ruggetl  Pyrrhus,  he  whose  sable  arms, 
F>lack  as  his  purpose,  did  the  night  resemble 
When  he  lay  couched  in  the  ominous  liorse,  430 

Hath  now  this  dread  and  black  comjih^xinn  smear'd 
With  heraldry  more  dismal  ;  head  to  foot 
Niiw  is  he  totiil  gules  ;  horridly  trick'd 
With  blood  of  fathers,  mother.s,  daughters,  .son.s, 
liaked  and  impa.sted  with  the  parching  streets, 
That  lend  a  tyrannous  and  damned  light 
To  their  vile  murders  :  roasted  in  wrath  and  fire. 
And  thus  o'cr-sized  with  coagulate  gore. 
With  eyes  like  carbuncles,  the  hellish  Pyrrhus 
Old  grandsire  I'riani  .seeks.'  440 

So,  proceed  you. 

Pol.  'Fore  (iod,  my  lord,  well    s])ok('n,   with   good  accent 
and  good  discretion. 

First  Phiy.  '  Anon  lie  finds  him 

Striking  too  short  at  Greeks  ;  his  antique  sword, 

Rebellious  tf)  his  arm,  lies  where  it  falls, 

Repugnant  to  command  :   unecpial  match'd, 

Pyrrhus  at  Priani  drives  ;  in  rage  strikes  wide  ; 

liut  with  the  whiff  and  wind  nf  his  frll  swcud 

The  unnerved  father  falls,     'i'litn  senseless  lliiun,        w-'x) 


48  HAMLET.  [act  ii. 

Seeming  to  feel  this  blow,  with  flaming  top 

Stooiw  to  his  bMse,  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. 

Did  nothing. 

But,  as  we  often  see,  against  some  storm, 

A  silence  in  the  heavens,  the  rack  stand  still,  46(» 

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  fur  pvooi  eterne 

With  less  remorse  than  Pyrrhus'  bleeding  sword 

Now  falls  on  Priam. 

Out,  out,  thou  strumpet,  Fortune  !     All  you  gods. 

In  general  synod,  take  away  her  power  ;  470 

Break  all  the  spokes  and  fellies  from  her  wheel. 

And  bowl  the  round  nave  down  the  hill  of  heaven, 

As  low  as  to  the  fiends  !' 

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  Hecuba. 

First  Play.  '  But  who,  O,  who  had  seen  the  mobled  queen — ' 

Ham.  'The  mobled  queen?' 

Pol.  That 's  good  ;  '  mobled  queen '  is  good.  480 

Fir&t  Play.  '  Run  barefoot  uj)  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'er-teemed  loins, 
A  blanket,  in  the  alarm  of  fear  caught  up ; 


scKNKii.]  HAMLET.  49 

AVho  this  liad  seen,  with  tongue  in  venom  steep'd, 
'(ijiinst  Fortunes  st<ite  woulil  treason  have  proiiouiiceil  : 
But  if  the  <fi)(ls  themselves  did  see  lier  then 
When  she  sjiw  Pvrrlius  make  malicious  sport 
In  mincing  with  his  sword  her  husbands  limbs,  490 

The  instant  burst  of  clamour  that  she  made, 
Unless  things  mortal  move  them  not  at  all, 
Would  have  made  milch  the  burning  eves  of  heaven. 
And  j)assion  in  the  godg.'  _, 

I'oJ.  Look,  whether  he  has  not  turned  his  coloiir  and  has 
tears  in  's  eyes.     I'ray  you,  no  more. 

Hmn.  'Tis  well ,  I  '11  have  thee  speak  out  the  rest  soon, 
(iood  my  lord,  will  you  see  the  players  well  bestowed  ?     Do 
you  hear,  let  them  be  well  used  ;  for  tliey  are  the  abstracts 
and  brief  chronicles  of  the  time  :  after  your  death  you  were 
better  have  a  bad  epitaph  than  their  ill  report  while  you  live. 
Pol.  My  lord,  I  will  use  them  according  to  their  desert. 
ITam.  God's  boilykins,  man,  much  better  :  use  every  man 
after  liis  desert,  and  who  should  '.scape  whipping  ?     U.se  them 
after  your  own  lionour  and  dignity  :    the  less  they  deserve, 
the  more  merit  is  ni  your  Ixnuity.     Take  them  in. 
Pol.  Come,  sirs. 

Ham.  Follow  him,  friends  :  we  '11  hear  a  play  to-morrow. 
[Ar/t  Polonhis  vith  all  the  Plai/f'r.1  bvt  the  First.']     Dost  thou 
hear  me,  old  friend  ;  can  yrm  ]>lay  the  Mui'der  of  (ionzago? 
First  Play.  Ay,  my  loi-d.  511 

Ham.  We'll  ha't  to-moiiow  night.    You  coukl,  for  a  need, 
study  a  speech  of  some  dozen  or  sixteen  lines,  which  I  would 
Bet  down  and  insert  in  't,  could  you  not  ? 
First  Play.  Ay,  my  lonl. 

Ham.  Very  well.     Follow  that   lord  ;  ami  luok  you  mock 
him  not.     {Exit  First  Player.]     My  goorl  friends,  I  11   lea\e 
you  till  night  :  you  are  welcome  to  Elsinore. 
Hos.  Good  my  lord  I 

Ham.  Ay,  so,  (iod   lie  wi'  ye  ;     {Exeunt  Ilosencrant:  and 
Ouildemtern .]  Now  I  ;iiii  aiuue.  520 


50  HAMLET,  [act  ii. 

O,  what  a  rogue  and  peasant  slave  am  1 1  "'^'^^^^^^^^/Jy/j^ii 
/  Is  it  not  monstrous  that  this  player  liere,         /O  ^.^cC'fc*-'*'*''^*'-*^ 

^Z^St.(^C^      But  in  a  fiction,  in  a  dream  of  passion, 
^  Could  force  his  soul  so  to  his  own  conceit 

^r  v^/That  from  her  working  all  his  visage  wann'd, 
^^^r^      Tears  in  his  eyes,  distraction  in 's  aspect, 
JjUO^       A  broken  voice,  and  his  whole  function  suiting 

With  forms  to  his  conceit  ?  and  all  for  nothing  ! 

For  Hecuba  ! 

What 's  Hecuba  to  him,  or  he  to  Hecuba,  530 

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  anti  apjjal  the  free,-^^^;^^^^.^:^^  ^  ^^''t^f^. 

Confound  the  ignorant,  ancTamaze  indeed 

The  very  faculties  of  eyes  and  ears. 

Yet  I, 

A  dull  and  muddy-mettled  rascal,  peak,  -       i 

Like  John-a_-d'''^'^"T«j  unpregnant  of  my  cause,  ^^*™^^^cr; 

And  can  say  nothing  ;  no,  not  for  a  king,  '^^'^-^^^^^'Axii^ 

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  deej^  as  to  the  lungs  ?  who  does  me  this  ? 

Ha!  "  i 

'Swounds,  I  should  take  it  :  for  it  cannot  be 

But  I  am  pigeon-liver'd  and  lack  gall  550 

To  make  oppression  bitter,  or  ere  this 

I  should  have  fatted  all  the  region  kites 

With  this  slave's  offal :  bloody,  bawdy  villain  ! 

Remorseless,  treachei'ous,  lecherous,  kindless  villain  ! 

O,  vengeance  ! 

Why,  what  an  ass  am  I  !     This  is  most  biave. 


STENF  11.]  HAMLET.  51 

That  I,  the  son  of  a  dear  fatlier  umrder'd, 

Prompted  to  n^y  revenge  by  heaven  and  liell, 

Must,  like  a  whore,  unpack  my  heart  witli  words, 

And  fall  a-cursing,  like  a  very  drab,  560  ^ 

A  scullion  1  yn  /^^      T 

Fie  upon't  I  foh  !     About^^  my  brain  !     I  have  lieard     (o-^-'  m^^JXua^ 

That  guilty  creatures  sitting  at  a  play 

Have  by  the  veiy  cunning  of  the  scene 

Been  struck  so  to  the  soul  that  presently 

They  have  proclaim'd  their  malefactions  ; 

For  murder,  though  it  have  no  tongue,  will  speak 

With  most  miraculous  organ.     I  '11  have  these  j)layers 

Plav  something  like  the  murder  of  my  fatlier  , 

Before  mine  uncle  :  I  '11  ob.serve  his  looks  ;        /^  />J^jil.^AjP^   -^uJi^^ 

rill  t_ent  him  to  the.quicjc_:  if  he  but  blench,  li/v^^ /^^'^^^  .      ^  , 

1  know  my  course.     The  spirit  that  I  have  seen     ^'/^^  ^QMCauUo^ 

May  be  the  devil  :  and  the  devil  hath  powei'  ^^Z,^JL-^.<>C^ 

To  as.sume  a  pleasing  shape  ;  yea,  and  peihaps  g 

Out  of  my  weakness  and  my  melancholy, 

As  he  is  very  potent  with  such  spirits, 

Abuses  me  to  damn  me  :  I  '11  liave  grounds 

More  relative  than  this  :  the  )>lay  's  the  thing 

Wherein  I'll  catch  the  conscience  of  the  king.  {Exit. 


ACT  m. 

ScENK  I.     A  room  in  tho  rantlp. 

Enter  King,  Quekn,  Polonius,  Ophelia,  Rosencrantz,  nml 

GUILDEN.STERX. 

Khuf.  And  can  you,  by  no  diift  of  cinuni.stance. 
Get  from  liim  why  he  ))uts  on  iliis  cuutiisioii, 
fJrating  n(t  harshly  all  liis  days  of  i|nifl 
With  turliulfiil  and  danj^t-rous  lunacy  '. 

ltd*,    lie  does  confess  he  feels  iiimsilt  ijist  raitcij  ; 


52  HAMLET.  [act  iii. 

But  from  what  cause  he  will  by  no  means  speak. 

Gidld.  Nor  do  we  find  him  forward  to  be  sounded, 
But,  with  a  crafty  madness,  keeps  aloof, 
When  we  would  l)ring  him  on  to  some  confession 
Of  his  true  state.  V 

Queen.  Did  he  receive  you  well  ?  10 

Ros.  Most  like  a  gentleman. 

Gnil.  But  with  much  forcing  of  his  disposition.  I 

lios.  Niggard  of  question  ;  but,  of  our  demands,      ,  ; 

Most  free  in  his  reply.  \ 

Queen.  Did  you  assay  him  ! 

To  any  pastime  ?  •      i 

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 ;  and  it  doth  much  content  me 
To  hear  him  so  inclined. 
Good  gentlemen,  give  him  a  further  edge, 
And  drive  his  purjjose  on  to  tliese  delights. 

Rof^.   We  shall,  my  lord. 

\Exennt  Rosencrantz  mid  Omidenstern. 

King.  Sweet  Gertrude,  lea\'e  us  too  ; 

For  we  have  closely  sent  for  Hamlet  hither, 
That  he,  as  'twere  by  accident,  may  here  30 

Afiront  Ophelia  : 

Her  father  and  my.self,  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 


scKNEr.j  HAMLKT.  53 

That  tiuis  lie  suHVis  for. 

<Jnee».  I  sli.tll  nix  v  you. 

Ami  foi'  voiir  |>ait,  ()]>liolia,  I  dn  wisli 
That  viiur  i^ood  beauties  be  the  happv  cause 
Uf  Hauilet's  wilduess  :  so  shall  I  hope  your  virtues  40 

Will  briu-r  him  t<i  his  wonted  wav  attain, 
To  both  your  hououi's. 

Oph.  Madam,  I  wish  it  may.     [Exit  (^iweu. 

Pol.  Ophelia,  walk  you  here.     Gracious,  so  ])lease  you, 
We  will  bestow  ounselves.    yPo  Ophelia.^     Read  o?i  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  ])ious  action  we  do  sui,'ar  o'er 
Thf  <lfvil  himself. 

Kiiuj.       [.\si(Ie.'\  (),  'tis  too  true  I 
How  smart  a  lash  that  .s])eech  doth  give  my  conscience  I      50 
The  harlot's  cheek,  beautified  with  plastering  art, 
Is  not  more  ugly  to  the  thing  that  helps  it 
Than  is  my  deed  to  my  most  painted  word  : 
(J  heavy  buithen  I 

Pol.  I  hear  him  coming  :  let's  withdraw,  my  loid. 

[E.veunt  King  and  Polonins. 

Enter  Hamlkt. 

Hfim.  To  be,  or  not  to  be  :  that  is  the  (luestinn  ; 
Whether  'tis  nobler  in  the  nn'nd  to  sutler 
The  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune, 
( )r  to  take  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles. 
And  by  opposing  enil  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 
hevoutly  t<»  be  wi.sh'd.     To  die,  to  sleep  ; 
To  sleejt  :   pen-hance  to  dream  :   ay,  tiiere  s  tlie  rub  ; 
For  in  that  sleep  of  death  what  dreams  may  -.ome 


64  HAMLET.  [ACT  in. 

Wlien  we  have  shuffled  otf  this  mortal  coil, 
Must  give  us  pause  :  there  's  the  respect^ 
That  niakes  calamity  of  so  long  life  ; 

For  who  would  bear  the  whi])s  and  st-orns  of  time,  70 

The  oppressor's  wrong,  the  jtroud  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  ^t.^-^'^-A'*^ 
A^-'^^^k,  -^Vith  a  bare^bodkin  ?  who  would  fardels  bear,  ..^uct,^^.cijUj 
My^JT/Ji  To  grunt  and  sweat  under  a  weary  life, 

ij  ^  Rut  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        — - 
\_Js  sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought,\ 
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. 

OTph.  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  tlid  ; 
And,  with  them,  words  of  so  sweet  breath  composed 
As  made  the  things  more  rich  :  their  perfume  lost. 
Take  these  again  ;  for  to  the  noble  mind  100 


MKNF,  I.]  HAMI.KT.  55 

Kicli  gifts  wax  poor  when  jiivers  prove  unkind. 
Tlit'ie,  my  lonl.    .     / 

Haul.  Ha,  ha  I  are  you  honest? 

Oph.   My  lord  .' 

Ham.  Are  you  fair  ? 

Opii.   What  means  your  lordship  i* 

Ham.  That  if  you  be  honest  and  fair,  your  honesty  should 
admit  no  discourse  to  your  beauty. 

Oph.  Could  beauty,  my  hud,  have  better  commerce  than 
with  ho^iesty  ?  110 

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. 

Oph.  Indeed,  my  lord,  you  made  me  believe  so. 

Ham.  You  should  not  liave  believed  me  ;  for  virtue  can- 
not so  inoculate  our  old  stock  but  we  shall  relish  of  it :  I 
loved  you  not. 

Oph.  I  was  the  more  deceived.  120 

Ham.  (Jet  tliee  to  a  nuiniery  :  why  wouldst  thou  be  a 
breeder  of  sinners?  I  am  myself  inditierent  honest;  but 
yet  I  could  accuse  me  of  such  things  that  it  were  better  my 
n)other  had  not  liorne  me  :  I  am  very  proud,  revengeful,  am- 
bitious, with  more  oiiences  at  my  beck  than  I  have  thoughts 
to  put  them  in,  imaginati(jn  to  give  them  shape,  or  time  to 
act  them  in.  What  should  such  fellows  as  I  do  crawling 
between  earth  and  heaven  ?  We  are  arrant  knaves,  all  ; 
believe  none  of  us.  Go  thy  ways  to  a  nunnery.  Where's 
your  father?  130 

Oph.  At  home,  my  lord. 

Ham.  Let  the  doors  be  shut  upon  him,  that  lie  may  play 
the  fool  no  where  but  in 's  f)wn  house.     Farewell. 

Oph.  (),  hfjp  him,  you  sweet  heavens  ! 

Ham.  if  tliou  dost  marry,  I'll  give  thee  this  plague  for 
thy  dowry  :  be  thou  as  chaste  as  ice,  as  pure  as  snow,  thou 


56  HAMLET.  [act  in. 

shalt  not  escape  calumny.  Get  thee  to  a  mnniery,  go  :  fare- 
well. Oi-,  if  thou  wilt  needs  marry,  marry  a  fool  ;  fur  wise 
men  know  well  enough  what  monsters  you  make  of  them. 
To  a  nunnery,  go,  and  quickly  too.     Farewell.  140 

Oph.  O  heavenly  powers,  restore  him  ! 

Ham.  I  have  heard  of  your  paintings  too,  well  enough  ; 
God  has  given  you  one  face,  and  you  make  yourselves  an- 
other :  you  jig,  you  amble,  and  \o\\  lisp,  and  nick-name 
God's  creatures,  and  make  your  wantonness  your  ignorance. 
Go  to,  I  '11  no  more  on  't  ;  it  hath  niade  me  mad.  I  say,  we 
will  have  no  more  marriages  :  those  that  are  married  al- 
ready, all  but  one,  shall  live  ;  the  rest  shall  keep  as  they 
are.     To  a  nurihei'-y,  go.  \_Ex).t. 

Oph.  O,  what  a  noble  mind  is  here  o'erthrown  !  150 

The  courtier's,  scholar's,  soldier'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  obsei'vers,  quite,  (juite  down  '. 
And  I,  of  ladies  most  deject  and  wretched, 
That  suck'd  the  honey  of  his  music  vows. 
Now  see  that  noble  and  most  sovereign  reason, 
Like  sweet  bells  jangled  out  of  tune,  and  harsh  ; 
That  unmatch'd  form  and  feature  of  blown  jouth 
Blasted  with  ecstasy  :  O,  woe  is  me,  160 

To  have  seen  what  I  have  seen,  see  what  I  see  ! 

Re-enter  King  and  Polonius. 

Kitiq.  Love  !  his  affections  do  not  that  way  tend  ; 
Nor  what  he  spake,  though  it  lack'd  form  a  little, 
Was  not  like  niadness.     There's  something  in  his  soul. 
O'er  which  his  melancholy  sits  on  brood  ; 
And  I  do  doubt  the  hatch  and  the  disclose 
Will  be  some  danger  :  which  for  to  prevent, 
I  have  in  quick  determination 
Thus  set  it  down  :  he  shall  with  speed  to  England, 


Sf-KNK  i]  HAMLET.  57 

Fur  tlie  (K-mand  of  our  nei,'lt'cti'(l  tribute  :  170 

HH|ily  tlir  seas  and  couutrie-s  dirt'ereiit 

With  variaVile  objects  shall  expel 

This  something-settled  matter  in  liis  heart, 

Whereon  his  l>rains  still  beating  puts  him  thus 

Prom  fashion  of  himself.      What  think  yon  on  't  ? 

I'ol.   It  shall  do  well  :  but  yet  do  I  believe 
The  origin  and  i-ommencement  of  his  grief 
Sprung  from  neglected  love.     How  now,  Ophelia  ! 
Yon  need  not  tell  us  what  Lord  Hamlet  said  ; 
We  heard  it  all.     My  lord,  do  as  you  please  ;  180 

But,  if  you  hold  it  fit,  after  the  play 
Let  his  queen  mother  all  alone  entreat  him 
Til  show  his  grief  :  let  her  be  round  with  him  ; 
And  1  "11  be  jilaced,  so  please  you,  in  the  ear 
Of  all  their  conference.     If  she  find  him  not, 
To  England  send  him,  or  confine  liim  where 
Your  wisdom  best  shall  think. 

KiiKj.  It  shall  be  so  : 

Mailncss  in  great  ones  must  not  nnwatch'il  go.  \_Exeunt. 

iScKNK   II.     ..1   ImU  1)1  tin:  <:astle. 

Enter  Hamlet  and  Pl;iyers. 

Ham.  Speak  the  speech,  I  pray  you,  as  1  ]»ouounced  it  to 
you,  trippingly  on  the  tongue  :  but  if  you  mouth  it,  as  many 
of  your  jilayers  do,  I  Inul  as  lief  the  town-crier  spoke  my 
lines.  Nor  do  not  .saw  the  air  too  much  with  your  hand, 
thns,  but  use  all  gently  ;  for  in  the  very  torrent,  tempest, 
and,  as  I  may  say,  tlie  whirlwind  of  ])assion,  you  must 
a<<|uire  and  beget  a  tem])eranci'  that  may  give  it  smoothness. . 
< ',  it  oflcnds  me  to  the  soul  to  hear  a  roljustions  jjcriwig- 
I)ated  fellow  tear  a  passion  to  tatters,  to  very  rags,  to  split 
the  ears  of  the  groun<llings,  wlm  fur  tlir  most  part  arc 
capable  of  nothing  but  inexplicable  dumb-shows  and   noise  : 


58  HAMLET.  [act  hi. 

I  would  have  .such  a  fellow  whipperl  for o*'erdoiiig Termagant; 
it  out-herods  Herod  :  pra}'  you,  avoid  it.  13 

First  Play.  I  wanunt  your  honour. 

Ham.  Be  not  too  tame  neither,  but  let  your  own  discretion 
be  your  tutor  :  .suit  the  action  to  the  word,  the  word  to  the 
action  ;  with  this  special  observance,  that  you  o'erstep  not 
the  modesty  of  nature  :  for  any  thing  so  overdone  is  from 
the  {Hirpose  of  playing,  whose  end,  both  at  tlie  first  and  now, 
^  was  and  is,  to  hold,  as  'twere,  the  miiTor  up  to  nature  ;  to 
show  virtue  her  own  feature,  scorn  her  own  image,  and  the 
very  age  and  body  of  the  time  his  form  and  pressui-e.  Now 
\  this  overdone,  or  come  tardy  off,  though  it  make  the  unskil- 
ful laugh,  cannot  but  make  the  judicious  grieve  ;  the  censure 
of  the  which  one  must  in  your  allowance  o'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  pro- 
fanely, that,  neither  having  the  accent  of  Christians  nor  the 
gait  of  Christian,  pagan,  nor  man,  have  so  strutted  and  bel- 
lowed that  I  have  thought  some  of  nature's  journeymen  had 
made  men  and  not  made  them  well,  they  imitated  humanity 
so  abominably.  32 

First  Play.  I  hope  we  have  reformed  that  indifferently 
with  us,  sir. 

Ham.  O,  refoi'm  it  altogether.  And  let  those  that  play 
your  clowns  speak  no  more  than  is  set  down  for  them  ;  for 
there  be  of  them  that  will  themselves  laugh,  to  set  on  some 
quantity  of  barren  spectators  to  laugh  too  ;  though,  in  the 
mean  time,  some  necessary  question  of  the  play  be  then  to 
be  considered  :  that's  villanous,  and  shows  a  most  pitiful 
ambition  in  the  fool  that  uses  it.     Go,  make  you  ready.       41 

l^Exe^iiit  Players. 

Enter  Polonius,  Rosencrantz,  and  G-uildenstern. 

How  now,  my  lord  I  will  the  king  hear  this  piece  of  work  ? 
Pol.  And  the  queen  too,  and  that  presently.     - 


scENKii.]  HAMLET.  59 

Hnm.   Bid  tlie  players  make  haste.     [Exit  I'olonius.]    Will 
you  two  help  to  lia.-^ten  them  . 

'  Wv  ■will,  my  lord  ! 
Guil.  j 

[Exeunt  Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern. 

Ham.  Wliat  ho  I  Horatio. 

Enter  Horatio. 

Hvr.   Here,  sweet  lord,  at  your  service. 

Ham.  Horatio,  thou  art  e'en  as  just  a  luau 
As  e'er  my  couversatiou  coped  withal.  50 

Hor.  O,  my  dear  lord, — 

Ham.  Nay,  do  not  think  I  flatter  ; 

For  wliat  advancement  ma}'  1  hope  from  thee 
That  no  revenue  hast  l)ut  thy  j,'ood  spirits, 
To  feed  and  clothe  thee  '.      Why  should  the  |)oor  be  flattei^'d  ? 
No,  let  the  candied  tongue  lick  absurd  pomp, 
And  crook  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee 
W^here  thrift  mav  follow  fawiu'ng.      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  ;  foi-  tlwju  hast  been  60 

As  one,  in  suffering  all,  that  suffers  nothing, 
A  man  that  fortune's  buffets  and  rewards 
Hast  ta'en  with  equal  thanks  :   and  blest  are  those 
Whose  bliMid  and  judgement  are  so  well  commingled, 
That  they  are  not  a  pipe  for  foitune's  finger 
To  siiund  what  stop  she  ])lease.     (iivt;  nic  that  man 
That  is  not  passion's  slave,  and  1  will  wear  him 
In  my  heart's  core,  ay,  in  my  heart  of  heart, 
As  I  do  thee. — Something  too  mm  li  (jf  this. — 
There  is  a  play  to-night  before  the  king  ;  70 

One  scene  of  it  comes  near  the  circum.stance, 
Which  r  have  told  thee,  of  my  father's  death  : 
I  prithee,  when  thou  seest  that  act  afoot, 
Even  with  the  very  comment  (jf  thy  s(ju1 


60  HAMLET.  [act  III. 

Observe  mine  uncle  :  if  liis  occulted  guilt 

Do  not  itself  unkennel  in  one  sjieech, 

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,  80 

And  after  we  will  botli  our  judgements  join 

In  censure  of  his  seeming. 

Hor.  Well,  my  lord  : 

If  he  steal  aught  the  whilst  this  play  is  playing, 
And  'scape  detecting,  I  will  pay  the  theft. 

Ham.  They  are  coming  to  the  play  ;  I  must  be  idle  : 
Get  you  a  place. 

Danish  march.     A  JI,ourish.     Enter  King,  Queen,  Polonius, 
Ophelia,  Rosencrantz,  Guildenstern,  and  others. 

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. 

KiiHf.  I  have   nothing  with   this  answer,  Hamlet ;    these 
words  are  not  mine.  91 

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  CVsar  :  I  was  killed  i'  the  Capitol  ; 
Brutus  killed  me. 

Ham.  It  was  a  brute  part  of  him  to  kill  so  capital  a  calf 
theie.     Be  the  players  ready  ? 

Ros.   Ay,  my  lord  ;  they  stay  ui)on  your  patience.  100 

Queen.  Come  hither,  my  dear  Handet,  sit  by  me. 

Ham.  No,  good  mother,  here 's  metal  moi'e  attractive. 

Pol.  [  To  the  Kiiiff]  O,  ho  !  do  you  mark  that  ? 

Ham.  Lady,  shall  I  lie  in  your  lap  ? 

[^Lying  doicn  at  Ojihelia^s  feet. 


SCENE  II.]  HAMLET.  Gl 

Oph.  No,  my  lord. 

Ham.  I  mean,  my  liead  uj)on  your  lap  ? 

Oph.  You  are  merry,  my  loril. 

Ham.  Who,  I  ? 

Oph.  Ay,  my  lord.  109 

Ham.  O  God,  your  only  jiy-niaker.     What  should  a  man  do 
but  be  merry  '.  for,  look  you,  how  cheerfully  my  mother  looks,  J 
and  my  father  died  within 's  two  hours. 

Oph.  Nay,  'tis  twice  two  months,  my  lord. 

Havi.  So  long  ?  Nay  then,  let  the  devil  wear  black,  for 
I  '11  have  a  suit  of  sables.  O  heavens  !  die  two  months  at;o, 
and  not  forgotten  yet  ?  Then  there 's  hope  a  great  man's 
memory  may  outlive  his  life  half  a  year  :  bnt,  by  'r  lady,  he 
must  build  churches,  then  ;  or  else  shall  he  suffer  not  think- 
ing on,  with  the  hobby-horse,  whose  epitaph  is  '  For,  O,  for, 
U,  the  holiby-horse  is  forgot.'  120 


IJuiUhuy.'i  plat/.      The  dumh-slioic  enters. 

Enter  a  King  and  a  Queen  very  lovingly ;  the  Queen  em- 
hrachig  him,  and  he  her.  She  kneels,  and  make-f  show  of 
protestation  unto  him.  lie  takes  her  7(p,  and  declines  his 
head  vpon  her  neck  :  lays  him  down  upon  a  bank  of  flowers: 
she,  seeing  him  asleep,  leaves  him.  Anon  comes  in  a  fellow, 
takes  of  his  croini,  kisses  it,  and  pours  poison  in  the  King's 
ears,  and  e.rit.  The  Queen  returns  ;  finds  the  King  dead, 
ami  makes  passionate  action.  The  Poisoner,  icith  some  two 
or  three  Mutes,  comes  in  again,  seeming  to  lament  loith 
her.  The  dead  body  is  carried  aivay.  The  Poisoner  wooes 
the  Queen  icith  gifts :  she  seems  loth  and  nnwilling  awhile, 
but  in  the  end  accepts  his  lore.  [/i.reunt. 

Oph.   What  means  thi.s,  my  lord  I  1.3.3 

//'////.   Maiiy,  this  is  miching  mallecho  ;  it  means  mischief. 
Oph.   Belike  this  show  imports  the  argument  of  tin-  play. 


62  HAMLET.  '  [act  in. 

Enter  Prologue. 

Ham.  We  shall  know  bv  tlil.s  fellow  :  the  players  cannot 
keep  counsel  ;  they'll  tell  all. 

Oph.  Will  he  tell  us  what  this  show  meant  ? 

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'll    mark    the 
play.  142 

Pro.  For  us,  and  for  our  tragedy, 

Here  stooping  to  your  clemency. 

We  beg  your  hearing  patiently.  [Exit. 

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

Oph.  'Tis  l)rief,  my  lord. 

Ham.  As  woman's  love. 

Enter  two  Players,  King  and  Queen. 

P.  King.   Full    thirty    times    hath    Phcebus'   cart   gone 
round 
Neptune's  salt  wash  and  Tellus'  orl)ed  ground.  150 

And  thirty  dozen  moons  with  borrow'd  sheen 
About  the  world  have  times  twelve  thirties  been, 
Since  love  our  hearts  and  Hymen  did  our  hands 
Unite  commutual  in  most  sacred  bands. 

P.  Queen.  So  many  journeys  may  the  sun  and  moon 
Make  us  again  count  o'er  ere  love  be  done  I 
But,  woe  is  me,  you  are  so  sick  of  late, 
So  far  from  cheer  and  from  your  former  state. 
That  I  ilistrust  you.     Yet,  though  I  distrust. 
Discomfort  you,  my  lord,  it  nothing  must  :  160 

For  women's  fear  and  love  holds  quantity  ; 
In  neither  aught,  oi'  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  aie  fear  ; 
Where  little  fears  grow  great,  great  love  grows  there. 


SCENE  Ti.]  HAMLKT.  G3 

/'.  A7«<7.  'Faith,  I  must  leave  tliee,  love, and  sliditly  too; 
My  <i|K'rant  pi)\vers  tlioir  functions  leave  to  do  : 
And  thou  shalt  live  in  this  fair  wuild  behiml, 
Honour'd,  beloved  ;  and  hajjly  one  as  kind  170 

For  husband  shalt  thou — 

P.  Queen.  O,  oonfoinid  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.  Qtieen.  The  instances  that  second  marriage  move 
Are  base  resjjects  of  thrift,  Init  none  of  love  : 
A  second  time  I  kill  my  husband  dead, 
AVhen  second  husband  kisses  me  in  bed. 

/'.  Kim/.  I  do  believe  you  think  what  now  you  sjieak  ; 
But  what  we  do  determine  oft  we  lireak.  181 

Purpose  is  but  the  slave  to  memory, 
Of  violent  birth,  l)ut  poor  validity  : 
Which  now,  like  fruit  unripe,  sticks  on  the  tree  ; 
But  fall,  unshaken,  when  they  mellow  be. 
Most  necessary  'tis  that  we  forget 
To  j)ay  ourselves  wliat  to  ourselves  is  debt : 
What  to  ourselves  in  passion  we  pro])ose, 
The  passion  ending,  doth  the  purpose  lose. 
The  violence  of  either  grief  or  joy  190 

Their  own  enactures  with  themselves  destroy  : 
Where  joy  most  revels,  grief  doth  most  lament  ; 
Grief  joys,  joy  grieve.s,  on  .slender  accident. 
This  world  is  not  for  aye,  nor  'tis  not  strange 
Tliat  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. 
The  great  man  ilown,  you  mark  his  favourite  Hies  ; 
Tlie  )»oor  advancecl  makes  friends  of  enemies. 
And  hitheito  dotli  love  on  fortmie  tend  :  ?00 

For  who  hot  needs  shall  ne\ci'  lack  a  friend, 


64  HAMLET.  [act  in. 

And  who  in  want  a  hollow  friend  d(jth  tiy, 

Directly  seasons  him  his  enemy. 

But,  orderly  to  end  where  I  begnn, 

Our  wills  and  fates  tlo  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  ; 

But  die  thy  thoughts  when  thy  first  lord  is  dead. 

P.  Queen.  Nor  earth  to  me  give  food,  nor  lieaven  light  ! 

Sport  and  repose  lock  from  me  day  and  night !  211 

To  desperation  turn  my  trust  and  hope  ! 

An  anchor's  cheer  in  prison  he  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  la.sting  strife, 

If,  once  a  widow,  ever  I  be  wife  ! 

Ham.  If  she  should  break  it  now  ! 

P.  King.  'Tis  tleejily  sworn.  Sweet,  leave  nie  here  awhile  ; 

My  spirits  grow  dull,  and  fain  I  would  beguile  220 

The  tedious  day  with  sleep.  [Sleeps. 

P.  Queen.  Sleep  rock  thy  brain  ; 

And  never  come  mischance  between  us  twain  !  [Exit. 

Ham.  Madam,  how  like  you  this  play  ? 

Queen.  The  lady  doth  protest  too  much,  methinks. 

Ham.  O,  but  she^ll  keej;)  her  word. 

King.  Have  you  heaitl  the  argument  ?  Is  there  no  offence 
in't? 

Ham.  No,  no,  they  do  but  jest,  poison  in  jest  ;  no  offence 
i'  the  world. 

King.   What  do  you  call  the  play  ?  230 

Ham.  The  Mouse-trap.  Marry,  how  ?  Tropically.  This 
play  is  the  image  of  a  murder  done  in  Vienna  :  Gonzagn  is 
the  duke's  name  ;  his  wife,  Baptista  :  you  shall  see  anon  ;  'tis 
a  knavish  pigce  of  work  :  but  what  o'  that  ?  your  majesty  and 
we  that  have  free  souls,  it  touches  us  not  :  let  the  galled  jade 
wince,  our  witheis  are  unwrung. 


•srENKii-:  hA.MLET.  05 


Enter  Lucianus. 

This  is  one  Luciamus,  iu-]>lif\\  to  tlic  kiiiLj. 
Oph.   Villi  are  as  good  as  a  clionis,  my  loixl. 
Ham.  I  oovild  interpret  between  you  and  your  love,  if  I 
could  see  the  puppets  dallying.  240 

Oph.  Still  better,  autl  worse. 

Ham.  So  you  must  take  your  husbands.  Begin,  murderer  ; 
leave  thy  damnable  faces,  and  begin.  Come  :  'the  croaking 
raven  doth  bellow  for  revenge.' 

Luc.  Thoughts    black,   hands  apt,   drugs    tit,   and    time 
agreeing  ; 
Confederate  season,  else  no  creature  seeing  ; 
Thou  mixture  rank,  of  midnight  weeds  collected, 
With  Hecate's  ban  thrice  blasted,  thiicc  infected. 
Thy  natural  magic  and  dire  property 

On  wholesome  life  usurp  immediately.  250 

\^Ponrs  the  poison  into  the  sleeper's  earn. 
Ham.   He   poisons   him   i'   the   gaiden   for's  estate.       His 
name's  Gonzago  :    the   .story  is  extant,  and   writ   in   choice 
Italian  :  you  .shall  see  anon  how  the  murderer  gets  the  love 
iif  Gonzjigo's  wife., 
Oph.  The  king  rises. 
Ham.  What,  frighted  with  false  tire  ! 
Queen.   How  fares  my  lord  / 
Pol.  Give  o'er  the  play. 
King.  Give  me  some  light  :  away  ! 

All.  Lights,  lights,  lights  !  2(50 

\_E.veiint  all  but  Hamlet  and  Horatio. 
Ham.  Why,  let  the  stricken  deer  go  weep, 
Tlie  hart  ungalled  play  ; 
For  .some  must  watch,  while  some  must  .sleep  : 
So  runs  the  woi  id  away. 
NVouId  not  this,  sir,  and  a  forest  of  feathers — if  the  rest  of  my 
fitrtiines  turn  Tuik  with  me — with   two   Pi-ovineial   roses  on 
my  i-azeil  shoes,  get  nic  a  fclluwsliip  in  a  cry  of  player.s,  sir  ( 

a. 


66  HAMLET.  [act  III. 

Hor.  Half  a  share. 
Ham.  A  whole  one,  I. 

For  thou  dost  know,  O  Damon  dear,  270 

This  realm  dismantled  was 
Of  Jove  himself  ;  and  now  reigns  here 
A  very,  very — pa  jock. 
Hor.  You  might  have  rhymed. 

Hcnn.  O  good   Horatio,  I  '11   take   the   ghost's  word  fur  a 
thousand  j^ound.     Didst  perceive  ? 
Hor.  Very  well,  my  lord. 
Ham.  Upon  the  talk  of  poisoning  ? 
Hor.   I  did  very  well  note  him. 

Ham.  Ah,  ha  !     Come,  some  music  I  come,  the  recorders  ! 
For  if  the  king  like  not  the  comedy,  281 

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. 

Guil.  The  king,  sir, — 

Ham.  Ay,  sir,  what  of  him  ? 

Guil.  Is  in  his  retirement  marvellous  distempered. 

Ham.  With  drink,  sir  ? 

Guil.  No,  my  lord,  rather  with  choler.  290 

Ham.  Your  wisdom  should  show  itself  more  richer  to 
signify  this  to  his  doctor  ;  for,  for  me  to  put  him  to  his 
])urgation  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  aiFair. 

Ham.  I  am  tame,  sir  :  pronounce. 

Guil.  The  queen,  your  motlier,  in  most  great  affliction  of 
spirit,  hath  sent  me  to  you. 

Ham.  You  are  welcome.  29D 

Guil.  Nay,  good  my  lord,  this  courtesy  is  not  of  the  right 
breed.      If  it  shall   please   you  to   make  me  a  wholesome 


si-KNKii.]  HA.MLET.  G7 

answer,  I  will  do  y()\ir  mother's  conimandnient  :  if  not,  your 
panion  and  my  return  sliall  be  the  en<l  df  my  liusiness. 

Ilam.  Sir,  1  cannot. 

GuU.  What,  my  lord  ? 

Hum.  Make  y(tu  a  wholesome  answer  ;  my  wit 's  diseased  : 
but,  sir,  such  answer  as  I  can  make,  you  shall  command  ;  or, 
rather,  as  you  say,  my  mother  ;  therefore  no  more,  but  to  the 
matter  :  my  mother,  you  say, — 

Hon.  Then  thus  she  says  ;  your  behaviour  hatli  struck  her 
into  amazement  and  admiration.  311 

Ham.  O  wonderful  son,  that  can  so  astonish  a  mother  ! 
But  is  there  no  sequel  at  the  heels  of  this  mother's  admira- 
tion >.      Impart. 

A'fw.  She  desires  to  speak  with  you  in  her  closet,  ere  you 
go  to  bed. 

Ham.  We  siiall  obey,  were  she  ten  times  our  mother. 
Have  you  any  further  trade  with  us  ? 

lios.  My  lord,  you  once  did  love  me.  ^ 

Ham.  So  I  do  still,  by  these  pickers  and  stealers.  320 

lios.  (iood  my  lord,  what  is  your  cause  of  distemper?  you 
do,  surely,  l>ar  the  door  upon  your  own  liberty,  if  you  deny 
vour  griefs  to  vour  friend. 

Ham.  Sir,  I  lack  advancement. 

litis.  How  can  that  be,  when  you  have  the  voice  of  the 
king  hiuLself  for  your  succession  in  Denmark  '. 

Ham.  Ay,  sir,  but  '  While  tlie  grass  grows,' — the  proverb 
is  something  musty. 

Re-enter  Players  with  rec(»'der.i. 

f),  the  recorders  1  let  me  see  one.  To  withdiaw  with  you  : — 
why  <lo  you  go  about  to  recover  the  wind  <if  me,  as  if  you 
would  drive  me  into  a  toil  ?  331 

(Juil.  (J.  mv  lord,  if  mv  <luty  Ijc  too  l)i)ld,  my  love  is  too 
unmannerly. 

Ham.  1  (Id  not  well  understand  that.  Will  you  play  u|H>n 
this  pipe  ? 


68  HAMLET.  [act  iit. 

Guil.  My  lord,  I  cannot. 

Ham.  I  pray  you. 

iJnil.  Believe  me,  I  cannot. 

Ham.  I  do  l)e.seech  you.  * 

Guil.  I  know  no  touch  of  it,  my  loi'd.  340 

Ham.  'Tis  as  easy  as  lying  :  govern  these  ventages  with 
your  fingers  and  thuml),  give  it  breath  with  your  mouth,  and 
it  will  discourse  most  eloquent  music,  l^ook  you,  these  are 
the  stops. 

Guil.  But  these  cannot  I  command  to  any  utterance  of 
harmony  :  I  have  not  the  skill. 

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  nuisic,  excellent  voice, 
in  this  little  organ  ;  yet  cannot  you  make  it  speak.  'Sblood, 
do  you  think  I  am  easier  to  be  played  on  than  a  pipe  ?  Call 
me  what  instrument  you  will,  though  you  can  fret  me,  yet 
you  cannot  play  upon  me. 

Enter  Polonius. 

Goa  bless  you,  sir  ! 

Pol.  My  lord,  the  queen  would  speak  with  you,  and 
presently. 

Ham.  Do  you  see  yonder  cloud  that 's  almost  in  shape  of  a 
camel  ?  36C 

Pol.  By  the  mass,  and  'tis  like  a  camel,  indeed. 

Ham.  Methinks  it  is  like  a  weasel. 

Pol.  It  is  backed  like  a  weasel. 

Ham.  Or  like  a  whale  ? 

Pol.  Verv  like  a  whale. 

Ham.  Then  I  will  come  to  my  mother  by  and  by.  [JsjV/t'] 
They  fool  me  to  the  top  of  my  bent.     I  will  come  by  and  by. 

Pol.  I  will  say  so. 


SCKNK  11.) 


HAMLKT. 


69 


Ham.  By  and  by  is  easily  said, 
ine,  friends. 


{^Exit  Polonii's.]     Leave 
[Kreunt  all  but  Hamlet. 


'Ti.><  now  the  very  witching  time  of  niglit,  371 

When  churchyards  yawn  and  hell  itself  breathes  out         j_ 

Contagion  to  this  world  :  now  could  I  drink  hot  blood, 

And  do  such  bitter  business  as  the  day 

Woulil  quake  to  look  on.     Soft  I  now  to  my  mother. 

()  heart,  lose  not  thy  nature  ;  let  not  ever 

The  soul  of  Nero  enter  this  firm  bosom  : 

Let  me  be  cruel,  not  inmatural  : 

I  will  speak  daggers  U)  her,  but  use  none  ; 

My  tongue  and  soul  in  this  be  hypocrites  ;  380 

How  in  my  words  soever  she  be  shent, 

To  give  them  seals  never,  my  soul,  consent !  [Exit. 


Scene  III.     A  room  in  the  castle. 
Enter  King,  Kosen'crastz,  and  Guildenstern. 


Kinff.  T  like  him  not,  nor  stamls  it  .safe  with  us 
To  let  his  ma<lne.ss  range.     Therefore  |)repare  you  ; 
I  your  commi.ssion  will  ff)rthwith  disjiatch. 
And  he  to  England  shall  nlong  with  you 
riie  terms  of  our  e.state  may  not  endure 
Hazard  so  near  us  as  doth  hourly 
Out  of  his  lunacies. 

h'liil.  We  will  ourselves 

Most  holy  and  religious  fear  it  is 
To  kt-ep  those  many  many  bodies  safe 
That  live  and  feed  u|)on  your  majesty. 

lioK.  The  single  and  peculiar  life  is  bound, 
With  all  the  strength  and  ;iiim>ui  of  tlic  mind, 
To  keep  itself  from  noyance  ;  but  much  more 
That  spirit  upon  whose  weal  dejiend  and  rest 
The  lives  of  many.     The  cease  (»f  majesty 
Dies  not  alone  ;  l<ut,  like  a  gulf,  doth  draw 


Ives  provide  :  ^jgy*^^        V     V>-^'"'^ 


I 


70  HAMLET.  [ACT  III. 

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.  Ai'm  you,  T  pray  you,  to  this  sjieedy  voyage  ; 
For  we  will  fetters  put  upon  this  fear. 
Which  now  goes  too  free-footed. 

}We  will  haste  us. 
[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. 

\^Erit  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  Avill  : 

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  enouuh  in  the  sweet  heavens 


srENK  III.]  HAMLET.  71 

To  wash  ri  wliite  as  snow  ?     Whereto  serves  mercy 

But  til  confront  the  visage  of  ottence  \ 

Ami  wliat  s  in  prayer  but  this  two-fold  force, 

To  he  forestalled  ere  we  come  to  fall, 

Or  panlon'd  being  down  ?     Then  I  11  look  up  :  50 

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

Can  serve  my  turn  \     'Forgive  me  my  foul  murder'  I 

That  cannot  be  ;  since  I  am  still  possess'd 

Of  those  effects  for  which  I  did  the  nnirder, 

My  crown,  mine  own  ambition,  and  my  queen. 

May  one  be  jiardon'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  shuttling,  there  the  action  lies 

In  his  true  nature  ;  and  we  ourselves  compell'd, 

Even  to  tlie  teeth  and  forehead  of  oui-  faults, 

To  give  in  evidence.     What  then  ?  what  rests  ? 

Try  what  reiientance  can  :  what  can  it  not  ? 

Yet  what  can  it  when  one  can  not  re})ent  { 

O  wretched  state  !  O  bosom  black  as  death  I 

O  limed  soul,  that,  struggling  to  be  free. 

Art  more  engaged  I     Help,  angels  I     Make  assay  I 

Bow,  stubborn  knees  ;  and,  heart  with  strings  of  steel,        ?(• 

Be  soft  as  sinews  of  the  new-born  babe  1 

All  may  be  well.  [Retires  and  kneels. 

Enter  Hamlkt. 

I/nni.  Now  might  I  do  it  pat,  now  he  is  praying  ; 
.And  now  I  '11  do  it.     And  so  he  goes  to  heaven  ; 
And  so  am  I  revenged.     That  would  be  scaini'd  : 
A  villain  kills  my  father  ;  and  for  that, 
I,  his  sole  son,  <lo  tliis  same  \illain  send 
To  heaven. 
O,  this  is  hire  an<l  salary,  not  revenge. 


72  HAM  LET.  [ACT  III. 

He  took  my  father  rrrossly,  full  of  bi'ead  ;  80 

With  all  his  crimes  broad  l)lowii,  as  flush  as  May  ; 
And  how  his  audit  stands  who  knows  save  heaven  ? 
But  in  our  circumstance  and  course  of  thought, 
'Tis  heavv  witli  him  :  and  am  I  then  revenged, 
To  take  him  in  tlie  purging  of  his  soul, 
When  he  is  fit  and  season'd  for  his  ))assage  'i 
No! 

Uj),  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  ;  90 

At  gaming,  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  ^Jrolongs  thy  sickly  days.  \^Exit. 

King.   \^Rvihig.'\  My  words   fly   up,   my  thoughts   remain 
below  : 
Words  without  thoughts  never  to  heaven  go.  \^Exit. 

Scene  IV.     The  Queen's  closet. 
Enter  Quken  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  hira  coming. 

[Pohmius  hides  behind  the  arras. 

Enter  Hamlet. 

Ham.  Now,  mother,  what's  the  matter? 


scF.NK  IV.]  IIA.MLKT.  73 

l^iieen.  Hamlet,  thou  liast  thy  father  much  oflfended. 

Hum.   Motlier,  you  have  my  fatlier  miitli  offoiided.  lo 

(Jtteen.  Come,  come,  you  answer  witli  an  iiUe  tongue. 

Ham.  Gro,  go,  you  question  with  a  wicked  tongue. 

i/neen.  Why,  how  now,  Hamlet  I 

Ham.  What's  the  matter  now  ? 

Queen.  Have  you  forgot  me  ? 

Ham.  No,  l)v  the  roml,  nut  so  : 

You  are  the  queen,  your  husband's  brother's  wife  ; 
And — would  it  were  not  so  ! — you  are  my  mother. 

Queen.  Nay,  then,  I  '11  set  those  to  you  that  can  speak. 

Ham.  Come,  come,  and  sit  you  down  ;  yon  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  udt  murder  me? 
Help,  help,  ho  ! 

Pol.  [lieliind.']  What,  ho  !  hel|),  help,  help  ! 

Ham.  \^Drawing.'\  How  now!    a  rat?     Dead,  for  a  ducat, 
dead  I  {^Makes  a  pass  througli  tlie  arras. 

Pol.  [Behind.]  O,  I  am  slain  !  [falls  and  dies. 

Queen.  O  me,  wliat  hast  thou  done  ? 

Ham.  Nay,  I  know  not : 

Is  it  the  king  ? 

Qiteeyi.  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  I 

Ham.  Ay,  lady,  'twas  my  word.  30 

[Lifts  up  the  arras  and  discovers  Polonius. 
Thou  wretched,  ra.sh,  intruding  fool,  farewell  ! 
I  took  thee  for  thy  better  :  take  thy  fortune  ; 
'I'hou  find'st  to  be  too  bu.sy  is  some  danger. 
Ijeave  wringing  of  your  hands  :   peace  I  sit  ynu  down. 
And  let  me  wring  your  heart  ;  for  so  1  shall. 
If  it  l»e  made  of  penetralile  stuff, 
If  damned  custom  lia\c  not  biassd  it  .so 


74  HAMLET.  [act  in. 

That  it  be  proof  and  bulwark  against  sense. 

Qmen.  What  have  I  done,  that  thon  darest  wag  thy  tongue 
In  noise  so  rude  against  me  ? 

Ham.  Such  aii  act  40 

That  bhirs  the  grace  and  blush  of  moilesty, 
Calls  virtue  hypocrite,  takes  off  the  rose 
From  the  fair  forehead  of  an  innocent  love 
And  .«ets  a  blister  there,  makes  marriage-vows 
As  false  as  dicers'  oaths  :  O,  such  a  deed 
As  from  the  body  of  contraction  jjlucks 
Tiie  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  doan,  50 

Is  thought-sick  at  the  act. 

Queen.  Ah  me,  what  act. 

That  roars  so  loud,  and  thunders  in  the  index  ? 

Ham.  Look  here,  upon  this  picture,  and  on  tiiis, 
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, 
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  ? 
t'ould  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  liey-day  in  the  blood  is  tame,  it 's  humble, 
And  waits  upon  tlie  judgement  :  and  what  judgement         70 
Would  step  from  this  to  this  ?     Sense,  sure,  you  have, 


scKNEiv.]  HA.MLKT.  75 

Else  could  yon  not  have  motion  ;  but  sure,  that  sense 

Is  apoplex'il  :  for  madness  would  not  orr, 

Nor  sense  to  ecstasy  was  ne  er  so  tlirall'd 

But  it  reserved  some  quantity  of  choice, 

To  serve  in  such  a  difference.     What  devil  was't 

Tliat  thus  liath  cozen'd  you  at  hoodman  Mind  ! 

Eyes  without  feelinjf,  feeling  without  sight, 

Ears  without  hands  or  eyes,  smelling  sans  all, 

Or  but  a  sickly  part  of  one  true  sense  80 

Coidd  not  so  mope. 

O  shame  !  where  is  thy  blush?     Rebellious  hell, 

If  thou  c;inst  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  svuli  bhick  and  grained  spots  90 

As  will  not  leave  their  tinct. 
These  words,  like  daggers,  enter  in  mine  ears  ; 
No  more,  sweet  Hamlet  ! 

//"//*.  A  murderer  and  a  villain  ; 

A  slave  that  is  not  twentieth  part  the  tithe 
Of  your  precedent  lord  ;  a  vice  of  kings  ; 
A  cutpui-se  of  the  empire  and  the  rule, 
Tliat  from  a  .shelf  the  precious  diadem  stole, 
And  put  it  in  his  pocket  I 

Qwen.  No  more  ! 

Ilam.  A  king  of  shreds  an<l  patches, — 

Enter  Ghost. 

Save  me,  and  hover  o'er  me  with  y<>nr  wings,  lOo 

Null  heavenly  guards  !  What  wouhl  your  gracious  figure  ? 
(^leen.  Ahw,  he  's  mad  ? 


76  HAMLET.  [ACT  III. 

Ham.  Do  you  not  come  your  tardy  son  to  chicle, 
That,  lapsed  in  time  and  passion,  lets  go  by 
The  important  acting  of  your  dread  command  / 
O,  say  ! 

'Ghost.  Do  not  forget  :  this  visitation 
Is  but  to  whet  thy  almost  blunted  pui-j)ose. 
But,  look,  amazement  on  thy  mother  sits  : 
O,  step  between  her  and  her  fighting  soul  :  110 

Conceit  in  weakest  liodies  strongest  works  : 
Speak  to  her,  Hamlet. 

Ham.  Bow  is  it  with  you,  lady  ? 

Queen.  Alas,  how  is 't  with  you, 
That  you  do  bend  your  eye  on  vacancy. 
And  with  the  incorporal  air  do  hold  discourse  ? 
Forth  at  your  eyes  your  spirits  wildly  peep  ; 
And,  as  the  sleeping  soldiers  in  the  alarm, 
Your  bedded  hair,  like  life  in  excrements, 
Starts  up,  and  stands  on  end.     O  gentle  son, 
Upon  the  heat  and  flame  of  thy  distemper  120 

Sprinkle  cool  ])atience.     Whereon  do  you  look  ? 

Ham.  On  him,  on  him  !     Look  you,  how  pale  he  glares  ! 
His  form  and  cause  conjoin'd,  preaching  to  stones, 
Would  make  them  capable.     Do  not  look  upon  me  ; 
Lest  with  this  piteous  action  you  convert 
My  stern  effects  :  then  what  I  have  to  do 
Will  want  true  colour  ;  tears  perchance  for  blood. 

Queen.  To  whom  do  you  speak  this  ? 

Ham.  Do  you  see  nothing  there  ? 

Queen.  Nothing  at  all  ;  yet  all  that  is  I  see.  129 

Ham.  Nor  did  you  nothing  hear  ? 

Queen.  No,  nothing  but  ourselves. 

Ham.   Why,  look  you  there  !  look,  how  it  steals  away  ! 
My  father,  in  his  habit  as  he  lived  ! 
L.ook,  where  he  goes,  even  now,  out  at  the  portal  ! 

\^Exit  Ghost. 

Queen.  This  is  the  very  coinage  of  your  brain  : 


scKNK  IV.]  HAMLET.^ 

'riii>_li(Mlili-ss  1  TiMtioii  fcstasy  'y'^-'*'^ 


Ts  vtMA  ciiiiiiiii^  ill.  x/^ 

limn.  Ecstasy  ! 

My  pulse,  as  youis,  doth  teni])erately  keep  time, 
And  makes  as  healtliful  music  :   it  is  not  madness 
That  I  have  utter'ci  :  bring  me  to  the  test, 
And  I  the  matter  will  re-word  :  which  madness  140 

Woukl  gambol  from.     Mother,  for  love  of  grace, 
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  ; 
Kepent  what 's  past ;  avoid  what  is  to  come  ; 
And  do  not  spread  the  com))ost  on  the  weeds. 
To  make  them  ranker.     Forgive  me  this  my  virtue  ; 
F(jr  in  the  fatness  of  these  pursy  times  150 

Virtue  itself  of  vice  must  pardon  beg,  _^^^  ^  . 

Yea,  curb  ajiiLwoo  for  leave  to  do  him  gooiLV-Cc.^-^  TT'OU-c^'tf-iC-c 

(^leen.  O  Hamlet,  thou  hast  cleft  my  heart  in  twain. 

Uam.  O,  throw  away  the  worser  part  of  it, 
.And  live  the  ]iurer  with  the  other  half. 
Ciood  nighi,  :  but  go  not  to  mine  uncle's  bed  ; 
Assume  a  virtue,  if  you  have  it  not. 
That  UKjnster,  custom,  who  all  sense  doth  eat, 
Of  habits  devil,  is  angel  yet  in  this. 

That  to  the  use  of  actions  fair  and  good  160 

He  likewise  gives  a  frock  or  livery, 
That  aptly  is  put  on. 

For  use  almost  can  change  the  stani|i  of  nature. 
And  either  master  the  devil,  oi  tiiiow  him  out 
With  wondrous  potency.     Once  more,  good  night : 
And  when  you  are  desirous  to  be  bless'd, 
1  '11  blessing  beg  of  you.      Vuv  this  same  lord, 

[Pornting  to  Polonius. 
I  do  repent  :  but  heaven  hatli  pleased  it  so. 


78  HAMLET.  [ACT  T II. 

To  piini.sh  me  with  this  and  tliis  with  me. 

That  I  must  be  their  scourge  and  minister.  1 70 

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. 

queen.  What  shall  I  do  ? 

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  liis  mouse  ; 
Make  you  to  ravel  all  this  matter  out, 

That  I  essentially  am  not  in  madness,  180 

But  mad  in  craft.     'Twere  good  yon  let  him  know  ; 
For  who,  that 's  but  a  queen,  fair,  sober,  wise, 
Would  from  a  paddock,  from  a  bat,  a  gib, 
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  bi'eath,       190 
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, 

I  had  forgot  :  'tis  so  concluded  on. 

Ham.  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  knaveiy.     Let  it  work  ; 
For  'tis  the  sport  to  have  the  enginer 

Hoist  with  his  own  petar  :  and  't  shall  go  hard  200 

But  I  will  delve  one  yard  below  their  mines, 
And  blow  them  at  the  moon  :  O,  'tis  most  sweet. 


scK^Kiv.J  HAMIJ'.T.  79 

When  ill  one  line  two  crafts  tlirectly  meet. 
Tills  man  shall  set  me  jiaekiiii,'  : 
1  "11  liii,'  the  tjuts  into  the  iiei>rhbour  room. 
Mother,  good  night.      Indeed  this  counsellor 
Is  now  most  still,  most  secret  and  most  grave, 
Who  wa.-?  in  life  a  foolish  jirating  knave. 
Come,  sir,  to  draw  towanl  an  end  with  ymi. 
Good  night,  mother.  21(' 

[Ea-'ezmt  severally  ;  Hamlet  dragging  in  Polonius. 


ACT  IV. 

Scene  I.     .1  room  in  the  castle. 
Enter  Kin'g,  Ql'een,  Roskncrantz,  and  GriLDKN.STKRX. 

King.  There's    matter    in    these    sighs,    these    profnund 
heaves  : 
You  must  translate  :  'tis  fit  we  understand  them. 
Where  is  your  son  ? 

Queen.  Bestow  this  place  on  us  a  little  while. 

E.reunt  liosencrantz  ami  (Juildem^tern. 
All,  mine  own  lord,  what  have  I  seen  to-night  I 

King.  Wliat,  Gertrude  ?     How  dues  Hamlet? 

Queen.  Mad  as  the  sea  and  wind,  when  Ixith  contend 
Which  is  the  mightier  :  in  his  lawless  tit, 
lieliind  the  arras  hearing  something  stir. 

Whips  out  his  rapier,  cries,  'A  rat,  a  rat  !'  10 

And,  ill  this  brainish  apprehension,  kills 
The  un.seen  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  sliall  this  Viloody  deed  be  answer'd  ? 


80  HAMLET.  [AfT  iv. 

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  jsui-e  ;  he  weeps  for  what  is  done. 

King.  O  Gertrude,  come  away  ! 
The  sun  no  sooner  shall  the  mountains  touch, 
But  we  will  shi])  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  u])  our  wisest  friends  ; 
.  And  let  them  know,  both  what  we  mean  to  do. 
And  what's  untimely  done  :  so,  haply,  slander,  40 

Whose  whisper  o'er  the  world's  diameter. 
As  level  as  the  camion  to  his  l>lank. 
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. 


si'KNEii.]  HAMLET.  81 

Scene  11.      Another  room  m  the  castle. 

Enter  Hamlet. 

Ifam.  Safely  stowed. 

^^'''-   ]    [  Wit/ihi]  Hamlet  !  Lord  Hamlet ! 

I/am.  But  soft,  what  noise  ?  who  calls  on  Hamlet  ?  O,  here 
they  come. 

E7lte7'  ROSENCRANTZ  a7ld  GUILDENSTKUN. 

lios.  What  have  vou  done,  niy  lord,  with  the  dead  body  ? 

Ham.  Compounded  it  with  dust,  whereto  'tis  kin. 

Ho.^.  Tell  ii.s  where  'tis,  that  we  may  take  it  thence, 
And  bear  it  to  the  chapel. 

JJam.  Do  not  believe  it. 

Has.  Believe  what  ?  10 

Hum.  That  I  can  keep  your  counsel  and  not  mine  own. 
Besides,  to  be  demanded  of  a  sponge  !  what  replication 
should  be  made  bv  the  sou  of  a  kin^  ? 

lios.  Take  you  me  for  a  sponge,  mv  lord  ?  f 

fhun.  Ay,  sir,  that  soaks  up  the  king's  countenance,  his  /T*^^^'*^* 
rewards,  his  authorities.  But  such  officers  do  the  king  best 
service  in  the  end  :  he  keeps  them,  like  an  ape  doth  nuts,  in 
the  corner  of  his  jaw  ;  first  mouthed,  to  be  last  swallowed  : 
when  he  needs  what  you  have  gleaned,  it  is  but  squeezing 
you,  an<l,  sponge,  you  shall  be  dry  again.  20 

lio.t.   1  undeistand  you  not,  my  lord. 

Ham.  I  am  glad  of  it :  a  knavish  speech  sleeps  in  a  foolish  ear. 

Hog.  My  lord,  you  must  tell  us  where  the  body  is,  and  go 
with  us  to  the  king. 

Hum.  The  body  is  with  the  king,  but  the  king  is  not  with 
the  IkhIv.     The  king  is  a  thing— - 

O'uil.  A  thing,  my  lord  I 

Hum.  Of  ufithing  :  bring  nie  to  iiim  Hiih-  fox,  and  all 
iifter.  {Exeunt.     :i9 


82  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

Scene  III.     Another  room  in  the  castle. 
Enter  King,  attended. 

King.  I  have  sent  to  seek  him,  and  to  find  the  body. 
How  dangerous  is  it  that  this  man  goes  loose  ! 
Yet  must  not  we  jjut  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  des])erate  grown 
By  desperate  appliance  are  relieved,  10 

Or  not  at  all. 

Enter  Eosencrantz. 

How  now  !  what  hath  befall'n  ? 
Ros.  Where  the  dead  body  is  bestow'd,  my  lord. 
We  cannot  get  from  him. 
King.  But  where  is  he  ? 

Ros.  Without,  my  lord  ;  guarded,  to  know  your  pleasure. 
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?  19 

Ham.  Not  where  he  eats,  but  where  he  is  eaten  :  a  certain 
convocation  of  jjolitic  worms  are  e'en  at  hiui.  Your  worm  is 
your  only  emperor  for  diet  :  we  fat  all  creatures  else  to  fat 
us,  and  we  fat  ourselves  for  maggots :  vour  fat  king  and  vour 
lean  beggar  is  l)ut  variable  service,  two  dishes,  but  to  one 
table  :  that 's  the  end. 

King.  Alas,  alas  ! 


scENKin.]  HAMLET.  83 

Ifitm.  A  ni.in  may  fish  witli  tlie  worm  that  Iw-xtli  oat  of  a 
kiuif,  and  eat  of  tlie  fisli  tliat  liath  fed  of  tliat  worm. 

Kini].  What  dost  thou  mean  by  tliis  ? 

Ifam.  Nothing  but  to  show  you  liow  a  king  may  go  a  pro- 
gress through  the  guts  of  a  beggar.  ;^1 

King.  Where  is  Polonius  ? 

lliim.  In  heaven  ;  send  thither  to  see  :  if  vour  messenger 
find  liim  not  there,  seek  iiini  i'  the  other  place  yourself.  Eut 
indeed,  if  you  find  him  not  within  this  month,  you  shall  ncse 
him  as  you  go  up  the  stairs  into  the  lobby. 

King.  Go  seek  him  there.  \^To  .wme  .\  ttenc/ants. 

If  am.  He  will  stay  till  you  come.  [E.reunt  Attendants. 

King.  Hamlet,  this  deed,  for  thine  especial  safety, — 
Whifh  we  do  tender,  as  we  dearly  giieve  40 

For  that  which  thou  hast  done,—  mu.st  send  thee  hence 
Witli  fiery  quickness  :  therefore  prepare  thyself  ; 
The  bark  is  ready,  and  the  wind  at  help. 
The  a.ssociates  tend,  and  every  thing  is  bent 
For  P2ng!and. 

Hum.  For  Englanil  ! 

King.  Ay,  Handet. 

I  lam.  ■  Good. 

King.  So  is  it,  if  thou  knew'st  our  purpo.ses. 

Ifam.  I  see  a  cherub  that  sees  them.  But,  come  ;  for 
Kiiglaiid  I     Farewell,  dear  mother. 

King.  Thy  loving  father,  Handet.  4!) 

Ham.  My  mother  :  father  and  mother  is  man  and  wife  ; 
man  and  wife  is  one  flesh  ;  and  so,  my  mother,  ("ome,  foi 
England  !  [A'.tvV. 

King.   Follow  him  at  foot ;  tempt  him  witli  speed  aboard  ; 
Delay  it  not  ;  I  '11  have  him  hence  to-night  : 
Away  !  for  every  thing  is  seal'fl  and  d(jne 
That  else  leans  on  the  afi'aii-  :  l)ray  you,  make  liastr. 

\^E.reunt  liosencirintz  and  Gnildenntern 
And,  England,  if  my  love  thou  hold'.st  at  aught 
A-^  my  great  power  thereof  may  give  thee  sense. 


84  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

Since  yet  thy  cicatrice  looks  raw  and  red 

After  the  Danish  sword,  and  tliy  free  awe  60 

Pays  honia.ge  to  ns — thou  mayst  not  coldly  set 

Our  sovereign  process  ;  which  imports  at  full, 

By  letters  conjuring  to  that  effect, 

The  present  death  of  Hamlet.     Do  it,  England  ; 

For  like  the  hectic  in  my  blood  he  rages, 

And  thou  must  cure  me  :  till  I  know  'tis  done, 

Howe'er  my  haps,  my  joys  were  ne'ei-  begun.  [^Exit. 


Scene  IV.     A  plain  in  Denmark. 
Enter  Fortinbras,  a  Captain,  U7id  Soldiers,  marching. 

For.  Go,  captain,  from  me  greet  the  Danish  king  ; 
Tell  him  that,  by  his  license,  Fortinbras 
Craves  the  conveyance  of  a  pi'omised  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.  [E.'ceiint  Fortinbras  and  Soldiers. 

Enter  Hamlet,  Rosencrantz,  Guilden.stern,  and  otiiers. 

Ham.  (xood  sir,  whose  powei's  are  these  ? 

Cap.  They  are  of  Norway,  sir.  ^0 

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  j^atch  of  ground 
That  hath  in  it  no  profit  but  the  name. 


^ 


SCENE  IV.]  HAMLET.  85 

To  pay  five  ducats,  five,  I  would  not  farm  it ;  20 

Nor  will  it  yield  to  Norway  or  the  Pole 
A  rankei-  rate,  slmuld  it  lie  sold  in  fee. 

Ham.  Why,  then  the  Polack  never  will  defend  it. 

Cup.  Ye.-^,  it  i.-^  already  frarri.son'd. 

Ham.   Two  thousand  .souls  anil  twenty  thou.sand  ducats 
Will  not  debate  the  question  of  this  straw  : 
This  is  the  iniposthunie  of  nuuh  wealth  and  ))eace, 
That  inward  lireaks,  and  shows  no  cause  without 
Why  the  man  dies.     1  humbly  thank  you,  sir. 

Cap.  God  be  wi'  you,  sir.  [Ejcit. 

Ros.  Will 't  please  you  go,  my  lord  ?     30 

Ham.  I '11  be  with  you  straight.     Go  a  little  before. 

[^Exeunt  all  except  Hamlet. 
How  all  occasions  do  inform  against  me, 
And  spur  my  dull  revenge  !     What  is  a  man, 
If  his  chief  good  and  market  of  his  time 
Be  but  to  sleep  and  feed  ?  a  beast,  no  more. 
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  >is  unused.     Now,  whether  it  be 
Bestial  oblivion,  or  some  craven  scruple  40 

Of  thinking  too  precisely  on  the  event, 
A  thought  which,  quarter'd,  hath  but  one  ])art  wisdom 
And  ever  three  parts  coward,  I  do  not  know 
Why  yet  I  live  to  say  'This  thing's  to  do  ;' 
Sitli  I  have  cau.se  and  will  an<l  strength  and  means 
Tu  do  t.     Examj)les  gross  -aa  earth  exlmrt  me  : 
Witness  this  army  of  such  mass  ^.nd  charge 
Led  by  a  delicate  an<l  tender  jnince, 
Whose  spirit  with  divine  ambition  puti'd 
Makes  mouths  at  the  invisible  event,  TiU 

ExiKising  wiiat  is  nioital  and  unsure 
To  all  that  fortune,  <leath  and  ilanger  dare. 
Even  for  an  e<'';-shell.     IJi'ditlv  to  be  '^reat 


%' 


86  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

Is  not  to  stir  without  great  argument, 

But  greatly  to  find  quarrel  in  a  straw, 

Wlien  honour's  at  tlie  .stake.     How  stand  T  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,  6(> 

That,  for  a  fantasy  and  trick  of  fame. 

Go  to  their  graves  like  beds,  fight  for  a  plot 

Whereon  the  numbers  caiuiot  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  wortli  !  \^ExiL 


Scene  V.     Elsinoi'e.     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  do\ibt. 
That  carry  but  half  sense  :  her  speech  is  nothing. 
Yet  the  unshaped  use  of  it  doth  move 
The  hearers  to  collection  ;  they  aim  at  it. 
And  botch  the  words  up  fit  to  their  own  thoughts  ;  10 

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 
Dangei'ous  conjectures  in  ill-breeding  minds. 

Queen.  Let  her  come  in.  \^E.vit  Horatio. 

To  my  sick  soul,  as  sin's  true  nature  is. 


SCENE  v.]  HAMLET.  87 

K-Arh  t<iy  seems  prolojijue  tu  some  ;,'ie;it  amiss  : 

So  full  of  artless  jealousy  is  guilt, 

It  spills  itself  in  fearing  to  be  spilt.  20 

Ile-cnter  HouAiio,  n-jth  Ochkija. 

Ojih.  Wlitie  is  the  beauteous  niaje.sty  of  Denmark  ? 
(^iieen.  How  now,  Ophelia  '. 

Opk.  [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  im[)orts  this  song  ? 
Opk.  Say  you  ?  nay,  pray  you,  mark. 
[Si)if/s]  He  is  dead  an<l  gone,  lady. 

He  is  dead  and  gone  ;  30 

At  his  head  a  grass-green  turf. 
At  his  heels  a  stone. 
Queen.  Nay,  but,  0[)helia, — 
Oph.  Pray  you,  mark. 
{Siiujs]  White  his  shroud  as  the  mountain  snow, — 

Enter  King. 

Queen.  Alas,  look  here,  my  lord. 

Oph.  [Siiig.'i]       Larded  with  sweet  flowers  ; 

Whifli  l)ewept  to  the  grave  did  go 
With  true-love  showers. 
Kiufj.  How  do  you,  ]iretty  lady  ?  40 

Opii.  Well,  God  'ild  you  1     They  say  the  owl  was  a  baker's 
daughter.     Lord,  we  know  what  we  are,  but  know  not  what 
we  may  be.     God  Vje  at  your  table  ! 
King.  Conceit  upon  her  father. 

Oph.  Pray  you,  let 's  have  no  words  of  this ;  but  when  they 
a«k  you  what  it  means,  say  you  this  : 
[Sings]  To-morrow  is  Saint  Valentine's  day, 

All  in  the  morning  betime, 


88  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

And  I  a  maid  at  your  window, 

To  be  your  Valentine.  50 

King.  How  long  has  slie  been  thus  ? 

Oph.  I  hope  all  will  be  well.  We  must  be  patient :  but  1 
cannot  choose  but  weeji,  to  think  they  should  lay  him  i' 
the  cold  ground.  My  brother  shall  know  of  it  :  and  so  I 
thank  you  for  your  good  counsel.  Come,  my  coach  !  Good 
night,  ladies  ;  good  night,  sweet  ladies  ;  good  night,  good 
night.  ^  [t'xit. 

King.  Follow  her  close  ;  give  her  good  watch,  I  pray  you. 

[Exit  Horatio. 
O,  this  is  the  poison  of  deej)  grief  ;  it  springs 
All  from  her  father's  death.     O  Gertrude,  Gertrude,  60 

When  sorrows  come,  they  come  not  single  spies, 
But  in  battalions.     First,  her  father  slain  : 
Ne.xt,  your  son  gone  ;  and  he  most  violent  author 
Of  his  own  just  remove  :  the  peo))le  muddied, 
Thick  and  unwholesome  in  their  thoughts  and  \vhis])ers. 
For  good  Polonius'  death  ;  and  we  have  done  but  greenly, 
In  hugger-nuigger  to  inter  him  :  poor  Ophelia 
Divided  from  herself  and  her  fair  judgement. 
Without  the  which  we  are  pictures,  or  mere  beasts  : 
Last,  and  as  much  containing  as  all  these,  70 

Her  brother  is  in  secret  come  from  France  ; 
Feeds  on  his  wonder,  keeps  himself  in  clouds. 
And  wants  not  buzzers  to  infect  his  ear 
With  ])estilent  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  murdei-ing-piece,  in  many  places 
Gives  me  superfluous  death.  [A  noise  within. 

Queen.  Alack,  what  iioise  is  this  ? 

King.    Where  are   mj'  Switzers  ?      Let   them  guard    the 
door. 


scKNKV.]  HAMLET.  89 

Enter  anothv  Gentleman. 

"NVliat  is  the  matter  ? 

h'ent.  Save  yourself,  my  lord  :  81 

The  ocean,  over|ieerini_'  of  his  list, 
Eats  not  the  tlat.s  with  more  impetuous  haste 
Than  young  Laertes,  in  a  riotous  head, 
O erbears  your  otiioeis.     The  rabble  call  him  lord  ; 
And.  as  the  world  were  now  but  to  begin, 
Antiquity  forgot,  custom  not  known, 
The  ratitiers  and  props  of  every  word, 
Tliey  cry  'Choose  we  :  Laertes  shall  be  king  :' 
Caps,  hands,  and  tongues,  a])})laud  it  to  the  cl(ni(1s  :  90 

'Laertes  .shall  be  king,  Laertes  king  \ ' 

Queen.  How  cheerfully  on  the  false  trail  they  cry  ! 
O,  this  is  counter,  you  false  Danish  dogs  ! 

Kiiiff.  The  doors  are  broke.  [A^oise  within. 

Elder  Laertes,  armed ;  Danes  following. 

Laer.  Where  is  this  king?     Sirs,  stand  you  all  without. 

Danes.  No,  let 's  come  in. 

Laer.  I  i)ray  you,  give  me  leave. 

Daneg.  We  will,  we  will.  [Thci/  retire  without  the  door. 

Laer.   I  thank  you  :  keep  the  door.     O  thou  vile  king, 
(rive  me  my  father  I 

Queen.  Calndy,  good  Laertes. 

Ivfier.  That  drop  of  blood  that 's  calm  proclaims  me  bastard. 

Kirifj.   What  is  the  cause,  I^aertcs,  101 

'  That  thy  rebellion  l<joks  .so  giant-like  I 
I^et  him  go,  Gertrude  ;  do  not  fear  our  person  : 
There's  such  divinity  doth  hedge  a  king, 
That  trea.son  can  but  peep  to  what  it  woidd. 
Acts  little  of  his  will.     Tell  me,  I^ertes, 
Wliv  thou  art  thus  incen.sed.     Let  liini  "o,  Gertrude. 
SjMjak,  man. 

Laer.  W^here  is  mv  father  '{ 


90  HAMLKT.  [ACT  IV. 

King.  "Dead. 

Queen.  But  not  l)y  him. 

King.  Let  him  denianrl  his  fill.  110 

Ldcr.  How  came  he  dead  ?     I  '11  not  be  juggled  with  : 
To  hell,  allegiance  I  vows,  to  the  blackest  devil  ! 
Conscience  and  grace,  to  the  profoundest  pit  ! 
T  dare  damnation.     To  this  point  I  stand. 
That  both  the  worlds  I  give  to  negligence, 
Let  come  what  conies  ;  only  I  '11  be  revenged 
Most  thoroughly  for  my  father. 

King.  Who  shall  stay  you  ? 

Laer.  My  will,  not  all  the  world  : 
And  for  my  means,  I  '11  husband  them  so  well, 
They  shall  go  far  with  little. 

King.  Good  Laertes,  120 

If  you  desire  to  know  the  certainty 
Of  your  dear  father's  death,  is't  writ  in  your  re\enge, 
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  friemls  tlius  wide  I  '11  ope  my  arms  ; 
And  like  the  kind  life-rendering  pelican, 
Repast  them  with  my  blood. 

King.  Why,  now  you  speak 

Like  a  good  child  and  a  true  gentleman. 

That  I  am  guiltless  of  your  father's  death,  130 

And  am  most  sensibW  in  grief  for  it. 
It  shall  as  level  to  your  judgement  pierce 
As  day  does  to  your  eye.  • 

Danes.  [  Witlmi]  Let  her  come  in. 

Laer.  How  now  !  what  noise  is  that  ? 

Re-enter  Ophelia. 

O  heat,  dry  up  my  brains  I  tears  seven  times  salt, 
Burn  out  the  sense  and  vii^tue  of  mine  eye  ! 


KKNFv.]  FiAMI.ET.  91 

liv  lu-aven,  thy  madness  sliall  lie  jmid  witli  weiglit, 

Till  Dtir  scale  turn  the  beam.     O  rose  of  May  I 

Dear  maitl,  kind  sister,  sweet  Ophelia  1 

O  heavens  1  is't  possible,  a  younjr  maid's  wits  140 

Should  be  as  mortal  as  an  old  man's  life? 

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  liis  grave  rain'd  many  a  tear  : — 
Fare  yon  well,  my  dove  ! 

Loer.  Hadst  thou  thy  wits,  and  didst  persuade  revenge, 
It  could  not  move  thus.  150 

Op/i.  [Siiif/ii]  You  must  sing  a-down  a-down, 
All  you  call  him  a-down-a. 
< ).  how  the  wheel  becomes  it  !     It  is  the  false  steward  that 
stole  his  master's  daughter. 

Laer.  This  nothing 's  moi-e  than  matter. 

Op/i.  Tliere  's  rosemary,  that 's  for  remembrance  ;  pray, 
love,  remember  :  and  there  is  pansies,  that 's  for  thoughts. 

Laer.  A  document  in  madness,  thoughts  and  remembrance 
fitted.  159 

Oph.  There 's  fennel  for  you,  and  columbines:  there's  rue 
for  you  ;  and  here's  some  for  me  :  we  may  call  it  herb-grace 
o'  Sundays  :  (),  you  must  weai'  your  iiic  with  a  difference. 
There's  a  daisy  :  f  would  give  you  some  violets,  but  they 
withered  all  when  my  father  died  ;  they  say  he  made  a  good 
end, — 

[Sint/n]  For  lionnic  sweet  Ivoliiii  is  all  my  joy. 

/.uer.  Thought  an<i  atlliction,  passion,  lull  itself, 
She  turns  to  favour  and  to  prettiness. 

Oph.  ['SV/(_(/»]   And  will  he  not  come  again? 

And  will  he  not  come  again  ?  170 

No,  no,  he  is  dead  : 


92  HAMLET.  •  [ACT  IV. 

Go  to  thy  death-bed  : 
He  never  will  come  again. 

His  beard  was  as  white  as  snow, 
All  Haxen  was  his  poll  : 

He  is  gone,  he  is  gone, 

And  we  cast  away  moan  : 
(xod  ha'  mercy  on  his  soul  ! 

And  of  all  Christian  souls,  I  pray  God.    God  be  wi'  ye.     [Exit. 

Laer.   Do  you  see  this,  O  God  \ 

King.  Laertes,  I  must  commune  with  your  grief,  180 

Or  you  deny  me  right.     Go  but  ajmrt. 
Make  choice  of  whom  your  wisest  friends  you  will, 
And  they  shall  heai'  and  judge  'twixt  you  and  me  : 
If  by  direct  or  l)v  collateral  hand 
They  find  us  touoh'd,  we  will  our  kingdom  give, 
Our  crown,  our  life,  and  all  that  we  call  ours. 
To  you  in  satisfaction  ;  but  if  not. 
Be  you  content  to  lend  your  patience  to  us. 
And  we  shall  jointly  labour  with  your  soul 
To  give  it  due  content. 

Laer.  Let  this  be  so  ;  190 

His  means  of  death,  his  obscure  funeral — 
No  trophy,  sword,  nor  hatchment  o'er  his  bones, 
No  noble  i-ite  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.  \Ej:eiint. 

Scene  VI.     ^-1  nother  room  in  the  castle. 

Enter  Horatio  and  a  Servant. 

Hor.  What  are  they  that  would  speak  with  me. 
Serv.  Sailors,  sir  :  they  say  they  have  lettei's  for  you. 


srKNKV!.!  IIAMLKT.  93 

llor.  Li't  them  come  in.  [Exit  Servant. 

T  ilo  not  kiKiw  from  wliat  ])art  of  the  wmld 
1  shoulil  be  greetetl,  if  not  from  lord  Hamlet. 

Enter  Sailors. 

First  Sail.  God  bles.s  you,  sir. 

Hor.  Let  him  bless  thee  too. 

First  Sail.  He  shall,  sir,  an 't  please  him.  There 's  a  letter 
fur  ytui,  sir:  it  comes  from  the  ambassador  that  was  bound 
for  England  ;  if  your  name  be  Horatio,  as  I  am  let  to  know- 
it  is. 

Hur.  [Neadji]  '  Horatio,  when  thou  shalt  have  overlooked 
thi.s,  give  these  fellows  some  means  to  the  king  :  they  have 
letters  for  him.  Ere  we  were  two  days  old  at  sea,  a  ]iirate  of 
very  warlike  aitpointment  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  ;  so  I  alone  became  their  prisoner.  They  have  dealt 
with  me  like  thieves  of  mercy  :  ])ut  they  knew  what  they 
did  ;  I  am  to  do  a  good  turn  for  them.  Let  the  king  have 
the  letters  I  have  sent ;  and  repair  thou  to  me  with  as  much 
speed  as  thou  wouldst  fly  death.  I  have  words  to  speak  in 
thine  ear  will  make  thee  dumb  ;  yet  are  they  much  too  light 
f(ir  the  Ijore  of  the  matter.  These  good  fellows  will  bring  thee 
where  I  am.  Rosencrantz  and  Guildeiistern  hold  their  course 
fur  England  :  of  them  I  have  much  to  tell  thee.     Faiewell. 

'He  that  thou  knowest  thine,  Hami.kt.' 
<  'ome,  I  will  make  you  way  for  these  your  letters  ; 
And  do't  the  sjieedier,  that  you  may  direct  me 
To  him  from  whom  you  brought  them.  [Exeunt. 

ScENK  YIJ.     Another  room  in  the  castle. 

Enter  King  and  Laertks. 

King.  Now  must  your  conscience  my  acquittance  seal, 
And  \'>\\  must  put  me  in  your  heart  for  friend, 


94  HAMLET.  [ACT  TV. 

Sitli  you  have  heard,  and  with  a  knowing  ear, 
That  lie  wliich  hath  your  noble  father  slain 
Pursued  my  life. 

Laer.  It  well  appeai\s  :  but  tell  uie 

Why  you  proceeded  not  against  these  feats, 
So  crimeful  and  so  capital  in  natuie, 
As  by  your  safety,  wisdom,  all  things  else, 
You  mainly  were  stirr'd  up. 

King.  O,  for  two  sj^ecial  reasons  ; 

Which  may  to  you,  perhaps,  seem  much  unsinew'd,  10 

But  yet  to  me  they  are  strong.     The  queen  his  mother 
Lives  almost  by  his  looks  ;  and  for  myself — 
My  virtue  or  my  ])lague,  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  beai-  him  : 
Who,  dipping  all  his  faults  in  their  affection, 
Would,  like  the  sjning  that  turneth  wood  to  stone,  20 

('onvert  his  gyves  to  graces  ;  so  that  my  arrows. 
Too  slightly  timber'd  for  so  loud  a  wind. 
Would  have  reverted  to  my  bow  again, 
And  not  whei'e  I  had  aim'd  them. 

Laer.  And  so  have  T  a  noble  father  lost ; 
A  sister  driven  into  desperate  terms, 
Whose  worth,  if  jn-aises  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    nuist   not 
think  30 

That  we  are  made  of  stuff  .so  flat  and  dull 
That  we  can  let  our  beard  be  shook  with  danger 
And  think  it  pastime.     You  shortly  shall  hear  more  : 
I  loved  your  father,  and  we  love  ourself  ; 
And  that,  I  hope,  will  teach  you  to  imagine — 


scKNE  vn.]  HAMLET.  Oo 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Hnw  now  I  what  news? 

J/,,-,sv<!.  Letters,  my  luid,  from  HanUet  : 

This  to  yom-  majesty  :  tliis  to  the  ([ueen. 

Ki»(f.  From  Hamlet  I  who  brought  tliem  ? 

Meiis.  Sailoi-s,  my  lord,  they  say  ;   I  saw  them  not  : 
They  were  given  me  by  Claiulio  ;  he  received  them  40 

Of  him  that  brought  them. 

King.  Laertes,  you  shall  hear  them. 

Leave  us.  [Krit  }fessenyer. 

[liead^i]  'High    and   mighty,   You   sli;ill    know    I    am    set 

iiaki'd   on   your  kingdom.     To-morrow  shall    I   beg  leave  to 

i-e  your  kingly  eyes  :  when  1  shall,  first  asking  your  pardon 

thereunto,   recount  tlie    occasion    of   my    sudden    and    more 

stiunge  return. 

'Hamlkt.' 
What  should  this  mean  ?     Are  all  the  rest  couu'  back  ? 
Ur  is  it  some  aVmse,  and  no  such  thing  ?  50 

Liter.  Know  you  the  hand  :' 

King.  'Tis  Hamlet's  eharacter.     '  Naked  ! ' 

And  in  a  po.stcript  here,  he  says  'alone.' 
( 'an  you  a<lvise  me  ? 

I.aer.  I  'm  lost  in  it,  my  lord,      liut  lit  him  come  ; 
1 1  warms  the  very^  sickness  in  my  heart,. 
That  I  shall  live  and  tell  him  to  his  teeth, 
'Thus  didest  thou.' 

A'/yK/.  If  it  V)e  so,  Laertes  — 

As  how  .shouhl  it  be  so?  how  otheiwi.se? — 
Will  you  be  ruled  by  me  ? 

Laer.  Ay,  my  lord  ; 

So  you  will  not  o'errule  me  to  a  ])eace.  fiO 

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,  1  will  woik  him 
To  an  t'Xploit,  now  lipe  in  my  <li-vieu, 


V 


96  HAMLET.  [ACT  IV. 

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 
That  I  might  be  the  organ. 

King.  It  falls  right.  70 

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  ])arts 
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  }'outh. 
Yet  needful  too  ;  for  youth  no  less  becomes 
The  light  and  careless  livery  that  it  wears 
Than  settled  age  his  sables  and  his  weeds,  80 

Importing  health  and  graveness.     Two  months  since, 
Here  was  a  gentleman  of  Normandy  : — 
I  've  seen  myself,  and  served  against,  the  French, 
And  thev  can  well  on  horseback  :  but  this  cjallant 
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, 
\-       CJanie  short  of  what  he  did. 

Laer.  A  Norman  was 't  ?  90 

King.  A  Norman. 

Laer.  Upon  my  life,  Lamond. 

King.  The  very  same. 

Laer.  I  know  him  well  :  he  is  the  brooch  indeed 
And  gem  of  all  the  nation. 

King.  He  made  confession  of  you, 


SCENE  VI I. J  HAMLET.  97 

Ami  gave  you  such  a  inasterh-  report 

Fur  art  and  exercise  in  your  defence, 

And  for  your  rapier  most  especially, 

That  he  cried  out,  'twould  be  a  sight  indeed, 

If  one  could  match  you  :  the  scrimers  of  their  nation,        100 

He  swore,  had  neither  motion,  guard,  nor  eye, 

If  you  opposed  them.     >Sir,  this  report  of  his 

Did  Handet  so  envenom  with  his  envy 

That  he  could  nothing  do  but  wish  and  beg 

Your  sudden  coming  o'er,  to  play  witli  him. 

Now,  out  of  this, — 

Liter,  What  out  of  this,  my  lord  ? 

King.  Ijaertes,  was  your  father  dear  to  you  i 
Or  are  you  like  the  painting  of  a  sorrow, 
A  face  without  a  heart  ? 

Liwr.  Why  ask  you  this  ? 

King.  Not  that  I  think  you  did  not  love  your  father  ;    110 
But  that  I  know  love  is  begun  by  time  ; 
And  that  I  see,  in  passages  of  proof. 
Time  qualities  the  spark  and  fire  of  it. 
There  lives  within  the  very  flame  of  love 
A  kind  of  wick  or  snufF  that  will  abate  it ; 
And  nothing  is  at  a  like  goodness  still  ; 
For  goodnes.s,  growing  to  a  plurisy. 
Dies  in  his  own  too  much  :  that  we  would  do, 
We  should  do  when  we  would  ;  for  this  '  would  '  changes 
And  hath  abatements  and  delays  ;is  many  120 

As  there  are  tongues,  are  hands,  are  accidents  ; 
And  then  this  'should'  is  like  a  spendthrift  sigh, 
That  hurts  by  easing.     But,  to  tlie  quick  o'  the  ulcer  : — 
Hamlet  comes  back  :  what  woidd  you  undertake. 
To  show  yourself  your  father's  son  in  deed 
More  than  in  words? 

Laer.  T<i  cut  his  throat  i'  the  chunh. 

King.  No  place,  indeed,  slmuld  murder  .sivnctuarize  ; 
Revenge  shuuld  have  no  ImhuhIs.      lint,  l"""!  Ti.iertes, 

u 


98  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

Will  yon  do  this,  keep  close  within  your  chamber? 

Hiiiulet  retiu'u'd  shall  know  you  are  come  liome  :  130 

We  '11  put  on  those  shall  praise  your  excellence 

And  set  a  double  varnish  on  the  fame 

The  Frenchman  gave  you,  liring  you  in  fine  together 

And  wager  on  your  heads  :  hp^  lipiii;;-  ivi| 

Most  generous  and  free  from  all  contrivjiu 

O — . ■ — ■ ■ -^        ^ 

"WnTliot  peruse  the  foils  ;  so  that,  with  ease, 
Or  with  a  little  shutHing,  you  may  choose 
A  sword  unbated,  and  in  a  pass  of  practice 
Requite  him  for  your  father. 

Laer.  I  wjU  do 't  : 

And,  for  that  j)ui'pose,  I'll  anoint  my  sword.  140 

I  bought  an  unction  of  a  mountebank, 
So  mortal  that,  but  dip  a  knife  in  it. 
Where  it  draws  l)lood  no  catajjlasm  so  rare, 
C'ollected  from  all  simples  that  have  virtue 
Under  the  xn(jon,  can  save  the  thing  from  death 
That  is  but  s.crateh'd  withal  :  I  '11  touch  my  ])oint 
With  this  contagion,  that,  if  I  gall  him  slightly, 
It  may  be  deal^h. 

Kincf.  Let 's  further  think  of  this  ; 

Weigh  what  convenience  both  of  time  and  means 
May  fit  us  to  our  shape  :  if  this  should  fail,  150 

And  that  our  drift  look  through  our  bad  performance, 
Twere  better  not  assay'd  :  therefore  this  jjroject 
Should  have  a  l)ack  or  second,  that  might  liold, 
If  this  should  blast  in'-proof.     Poft  !  let  me  see  : 
We  '11  make  a  solemn  wager  on  your  cunnings  : 
I  ha  't  : 

When  in  your  motion  you  are  hot  and  dry — 
As  make  vour  bouts  more  violent  to  that  end — 
And  that^he  calls  for  drink,  I  '11  have  jirepared  him 
A  chalice  ^or  the  nonce,  whereon  but  sijjping,  160 

If  he  by  chance  esca))e  your  venom'd  stuck, 
Our  purpose  may  hold  there. 


SfKNE  VII.] 


HAMLKT. 


99 


Enter  Quekn. 

How  now,  sweet  queen  ! 

Queen.  One  woe  doth  tread  upon  anotlier's  heel, 
So  fast  they  follow  :  your  sister's  drown'd,  Laertes. 

Laer.   Drown'd  1     (J,  where  i 

Queen.  There  is  a  willow  grows  aslant  a  brook, 
That  shows  his  hoar  leaves  in  the  glassy  stream  ; 
There  with  fantastic  garlands  did  she  come 
Of  crow-riowers,  nettles,  daisies,  and  long  pnrples. 
There,  on  the  pendent  boughs  her  coronet  weeds 
Clambering  to  hang,  an  envious  sliver  broke  ; 
When  down  her  weedy  trophies  and  herself 
Fell  in  the  weeping  brook.     Her  clothes  spread  wide  ; 
And,  mei-maid-like,  awhile  they  bore  her  up  : 
Which  time  she  chanted  snatches  of  old  tunes  ; 
As  one  incapable  of  her  own  distress, 
Or  like  a  creature  native  and  indued 
L'nto  that  element  :  but  lung  it  could  not  be 
Till  that  her  garments,  heavy  with  their  drink, 
Pull'd  the  poor  wretch  finm  lier  melodious  lay 
To  muddy  death. 

JMer.  Alas,  tiieii,  she  is  drown'd? 

(^ueen.   Drown'd,  drown'd. 

iMer.  Too  much  of  water  hast  thou,  poor  Ophelia, 
And  therefore  I  forbid  luy  tears  :  but  yet 
It  is  our  trick  ;  nature  her  custom  holds. 
Let  shame  sav  what  it  will  :  wlien  these  aic  ''one. 
The  woman  will  be  out.     Adieu,  my  lord  : 
I  have  a  speech  uf  fin-,  that  fain  would  blaze, 
P.ut  that  this  folly  douts  it. 

Kiiiff.  Let's  follow,  (u'ltiudf  : 

How  much  f  Iiad  to  do  to  calm  his  raye  ! 
\ow  fear  r  tin's  will  give  it  start  again  ; 
Tlieii-fore  let's  follow. 


170 


180 


[Exit. 

19(1 

[Exeunt. 


100  HAMLET.  [ACT  V. 

ACT  V. 

Scene  T.     A  churchyard. 
Enter  two  Clowns,  toith  spades,  &c. 

First  Clo.  Is  she  to  be  buried  in  Christian  burial  that  wil- 
fully seeks  her  own  salvation  ? 

Sec.  Clo.  I  tell  thee  she  is  :  and  therefore  make  her  grave 
straight :  the  crowner  hath  sat  on  her,  and  finds  it  Christian 
burial. 

First  Clo.  How  can  that  be,  unless  she  drowned  herself  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  wittingly,  it 
argues  an  act :  and  an  act  hath  three  branches  ;  it  is,  to  act, 
to  do,  and  to  perform  :  argal  she  drowned  herself  wittingly. 

Sec.  Clo.  Nay,  but  hear  you,  goodman  delver, — 

First  Clo.  Give  me  leave.  Here  lies  the  water ;  gooil :  here 
stands  the  man  ;  good  :  if  the  man  go  to  this  water,  and 
drown  himself,  it  is,  will  he,  nill  he,  he  goes, — mark  you  that ; 
but  if  the  water  come  to  him  and  drown  him,  he  drowns  not 
himself :  argal,  he  that  is  not  guilty  of  his  own  death  shortens 
not  his  own  life. 

Sec.  Clo.  But  is  this  law  ?  20 

First  Clo.  Ay,  marry,  is't  ;  crowner's  quest  law. 

Sec.  Clo.  W\\\  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  jjity  that 
great  folk  should  have  countenance  in  this  world  to  drown  o'- 
hang  themselves,  more  than  their  even  Christian.  Come,  my 
spade.  There  is  no  ancient  gentlemen  but  gardeners,  ditchers, 
and  grave-makers  :  they  hold  u]i  Adam's  profession. 

Sec.  Clo.  Was  he  a  gentleman  '(  30 

First  Clo.  A'  was  the  first  that  ever  bore  arms. 


\ 

scE.NKi.]  i AM  LET.  101 

Sec.  Clo.  Why,  he  had  none. 

First  Clo.  Wliat,  art  a  heathen  ?  How  dost  thou  under- 
stand the  Scrijiture  /  The  Scrijiture  says  'Adam  dig<,'ed:' 
could  he  dig  without  arms  i  1  '11  put  another  question  to  thee  : 
if  thou  answerest  me  not  to  the  purpose,  confess  thyself — 

Sec.  Clo.  Go  to. 

hirst  Clo.  What  is  he  that  builds  stronger  than  eitlier  the 
ma.son,  the  shipwright,  or  the  carpenter  ^ 

Sec.  Clo.  The  gallows-maker ;  for  that  frame  outlives  a 
thousand  tenants.  41 

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 
di)  ill  :  now  thou  do.st  ill  to  say  the  gallows  is  built  stronger 
than  the  church  :  argal,  the  gallows  may  do  well  to  thee. 
To 't  again,  come. 

Sec.  Clo.  'Who  Iniilds  stronger  than  a  mason,  a  shipwright, 
or  a  carpenter  ? ' 

first  Clo.  Ay,  tell  me  that,  and  unyoke. 

Sec.  Col.  Marry,  now  I  can  tell.  50 

First  Clo.  To  ^t. 

Sec.  Clo.  Mass,  I  cannot  tell. 

Enter  Hamlet  and  Horatio,  at  a  distance. 

First  Clo.  Cudgel  thy  brains  no  more  about  it,  for  your 
dull  a.s8  will  not  mend  his  pace  with  beating  ;  and,  when  you 
are  a.sked  this  question  next,  say  'a  grave-maker .'  the  houses 
that  hf  makes  last  till  doomsday.  Go,  get  thee  to  Yaiighan  : 
fetch  me  a  stouj)  of  bVpior.  \^F.vit  Sec.  Cloirn. 

[  He  digs,  and  sinffs. 
In  youth,  when  I  did  love,  diil  love, 

Methought  it  was  very  sweet, 
To  contract,  <),  the  time,  for,  ah,  my  l>ehove,  60 

O,  iiu'thouglit,  llicif  was  nothing  meet. 
I/am.  Has  this  fellow  no  feeling  of  his  business,  that  he 
sings  at  grave-making  t 


102  HAMLEIS  [act  v. 

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  Clu.  [Sings] 

But  age,  with  his  stealing  steps, 
Hath  claw'd  me  in  his  clutch, 
And  hath  shipped  me  intil  the  land,  69 

As  if  I  had  never  been  such.  [Throu-s  up  a  skvJl. 
Ham.  That  skull  liad  a  tongue  in  it,  and  could  sing  once  : 
how  the  knave  jowls  it  to  the  ground,  as  if  it  were  Cain's  jaw- 
bone, that  did  the  first  murder  !  It  might  be  the  pate  of  a 
]iolitician,  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,  good  lord  V      This  mioht  lie 

my  lord  Such -a- one,  that  praised  my  lord  Such-a-one's  horse, 

when  he  meant  to  beg  it  ;  might  it  not  ?  80 

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 
tine  revolution,  and  we  had  the  trick  to  see 't.  Did  these 
bones  cost  no  more  the  breeding,  but  to  play  at  loggats  with 
'em  ?  mine  ache  to  think  on  't. 
First  Clo.  [Sing.s] 

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

For  and  a  shrouding  sheet  : 
O,  a  pit  of  clay  for  to  be  made 

For  such  a  guest  is  meet.  90 

[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  I 
This  fellow  might  be  in 's  time  a  great  buyer  of  land,  with 


scKNEi.]  HAM  LET.  103 

his  statutes,  Iiis  recogiiizjuK-es,  his  fines,  liis  iloiiMi'  Mmiliris, 
liis  recoveries  :  is  tliis  the  tine  of  his  fines,  and  the  recovcrv 
of  his  recoveries,  to  have  his  fine  pate  full  of  fine  dirt !  will 
liis  voucliei-s  vouch  him  no  more  of  his  purchases,  and  double 
ones  too,  than  the  length  and  breadth  of  a  pair  of  indentures  ? 
The  very  conveyances  of  his  lands  will  hardly  lie  in  this  box  ; 
and  must  the  inheritor  himself  have  no  more,  ha  ? 

//ur.  Not  a  jot  more,  my  lord. 

Ham.   Is  not  parchment  made  of  sheeji-skins  ? 

Ilor.   Ay,  my  Imd,  and  of  calf-skins  too. 

H<iin.  They  are  shee])  and  calves  which  seek  out  assurance 
in  that.  I  will  speak  to  this  fellow.  Whose  grave's  this, 
sirrah  ', 

First  Clo.  Mine,  sir.  .110 

[Sings]  O,  a  [)it  of  clay  for  to  be  made 

For  such  a  guest  is  meet. 

Hum.  I  think  it  be  thine,  indeed  ;  for  thou  liest  in 't. 

First  Clo.  You  lie  out  on 't,  sir,  and  therefon-  it  is  not 
yours  :  for  my  part,  I  do  not  lie  in 't,  and  yet  it  is  mine. 

Ham.  Thou  dost  lie  in  't,  to  be  in  't  and  say  it  is  thine  : 
'tis  for  the  dead,  not  for  the  cjuick  ;  therefore  thou  liest. 

First  Clo.  'Tis  a  quick  lie,  sir ;  'twill  away  again,  from  nie 
to  you. 

flam.  What  man  dost  thou  dig  it  for?  120 

First  Clo.   ¥ov  no  man,  sir. 

Ham.  What  woman,  then  ? 

First  Clo.  For  none,  neither. 

Ham.  W^ho  's  to  lie  buried  in 't  ? 

Fir.'it  Clo.  One  that  was  a  wnmnii,  sir  ;  but,  rest  her  soul, 
she  's  deail. 

Ham.  How  ab.solute  the  knave  is  I  we  must  s[)eak  by  the 
card,  o?-  (■(|ui\<'catinii  will  \iiidii  us.  By  the  Lord,  Horatio, 
the.se  three  years  I  iiavc  taken  note  of  it  ;  the  age  is  grown 
so  picked  that  the  toe  of  the  peasant  comes  so  near  the  heel 
of  tlu'  courtier,  he  galls  his  kibe.  How  long  hast  thou  been 
a  grave-maker  / 


104  HAMLET.  [actv. 

First  C'lo.  Of  all  the  days  i'  the  year,  I  come  to 't  that  day 
that  our  last  king  Hamlet  overcame  Fortinbras. 

Ham.  How  long  is  that  since  ? 

First  Clo.  Cannot  you  tell  that  ^  every  fool  can  tell  that : 
it  was  the  very  day  that  young  Hamlet  was  born  ;  he  that 
is  mad,  and  sent  into  England. 

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

First  Clo.  Why,  because  he  was  mad  :  he  shall  recover  his 
wits  there  ;  or,  if  he  do  not,  it's  no  great  matter  there,     141 

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  'I 

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  yeai\s.  151 

Ham.  How  long  will  a  man  lie  i"  the  earth  ere  he  rot  ? 

First  Clo.  V  faith,  if  he  be  not  rotten  before  he  die — as  we 
have  many  pocky  corses  now-a-days,  that  will  scarce  hold  the 
laying  in  — he  will  last  you  some  eight  year  or  nine  year  ;  a 
tanner  will  last  you  nine  year. 

Ham.  Why  he  more  than  another  ? 

First  Clo.  Why,  sir,  his  hide  is  so  tanned  with  his  trade, 
that  he  will  keep  ou^  water  a  great  while  ;  and  your  water 
is  a  sore  decay er  of  your  dead  body.  Here  's  a  skull  now  ; 
this  skull  has  lain  in  the  earth  three  and  twenty  yeaj\s.      161 

Ham.  Whose  was  it  ? 

F'irst  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  I  a'  poured 
a  Hagon  of  Rhenish  on  my  head  once.  This  same  skull,  sir, 
was  Yorick's  skull,  the  king's  jester. 


MKNK  I.]  HAJSILET.  105 

Ham.  This? 

First  Clo.  E'en  tliat.  170 

/l'i)/i.  Let  me  see.  [Ta/:es  t/i'e  si-idl.]  Alas,  poor  Yorick  ! 
I  knew  him,  Horatio  :  a  fellow  of  infinite  jest,  of  most  ex- 
cellent fancy  :  he  hath  borne  me  on  his  back  a  thousand 
times  ;  an<l  now,  how  abhorred  in  my  imaj^ination  it  is  I  my 
gorge  rises  at  it.  Here  hung  those  lips  that  I  have  kissed 
I  know  not  how  oft.  Where  be  your  gibes  now  ?  your  gam- 
bols ?  your  songs  ?  your  flashes  of  merriment,  that  were  wont 
to  set  the  table  on  a  roar  ?  Not  one  now,  to  mock  your  own 
grinning  :'  quite  chap-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.  182 

Hor.  AVhat  's  that,  ni}'  lord  ? 

J/(nu.  Dost  thou  think  Alexander  looked  o'  this  fashion  i' 
the  earth  ? 

J/or.  E'en  so. 

Nam.  And  smelt  so  ?  pah  I  [Puts  doion  the  skull. 

Hor.  E'en  so,  my  lord. 

Ham.  T<j  what  base  uses  we  may  return,  Horatio  !  Why 
may  not  imagination  trace  the  noble  dust  of  Alexander,  till 
he  Hnd  it  .stopping  a  bung-hole  ?  191 

Hor.  'Twere  to  consider  too  curiously,  to  consider  so. 

Ham.  No,  faith,  not  a  jot  ;  but  to  follow  him  thither  with 
motlesty  enough,  and  likelihood  to  lead  it :  as  thus  :  Alex- 
ander died,  Alexander  was  buried,  Alexander  returneth  into 
dust  ;  the  diist  is  earth  ;  of  earth  we  make  loam  ;  and  why 
of  that  loam,  whereto  he  was  converted,  might  they  not  stop 
a  beer-l)arrel  ? 

Imperious  Ctesar,  dead  and  t\irn'd  to  clay, 
Might  stoji  a  hole  to  keep  the  wind  away  :  200 

O,  that  that  earth,  which  kept  the  world  in  awe. 
Should  ]«ilcli  a  wall  to  ex|>el  the  winter's  flaw  I 
Hut  soft  I  but  soft  I  aaitle  :  here  comes  the  king. 


106  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

Enter  Priests,  Sc.  in  procession;  the  Corpse  of  Ophklia, 
Laertes  and  iSloumers.  folloivinc/ ;  King,  Queen,  their 
trains,  <&c. 

The  queen,  the  coui-tiers  :  who  is  this  they  follow  ? 

And  with  such  maimed  rites  ?     This  doth  betoken 

The  corse  they  follow  did  with  desperate  hand 

Fordo  it  own  life  :  'twas  of  some  estate. 

Couch  we  awhile,  and  mark.  {^Retiring  with  Horatio. 

Laer.  What  ceremony  else  1 

Ham.  That  is  Laertes, 

A  very  noble  youth  :  mark.  210 

Laer.  What  ceremony  else  ? 

First  Priest.  Her  obsequies  have  been  as  far  enlarged 
As  we  have  warranty  :  her  death  was  doubtful  ; 
And,  but  that  ^reat  command  o'ersways  the  order. 
She  should  in  ground  unsanctified  have  lodged 
Till  the  last  trumpet ;  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.  220 

Laer.  Must  there  no  more  be  done  ? 

First  Priest.  No  more  be  done  ! 

We  should  profane  the  service  of  the  dead 
To  sing  a  requiem  and  such  rest  to  her 
As  to  peace-parted  souls. 

Laer.  Lay  her  i'  the  earth  : 

And  fi'om  her  fair  and  unpolluted  flesh 
May  violets  spring  !     I  tell  thee,  churlish  priest, 
A  ministering  angel  shall  my  sister  be. 
When  thou  best  howling. 

Ham.  What,  tlie  fair  Ophelia  ! 

Queen.  Sweets  to  the  sweet :  farewell  !  [Scatferiuf/  ^flowers. 
I  hoped  thou  slmuldst  have  been  my  Hamlet's  wife  ;  230 

T  thought  thy  briile-bed  to  have  deck'd,  sweet  maid, 


ENKi.]  HAMLET.  lu; 


And  lint  t'  have  strew'cl  thy  gi'ave. 

Locr.  O,  treble  woe 

Fall  ten  times  treble  nn  that  cursed  head, 
Wlmse  wicked  deed  thy  most  ingenious  sense 
1  )epnved  thee  of  I     Hold  off  the  earth  awhile, 
'{"ill  I  have  caught  her  once  more  in  miu3  arms  : 

[/-«Y).s  into  the  f] rave. 
N>i\v  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  OlymiMis. 

Ham.     [^Adcancing^  What  is  he  whose  grief  240 

liears  such  an  emphasis  ^  whose  phrase  of  sorrow 
Conjures  the  wandering  stars,  and  makes  them  stand 
Like  wonder- wounded  hearers  ?    This  is  I, 
Handet  the  Dane.  {Leaps  into  the  grave. 

Laer.  The  devil  take  thy  soul  ! 

[Grappling  with  him. 

Ham.  Thou  pray'st  not  well. 
I  prithee,  take  thy  fiii.L'ers  from  n)y  throat  ; 
For,  though  I  am  not  splenitive  and  rash, 
Yet  have  I  something  in  me  dangerous. 
Which  let  thy  wiseness  fear  :  hold  off  thy  hand. 

King.  Pluck  them  asunder. 

Queen.  Hamlet,  Handet  !  250 

All.  Gentlemen, — 

Hor.  Good  my  lord,  be  quiet. 

[The  Attendants  part  thein,  and  thei/  come  out  of  the  grave. 

Ifam.  Why,  I  will  fight  with  him  u]ion  this  theme 
Tntil  my  eyelids  will  no  longer  wag. 

Queen.  O  my  son,  what  theme  ? 

Iffua.  T  lovrd  Ophelia  :  forty  thousand  Itrothers 
OouM  not,  with  all  their  (piaiitit\  of  love, 
Make  up  my  sum.      What  wilt  thou  d<>  for  her:' 

King.  O,  he  is  mad,  Laerte.s. 

Queen.    For  love  of  God,  forbear  him. 


108  HAMLET. 


[act  \-. 


H<nn.  'Swounds,  show  lue  what  thou  'It  do  :  260 

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  wdiiiie  ] 
To  outface  me  with  leaping  in  her  grave  ? 
Be  buried  quick  with  her,  and  so  will  I  : 
And,  if  tliou  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  tliou  'It  mouth, 
I  '11  rant  as  well  as  thou. 

§-'^^'^-  This  is  mere  madness  :  270 

And  thus  awhile  the  fit  will  woik  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  ; 

What  is  the  reason  that  you  use  me  thus  i 
I  loved  you  ever  :  but  it  is  no  matter ; 
Let  Hei-cules  himself  do  what  he  may, 
The  cat  will  mew  and  dog  will  have  his  day.  [Exit. 

King.  I  pray  you,  good  Horatio,  wait  upon  him. 

[Exit  Horatio. 
[To  Laertes]   Strengthen  your  patience  in  our  last  night's 
speech  ;  280 

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  ; 
Till  then,  in  patience  our  proceeding  be.  [Exeunt. 

Scene  II.      .1  hall  in  the  castle. 

Enter  Hami-et  and  Horatio. 

Ha7n    So  much  for  this,  sir  :  now  shall  you  see  the  otlier  ; 
You  do  remember  all  the  circumstance  ? 


I 


-vKSKii.]  HAM  LET.  109 

Ilor.  Ronionilu'r  it,  my  loid  ! 

Ham.  Sir,  in  my  heart  tlifie  was  a  kind  of  fighting, 
Tliat  would  not  let  me  sleep  :  methought  I  lay 
Worse  than  the  niutines  in  the  bilboes.     Rashly, — 
And  praised  be  rashness  for  it, — let  us  know, 
Our  indiscretion  sometimes  serves  us  well, 
When  our  deep  plots  do  fail  :  and  that  should  teach  us 
There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends,  10 

I'ough-hew  them  how  we  will, — 
Hor.  That  is  most  certain. 

Ham.  Up  from  my  cabin, 
ivTy  sea -gown  scarf  d  about  me,  in  the  dark 
'xroped  I  to  find  out  them  ;  had  my  desire, 
Finger'd  their  packet,  and  in  fine  withdrew 
To  mine  own  room  again  ;  making  so  liold, 
^Ty  fears  forgetting  manners,  to  unseal 
Their  grand  commission  ;  where  I  found,  Hor.itio, — 
O  royal  knavery  I—  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  shoultl  be  struck  otf. 

Hor  Is't  possible  ? 

Ham.  Here 's  the  commission  :  read  it  at  more  liisui e. 
But  wilt  thou  hear  me  hov   1  did  proceed? 
Hor.   I  beseech  you. 

Ham.  Being  thus  be-netted  round  with  villanies, — 
Ere  I  could  make  a  prologue  to  my  brains,  30 

They  had  begun  tlie  play — I  sat  me  down, 
Devised  a  new  commi.ssion,  wrote  it  fair  : 
I  once  did  hold  it,  as  our  statists  do, 
A  ba.senesa  to  write  fair  iuid  labour'd  uuuli 
How  to  forget  that  learning,  but,  sir,  now 
It  ilid  me  veonian's  service  :  wilt  thou  know 


110  HAMLET.  [ACTV. 

The  effect  of  what  I  Avrote  ? 

Ilor.  Ay,  good  my  lord. 

Ham.  All  earnest  conjuration  from  the  king, 
As  England  was  his  faithful  tributary, 

As  love  between  them  like  the  ])alm  might  fldurish,  40 

As  peace  should  still  her  wheaten  garland  wear 
And  stand  a  comma  'tween  their  amities, 
And  many  such-like  '  As'es  of  gi'eat  charge, 
That,  on  the  view  and  knowing  of  these  contents, 
Without  debatement  further,  more  or  less. 
He  should  the  bearers  put  to  sudden  death. 
Not  shriving-time  allow'd. 

Hor.  How  was  this  seai'd  ? 

Ham.  Why,  even  in  that  was  heaven  ordinant. 
I  had  my  fathei's  signet  in  my  purse, 

Which  was  the  model  of  that  Danish  seal  ;  50 

Folded  the  writ  up  in  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  emjilovnient  ; 
They  are  not  near  my  conscience  ;  their  defeat 
Does  by  their  own  insinuation  grow  : 

'Tis  d.angerous  when  the  baser  nature  conies  60 

Between  the  pass  and  fell  incensed  points 
(Jf  mighty  opposites. 

Hor.  Why,  what  a  king  is  this  1 

Ham.   Does  it  not,  thinks 't  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  n<it  to  be  damn'd, 
To  let  this  canker  of  our  nature  come 


rp 


M'l-.NK  ii.J  HAMiJri',  111 

111  further  evil  {  7(» 

//(>/•.  It  must  be  shortly  known  to  liini  from  Ensflaiid 

What  is  the  issue  of  the  business  tliere. 

Ihim.   It  will  be  short  :  the  interim  is  mine  ; 

And  a  man's  life's  no  more  than  to  say  'One.' 

lUit  1  am  very  sorry,  good  Horatio, 

That  to  Laertes  I  forgot  myself  ; 

Kor,  by  the  image  of  my  cause,  I  see 

Tlie  portraiture  of  his  :   I  "11  court  his  favours  : 

But,  sure,  the  bravery  of  his  grief  diil  put  me 

Into  a  towering  passion. 

llor.  Peace  !  who  comes  here  ?  80 

Enter  OsRic. 

Osr.  Your  lordship  is  right  welcome  back  to  Denmark. 

//"//(.   J  liumbly  thank  you,  sir.     Dost  know  this  water-fly? 

Ilur.  No,  my  good  lord. 

Ifiiiii.  Thv  state  is  the  more  eracious  ;  for  'tis  a  vice  to 
know  liim.  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  choiyjfh  ;  but,  as  I  say,  spacious  in  the  possession  of  diit. 

^*Sl•.  Sweet  lord,  if  your  lordshi]j  were  at  leisnie,  I  slioulil 
impart  a  thing  to  you  from  his  majesty. 

Hc),in.  I  will  receive  it,  sir,  with  all  diligence  of  spirit.  I'ut 
your  bonnet  to  his  right  use  ;  'tis  for  the  head.  91 

0»r.  I  thank  your  lordship,  it  is  very  hot. 

Ham.  No,  believe  me,  'tis  very  cold  ;  the  wind  is  nortlierly. 

Osr.   It  is  indirterent  cold,  my  lord,  indeed. 

Ihun.  But  yet  metliinks  it  is  very  sultry  ami  iiol  for  my 
complexion. 

Oxr.  Exceedingly,  my  loid  :  it  is  very  sultry,— as 'twere, — 
I  cannot  tell  how.  But,  my  lord,  his  majesty  bade  me 
signify  to  y()U  that  he  has  laid  a  great  wager  on  your  head  : 
sii-.  this  is  the  m;itter, —  lOu 

Ham.   I  beseech  you,  iemend>er — 

[Uautltt  moves  liim  to  put  on  /ii'<  hat 


112  HAMLB:T.  [act  v. 

Oar.  Nay,  good  my  lord  ;  for  mine  ease,  in  good  faitli.  Sii-, 
here  is  newly  come  to  court  Laertes  ;  believe  me,  an  absolute 
gentleman,  full  of  most  excellent  differences,  of  very  soft 
society  and  great  showing  :  indeed,  to  speak  feelingly  of  him, 
he  is  the  card  or  calendar  of  gentry,  for  you  shall  find  in  him 
the  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,  iu  respect  of 
his  quick  sail.  But,  in  the  verity  of  extolment,  I  take  him 
to  be  a  soul  of  great  article  ;  and  his  infusion  of  such  dearth 
and  rareness,  as,  to  make  true  diction  of  him,  his  semblable 
is  his  mirror  ;  and  who  else  would  trace  him,  his  umbrage, 
nothing  more. 

Osi:  Your  lordship  speaks  most  infallibly  of  him. 

Ham.  The  concernancy,  sir?  why  do  we  wrap  the  gentle- 
man in  our  more  rawer  breath  ? 

Osr.  Sir?  119 

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  are 
spent. 

Ham.  (»f  him,  sir. 

Osr.  I  know  you  are  not  ignorant — 

Ham.  I  would  you  did,  sir  ;  yet,  in  faith,  if  you  did,  it 
would  not  much  approve  me.     Well,  sir?  129 

Osr.  You  are  not  ignorant  of  what  excellence  Laertes  is — 

Ham.  I  dare  not  confess  that,  lest  I  should  compare  with 
hiin  in  excellence  ;  but,  to  know  a  man  well,  were  to  know 
himself. 

Osr.  I  mean,  sir,  for  his  weapon  ;  but  in  the  imputation 
laid  on  him  by  them,  in  his  meed  he  's  unfellowed. 

Ham.  What 's  his  weapon  ? 

Osr.  Rapier  and  dagger. 


scKNKii.]  IIA-MLET.  113 

Hum.  That's  two  of  his  weapons  :  but,  well. 

Oki:  The  kin*,',  sir,  liatli  wai^ercd  with  him  six  Barhary 
horses  :  aj^'ainst  the  which  he  has  iiujKiiied,  as  I  take  it,  six 
French  rapiers  and  poniards,  with  their  assigns,  as  girdle, 
hangei-s,  and  so  :  three  of  the  carriages,  in  faith,  are  very 
dear  to  fancy,  very  responsive  to  the  hilts,  most  ilelicate 
carria<'es,  ami  of  verv  liberal  conceit. 

Ham.   What  call  you  the  carriages  ? 

Hor.  1  knew  veil  must  be  editied  bv  tlie  niarircnt  ere  you 
liad  done. 

Osr.  The  carriages,  sir,  are  the  hangers.  148 

Ham.  Tile  plira.se  would  be  more  german  to  the  matter,  if 
we  could  carry  cannon  by  our  sides  :  I  would  it  might  be 
hangei-s  till  then.  But,  on  :  six  Rarbary  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,  sii-,  hath  laid,  that  in  a  dozen  passes  between 
yourself  and  him,  he  shall  not  exceed  you  three  hits  :  he  hath 
laid  on  twelve  for  nine  ;  and  it  would  come  to  immediate  trial, 
if  your  lordship  would  vouchsafe  the  answer. 

Ham.  How  if  I  answer 'no'?  159 

Osr.  I  mean,  my  lord,  the  opposition  of  youi  ])erson  in 
trial. 

Ham.  Sir,  I  will  walk  here  in  the  hall  :  if  it  please  his 
majesty,  'tis  the  breathing  time  of  day  with  me  ;  let  the  foils 
lit*  brought,  the  gentleman  willing,  and  the  king  hold  his 
jdirpo.se,  I  will  win  for  him  an  I  can  ;  if  not,  I  will  gain  noth- 
ing but  my  shame  and  the  odd  hit.s. 

Okt.  Shall  I  re-deliver  you  e'en  so? 

Hum.  To  this  eft'ect,  sir  ;  after  what  floiiiish  your  nature 
will. 

Our.   I  commend  my  duty  to  your  lordshiji.  170 

Ham.  Your.s,  yours.  [A'.'vV  O.tnV'.]  Me  does  well  to 
commend  it  liimsflf  ;  there  are  no  tongues  else  for's 
turn. 


114  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

ITor.  This  lapwing  inns  away  witli  tlie  shell  on  his 
head. 

Ham.  He  did  comply  with  his  cliig,  before  he  sucked  it. 
Thus  has  he — aud  many  more  of  the  .same  bevy  that  I  know 
the  drossy  age  dotes  on — only  got  the  tune  of  the  time  and 
outward  habit  of  encounter  ;  a  kind  of  yesty  collection,  which 
carries  them  through  and  through  the  most  fanned  and  win- 
nowed opinions  ;  and  do  but  blow  them  to  their  trial,  the 
bubbles  are  out.  182 

Enter  a  Lord. 

Lord.  My  lord,  his  majesty  commended  him  to  you  bv 
young  Osric,  who  brings  back  to  him,  that  you  attend  him  in 
the  hall  :  he  sends  to  know  if  your  pleasure  hold  tn  play 
with  Laertes,  or  that  you  will  take  longer  time. 

Ham.  I  am  constant  to  my  purposes  ;  they  follow  the 
king's  pleasure  :  if  his  fitness  speaks,  mine  is  ready  ;  now  or 
whensoever,  pi-ovided  I  be  .so  able  as  now. 

Lord.  The  king  and  queen  and  all  are  coming  down.       190 

Ham.  l\\  happy  time. 

Lord.  The  cjueen  desires  you  to  use  some  gentle  entertain- 
ment to  Laertes  before  you  fall  to  play. 

Ham.  She  well  instructs  me.  [Exit  Lord. 

Hor.  You  will  lose  this  wager,  my  lord. 

Ham.  I  do  not  think  so  :  since  he  went  into  Fi  ance,  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.  i^--^^     ^      o^^^jk^^ 

Hor.  Nay,  good  my  lord, —  200 

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  fore- 
stal  their  repair  hither,  and  say  you  are  not  fit. 

Ham.  Not  a  whit,  we  defy  augury  :  there 's  a  sjjecial  pro- 
vidence in  the  fall  of  a  spairow.     If  it  be^iow,  'tis  not  to 


scKNKii.]  HAMLET.  115 

come  ;  if  it  Ik'  not  to  come,  it  will  be  now  ;  if  it  be  not  now, 
yet  it  will  come  :  the  readiness  is  all :  since  no  man  has  anght 
of  what  he  leaves,  what  is  't  to  leave  betimes  ? 

Enter  King,  Queen,  Laertes,  Lords,  OsRic,  and  Attendants 

leith  foils,  (&c. 

King.  Come,  Hamlet,  come,  and  take  this  hand  from  ine. 
[  The  King  puts  Laei'tes'  hand  into  HnmleCs. 

Ham.  Give  me  yonr  pardon,  sir  :  I've  done  yon  wiong  ; 
But  )>ai'don  "t,  as  yon  are  a  gentleman.  21 2 

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,  220 

Then  Hamlet  does  it  not,  Hamlet  denies  it. 
Who  does  it,  then?     His  madness  :  if't  be  so, 
Hamlet  is  of  the  faction  that  is  wrong'd  ; 
His  madness  is  poor  Handet's  enemy. 
Sir,  in  this  audience, 

Jjet  my  di.sclaiming  fi-oni  a  ijurjjosed  evil 
Free  me  so  far  in  vour  most  generous  thoughts. 
That  I  have  shot  mine  arrow  o'er  the  house, 
And  hurt  my  brother. 

F^'ii-r.  I  am  satisfied  in  nature. 

Whose  motive,  in  this  ca.se,  should  stir  me  most  23(1 

To  ruy  revenge  :  Init  in  my  terms  of  iKiiioiir 
1  stand  aloof  ;  and  will  no  reconcilement, 
Till  by  .some  elder  masters,  of  known  Imnnnr, 
1  have  a  voice  and  jjrecedent  of  jicacc, 
To  keep  my  name  ungored.     But  till  tliat  time, 
1  do  receive  vour  ofler'd  love  like  love, 


116  HAMLET.  [ACTV. 

And  will  not  wrong  it. 

H(tui.  I  embrace  it  freely  ; 

And  will  this  brother's  wager  frankly  play. 
Give  us  the  foils.     Come  on. 

Xaer.  Come,  one  for  me. 

Ham.  I  '11  be  your  foil,  Laertes  :  in  mine  ignorance        240 
Your  skill  shall,  like  a  star  i'  the  darkest  night, 
Stick  fiery  off  indeed. 

Laer.  You  mock  me,  sir. 

Ham.  No,  by  this  hand. 

King.  Give  them  the  foils,  young  Osric.     Cousin  Hamlet, 
You  know  the  wager  ? 

Ham.  Very  well,  my  lord  ; 

Your  grace  hath  laid  the  odds  o'  the  weaker  .side. 

King.  I  do  not  fear  it  ;  I  have  seen  you  both  : 
But  since  he  is  better'd,  we  have  therefore  odds. 

Laer.  This  is  too  heavy,  let  me  see  another. 

Ham.  This  likes  me  well.     These  foils  have  all  a  length  ? 

\_Theii  prepare  to  phti/. 

Osr.  Ay,  my  good  lord.  251 

Kinq.  Set  me  the  stoups  of  wine  upon  that  table. 
If  Hamlet  give  the  first  or  second  hit. 
Or  quit  in  answer  of  the  third  exchange. 
Let  all  the  battlements  their  ordnance  tire  ; 
The  king  shall  drink  to  Handet's  l)etter  breath  ; 
And  in  the  cup  an  union  shall  he  throw, 
Eicher  than  that  which  four  succes.sive  kings 
In  Denmark's  crown  have  worn.     Give  me  the  ciips  : 
And  let  the  kettle  to  the  trumpet  speak,  260 

The  trumpet  to  the  cannoneer  without. 
The  cannons  to  the  heavens,  the  heavens  to  earth, 
'  Now  the  king  drhiks  to  Hamlet.'     Come,  begin  : 
And  you,  the  judges,  bear  a  wary  eye. 

Ham.  Come  on,  sir. 

Laer.  Come,  my  l..rd.  {TJmi  play. 

Ham.  0«e- 


I 


STEVE  n.J  HAMLET.  117 

I.aer.  No. 

Ham.  Juflgement. 

(Jsr.  A  hit,  a  very  palpable  liit. 

Laer.  Well  ;  again. 

King.  Stay  ;  give  uie  drink.     Hamlet,  tliis  pearl  is  thine  ; 
Here  's  to  thy  health. 

\Truinpets  sound.,  and  cannon  shot  off  within. 
Give  him  the  cup. 

Nam,  I  '11  play  this  bout  first ;  set  it  by  awhile. 
Come.     [They  play. ^     Another  hit :  what  say  you  ',  270 

Laer.  A  touch,  a  touch,  1  do  confess. 

King.  Oiu"  son  shall  win. 

Queen.  lie 's  jatr-aud  .scant  of  breath. 

Here,  Hamlet,  take  my  napkin,  rub  thy  brows  : 
'Die  queen  carouses  to  thy  fortune,  Hamlet. 

Ham.  Good  madam  ! 

King.  Gertrude,  do  nut  drink. 

Queen.  I  will,  my  lord  ;  I  pray  you,  pardon  me. 

King.  {Aside^  It  is  the  poison'd  cup  :  it  is  too  late. 

Ham.  I  dare  not  drink  Vet,  madam  ;  by  and  by. 

Quet>n.  Come,  let  me  wipe  thy  face. 

I.,ner.  My  lord,  I  '11  hit  him  now. 

Kiiig.  I  do  not  think 't.         280 

Lner.  [Asid'''\  And  yet  'tis  almost  'gainst  my  conscience. 

//'///;.  Come,  for  the  thinl,  I^aertes  :  \'ou  but  tlally  ; 
I  pi-ay  you,  pass  with  your  best  violence  ; 
I  am  afeard  you  make  a  wanton  of  me. 

Laer.  Say  you  so  ?  come  on.  [Tltey  play. 

Osr.  Notliing,  neither  way. 

Laer.  Have  at  you  now  I 

[Laertes  icouitds  Hamlet  ;  then,  in  scuffling,  tliey 
change  rapiers,  and  Hamlet  wounds  Laertes. 

King.  Part  them  ;  they  are  incensed. 

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

Our.  Look  to  the  queen  there,  ho  I 

//'ir.  They  bleed  r)n  both  sides.     How  is  it,  my  lord  ? 


118  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

Osr.  How  is 't,  Laertes  ?  290 

Laer.  Why,  as  a  woodcock  to  mine  own  springe,  Osric  ; 
I  am  justly  kill'd  with  mine  own  treachery. 

Ham.  How  does  the  queen  ? 

J^^nq.  She  swounds  to  see  tliem  bleed. 

Queen.  No,  no,  the  drink,  the  drink,— O  my  dear  Hamlet,— 
The  drink,  tlie  drink  !   I  am  poison'd.  ^Dks. 

Ham.  O  villany  !    Ho  !  let  the  door  be  lock'd  :  Treachery  ! 
Seek  it  out. 

Laer.  It  is  here,  Hamlet  :  Hamlet,  thou  art  slain  ;    ' 
No  medicine  in  the  world  can  do  thee  good  ; 
In  thee  there  is  not  half  an  hour  of  life  ;  300 

The  treacherous  instrument  is  in  thy  hand, 
Unbated  and  envenom'd  :  the  foul  practice 
Hath  turn'd  itself  on  me  ;  lo,  here  I  lie. 
Never  to  rise  again  :  thy  mother's  ])oison'd  : 
I  can  no  more  :  the  king,  the  king 's  to  blame. 

Ham.  The  point  envenom'd  too  ! 
Then,  venom,  to  thy  work.  [Stabs  the  King. 

All.  Treason  !  treason  I 

King.  O,  yet  defend  me,  friends  ;  I  am  Imt  hurt. 

Ham.  Here,  thou  incestuous,  murderous,  damned  Dane, 
Drink  oft'  this  potion.     Is  thy  union  here  ']  31  ] 

Folk)w  my  mother.  {King  dies 

Laer.  He  is  justly  served  ; 

It  is  a  poison  teniper'd  by  himself. 
Exchange  forgiveness  with  me,  noble  Hamlet : 
Mine  and  my  father's  death  come  not  upon  thee. 
Nor  thine  on  nie  !  [Dies. 

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  unites  or  audience  to  this  act,  320 

Had  I  but  time — as  this  fell  sergeant,  death, 
Is  strict  in  his  arrest— (_),  I  could  tell  you — 
But  let  it  be.     Horatio,  I  am  dead  ; 


scENKii.]  HAMLET.  ^19 

Tliou  livtst  ;  roi"irt  me  and  my  lanse  aright 
To  the  iiiisatistied. 

//or.  Never  lnlic\e  it  : 

I  am  more  an  antiipie  Roman  than  a  Dane  : 
Here's  yet  some  licjufir  left. 

Iltnn.  As  tliou 'rt  a  man, 

(Jivf  me  the  eu|»  :   let  ^m  ;  hy  heaven,  I'll  liave't. 
()  giMiil  Iloiatio,  what  a  woiiniled  name, 

Tilings  standing  thus  unknown,  shall  live  behind  me  !       330 
If  thou  didst  ever  hold  me  in  thy  heart, 
Alisent  thee  from  felieity  awhile, 
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  eonrpiest  come  fiom  Poland, 
To  the  and)assailors  of  England  gives 
This  warlike  volley. 

If  am.  O,  I  die,  Horatio  ; 

The  potent  poison  quite  o'er-crows  my  spirit  : 
I  cannot  live  to  hear  the  news  from  England  ; 
But  I  do  prophecy  the  election  lights  340 

On  Fortinbras  :  he  lias  my  dying  voice  ; 
So  tell  him,  with  the  occurrents,  more  and  less, 
Which  have  solicited.     The. rest  is  silence.  {Dies. 

Hor.    Now    cracks    a    noble    hearty    Good    night,    sweet 


jnuice  ; 

And  flights  of  angels  sing  thee  to  thy  rest ! 
Why  does  the  drum  come  hither?  \}lardi  within. 

Enter  Fortinrra.s,  the  English  Ambassadors, 
and  others. 

Fort.  Where  is  this  sight? 

Hor.  What  is  it  ye  would  see  1 

If  aught  of  woe  or  wonder,  cease  your  search. 

Fort.  This  ([uarry  cries  on  havoc.     O  proud  death, 


120  HAMLET. 


[act  v. 


What  feast  is  toward  in  thine  eternal  cell,  350 

That  thou  so  many  princes  at  a  shot 

So  bloodily  hast  struck  'i 

First  Ainh.  The  sight  is  dismal  ; 

And  our  affairs  from  England  come  too  late  : 

The  ears  are  senseless  that  should  dve  us  heariuL'. 

To  tell  him  his  commandment  is  fultill'd, 

That  Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern  are  deail  : 

Where  should  \\-e  have  our  thanks  ? 

^O'"-  Not  fron)  his  nioutli, 

Had  it  the  ability  of  life  to  thank  you  : 

He  never  gave  commandment  for  their  death. 

But  since,  so  jump  upon  this  bloody  question,  360 

You  from  the  Polack  wars,  and  vou  from  England, 

Are  here  arrived,  give  order  that  these  bodies 

High  on  a  stage  be  placed  to  the  view  ; 

And  let  me  speak  to  the  yet  unknowing  world 

How  these  things  came  about :  so  shall  you  hear 

Of  carnal,  bloody,  and  unnatural  acts, 

Of  accidental  judgements,  casual  slaughters, 

Of  deaths  put  on  by  cunning  and  forced  cause, 

And,  in  this  upshot,  purposes  nustook, 

FaH'n  on  the  inventors'  heads  :  all  this  can  I  370 

Truly  deliver. 

Fort.  Let  us  haste  to  hear  it. 

And  call  the  noblest  to  the  audience. 
For  me,  with  sorrow  I  embrace  my  fortune  : 
I  have  some  rights  of  memory  in  this  kingdom, 
Which  now  to  claim  my  vantage  doth  invite  me. 
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  eriorii!,  happen. 

^^o'"'-  Let  four  captains  380 

Bear  Hamlet,  like  a  soldier,  to  the  stage ; 


SCENE  u.l  HAMLKT.  121 

Fill  he  was  likely,  had  he  been  i)iit  nii, 

To  have  \noved  most  royally  :  and,  for  his  passage,- 

The  soldiers'  music  and  the  rites  of  war 

Speak  loudly  for  him. 

Take  ui>  the  bodies  :  such  a  sipht  as  this 

Becomes  the  field,  but  here  shows  nnii  h  amiss. 

Go,  bid  the  soldiers  shoot. 

[A  dead  manh.     Exeunt,  bearing  of  the  dead  bodies; 
after  which  a  peal  of  ordnance  is  shot  off. 


NOTES. 


Act  I.     .ScKNE  I. 

Stage  Direction.  E/sinorc,  the  modern  Helsingor,  a  seaport 
on  the  north-east  coast  of  Denmark,  to  the  north-west  of  Copen- 
hagen :  A  platj'orm  before  the  castle,  a  terrace  in  front  of  the 
castle,  up  and  down  which  the  sentinels  patrolled. 

2.  me,  emphatic  ;  it  is  for  the  watch  to  challenge  any  one  wlio 
appears,  not  for  him  to  challenge  the  watch  :  unfold  yourself, 
declare  who  you  aie. 

.S.  Long  live  the  king  !  Malone  supposed  this  to  be  the  watch- 
word, Imt  Dclius  points  out  that  Horatio  and  Marcellus,  when 
similarly  challenged,  give  another  answer,  and  Pye  believes  that 
Bernardo's  answer  corresponds  to  the  former  usage  in  France, 
where  to  the  common  challenge  Qui  vlve  '/  (who  goes  there  ?)  the 
answer  was,  Vim  le  Roi !  (long  live  the  king  I),  like  the  modern 
answer,  '  A  friend. ' 

(i.  You  come  . . .  hour,  you  have  come  with  exact  punctuality  to 
your  time  ;  for  upon,  -  at,  or  immediately  after,  see  Abb.  §  191. 
Though  Francisco  is,  in  1.  16,  spoken  of  as  an  "  honest  soldier," 
and  in  the  dramatis  persomv  is  called  "  a  soldier,"  his  question 
"  Bernardo?"  is  more  like  that  of  an  equal,  and  it  has  not  been 
explained  how  a  common  soldier  came  to  be  relieved  by  an 
officer. 

7.  now,  just  this  moment :  get  thee,  on  verbs  followed  by  thee 
instead  of  thou.,  see  Abb.  §§  205,  212. 

8.  much,  great  in  quantity,  formerly  used  of  size  also :  hitter, 
bitterly. 

9.  sick  at  heart,  heartily  weary,  thoroughly  exhausted,  with 
watching  in  such  weather. 

10.  Have  you  ...  guard?  has  your  watch  been  undisturbed  by 
any  alarm  ? 

LS.  rivals,  partners,  associates;  en.  A.  C.  iii.  5.  8,  "Cfesar... 
presently  denied  him  rirality  :  would  not  let  him  partake  in  the 

122 


SCENE  I.]  NOTES.  ■[•2:^ 

glory  of  tlie  action";  i.  //.  /  I'.  i\-.  4.  Ml,  "  AikI  many  iiioe  rofriva/-i 
and  dear  iiu'ii  Of  estiniatifin  and  roiiiiiuunl  in  arms."  Elsewhere? 
Shakespeare  alway.s  uses  the  wfird  in  its  mumU'Iii  sense.  Trench, 
S/iuli/  or'  H'o/v/.s.  j)p.  'A\'^,  (),  say.s,  "  '  Rivals  "  ))ro|)erly  are  those  who 
dwell  on  tlie  hanks  of  tlie  same  river.  15ut  as  all  experience 
shows,  there  is  no  snch  fruilfnl  soni-ce  of  contention  as  a  water 
right,  and  these  would  l>c  often  at  strife  with  one  another  in 
regard  to  the  periods  during  which  they  severally  had  a  riglit  to 
the  use  of  the  stream,  turnin\,  it  ofV  into  thcii-  oMii  fields  hefore 
the  time,  or  leaving  ojien  the  sluices  heyond  the  time,  or  in  otliei- 
ways  interfering,  or  being  counted  to  interfere,  with  tlie  rights  of 
their  neighbours.  And  in  this  way  '  rivals  '  came  to  be  applied  to 
any  who  were  on  any  grounds  in  unfriendly  competition  with  one 
another." 

1").  ^ound,  soil,  land  :  liegemen,  .subjects.  Of  li",ie,  Skeat 
(/iff),  fh'rl.)  .says,  "We  now  say  'a  /ieija  vassal,'  i.e.  one  bound  to 
his  lord  ;  it  is  easy  t«  see  that  this  sense  is  due  to  a  false  ety- 
mology which  connected  the  word  with  Lat.  lit/atii.s,  bound  . . 
Hut  the  fact  is  that  the  older  phrase  was  'a  //eye  lord,'  and  the 
older  sense  'a  /Vee  lord,' in  exact  contradiction  to  the  popular 
notion  . .  '  A  /ie;/e  lord  '  seems  to  liave  been  a  lord  of  a  free  band  ; 
and  his  lieije.-i,  though  serving  under  him,  were  privileged  men, 
free  from  all  other  obligations  ;  tiicir  name  being  due  to  their 
freedom,  not  to  their  service  "... :  the  Dane,  the  king  of  Denmark, 
Claudius,  uncle  to  the  Prince. 

16.  Give  you  good  night,  i.e.  6W  give  you,  etc.  Cp.  tjod-dtn, 
<iod  di'j-ynii-diii,  (rod  iji'  riod-den,  God  yt  <jod-den,  frequent  in 
Shiikespeare. 

19.  A  piece  of  him,  a  bantering  answer  U>  TSeinardo's  suiprise  ; 
as  one  might  say,  "  Well,  it  looks  like  it.'  Ingleby,  Shah  ^peare 
f/fntiJ  iieiitir-'i,  p.  l."^7,  illustrates  the  expression  from  Cliarlotte 
Brontfs  novel,  Jani'  Kyre,  where  the  herf)ine  "has  come  upon 
the  blind  Rochester,  and  placed  her  hand  in  his  :  '  Her  very 
fingers,'  he  cried,  '  her  small,  light  fingers  I  1/  so,  (here  nniat  be 
more  of  her/  " 

'21.  What,  has  ..  tonight?  Tlie  (puirtos  give  this  .speech  to 
Hoiatio  ;  and  many  editors  follow  them  on  the  groun<l  that 
Marcellus  would  not  use  tiie  contemptuous  expression  this  thing 
of  that  which  he  immediately  afterwards  calls  "  this  dicadcd 
sight,"  while  in  the  mouth  of  the  sceptical  Horatio  such  con- 
tempt would  be  (juite  ap[)ro])i'iate.  Orant  White  objects  that 
Horatio  docs  not  yet  l)elieve  tliat  the  (Ihost  has  a])pcared  at  all  ; 
liul  in  his  moutii  the  words  need  not  mciui  more  tiian  'has  your 
imagination  again  Ijcen  conjuring  up  this  a|tp,u-ition  vou  told  me 
of?' 

•2.'{.  fantasy,  fam.-y  ;  the  fuller  form  of  the  word  w  lii'li  Ir.is  n:>\/ 
been  corrupted  inUj  'fancy.' 


124  HAMLET.  [ACTi. 

24.  And  will  . . .  him,  and  refuses  to  yield  himself  to  belief. 

2.").  dreaded,  dreadful ;  cp.  Cor.  iii.  6.  98,  "in  t  he  presence  of 
di'caded  justice  "  :  Of,  l\y. 

27.  the  minutes  of  this  night,  indicating  the  tediousness,  and 
perhaps  the  closeness,  of  the  watch  they  were  to  keep.  Steevens 
quotes  Ford,  Fancies,  GhaMe  and  Nvhie,  v.  1.  129,  "I  promise, 
ere  the  minutes  of  the  night  Warm  us  to  rest,  such  satisfaction  .. 
as  more  you  cannot  wish  for  "  ;  where,  however,  tlie  short  time 
to  elapse  is  indicated. 

29.  approve  our  eyes,  confirm  by  his  acknowledgment  the 
trutlifuhiess  of  our  eyesight ;  admit  that  we  were  not  tlie 
victims  of  an  allusion  ;  for  approve,  in  this  sense,  cp.  A.  C:  i.  1. 
60.  "I  am  full  sorry  That  he  apprortx  the  common  liar,  who  Thus 
speaks  of  him  at  Rome." 

30.  Tush,  an  exclamation  of  impatient  incredulity  ;  awhile, 
for  a  time  ;  originally  two  words,  A. 8.  dne  hi'ile,  (for)  a  while. 

31-3.  And  let  us  ...  seen,  and  let  us,  in  the  endeavour  to  con- 
vince you,  once  more  attack  your  ears  that  so  resolutely  refuse 
to  listen  with  belief,  by  telling  you  what  for  two  nights  together 
we  have  seen.  In  keeping  up  the  metaphor  in  assail  and  fortified 
(words,  as  Eltze  points  out,  so  appropriate  in  the  mouth  of  a 
soldier),  Shakespeare  treats  the  clause  What  ...  seen  as  though  it 
has  been  preceded  by  'inform,'  '  relate  to,'  instead  of  assail. 

33.  sit  we  down,  Abbott  (§361)  thinks  we  may  perhaps  explain 
the  so-called  imperative  here  as  =  '  suppose  we  sit  down  ?  '  '  what 
if  we  sit  down  ?  ' 

35.   Last  night  of  all,  only  last  night. 

36-8.  When  yond  . . .  burns,  when  that  very  star  which  you  see 
to  the  west  of  the  pole  had  travelled  along  its  path  to  light  up 
that  part  of  the  heavens  in  whicji  it  is  now  shining,  i.e.  almost  at 
this  very  time  last  night  ;  yond,  pi'operly  an  adverb,  yov,  being 
the  adjective  ;  Had  ...  illume,  not,  had  caused  its  course  to  light 
up,  but,  proceeded  on  its  course  with  the  object  of  lighting  up. 

39.  beating,  much  the  same  as  '  tolling,' but  more  vividly  indi- 
cating the  harsh  clangour  of  the  bell  as  heard  in  the  deep  stillness 
of  midnight ;  cp.  A'.  J.  iii.  1.  37-9,  "if  the  midnight  hell  Did,  with 
his  iron  tongue  and  brazen  mouth  Sound  one  into  the  drowsy  ear 
of  night." 

40.  break  thee  off,  cease  speaking  ;  see  note  on  1.  7. 

41.  In  the  same  figure,  in  the  same  shape  and  dress. 

42.  Thou  art  a  scholar,  the  usual  form  of  exorcism  being  in 
Latin,  a  scholar  would  be  required  for  the  purpose  ;  cp.  M.  A. 
ii.  \.  2(i4,  "I  would  to  (4od  some  ■•scholar  would  ronjure  her.'' 
Reed  compares  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  The  Night-  Walker,  ii.  ]. 


mkm:  I.]  NOTES.  125 

S9-J)0,  "Lefs  call  the  Initler  up.  for  he  speaks  Latin,  And  that 
will  tlaiint  the  ilcvil."' 

43.  the  king,  /.«.  the  Wead  king,  Hamlet's  father. 

44.  harrows,  confounds,  paralyzes  ;  more  usually  spelt  harry, 
the  form  harroir  being  "  chieflj'  confined  to  the  phrase  'the 
HarroiriiK/  of  Hell,"  i.r.  the  despoiling  of  hell  hj'  Christ  ...  — A.S. 
hi-n/iaii,  to  lay  waste.  Literally  to  over-run  with  an  army"  ... 
(Skeat,  AVi/.  Did.).  Steevens  compares  Cohj?/.s',  oGo,  "Amazed 
I  stood,  harroic'd  with  grief  and  fear." 

45.  It  would  be  spoke  to,  it  desires  to  l)e  spoken  to.  "There 
was,  and  i.s,  a  iiotinii  that  a  ghost  cannot  speak  till  it  has  been 
spoken  to  "  (CI.  Pr.  Kdd.).  For  the  conditional  use  of  would  in 
such  phrases,  see  Abb.  g  329,  and  for  the  curtailed  form  of  the 
participle,  §  343. 

46-9.  What  art  thou  ...  march  ?  Of  what  nature  are  you  that 
without  riglit  you  claim  as  a  time  for  your  walking  these  peace- 
ful hours  of  the  night,  and  with  e(|iial  want  of  right  assiune  the 
noble  and  warlike  form  in  which  the  majestic  sovereign  of  this 
land  was  wont  to  walk  when  alive  ?  Denmark,  the  king  of  Den- 
mark ;  the  name  of  the  country  being  frecjueiitly  used  by  Shake- 
speare in  this  way,  '•.(/.  A'.  ,/.  i.  1.  20,  "  so  answer  France  "  ;  W. 
'/'.  i.  1.  23,  4.  "  Sirilia  cannot  show  himself  over  kind  to 
Bohemia  "  ;  sometimes,  formerly;  in  which  as  in  other  senses, 
Shakespeare  uses  sometimes  and  sometime  indifferently. 

00.  stalks,  strides  with  a  slow  and  stately  step  ;  A.S.  xtalcan, 
to  walk  waiily. 

52.  will  not,  is  determined  not  to,  etc. 

53.  How  now      pale,  said  with  ironical  surprise. 

54.  Is  not  .  fantasy  ?  now  that  the  apparition  has  so  terrified 
you,  you  will  hardly  again  twit  u.^'  M'ith  being  under  a  delusion. 

50.  Before  my  God,  I  speak  in  the  presence  of  my  (iod  and 
call  upon  Him  to  witness  that,  etc.  :  might,  could  ;  see  Abb.  § 
312. 

57,  8.  Without  .  eyes,  had  it  not  been  vouched  for  by  the 
certain  Nsairanl  of  my  \isual  sense  ;  had  not  the  appeal  been 
made  U)  my  senses,  and  made  in  a  way  about  which  there  could 
be  no  mistake  ;  for  sensible,  in  this  passive  sense,  cp.  Marb.  ii. 
I.  36,  "Art  thou  not,  fatal  vision,  xensihic  To  feeling  as  to 
sight  "r",  and  .see  Altb.  >;  3  ;  avouch,  a  snl)stantive  formed  fiom 
tin-  verb,  ultimately  from  the  Lat.  <ul.  to,  and  rorare,  to  call. 

60.  Such,  not  necessarily  tlie  very  armour,  but  arujour  closely 
resendiiini.'  it. 

01.  combated,  met  in  personal  combat  ;  the  verb  is  now  used 
iu  a  figurative  sense  only. 


]  26  HAMLET.  [ACT  I. 

62.  when,  in  an  angry  parle,  when,  on  the  occasion  of  a  confer- 
ence which  ended  in  angry  words  ;  parle,  and  par/.eij  are  else- 
where vised  l)y  Shakespeare  only  of  a  friendly  conference,  or  a 
conference  held  with  the  view  of  coming  to  an  agreement,  and  we 
can  hardly  suppose  blows  to  have  been  exchanged Mhile  the  parle 
was  going  on. 

63.  the  sledded  Polacks,  the  Poles  fighting  from  their  sledges  ; 
it  is  not  of  course  necessary  to  suppose  that  all  the  Polish  army 
was  in  sledges,  the  word  shddal  1:)eing  used  merely  as  a  graphic 
touch  ;  "  Polark  was,  in  that  age,  the  term  for  an  inhabitant  of 
Poland  :   Fr.   PoJaqn^  "  (.Johnson). 

65.  jump  at  this  dead  hour,  just  at  this  very  hour  of  dead 
stillness  ;  for  jump,  c]).  below,  v.  2.  886,  and  0th.  ii,  H.  392,  "  And 
bring  him  jiLmp  when  he  may  Cassio  find  soliciting  his  wife  "  ; 
for  dead  hour,  cp.  T.A.  ii.  3.  99,  "at  dead  time  of  the  night  "  ; 
//.  V.  iii.  Ghor.  19,  "  as  fZeofZ  midnight  still  "  ;  and  the  substan- 
tive, Lucr.  1625,  "Far  in  the  dreadful  d<:ad  of  dark  midnight." 

66.  gone  by  our  watch,   passed  hy  us  then  keeping  watch. 

67-9.  In  what  ...  state,  though  of  many  lines  of  thouglit  I  do 
not  know  which  one  would,  if  explored,  show  tlie  particular 
danger  threatened,  the  general  drift  of  my  opinion  is  to  fore- 
shadow some  strange  outljreak  which  shall  shake  oiir  state  ;  gross 
and  scope  is  a  hendiadys  ;  for  the  former  word,  which  is  properly 
an  adjective,  cp.  M.  V .  i.  3.  56,  "  I  cannot  instantly  raise  up  the 
<iros><  Of  full  three  thousand  marks  '"  :  for  the  latter.  /*.  //.  iii.  3. 
112,  "His  coming  hitlier  hath  no  further  scope  Than  for  hia 
lineal  royalties  "  ;  eruption,  here  meaning  violent  disturbance,  is 
in  J.  C.  i.  3.  78,  used  in  the  plural  of  the  natural  phenomena 
supposed  to  indicate  calamity  to  the  state,  ' '  Yet  jjrodigious 
grown  And  fearful,  as  these  strange  eruptions  are." 

70.  Good  now,  very  well,  then  ;  or  perhaps  used  as  in  W.  T. 
V.  i.  19,  "  (jood  iioir,  Say  so  but  seldom  "  ;  C.  E.  iv.  4.  22,  "  Good 
now,  hold  thy  tongue,"  i.e.  my  good  fellow  :  tell  me  ...  knows,  let 
him  who  knows  tell  me. 

71,  2.  Why  this  ...  land,  why,  night  after  night,  the  king's 
subjects  are  worn  out  by  their  vigilance  so  strictly  observed, 
with  which  we  have  all  become  so  f.-iniiliar  ;  for  transitive  verl)s 
formed  from  nouns  and  adjectives,  sec  Aljb.  §  290  ;  subject,  used 
collectively. 

73.  And  why  ...  cannon,  and  wh}',  day  after  day,  the  casting  of 
cannon  proceeds  without  interruption. 

74.  And  foreign  . . .  war,  and  why  there  is  this  constant  trade 
with  foreign  countries  for  the  purchase  of,  etc. 

75.  6.  Why  such . . .  week,  why  shipwrights  ai'e  compelled  to  work 
in   the  docks    week-days   and   Sundays ;    impress,    Wedgwood 


scEsK  I.]  NOTES.  lL'7 

(Dirt.)  lias  shown  that  to  })e  jtrexned,  in  the  sense  of  compelled  tfi 
serve,  has  nothing  to  do  with  jn-PKn  in  the  sense  of  '  ernsli.' 
'  S()ueeze,"  hut  is  a  ef)n  ujition  of  p7-i'>,f,  ready,  y'rcvZ-moncy 
heiii^'  I'oady  money  advanced  when  a  man  was  hired  foi'  service, 
the  siiilling  now  gi\  en  to  reci  nits.  "  At  a  later  pi'iiod,"  he  says, 
"  the  practice  of  taking  men  for  the  pnlilic  service  hy  iovi/.7i/xwv 
made  the  word  to  he  understood  as  if  it  signified  io  force  men 
into  the  service,  and  the  original  reference  to  earnest-money  was 
quite  lost  sight  of." 

76,  7.  What  might  day,  wliat  lan  ))(issil)ly  l>e  in  ])rep;ira- 
tion  that  all  tiiis  heavy  lahoui"  goes  on  day  and  night  ;  for 
toward  cj).  helow,  v.  2.  376,  "  A\'hat  feast  is  tovard  in  thine 
eternal  cell  ...  ?,  and  M.  X.  D.  iii.  1.81,  "  What,  a  play  fonard .'  " 

8C).  the  whisper  goes  so,  it  is  whispered  that  the  reason  of  all 
this  is  such  as  1  \\  ill  relate  to  you. 

81.  image,  semhlance  ;  not  elsewhere  used  I)y  Shakesj;eaie  of 
a  ghostly  ai)parition.  though  in  ii.  7/.  17.  ii.  2.  1-17,  "And  to 
survey  his  <lead  and  earthly  rmojc,"  we  have  the  word  in  the 
sense  of  that  which  in  death  is  the  mere  semblance  of  the  living 
man  :  even  but  now,  redundant. 

83.  Thereto  ..  pride,  he  heing  goaded  to  do  so  by  a  spirit  of 
strong  enmlation  ;  cp.  Oth.  iii.  3.  412,  "  Prirh'd  to  "t  bj'  foolish 
honesty  and  love." 

84.  Dared,  challenged  ;  in  the  sense  v.f  venturing  to  do  a  thing, 
the  verb  '  to  dare  '  has  '  durst '  for  its  preterite  ;  for  the,  denoting 
notoriety,  see  Abb.  §  92. 

85.  For  so,  I  say  '  valiant,'  for  so  he  was  accounted,  etc.:  this 
side  ...  world,  the  inhabitants  of  this  portion  of  the  world  that  is 
known  to  us. 

86.  compact,  with  the  accent  on  the  latter  syllable,  as  always 
in  Sliakes|jcaie. 

87.  Well  ratified  ..  heraldry,  "  Law  would  be  A\ant((l  to  tliaw 
up  accurately  the  contract,  heraldry  to  give  it  a  binding  force  in 
honour  ;  as  the  court  of  ciiivalrv  has  cogni/ance  of  contracts 
touching  deeds  of  arms  or  f)f  war  out  of  the  realm  "'  (Moberly). 

88.  with  his  life,  when  forfeiting,  losing,  his  life  ;  thCEe  his 
lands,  tlio.se  lainls  of  his. 

S!).  Which  he  .  of,  of  which  he  was  at  the  time  possessed  ; 
seized,  from  O.  F.  saisir,  sfish\  to  ]>ut  one  in  possession  of,  to  take 
jKjssession  of,  a  technical  term  in  law  still  in  use. 

90.  the  which,  for  iIk  milking  irJiir/i  more  definite,  and  used 
where  the  antecedent,  or  some  word  like  the  antecedent,  is  re- 
peated, or  where  such  a  repetition  could  be  made  if  desired,  sec 
Abb.  <j  270  :   moiety,  Lat.  ni'diilat,  a  half,  is  used  liy  Shakespeare 


1 28  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

as  often  for  any  portion  as  for  the  half  :  competent,  adeijiuite, 
sufficient  ;  originally  the  present  participle  of  tlm  F.  verb  com- 
peter,  to  be  sufficient  for. 

91.   gaged,  ple<lge(l,  staked. 

91,  2.  which  had  . .  Fortinbras,  and  this  would  have  gone  as 
an  inheritance  to  Fortinbras  ;  would  have  passed  into  his 
possession.  For  return'd.  involving  no  idea  of  going  hcirlc,  cp. 
Tim.  iii.  2.  92.  "Had  hi.s  necessity  made  use  of  me  {i.e.  had  he 
in  his  necessity  applied  to  me)  I  would  have  put  my  wealth 
into  donation,  And  the  best  half  should  have  n-turn'd  to  him." 

93-5.  as,  by  the  same  ...  Hamlet,  in  the  same  way  that,  by  the 
agreement  of  which  I  have  sjjoken,  and  the  tenour  of  the 
stipulation  formally  drawn  uj)  between  them,  his  posstssions 
passed  to  Hamlet ;  for  article,  innixulv  a  particular  clause  in  a 
stipulation,  cp.  H.  V.  v.  2.  8()0,  "The  king  hath  granted  every 
article";  for  covenant,  the  ijuartos  read  comart,  i.e.  bargain; 
young  Fortinbris,  the  son  of  King  Hamlet's  opponent. 

96.  Of  unimproved  ..  full,  of  fiery  and  full-blooded  courage 
that  has  not  yet  l)een  disciplined  in  action.  Dyce,  following 
Gifford,  gives  '  uncensured,'  '  uniinpeached,'  as  the  meaning  of 
unimproved,  and  no  doubt  '  improve '  was  formerly  used  as  = 
reprove  ;  but  Horatio  is  clearly  disparaging  Fortinbras,  and 
while  allowing  him  plenty  of  mettle,  speaks  of  it  as  intemperate 
and  imtried.  Cp.  H.  I'lII.  i.  1.  182-4,  "anger  is  like  A  full, 
hot  horse,  who  being  allowed  his  way,  Se\i-i)iettle  tires  him  "  : 
mettle,  only  another  spelling  of  metal,  the  former  being  used 
in  a  figurative,  the  latter  in  a  literal,  sense.  The  construction 
of  the  line  is  not,  as  Johnson  takes  it,  '  Full  of  unimproved 
mettle,'  but  '(a  man)  of  unimproved  mettle  which  is  hot  and 
full.' 

97.  skirts,  the  outlying  districts  where  there  would  be  plenty 
of  young  fellows  ready  for  any  emploj'inent  ;  used  much  in  the 
way  that  we  speak  of  the  'purlieus,'  and  Shakespeare  of  the 
'suburbs,'  of  a  city,  where  the  refuse  of  society  is  gathered  to- 
gether :  here  and  there,  in  all  directions. 

98.  Shark'd  up,  greedily  swept  up,  as  the  shark  voraciou.sly 
sweeps  up  all  prey  that  comes  in  its  way  :  a  list,  a  gang  ;  liter- 
ally, catalogue :  lawless  resolutes,  wild-blooded  young  fellows 
ready  for  any  enterprise  however  desperate  and  unjustifiable  ; 
for  instances  of  inflected  adjectives  and  participles,  see  Abb. 
§  433. 

99.  For  food  and  diet,  merely  for  their  keep,  caring  nothing 
about  being  paid. 

100.  That  hath  ..  in  "t,  such  as  has  plenty  of  resolution  in  it, 
one  that  indicates  a  determined  purpose  :  which  is  no  other,  and 
this  enterprise  is  nothing  else  than. 


SCF.NF.  I.]  NOTES.  129 

101.  As  it...  state,—  for  so  it  plainly  appears  to  our  ruler.H  ;  for 
state,  cp.  Liar,  v.  1.  '22.  "With  otliers  \\  hoiii  tlic  ri;,'our  of  oui- 
Mfatc  Forced  t^)  cry  out." 

102.  of  US,  from  us. 

102,  3.  by  strong  .  compulsative,  liy  force  of  arms,  and  on 
compulsory  conditions  ;  /.(.  not  on  terms  of  agreement  such  as 
Inul  been  entered  into  between  Handet  and  the  elder  Kortinbras ; 
tilt'  (juartos  give  rompulsntory. 

104.  So,  in  the  way  1  iiave  already  described  :  I  take  it,  1 
understand. 

106,  7.  the  chief  ...  land,  the  main  spring,  origin,  of  all  tins 
luirry  and  l)iistlr  whicli  we  see  throughout  Denniark  ;  for  head, 
cp.  A'.  //.  i.  1.  97,  "all  the  treasons...  Fetch  from  false  Mow- 
bray their  first  head  and  spring  ;  post-haste,  literally,  the  haste 
made  by  a  post  or  ruimer  ;  romage,  "...  the  woi-d  [rummage]  is 
merely  due  to  the  substantive  rooiiiuijt ,  formed  by  suliix  -a</e  ... 
from  E.  roo77i,  space.  Hoomwjf  is  a  similar  formation  to  ston-cKje, 
and  means  much  the  same  thing.  It  is  an  old  nautical  term  for 
the  close  packing  of  things  in  a  ship  ;  hence  was  formed  the  verb 
to  roomaije  or  roinaiji-,  i.e.  to  find  room  f(n-  or  stow  away  packages; 
and  the  mariner  who  attended  to  this  business  was  called  the 
roomager  or  romar/er  "  ...  (Skeat,  Ety.  Diet.). 

108.  I  think  ...  so,  T  flunk  that  this  and  no  other  must,  as  you 
siiy,  be  the  cau.se  of  all  this  bustle  ;  be,  the  sultjuuctive,  indicat- 
ing uncertainty  ;  see  Abb.  §  299  ;  but,  used  in  its  exceptive 
sense. 

109,  10.  Well  may  it  ..watch,  ijuite  in  keeping  with  such  a 
state  of  things  is  it  that  this  ominous  ai)parition  should  pass 
through  our  mid.st  when  keejjing  watch,  itself  clad  in  armour  as 
thougii  prepared  for  battle  ;  sort,  agree  with  tlie  present  state  of 
things;  the  substantive  (fiom  which  the  verb  comes)  means  a 
lot,  class,  species,  and  is  ultimately  fiom  tlie  Lat.  .so?-.s,  Korti-i, 
destiny,  chance,  condition,  state. 

111.  That  was  ..  wars,  whose  action  was,  and  still  is,  the  sub- 
ject of  tlie.se  wars,  both  ])ast  and  now  luewing  between  the  two 
countries;  cp.  T.  C.  ii.  2.  18,  "Let  Helen  go:  Since  the  lirat 
sword  was  drawn  about  this  question. " 

112.  A  mote  ..eye,  it  (w..the  apparition)  like  a  mote  in  the 
eye,  which,  nnnute  as  it  is,  causes  tliat  organ  infiiute  pain,  per- 
plexes and  molests  our  mental  sigiit  :  mote,  a  particle  of  dust, 
sjjeck,  foi-merly  spelt  >iiofli  ;  Malone  quotes  Preface  to  Lodge's 
Iiiramatf  Deri's,  l")9(i,  "  they  are  in  the  aire,  like  at07ni  in  sole, 
mnlfif.'t  in  the  soinic." 

WA.  In  the  most...  Rome,  when  Rome  was  at  its  height  of 
power  and  glory  ;  tlie  palm  was  an  emblem  of  victfiry.  Wilson 
would  print  "State"  with  a  capital,  taking  it  as  reigning  city  ; 

I 


130  HAMLET.  [ACT  I. 

but  it  is  the  time,  rather  than  the  place  which  is  here  indicated  ; 
and  the  meaning  is  just  as  was  the  case  with  Rome  when  at  the 
zenith  of  its  power,  so  with  us  who  have  reached  a  higher  point 
than  at  any  previous  time,  omens  give  warning  of  approaching 
ti'ouljh;s. 

1 14.  mightiest,  supremely  miglity  ;  not  mightiest  of  all  that 
bore  that  name. 

115-20.  The  graves   ..  eclipse,  cp.  ./.  C.  i.  3.  3-3-2. 

11a.  stood  tenantless,  (jpened  and  gave  up  their  dead  :  sheeted 
dead,  corpses  clad  in  the  winding-sheet,  or  shroud,  in  -which  they 
had  buen  buried. 

110.  squeak,  squeal,  cry  out  in  a  shrill  tone  as  if  in  anguish  ; 
gibber,  gabble,  talk  in  unintelligil)le  language. 

117,  S.  As  stars  ..  sun.  In  this  corrupt  passage  various  emen- 
dations and  transpositions  have  been  proposed,  but  proV)al:ily  a 
line,  or  more  thau  one  line,  has  dropped  out.  Malone  suggests 
A>itres,  an  old  synonym  for  star,  for  As  stars,  and  with  this  word, 
taking  it  in  the  sense  of  a  spot  of  light,  Brae  thinks  that 
Disasters,  in  the  sense  of  spots  of  darkness,  spots  on  the  sun's 
disc,  is  contrasted  :  the  moist  star,  the  moon  ;  cp.  M.  X.  D.  ii. 
1.  162,  "the  chaste  beams  of  the  >iHitert/  moon  "  ;  W.  T.  i.  2.  1. 
"  Nine  changes  of  the  wattry  .sVar  hath  been." 

119.  upon  whose  ...  stands,  which  governs  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
the  tides  ;  cp.  W.  T.  i.  2.  427,  "you  may  as  well  Forbid  the  sea 
for  to  obey  the  moon." 

120.  Was  sick  almost . . .  eclipse,  was  sick  almost  to  death  with  the 
long  and  entire  eclipse  it  sutfered  ;  was  so  long  in  a  state  of  com- 
plete eclip.se  as  to  seem  almost  doonred  to  perish  ;  doomsday,  the 
day  of  doom  or  judgement,  especially  the  day  of  the  last  judge- 
ment, on  which  the  general  doom  will  be  pronounced  ;  but  here 
the  day  of  death,  as  in  K.  III.  v.  1.  12,  "All-Soul's  day  is  my 
body's  doonudaii. "' 

121.  And  even  ...  events,  and  the  precisely  similar  signs  fore- 
running terrible  events  ;  precurse,  not  elsewhere  used  by  Shake- 
speare, though  Malone  quotes  prtcurser,  Phcenix  and  Tnrtle,  6  ; 
fierce,  cp.  A'.  J.  v.  7.  13,  •'■  fitrce  extremes." 

122.  harbingers,  literally  a  forerunner  ;  an  officer  in  the  roj'al 
household,  whose  duty  it  was  to  allot  the  lodgings  of  the  king's 
attendants  in  a  royal  progress  ;  "  The  older  form  is  the  M.  E. 
herhergeour  ...  from  0.  F.  herberger,  to  harbour,  lodge,  or  dwell  iix 
a  house "...  (Skeat,  Ety.  Diet.):  still,  constantly:  the  fates, 
what  was  fated,  destined,  to  happen. 

123.  prologue  ...  on,  juologue  to  the  disastrous  events  to  be 
enacted  here  ;  for  omen,  in  this  sense,  Farmer  compares  Hey- 
%yood's  Life  of  Merlin,  "Merlin,  well  vers'd  in  many  a  hidden 


SCENE  I.]  NOTES.  131 

spell,  His  countries  ojnen  did  long  since  foretell."  For  a  similar 
thouglit  cxpressetl  in  tlie  language  f)f  the  theatre,  cp.  MacJ>.  ii.  4. 
5,  (i,  "  Tlmn  seest,  tiie  lieavens,  as  troubled  witli  man's  act, 
Tlireateii  liis  lildody  .s-/«(/e.'' 

VIA.  together,  i.e.  the  heaven  hy  ooinets,  eclipses,  etc.,  tlic  eartli 
by  tiie  ai)piaiance  of  giiosts  :  demonstrated,  with  the  accent  on 
the  first  .-yllal.le. 

\'2'i.  cllmatures,  properly  the  influence  of  climate  in  its 
original  sense  of  distance  fi'oni  tiie  equator,  liut  here  a])paiently 
for  tiie  differeiit  regions  of  the  land. 

l'2(i.  But  soft,  but  hold,  stop  ;  .said  to  iiimself  as  much  as  to 
those  he  is  adilressing  :  lo,  "  geneially  considei-ed  as  ecjuivalent 
to  look ;  hut  the  A.S.  hi,  lo !  and  locian,  to  look,  have  nothing 
in  connnon  but  the  initial  letter.  The  fact  is,  rather,  that  hi  is 
a  natural  interjection,  to  call  attention"  (Skeat,  Ety.  Diet.). 

127.  I  "11  cross  it  ...  me,  I  will  walk  across  its  path,  intercept 
it,  even  though  the  result  should  be  that  it  blast  me  ;  an  allusion 
to  the  old  belief  that  any  one  ci'ossiug,  or  being  crossed  by,  a 
spirit  caHie  under  its  baneful  influence  :  illusion,  the  sceptical 
Horatio  still  refuses  to  acknowledge  the  reality  of  the  apparition. 

128.  If  thou  ...voice,  if  you  are  capable  of  making  yourself 
heard  in  any  way,  or  of  using  speech  ;  not  quite  tautological. 

1.30,  1.  If  there  be  ...  me,  if  your  ap))earance  here  means  that 
there  is  any  guud  deed  to  Ije  done  whereby  jou  will  be  relieved, 
and  which  it  will  be  to  my  credit  to  do  ;  for  grace,  cp.  i.  H.  IV. 
ii.  1.  79,  "  wliicli  for  sport  sake  are  content  to  do  the  profession 
some  tfrace."  T.schischwitz  quotes  Siinrock,  Mi/f/io/ot/ie,  "  A 
ghost  can  be  not  infrequently  laid.  es])eciallj'  \\hen  a  living 
person  accomplislies  that  for  liim  wliich  he,  when  alive,  slujuld 
have  himself  accomplished." 

l.'W.  If  thou  ..  fate,  if  you  have  some  knowledge  (obtained  by 
means  to  \\  liich  \\  <•  iiave  no  access)  of  what  destiny  hangs  over 
your  country. 

134.  Which,  happily  ...  avoid,  foicknowledge  of  which  maj' 
perhaps  cuialjle  us  to  avoid  ;  happily  for  lia/ih/,  i.e.  by  hap, 
chance,  is  frequent  in  Shakespeare.  Some  editors  take  the  word 
in  its  moi-e  ordinarj'  sense,  explaining  which  iiappy,  (jr  fortun;ite, 
foreknowleilge  may  avoiil  ;  but  tlie  foi-mcr  sense  seems  more  in 
accordance  with  the  sceptical  mind  of  Horatio. 

136-8.  Or  if  ..death,  or  if  winle  living  you  have  hoarded  up, 
by  burying  it  in  the  earth,  ti-easure  unjustly  wiung  from  its 
owners,  an  (jtl'enee  fur  wiiicii  men  .say,  spii-its  like  jourself  are 
often  con<lenmed  to  wander  up  and  down  the  cartii  ;  walk,  in 
tliis  speeial  sense  applied  to  spirits  or  spectres,  is  frequent  in 
Shakespeare. 


132  HAMLET,  [ACT  I. 

140.  partisan,  a  kind  of  halberd,  or  long-  handled  axe,  a 
weapon  borne  by  foot -soldiers  ;  "  etyniologj'  doubtful ;  but  the 
word  must  almost  certainly  be  extended  from  O.  H.  G.  partd. 
M.  H.  G.  bnrte,?i  battle-axe,  which  occurs  in  E.  hal-berd"  ... 
(Skeat,  Ehj.  Diet. ). 

141.  will  not  stand,  refuses  to  halt  when  called  upon  to  do  so. 

14.S,  4.  We  do  it ...  violence,  it  is  an  insult  on  our  part  to  make 
an  attempt  to  offer  violence  to  one  so  majestical  in  form  and 
carriage. 

145,  6.  For  it ...  mockery.  I  say  ' .show  of  violence,'  for  it,  like 
the  air,  is  invulnerable,  and  our  blows  tlnis  sjjent  in  vain  are  but 
the  merest  mockery  of  enmity  ;  for  invulnerable,  cp.  Mach.  v.  8. 
9,  "  As  easy  mayst  tho\i  fhe  infrenchant  air  Witli  thy  keen  sword 
impress  as  make  me  bleed  ;  Temp.  iii.  3.  62-4,  "  as  well  Wound 
the  loud  winds,  or  with  bemock'd-at  stabs  Kill  the  still-closing 
waters  "  ;  vain  blows,  blows  made  vain  by  the  fact  of  the  appari- 
tion being  invulnerable. 

147.  the  cock.  Farmer  quotes  Bourne's  Anfiquifie'<  of  the 
Common  People,  "It  is  a  received  tradition  among  the  vulgar, 
that  at  the  time  of  cock-crowing  the  midnight  spirits  forsake 
these  lower  regions  and  go  to  their  proper  places.  Hence  it  is 
that  in  country  places,  where  the  way  of  life  reijuiresniore  early 
labour,  they  always  go  cheerfully  to  work  at  that  time." 

149.  Upon  a  fearful  summons,  immediately  upon  hearing  a 
summons  that  it  dreads  ;  for  adjectives  having  both  an  active 
and  a  passive  meaning,  see  Abb.  §  3. 

150.  the  trumpet  to  the  mom,  which  summons  the  morning  to 
awake  as  the  trumpeter  summons  sleeping  soldiers  ;  trumpet,  for 
'trumpeter,'  as  in  A'.  /.  i.  I.  27,  and  standard  for  "standa-.d- 
bearer,'  Temp.  iii.  2.  18. 

151.  lofty,  high-sounding,  as  in  i.  //.  IV.  v.  2.  98,  "Sound 
all  the  lofty  instruments  of  war";  but  also  perhaps  with  an 
allusion  to  the  cock  throwing  up  its  head  when  crowing. 

154.  extravagant,  stalking  alu-oad  ;  used  again  in  its  litei-al 
sense,  0/A.  i.  1.  l."^7,  "  In  an '.r/raj-or/aH/ and  wheeling  stranger 
Of  here  and  everywhere "'  :  erring,  wanderhig  ;  JSteevens  quotes 
from  Chapman's  0(///.ssee,  bk.  iv.,  "My  err^K/ father,'' said  of  the 
wandering  Ulysses,  and  bk.  ix.,  '' Err  inn  Grecians  we.  From 
Troy  returning  homewards."  For  both  words,  see  Abb.  Intro. 
p.  xiii. 

155.  Ms  confine,  the  habitation  to  whicli  it  was  restricted 
except  during  the  hours  of  night,  sc  the  regions  of  the  dead  ; 
cp.  K.  J.  iv.  2.  240,  "This  kingdom,  this  co»/«ft  of  blood  and 
breath  "  ;  here,  as  in  A.  Y.  L.  ii.  1.  24,  with  the  accent  on  tlie 
latter  syllable. 


scENK  i.l  NOTES.  133 

155,  6.  and  of  the  truth  ...  probation,  and  of  the  truth  of  this 
l)flief  this  object,  a  inoiiieiit  ago  j)resent  to  oui'  siglit,  gave  proof 
in  ilisiippearing  at  tlie  cock's  crow  :  for  probation,  cp.  Marh.  iii. 
1.  80,  "This  I  made  good  to  yon  In  our  hist  conference,  pass'd 
in  probation  with  yon,  How  yon  were  borne  in  hand  "  ;  0th.  iii. 
\\.  S65,  "Tliat  the  probation  bear  no  hinge  or  looj)  To  hang  a 
doubt  on."  We  now  say  'to  /?mAv»])roof,'  or  'probation,'  in  tlie 
sense  of  obtaining  pi-oof  l)y  means  of  trial,  and  speak  of  'giving 
proof  in  the  sense  in  wliicli  Shakespeare  here  uses  made  pro- 
bation. 

157.  faded,  faded  away,  gradually  vanished;  cp.  Teniji.  iv.  1. 
155,  "And,  like  this  insnbstantial  i>ageant  /Irf/ft/,  Leave  not  a 
rack  behind "  :  on  the  crowing  of  the  cock,  when  the  cock 
crowed. 

158.  'gainst ...  comes,  in  anticipation  of  the  coming  of  tiiat 
time;  cp.  below,  iii.  -t.  50,  and  see  Abb.  i?  142. 

162.  no  planets  strike,  a  refeience  to  the  old  astrological  belief 
in  the  ni;dignant  inliuence  of  tiie  stars. 

IG.S.  takes,  strikes  with  disease,  etc;  cp.  M.  W.  iv.  4.  32, 
"  And  there  lie  blasts  the  tree  and  takcx  tlie  cattle,"  Lear,  iii.  4. 
01,  "  Bless  thee  from  whirlwinds,  star-bhusting,  ■AwAtakinrj."  So, 
of  witches,  A.  C.  iv.  2.  37.  * 

164.  so  gracious,  so  touched  with  heavenly  grace. 

165.  in  part,  partly  ;  the  sceptical  Horatio  will  not  acbnit  it 
unreservedly. 

166.  in  russet  mantle  clad,  diessed  in  roseate,  or  ruddy,  hues; 
the  personilication  of  the  morning  is  carried  on  in  Walks,  in  the 
next  line.  Cp.  Milton,  P.  L.v.  ],  "Now  morn  her  rosy  steps 
in  th'  eastern  clime  Advancing,  sowed  the  earth  witli  orient 
pearls." 

167.  eastern  is  preferred  by  most  modei-n  editors  to  vm^tu-ard, 
the  reading  of  the  quartos,  as  being  moie  in  accordance  with  the 
poetical  y)hraseology  of  the  time. 

168.  Break  we,  see  note  on  1.  33. 

168,  9.  and  by  my  ...  impart,  and,  if  you  will  take  my  advice, 
let  us,  etc.  .AiijiarcMtly  a  nii.xtui-e  of  constructions  between  'by 
my  advice  do  you  impart,'  and  '  if  you  agree  \\  itli  my  advice,  let 
us  impart.' 

170.  upon  my  life,  ?'.».  I  am  ready  to  stake  my  life  upon  tlie 
certainty  of  the  spirit  doing  a,s  I  say. 

171.  dumb  to  us,  tiiongh  dumb  to  us,  or,  wliic-li  was  dumb  to 
us  ;  referring  to  the  neai-  relationship  of  father  and  son. 

17.'{.  As  needful  duty  ?  as  being  a  tiling  wliieh  tlic  love  we 
all  bear  to  him  renders  necessary,  and  one  to  which  our  loyal 


134  HAMLET.  [acti. 

duty  makes  becoming  in  us:  loves,  "the  plural  is  frequently 
used  by  Shakespeare  and  writers  of  the  IGth  and  17th  centuries 
^v■hen  designating  an  attribute  common  to  many,  in  cases  where 
it  would  be  now  considered  a  solecism  "  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

174.  I  pray,  I  strongly  urge  you. 

175.  Where   we  ...  conveniently,   where   conveniently  for  our 
purpose  we  may  make  sure  of  finding  him. 


Scene  II. 

1.  Hamlet,  our  dear  brother's,  a  many -worded  term, '  as 
though  hyphened  together. 

2.  green,  fi-esh  in  our  minds. 

3.  To  bear  . . .  grief,  to  show  by  the  way  in  which  we  carried 
our  hearts  that  they  were  borne  down  Ijy  a  load  of  sorrow.  The 
figure  is  from  the  carriage  of  the  l)ody  when  bearing  a  burden. 

3,  4.  and  our  whole  ...  woe,  and  thal^  it  befitted  our  subjects 
uni^■ersally  to  wear  the  look  of  woe  which  the  brow  wears  when 
contracted  with  physical  pain  ;  for  brow  of  woe,  =  mourning 
1)row,  the  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  compare  Ltar,  i.  4.  306,  "  brow  of 
youth ''=youthful  brow;  J\I.  V.  ii.  8.  42,  "mind  of  love"  = 
loving  mind  ;  i.  H.  IV.  iv.  3.  S3,  "  brow  of  justice." 

5.  discretion,  politic  consideration :  nature,  natural  inclination. 

6,  7,  That  we  ...  ourselves,  that  we,  ^»hile  thinking  of  him,  do 
so  in  such  a  way  as  wisdom  dictates,  and  at  the  same  time  with  a 
recollection  of  what  is  for  our  own  well-being. 

8.  our  sometime  sister,  she  who  was  formerly  our  sister ;  see 
note  on  i.  1.  49. 

9.  The  imperial ...  state,  the  king  appears  to  speak  as  if  the 
kingdom  of  Denmark  l:)ecame  a  jointure  of  the  queen  on  the  death 
of  her  former  husband  :  but  perhaps  he  merely  means  that  her 
rights  of  sovereignty  were  equal  with  his  own.  jointress,  the 
possessor  of  a  jointure,  short  for  '  jointuress.' 

10.  a  defeated  joy,  a  joy  robbed  of  its  completeness  ;  from  F. 
de/aire,  to  undo  ;  cp.  Sonn.  Ixi.  11,  "Mine  own  true  love  that 
doth  my  rest  defeat. " 

11.  With  an  auspicious  ...  eye,  witli  one  eye  bright  with  joy, 
while   from   tlie   other  tears  were   falling.      Steevens    cotnpares 

W.  T.  V.  2.  80,  "She  had  one  eye  declined  for  the  loss  of  her 
husljand,  another  elevated  that  the  oracle  was  fulfilled "'  ;  cp. 
also  for  dropping,  T.  A.  iii.  1.  19,  "O  earth,  I  will  befriend  thee 
with  more  rain  ...  the  summer's  drought  I'll  drop  upon  thee  still '' ; 
auspicious,  literally  that  which  has  to  do  with  the  A\atching  of 


'^cKSKii.]  NOTKS.  135 

l)ii(l.s  f(jr  tlie  puii)oso   of  augury   (from   I^at.   aris,   a  Mrtl,   and 
.ijiirere,  to  look  into),  tlion  used  especially  of  favourable  omens. 

V2.  With  mirth  marriage,  if  the  king  is- to  he  taken  as 
sjieaking  lilfrally,  tliis  imist  mean  (|ualifying  the  sorrow  felt  at 
liis  lnotlii'i's  funeral  with  an  admixtnie  of  joy  at  the  ])ros])eet  of 
marrying  iiis  widow,  and  eijually  (jualifying  the  niiith  at  tiiat 
wedding  l>y  sad  rememhrance  of  his  brother's  death  ;  dirge,  a 
funeral  lament ;  from  Lat.  dirige,  direct  thou,  the  first  word  in 
the  Tsalm  (v.  8)  used  by  Catholics  at  the  burial  of  the  dead, 
"  Diri'ir,  I)o))i!)nis  virus,  in  coii-ipecfii  tun  rifavi  /»fcr»(,"'  "(iuide, 
O  Lord,  my  life  in  Thy  sight."  Moberly  remarks,  "  The  studied 
antitheses  repeated  over  and  over  in  this  speecli  give  it  a  very 
artificial  appearance.  The  king's  politic  and  parliamentary 
I'easons  for  marrying  the  queen  remind  us  of  the  similar  motives 
which  an  eminent  writer  supposes  to  have  influenced  Henry 
A'lII.  in  his'prompt  re-marriages." 

13.  In  equal.,  dole.  — equally  balancing  joy  ami  giief,  not  giving 
to  either  advantage  over  the  other  :  for  dole,  soriow,  lamenta- 
tion, cp.  A.  y.  L.  i.  2.  135),  "making  sucli  ])itifid  c/o/'' over  them 
that  all  the  beholders  take  his  part  with  weej)iug." 

14.  to  wife,  for  wife,  as  wife  ;  see  Abb.  §  189. 

14-(i.  nor  have  we  ...  along,  nor  havi;  I  in  coming  to  a  decision 
in  the  matter  acted  without  consulting  you  %\ho,  in  a  niattei'  per- 
sonal to  myself,  were  likely  to  show  more  (lis])assif)nate  judge- 
ment, foi-  I  may  say  that  from  first  to  last  you  have  given  your 
fullest  adherence  to  my  action. 

16.  For  all.  our  thanks,  for  everything  you  have  done  you 
have  my  gratitude. 

17.  Now  follows  ...  Fortinbiys,  next  I  must  mention  that,  etc. 
Walker  wf)uld  read  '  Now  ffdlows  that  you  know ' :  i.e.  that 
which  you  already  know,  an  alteration  already  suggested  by 
Theobald  with  a  cf)nnna  only  after  know. 

18.  Holding  worth,  having  but  a  contemptuous  idea  of  my 
capacity. 

19.  by,  in  consequence  of. 

20.  state.  king<lom  :  disjoint,  c]).  below,  i.  o.  188,  "The  time 
is  out  of  joint  "  ;  Marh.  iii.  2.  16,  "  But  let  the  franii'  of  things 
ilixjoint "  ;  and  for  examples  of  the  omission  of  -al  in  participles 
of  verbs  ending  in  tr,  t,  and  d,  see  Abb.  §  ,342  :  out  of  frame,  dis- 
locjited,  sliaken  out  of  its  proper  form  ;  cp.  L.  L.  L.  iii.  1.  193, 
"like  a  (lerman  clock.  Still  a-iej)airing,  ever  oid  nf frame." 

21.  Colleagued  advantage,  having  foi-  his  only  confederate 
tills  ad\:iMt:igc  uliicli  he  fondly  di'cams  he  wiU  derive  from  the 
unsettled  state  of  our  kingdom. 

22,3.  He  hath  ...  lands,    ha.s   persistently    pestered    me   with 


136  itAMLET.  [ACTi. 

messages  the  purport  of  which  was  that  I  should  surrender,  etc.  ; 
the  distance  of  the  nominative  Fortinbras  (1.  17)  accounts  for  the 
pronoun  he  ;  for  message,  as  a  phiral,  see  Aljb.  §  471.  Possibly 
importing  here  =  importuning  as  Abb.  (Introd.  p,  xvi.)  takes  it, 
and  as  hnportant  and  Importance  are  used  by  Shakespeare. 

24.  with  . .  law,  in  full  accordance  with  the  legal  agreement 
entered  into  by  the  two  parties. 

25.  So  much  for  him,   of  him  and  his  acts  I  need  say  no  more. 

26.  this  time  of  meeting,  this  occasion  for  which  we  have 
called  you  together. 

27.  here,  sr.  in  the  papers  he  holds  in  his  hand  ;  writ,  for  the 
curtailed  form  of  the  participle,  see  Abb.  §  343. 

28.  Norway,  see  note  on  i.  1.  48. 

29.  bed-rid.  from  •' A.S.  hedrida,  beddrida,  ...  A.8.  bed,  a  bed, 
and  ridda,  a  knight,  a  rider  ;  thus  the  sense  is  a  bed-rider,  a 
sarcastic  term  for  a  disabled  man  " ...  (Skeat,  Ety.  Diet.)  :  scarcely 
hears,  has  hardly  any  knowledge  of. 

.30,  1 .  to  suppress  . . .  herein,  calling  upon  him  to  put  a  stop  to 
his  nephew's  further  pTOceeding  in  this  matter  ;  gait,  "  a  par- 
ticular use  of  the  M.  E.  (jaf.c,  a  way  ...  It  is  clear  that  the  word 
was  thus  used,  liecause  popularly  connected  with  the  verl)  fo  ijo  ; 
at  the  same  time,  the  word  is  not  really  derived  from  that  verb, 
but  from  the  vei-b  to  <jet  "...  (8keat,  Ety.  Diet.)  :  levies,  here,  as 
in  ii.  2.  62,  of  the  act  of  levying  troops;  in  Cymh.  iii.  7.  13,  of 
the  troops  raised. 

.32.  lists,  literally  catalogues,  hence  numbers :  proportions, 
quotas,  contingents,  as  in  II.  V.  i.  2.  204,  "Therefore  let  our 
proportions  for  these  wars  Be  soon  collected." 

33.  Out  of  his  subject,  from  among  his  subjects  ;  for  subject, 
used  collectively,  cp.  i.  1.  72. 

35.  For  bearers,  as  bearers. 

36-8.  Giving  ...  allow,  allowing  you  no  further  authority  to 
treat  with  the  king  than  the  limits  of  these  conditions,  herein 
expressly  stated,  permit ;  for  scope,  cp.  Lear,  i.  4.  314,  "But  let 
his  disposition  have  that  aeojie  That  dotage  gives  it. "  For  the 
confusion  of  proximity,  owing  to  the  words  intervening  between 
the  nominative  and  the  verb,  see  Abb.  §  412  ;  and  for  the  tenour 
of  the  words,  cp.  A'.  J.  i.  1.  22,  "Then  take  my  king's  defiance 
from  my  mouth,  The  furthest  limit  of  my  emha.isy." 

39.  let  your  . . .  duty,  let  the  haste  you  make  in  dischai-ging 
your  mission  call  for  our  approval  of  your  duteous  behaviour. 

41.  nothing,  in  no  way;  like  'something,'  frequently  used  by 
Shakespeare  in  an  adverbial  sense. 

42.  what's  ...  you  ?  what  have  you  to  tell  us  about  yourself  ? 


SCENE  II.]  NOTES.  137 

43.  You  told  ...  suit,  you  lately  spoke  to  us  about  some  request 
you  had  to  prefer. 

44.  speak  of  reason,  mention  any  reasunuble  request. 

4o.  lose  your  voice,  waste  your  words,  speak  in  vain. 

4o,  6.  what  wouldst  asking  ?  you  cannot  possibly  make  any 
request  of  us  ^^■llicll  we  would  not  grant  of  our  own  free  will,  if 
we  only  knew  what  its  nature  was. 

47-lK  The  head  .  .  father,  the  head  and  heart,  the  hand  and 
mouth,  do  not  woik  together  in  more  complete  sympathy  than 
do  your  father  and  myself.  Delius  points  nut  that  native  ex- 
presses a  connection  that  is  congenital ;  instrumental,  one  that  is 
mechanical  :  for  native,  =  allied  by  nature,  cp.  A.  11'.  i.  1.  2',W, 
"To  join  like  likes,  and  kiss  like  iiatirt  things.''  Also  for  a 
similar  line  of  thought,  see  the  fable  of  the  belly  and  the  bodily 
members,  Cor.  i.  1.  99,  etc. 

01.  Your  leave  and  favour,  your  gracious  permission  ;  a  hen- 
•liadys. 

02.  From  whence,  strictly  speaking,  redundant ;  the  suffix  -ce, 
=  -e.",  originally  a  genitive  case-ending,  meaning  'from.'  The 
word  is  furtlier  noticeable  in  that  vhen  is  used  of  time,  not 
place,  though  the  word  has  in  itself  no  reference  to- either  time 
or  place,  it  being,  according  to  Skeat  (who  compares  Lat.  qiiuni, 
when,  from  qiiis,  who),  originally  a  case  of  the  interrogative 
pronoun. 

'^'.i.  To  show  ..  coronation,  to  show  myself  a  loyal  subject  by 
atteniling  your  coronation. 

r)4    done,  being  performed. 

56.  And  bow.  pardon,  and  submit  themselves  to  your  gracious 
permis.'^iDn  :  asking,  as  it  were,  to  be  excused  for  preferring 
France  to  the  king's  court ;  pardon,  as  in  iv.  7.  46,  and  A.  C.  iii, 
6.  60,  "  wiieieon  I  begg'd  His  pardon  for  return,"  meaning  little 
more  than  leave,  permission. 

08.  wrung  .  leave,  extorted  from  me  a  permission  reluctantly 
granted. 

09.  By  laboursome  petition,  by  strenuous  an<l  persistent  beg- 
ging ;  laboursome,  used  again  in  Ciimh.  iii  4.  167,  "  Vour  lahatir- 
Hovif  and  dainty  trims,"  but  in  a  slightly  ditl'erent  sense,  trims 
over  whicli  much  labour  had  been  spent. 

6<>.  Upon  his  will  consent,  with  tlie  utmost  icductance  1 
a«.sente(l  lu  tlie  deti riiiination  he  had  .so  strongly  formed  ;  there 
is  an  allusion  to  putting  a  seal  to  a  will,  testament,  in  ordei- 
to  give  it  validity,  and  a  play  ujidti  tlic  twf)  iiicaiiings  of 
Will. 


138  HAMLKT.  [act  J. 

62.  Take  ...  hour,  choose  the  time  that  inay  best  suit  you  for 
your  departure  :  time  be  thine,  cousider  yoiir.self  at  liberty  to 
remain  away  as  long  as  you  may  think  tit. 

6.3.  And  thy  .  will !  and  may  that  time  be  spent  by  you  to  the 
best  purpose  and  in  the  way  most  agreeable  to  you  1 

64.  cousin,  used  in  Shakespeare's  time  of  almost  any  relation- 
ship not  in  the  first  degree :  son,  stepson,  the  king  having 
married  his  mother. 

65.  A  little  ...  kind,  the  explanation  of  this  line  depends  in 
the  first  place  upon  whether  the  \\ords  refer  to  himself  or  to  the 
king,  and  secondly  upon  whether  kind  means  'kindly,'  'well- 
disposed,'  or  'of  the  same  nature.'  Malone,  taking  the  former 
view,  explains,  "  I  am  a  little  more  than  thy  kinsman  (for  I  am 
thy  stepson),  and  am  some^^^hat  less  than  kind  to  thee  (far  I  hate 
thee,  as  being  the  person  who  has  incestuously  married  my 
mother)."  Grant  White,  following  Steevens,  aiid  taking  the 
latter  ^-iew,  explams,  "  In  marrying  my  mother,  you  have 
made  yourself  something  more  than  my  kinsman,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  have  shown  yourself  unworthy  of  our  race,  our 
kind."  To  me  Grant  White's  explanation  seems  undoubtedly 
the  right  one.  This  jingle  between  'kin'  and  'kind'  was  a 
common  one. 

66.  that  the  clouds  . . .  you,  that  you  are  still  in  such  a  gloomy 
mood. 

67.  too  much  1'  the  sun,  probably  best  explained  by  reference 
to  the  old  proverb,  quoted  by  .Johnson,  "  Out  of  heaven's  bless- 
ing into  the  warm  sun,"  i.e.  passing  from  a  good  state  into  one 
less  favourable.  The  proverb  is  quoted  in  Lear,  ii.  2.  168,  and 
Dyce  and  Caldecott  give  examples  of  its  use  from  Heywood  to 
Swift.  Some  commentators  have  supposed  a  pun  on  'sun '  and 
'son,'  with  an  allusion  to  tlie  king's  words  in  1.  64,  and  with  the 
meaning  that  Hamlet  had  too  much  of  the  son  and  successor 
about  him  without  possession  of  his  rights. 

68.  nighted  colour,  dark  frame  of  mind  ;  for  the  general  rule 
that  participles  formed  from  an  adjecti\-e  mean  '  made  of  (the 
adjective),'  and  derived  from  a  noun,  mean  '  endowed  with,  or 
like  (the  noun),'  see  Abb.  §  294. 

60.  like  a  friend,  in  a  friendly  May,  as  the  eye  of  a  friend 
would  look  :  Denmark,  i.f.  the  kincf. 

70,  1.  Do  not  ...  dust,  do  not  for  all  time  go  al)out  Mith  your 
eyes  cast  upon  the  ground  as  if  you  were  looking  for  your  father 
laid  in  the  earth:  for  vailed,  c}}.  M.  V.  i.  1.  28,  '^Vailing  her 
higli-t(-,p  lower  than  her  ribs." 

72.  'tis  common,  the  occurrence  of  death  is  soniething  that  all 
equally  share  ;  all  that  lives,  everything  that  has  life. 


scENKii/I  NOTES.  139 

7."^.  nature,  tliis  temporary  existence  in  the  natural  world. 

75.  Why  seems  ...  thee?  why  ilo  ynu  liehavc  a.s  though  it 
were  .-^(UiR'tliing  .special  to  you? 

7S.  Nor  customary  ..  black,  nor  tlic  usual  sombre  fliess  of 
mourners  ;  solemn,  lileially  year!}',  occuriing  aimually  like  a 
religiou.s  rite. 

79.  Nor  windy  . .  breath,  nor  the  forced  sighs  of  insincere  grief  ; 
windy,  usetl  iu  tlie  ooutcinptuou.s  .sense  of  that  which  has  nothing 
real  iu  it  ;  so,  of  words,  R.  III.  iv.  4.  127,  "'  W'nidij  attorne3's  to 
their  client  woes." 

80.  the  fruitful  ...  eye,  the  tears  always  ready  to  fall  so 
copiously  ;  cp,'J,  C.  ii,  5.  24,  "  Ram  thou  thy  fruitful  tidings  iu 
mine  ears.'' 

81.  'haviour,  for  examples  of  dropped  prefixes,  see  Abb,  §  4(iO. 

82.  modes,  methods  of  displaying  grief  externally  :  shapes,  ex- 
ternal semblances. 

So.  passeth  show,  goes  beyond,  is  inca))able  of  being  represen- 
ted by,  any  outward  demonstration. 

86.  trappings,  ornameutal  a])])eudages  :  cp.  7',  ^V,  v,  1,  10, 
'^Dub.  Ix'long  you  to  tlie  Lady  Olivia,  friends?  ('/oiirn.  Ay, 
sir  ;  we  are  some  of  her  /raj>jjiii<i-s  " .  originally,  and  in  a  literal 
sense  always,  applied  to  the  ornaments  of  a  hor.se,  such  as  plates 
of  metal,  handsome  cloths,  etc.  Malone  compares  R.  II.  iv.  1. 
2n.')-8. 

87.  commendable,  probably  vitli  tiie  accent  ou  the  first 
syllaljlc,  as  in  Cor.  iv.  7.  ol,  though  Abbott  (§  490),  in  order  to 
avoid  the  Alexandrine,  scans  the  line  "  'Tis  sweet  and  |  com- 
mend |  able  in  I  your  natlme,  Handet." 

88.  To  give,  we  sliould  now  say  '  to  pay.' 

89.  you  must  know,  you  uiust  bear  in  mind. 

90.  That  father  .  .  bound,  that  father  who  was  lost  by  your 
father,  lost  liis  father  ;  and  the  survivor  in  eacii  ca.se  was  bound, 
etc.  For  the  ellipsis  in  boimd,  the  CI.  Pr.  Kdd.  compare  iii. 
3.  62. 

91.  In  filial  obligation,  by  the  duty  he  owed  as  a  son 

92.  obsequious  sorrow,  sorrow  usual  to  show  at  the  funeral  of 
some  one  dear;  e]),  T.  A.  v.  .S.  152,  "To  shed  ohxpqnious  tears 
upon  this  trunk  "  ;  and  for  the  substantive  in  the  same  sense, 
/.'.  ./.  V.  .'i.  H>,  "  The  ohsi'imi's  tliat  T  for  tlice  will  kee))  Nightly 
shall  be  to  strew  tliy  grave  and  weep'';  o/istr/iiii ■■<.  Lat. 
ohsiffitiir,  funeral  rites,  literally  followings  after  (a  dead  bf)dy)  ; 
persever,  with  the  accent  on  the  second  syllable,  as  always  in 
Sliakespt.'iire. 

9.'i.  condolement,  srn-row  for  the  dead  ;  nowadays  we  use  the 


140  HAMLET.  [ACT  J. 

verb   '  condole '   only  in  the   sense  of   expiescing   sympathy  in 
sorrow,  but  in  Elizabethan  English  it  is  often  used  as  —  mourn. 

94.  impious,  in  not  showing  resignation  to  the  divine  will. 

95.  incorrect  to  heaven,  which  refuses  to  bow  to  the  correc 
tion,  chastisement  of  heaven,  as  shown  in  the  bereavement. 

9(i.  unfortified,  not  fortified  by  the  consolations  of  religion  : 
impatient,  lebellious  against  the  sufferings  which  it  should  bear 
with  due  submission. 

97.  simple,  foolish,  ignorant  ;  unschoord,  that  has  not  learnt 
the  lessons  which  a  wise  man  would  lay  to  heart. 

98.  what,  that  which  ;  must  be,  must  happen. 

99.  As  any  ...  sense,  as  anything  the  most  palpable  to  sense  ; 
for-  instances  of  the  transposition  of  adjectival  phrases,  see  Abl). 
§419  a.  Francke  compares  Cymb.  i.  4.  6.5,  '' any  the.  rarest,  of 
our  ladies  in  France"  ;  H.  VIII.  ii.  4.  48,  "was  reckon'd  (y.ie. 
The  wisest  prince  that  there  had  reigned." 

100.  peevish,  childishly  querulous  ;  fretful. 

101.  Take  it  to  heart,  cherish  it  as  a  wrong  done  to  us  :  to 
heaven,  towards,  against,  heaven. 

102.  nature,  that  organization  to  which  we  belong,  are  a  part 
of. 

lOo.  To  reason  most  absurd,  showing  an  utter  deafness  to  the 
voice  of  reason  ;  absurd,  from  Lat.  ah,  from,  and  surelus,  deaf ; 
for  '  who,'  personifying  an  irrational  antecedent,  see  Abb.  §  264. 

104.  still,  ever,  constantly. 

105.  till  he,  up  to  the  time  of  him  ;  till,  here  a  preposition  ; 
for  he,  =  him,  see  Abb.  §  206. 

106.  throw  to  earth,  completely  cast  from  you. 

107.  unpre vailing,  unavailing;  Malone  quotes  Dryden,  Essaii 
on  Dramatic  Literatvre,  "He  m&y  oitew  pre  rail  himself  of  the 
same  advantages  in  English."  Cp.  also  R.  J.  iii.  3.  60,  "It 
helps  not,  it  prevails  not"  :  H.  V.  iii.  2.  16,  "If  wishes  should 
■prevail  with  me. " 

lOS,  9.  for  let ...  throne,  for  I  call  all  men  to  witness  my  de- 
claration that  I  regai'd  you  as  next  in  succession  to  the  throne. 
vSuccession  to  the  throne  of  Denmark  seems  to  have  been  elective, 
though,  as  appears  from  the  last  scene  of  the  play,  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  pT-e\-ious  occupant  went  for  something  in  the 
election,  and  here  tlie  king  is  in  effect  pronouncing  such  recom- 
mendation beforehand. 

110.  with  no  ..  love,  with  a  love  as  full  of  generous  feeling. 

111.  dearest,  fondly  loving  and  beloved. 


SCENE  II.]  NOTES.  141 

112.  Do  I  impart  toward  you,  Delius  is  prohaMy  right  in  tliink- 
ingtliat  Sli:kk(>j)iaio  lia\iiig  f()rg(;tti-ii,  owing  to  the  iuteiniediate 
L-lausf,  tliat  lie  had  written  n-itli  no  less,  intiiukdno  less  nobility 
Of  love  to  be  the  object  of  impart :  For  your  intent,  u.s  regaiiLs, 
etc. 

U.S.  to  school,  not  necessarily  in  the  sense  in  whicli  we  should 
now  use  tiie  jilirase,  Wittenberg  being  a  university.  Of  course, 
the  mention  of  Wittenberg  is  an  anachronism,  the  university 
not  having  been  founded  till  a.  d.  1502.  On  the  question  of 
Hamlet's  age,  see  Introduction. 

114.  retrograde,  op])osed  to:  literally  going  back  from;  an 
astrological  term.  Tschischwitz  says  that  when  planets  were  i-etro- 
grade,  going  away  from  the  earth's  orbit,  they  were,  under 
certain  circumstances,  supposed  to  be  hostile  to  human  plans. 

11;>.   bend  you,  incline  your  mind. 

116.  in  the  cheer  ...eye,  cheered  and  comforted  by  our 
gracious  looks  ;  cheer,  properly  the  face,  look,  as  in  M.  S.  I). 
iii.  2.  96,  "  pale  of  cheer,"  from  O.  F.  chere,  chiere,  the  face, 
look. 

117.  chiefest,  highest  in  rank  and  importance  :  cousin,  in  tlie 
vocative  ca;^e. 

118.  lose,  throw  them  away. 

120.  I  shall  best.  I  piomise  that  I  will  to  the  best  of  my 
ability  ;  shall,  see  Abl>.  j^  '.i\o. 

121.  Why,  'tis  ...  reply,  well,  you  could  not  have  answered  us 
in  more  atl'ectionate  and  gracious  terms. 

122.  as  ourself,  i.e.  enjoying  the  same  privileges  and  liouours. 

123.  accord.  ])ioniise  in  harmony  with  our  wishes. 

124.  Sits  ..  heart,  nestles  close  to  my  heart,  and  smiles  upon 
it  ;  i.e.  is  very  dear  to  my  heart,  and  cheers  it  by  its  presence. 
There  is  the  twof(jld  idea  of  an  oliject  l)eing  hugged  to  the  heart, 
and  of  that  oKjecl  smiling  upon  tiu-  heart  that  thus  gives  it  wel- 
come :  In  grace  whereof,  and  in  order  to  mark  ni)'  gratitude  by 
doing  honour  to  your  concession  ;  grace,  honoiu-,  as  in  ^f.  N.  I). 
iv.  1.  1.S9,  "Came  here  in  (/race,  of  our  solemnity,"  is  probably 
here  u.sed  with  a  reference  also  to  the  saying  of  grace  after  meals 
for  blessings  bestowed. 

12").  Jocund  health,  joyotis  toasts  to  tlie  health  of  some  person  : 
Denmark.  1.  tlie  king  of  l)enmark. 

126.  But  the  great  ..  tell,  sliall  lie  diunk  withmit  tin-  cannon 
announcing  it  to,  etc. 

127.  rouse,  "  a  drinking-bout ...— Swed.  r((.s-,  a  drunken  fit  .. 
That  we  got   the  word  from  Denmark  is   shown    by  a  curious 


1 42  HAMLET. 


[act  I, 


quotation  in  Todd's  Johnson:  '  Thon  noblest  diunkur.! 
bucclms,  teach  nie  how  to  take  the  Danish  rntr:u  '  ;  Biantl's 
Pop.  Antiq.  ii.  '228"  (Skeat,  Et,/.  Did.)-,  bruit  again,  re-echo 
with  loud  rej)()it  ;  bruit,  F.  hrnif,  a  gi'eat  noise,  hruire  (verb). 

12,S.  Re-speakiKg  earthly  thunder,  the  skies  echoing  the  report 
of  the  cannon  as  with  heavenly  tlninder. 

129.  this  ..flesh,  Mo1)erIy  remarks,  "  The  base  affinities  of  our 
nature  are  always  present  to  Hamlet's  mind.  Here  he  thinks  of 
the  body  as  hiding  from  us  the  freshness,  life,  and  nobleness  of 
<iO<l  s  creation  "... 

130.  resolve,  dissolve  ;  but  usually  in  this  sense  Avith  tlie  idea 
of  dissohhig  back  into  the  original  constituents.  Cp.  Tim.  iv. 
3.  442.  "  'i'he  sea's  a  tliief,  whose  liquid  surge  resolves  The  moon 
into  salt  tears." 

132.  His  canon  'gainst  self- slaughter,  his  ordinance  forlndding 
suicide  ;  an  ordinance  not  laid  down  in  Scripture  except  in  the 
general  one  against  murder  ;  canon,  from  (ik.  Kaviliu,  a  straiglit 
rod,  a  rule  in  the  sense  of  a  carpenter's  rule,  hence  a  rule"^  a 
standard  of  right. 

133.  stale,  vapid  ;  flat,  tasteless,  as  liquor  Ijecomes  after 
standing  uncovered  for  some  time. 

134.  uses,  manners,  ways,  doings:  cp.  0th.  iv.  3.  105,  "heaven 
me  such  uses  send,  Not  to  pick  bad  from  bad,  Init  by  bad 
mend  I  "  " 

13r>,  6.  'tis  an  ...  seed,  the  Avorld  .seems  to  me  as  a  garden  in 
which  no  care  is  taken  to  hoe  up  the  weeds,  and  in  wliich  the 
l>lants  are  left  to  run  to  seed  (and  so  become  worthless)  instead 
of  having  their  exuberant  growth  checked  by  pruning.  ( 'p.  /.'.  //. 
iii.  4.  34-6fJ,  wiiere  a  garden  is  likened  to  a  connuonwealth. 

136.  things  ...nature,  things  which  for  want  of  proper  atten- 
tion liave  become  lank  and  gross  in  uatui-e. 

137.  merely,  completely  ;  ''Merely  (from  the  Latin  merus  and 
mere)  means  purely,  only.  It  separates  that  Mhich  it  designates 
or  qualities  from  everything  else.  Rut  in  so  doing  the  chief  or 
most  emphatic  reference  may  be  mad.e  eitlier  to  that  which  is 
included,  or  to  that  which  is  excluded.  In  modern  English  it  is 
always  to  the  latter  ;  l)y  '  merely  upon  myself '  [./.  C.  i.  2.  39]  we 
should  now  mean  uiJon  nothing  else^except  myself  ;  the  nothiixj 
else  IS  that  which  makes  the  merely  prominent.  In  Shakespeare's 
day  the  other  reference  was  the  more  common,  that  namely  to 
what  was  included  ;  and  '  merely  upon  myself '  meant  upon 
myself  altogetlier,  or  witliout  regard  to  anything  else.  Myself 
was  that  wiiicli  the  merely  made  prominent.  So  when  Hamlet 
speaking  of  tlie  world,  says,  '  Tilings  rank  and  gross  in  nature 
possess  it  merely,'  he  by  the  merely'hv'ings  the  possession  before 


^CKNK.  II.]  NOTKS.  14 


tin-  iiiiiitl  and  characterizps  it  as  complete  and  al)Solute  ;  but  by 
the  same  ttTm  now  the  promineiue  w  tmhl  be  given  to  something- 
else  from  whieli  the  possession  miglit  be  conceived  to  be  sejiaiable  ; 
'possess  it  meiely  would  mean  liave  notliing  beyond  simi)ly  the 
po.«ession  of  it  (iuive,  it  miglit  lie.  no  right  to  it,  or  no  enjoyment 
of  it).  It  is  not  necessaiy  that  that  which  is  included,  tiiough 
tlius  empliasized,  siiould  therefore  lie  more  definitely  conceived 
tluin  tiiat  with  which  it  is  contrasted"...  (Craik,  Eiuj.  of  Shakes- 
f/i^art,  «5  4.")).  That  it ..  this!  to  think  that  matters  should  have 
come  to  such  a  scandalous  pitcli  I   what  a  lionilile  idea  I 

13S.  But,  »nly. 

i;i!).  to  this,  ^\hen  compared  to  the  present  king. 

14(1.  Hyperion  to  a  satyr,  ^^hat  the  god  of  day  is  to  a  creature 
half  goat,  iialf  man.  The  penultimate  in  Hyperion  is  long  in 
(Jreek,  but  English  poets  fiom  Spenser  to  modern  times  have 
disregarded  tliis  fact. 

141.  That  he  ...  beteem.  tliat  he  would  nut  allow;  .Skeat  {Ety. 
Diet.  A-.r.  teejn)  says  that  beteem  liere  and  in  M.  N.  D.  i.  1.  131, 
"means  to  make  or  consider  fitting,  hence  to  permit,  allow.  ... 
In  (iolding"s  translation  of  Ovid  Metamorphoses  ...we  have  'coidd 
he  not  lirtl<iiit-he  did  not  tiiink  tit,  would  not  deign  ...  Spenser 
uses  it  still  more  loosely:  'So  wcmide  I  ...  Bttenm-  to  you  this 
sword  ■  =  permit,  grant,  alloM-  you  the  use  of  this  sword  ;  F.  i).  ii. 
8.  19  ...  The  word  [teem]  is  haidly  to  be  traced  in  E.,  but  we  find 
the  related  A.S.  suffix  -ttme,  -tyme  with  the  notion  of  fitting  or 
suitable,  as  in  hi/-/t'me,  pleasant,  acceptable"... 

142.  Visit,  for  the  omission  of  lu  before  the  infinitive,  see  Abb. 
^  34<.l. 

U.S.  Must  I  remember  ?  can  I  not  jnit  such  tliuuj,'lits  out  of  my 
hea<l?  must  tliey  ever  be  present  there?  hang  on  him,  cling  to 
him  in  fond  embrace. 

144,  ">,  As  If ...  on,  as  if  her  loving  desire  had  been  made  more 
eager  by  its  mere  .satisfaction  :  lieen  strengthened  by  the  food  of 
love  it  hail  enjoyed. 

146.  Let  me  ...  on  't,  oii,  that  1  could  forget  it  !  Frailty... 
woman,  if  we  wished  to  give  frailty  a  descriptive  name,  no  better 
one  could  be  clio.sen  tlian  'woman.' 

147.  A  little  month,  a  shoi  t  montli  ;  scarcely  a  month  :  or  ere, 
a  reiluplication.  or.  in  tiiis  jihrase,  =  before,  fri)ni  -\.S.  a-)-,  ere  : 
shoes.  In;.deby  would  read  'siiows. ' 

145.  follow  d,  sr.  to  the  grave. 

149.  Nlobe,  daugliter  of  Tantalus,  and  wife  of  .Anii)iiion.  Prouc'. 
of  the  number  of  her  children,  slie  boasted  her  supeiiorily  over 
Leto,  mother  of  Apollo  and  Artenus,  who,  indignant  at  the 
insult,  slew  all  liei-  c  liihlitii,  slie  herscdf,  according  to  one  tradi- 


144  HAMLET.  [act  I. 

tion,  being  changed  by  Zeus  at  her  own  request  into  a  stone, 
which  during  the  sunnner  always  shed  tears :  all  tears,  a  very 
impersonation  of  grief. 

loO.  that  wants  ...  reason,  that  laciis  tlie  power  of  reasoning, 
the  reasoning  faculty;  cp.  T.  G.  ii.  2.  116,  "So  madly  hot  that 
no  discourse  of  reason  ...  Can  qualify  the  same?"  ;  and  below, 
iv.  4.  36. 

]52.  but  no  more  ...  father,  but,  though  so  closely  akin  in 
blood,  no  more  akin  in  disposition  to,  etc. 

154.  Ere  yet  .  tears,  even  before  the  salt  tears  which,  with 
such  intention  in  lier  mind,  were  a  mere  profanation  of  sorrow,  etc. 

l.M.  Had  left  ...  eyes,  had  ceased  to  flush  her  eyes  with  "  eye- 
oftending  brine  "  (T.  .V.  i.  1.  30) ;  flushing  is  here  the  verbal,  and 
the  verl)  is  still  used  transitively  in  such  expressions  as  '  to  flunh 
the  deck,"  '  to  flmli  the  sewers,'  meaning  to  cleanse  by  dashing 
Avater  upon  or  through  ;  for  galled,  cp.  below,  iii.  2.  235  ;  the 
verb  means  to  ruli  a  sore  place. 

156.  to  post,  to  hurry  at  full  speed  ;  from  po-st,  a  runner, 
messenger. 

157.  With  such  dexterity,  so  quickly  and  cleverly.  There  seems 
to  be  here  the  idea  of  that  comluned  nimbleness  and  ingenuitj' 
which  is  essential  to  success  in  tricks  performed  by  sleight  of 
hand  ;  not  only  did  she  swiftly  transfer  her  affections  from  one 
brother  to  the  other,  but  she  showed  in  doing  so  a  cunning 
regard  to  her  own  interests  :  incestuous,  originally  meaning 
nothing  more  than  unchaste,  but  used  specially  of  alliances 
within  the  forbidden  degrees  of  relationship. 

158.  nor  it  cannot,  the  emphatic  double  negative,  frequent 
in  Shakespeare. 

160.  Hail,  literally  health,  A.S.  kael,  health  ;  a  connnon  salu- 
tation. 

161.  or  do  ...  myself?  or  am  I  making  some  mistake  in  fancy- 
ing you  to  be  Horatio  ? 

162.  poor,  humble. 

163.  I'll  change  ...you,  probaljly  exchange  that  name  with 
you,  calling  you  friend  and  expecting  you  to  call  me  so  in  re- 
turn, rather  than,  as  Johnson  explains,  "I'll  be  your  ser\ant, 
and  you  shall  be  my  friend." 

164.  what  ...  Wittenberg?  what  are  you  doing  here  away  from 
Wittenberg  (where  you  ought  to  be)  ? 

167.  Good  even,  sir,  (^rant  White,  the  Camb.  Edd. ,  and 
Hudson,  take  this  as  addressed  to  Bernardo. 

168.  But  what  ...  Wittenberg,  but  tell  me  truly  what  has 
brought  you  all  the  way  from  Wittenberg. 


scKNKii.l  NOTES.  145 

IGfi.  A  truant  disposition,  an  iMlc,  roving  nature  ;  F.  truanrl, 
rascally,  roguish  :  good  my  lord,  tor  tlie  transposition  of  the 
pronominal  adjective,  see  Abb.  §  K^. 

170.  bear  ..  so,  stand  by  and  bear  your  enemy  say  so  without 
»lefeuiliug  you  against  liiscluirge.      171.  tliat,  such  ;  see  Abl).  J;  277. 

17-,  •'{  To  make  yourself,  as  to  nuike  it  lielieve  your  own 
repoi't  NX  lii-n  it  is  one  defaming  yourself. 

17.1.  Well  teach  ...  depart,  if  we  cannot  do  anything  else,  we 
will  at  all  events  teach,  etc.      See  note  on  i.  4.   19. 

179.  hard  upon,  closely  after. 

150.  Thrift,  thrift,  jjretending  to  excuse  the  unseemlj'  haste  of 
the  marriage,  Hamlet  says  that  was  but  economy,  nothing  else: 
the  funeral  baked  meats,  the  dishes  cooked  for  the  funeral  cere- 
mony ;  tlie  custom  of  entertaining  the  relations  and  friends  of 
deceaseil  persons  after  the  funeral  survived  to  quite  recent  times. 
Douce  traces  the  custom  to  the  etna  feralin  of  the  Romans,  at 
which  milk,  honey,  wine,  etc.,  were  offered  to  the  spirit  of  the 
dead  person.  Cp.  Tln'  Old  Lair,  iv.  1.  35-7,  "Besides,  there  will 
be  charges  .saved  too  ;  tlie  same  rosenuiry  that  serves  for  the 
funeral  will  serve  for  the  wedding." 

151.  Did  coldly  ...  tables,  served,  when  cold,  for  the  wedding 
feast ;  with  a  play  upon  coldly. 

152.  Would  I  ..  heaven,  I  would  rather  have  met  my  worst 
enemy  in  hca\en  (instead  of  ins  being  in  hell  where  I  should 
wish  him  t'>  be);  dearest  foe,  " 'dear "  is  used  of  whatever  touches 
us  nearly  either  in  love  oi-  hate,  joy  or  sorrow  "...  {V,\.  Vv.  Ivld.). 

18.S.  Or  ever,  before  ever  ;  ever  emphasizing  the  wish, 

IS."),  in  my  mind's  eye,  Steevens  compares  Liicr.  1426,  "Was 
left  unseen,  save  to  thf.  tye  of  mind."      186.  goodly,  fine-looking. 

187,  >(■  He  was  ..  again,  he  was  a  man  whose  eijual,  looking  at 
him  in  all  his  characteiistics,  I  shall  never  see  again  ;  take  him, 
if  one  regards  him  ;  for  all  in  all,  for  everything  al)o\it  him 
in  every  respect  ;  an  emphatic  way  of  speaking  —  in  liis 
entirety. 

HKJ.  SawV  who?  both  words  emphatic;  Mliat  do  you  mean  by 
saying  you  •><«(/■  him  '.'  and  whom  do  you  mean  by  liim  /  Many 
editors  read  '  Saw  who'.' ',  and  'who'  for  '  Mhom  '  is  frequently 
used  by  .Shakespeare. 

K>2,  '\.  Season  ...  ear,  let  your  wonder  be  mixed  with,  fjualified 
by,  attention  for  a  lime  ;  foi'  season,  cp.  ii.  1.  28,  below  ;  admir- 
ation, always  used  by  Shakesi)eaie  eitiier  as  '  wonder'  simply,  or 
a.s  '  Wonder  mingled  with  veneration,'  and  so  nuire  in  accordance 
with  its  original  sense;  attent.  attentive;  not  elsewhere  in  .Shake- 
speare :  deliver,  relate. 

K 


14G  HAMLET.  [ACT  I. 

194.  Upon  ...  gentlemen,  restincf  upon  the  evidence  of  these 
gentlenieu  wliich  will  hear  out  what  1  have  to  any. 

197.  on  their  watch,  while  keeping  their  watcjj. 

198.  In  the  dead  ..the  night,  in  the  .silent  vacancy  of  mid- 
night ;  vast,  "applied  to  the  dai-kness  of  midnight  in  which  the 
prospect  is  not  hounded  in  by  distinct  oljjects  "  (Schmidt)  ;  cp. 
Temp.  i.  2.  327,  "that  ra^it  of  night."  Malone  sees  a  pun  here 
upon  vast,  or  u-a.'^fe,  as  the  folios  read,  ami  irai-st,  comparing 
Marston's  Malcontent,  ii.  3.  158,  " 'Tis  now  aliout  the  iraiM  of 
midnight "  ;  hut  it  is  much  more  probable  that  Marston.  who  in 
that  play  repeatedly  burlesques  or  parodies  passages  in  Hamlet, 
should  have  seized  upon  tliis  e.x^pression  in  order  to  pun 
upon  it. 

200.  Armed  at  point  exactly,  in  armour  complete  to  the 
smallest  jjaiticular  ;  the  folios  read  'at  all  points,' as  in/?.  //. 
i.  3.  2;  in  Lear,  i.  4.  347,  "to  let  hiin  keep  at  point  a  hundred 
knights,"  and  ^^acb.  iv.  3.  135,  "with  ten  thousand  warlike 
men  Already  at  a  point,"  the  meaning  is  'in  complete  readi- 
ness ' ;  cap-a-pe,  from  head  to  foot  ;  F.  d  pied,  a  being  the  pre- 
f)osition  =  to. 

202.  Goes  ...  them,  pas.ses  in  front  of  them  in  slow  and  stately 
manner  ;  slow  and  stately,  adverbs. 

204.  Within  ...  length,  less  than  the  length  of  his  truncheon 
away  from  them  ;  truncheon,  shoit  staff,  a  symbol  of  kingly 
(or  other)  office  ;  what  in  B.  II.  i.  3.  118,  is  caJled  the  king's 
'  warder ' ;  whilst,  the  genitive  case  of  ichile,  time,  used  adverliially, 
with  an  excrescent  f,  as  in  amongnt,  amidst. 

204,  5.  distill'd  ..  fear,  dissolved  almost  into  a  jelly  by  the 
action  of  fear  upon  them  ;  i.e.  with  beads  of  sweat  falling  from 
their  foreheads,  like  jelly  melting  ;  unless  tliere  is  a  i-eference  to 
the  tremulous  nature  of  jelly,  and  its  being  allowed  to  drip 
through  a  flannel  bag  when  being  made;  cp.  T.  A.  iii.  1.  17, 
"with  rain  That  shall  distill  from  these  two  ancient  urns,"  j.e. 
his  eyes;  act,  cp.  0th.  iii.  3.  328,  "poisons  Which. ..with  a  little 
act  upon  the  blood,  Burn  like  the  mines  of  sulphur. " 

207.  dreadful,  terror-stricken;  impart  they  did,  "this  inver- 
sion gives  formality  and  solemnity  to  the  speaker's  words  "  (CI. 
Pr.  Edd.). 

'209-11.  Where,  ...  comes,  and  to  that  spot  (sc.  where  we  were 
keeping  watch)  the  apparition  comes  at  the  very  time  of  night 
and  in  the  very  shape  described  by  them,  every  particular  of 
their  narrative  being  substantiated. 

212.  These  hands  ..  like,  these  two  hands  of  mine  (holding 
them  up)  being  not  more  like  each  other  than  was  the  figure  like 
your  father. 


scEVF.  II.]  NOTES.  U: 

214.  Did  you  It  ?  you  surely  did  not  allow  it  to  pass  without 
quostioiiiiig  it  ':"  Steevciis  has  a  Ion;,'  note  to  sliow,  what  seems 
apparent  enougli,  tiiat  speak  not  you  is  the  enipliatic  word. 

•JUi.  It  head,  the  tir.st  <piaito  gives  '  filn  liead '  ;  it,  an  early 
])ri)viniial  form.  =  its,  occurs  in  the  first  folio  in  fourteen  passages; 
in  some  of  tiiese  it  is  used  either  in  imitation  of  the  language  of 
children,  or  in  a  mocking,  derisive  sense,  but  in  others  no  such 
idea  is  jjresent.  Rolfe  remarks,  "  The  simple  fact  is,  that 
Sluikespeare  wrote  in  the  eaily  ])art  of  that  tiansitional  period 
wiicn  </<  was  beginning  to  displace  lilt  and  h<r  as  the  possessive 
of  it,  and  that  just  at  that  time  the  form  it  and  it,\s  were  nu.re 
common  than  itx,  though  this  last  was  occasionally  used  even 
liefore  the  end  of  the  10th  century." 

'Jlti,  7.  and  did  .  speak,  and  prepared  to  speak,  as  shown  hy 
the  moving  of  its  lips,  made  as  though  it  would  speak  ;  address, 
made  ready,  ultimately  from  Lat.  directiiM,  straight ;  for  motion, 
cj).  i.  //.  /  r.  ii.  ',i.  ti'A,  "And  in  thy  face  strange  moliouH  (i.e. 
contortions)  have  ajjpeared.  Such  as  we  see  when  men  restrain 
tlieir  breath  On  some  great  sudden  best  "  ;  like  ...  speak,  /.f.  just 
as  it  would  do  if  it  were  about  to  speak  ('if  being  implied  in  the 
subjimctive),  would  now  be  accounted  a  vulgarism. 

218.  even  then,  at  tiiat  very  instant  ;  on  the  difference  of 
emphasis  in  tlic  use  of  toeu,  between  Elizubetlnui  and  modern 
Knglish,  see  Al.>b.  §  38. 

219.  shrunk,  i.e.  into  thin  air. 

221.  A3  I  do  live,  as  surely  as  I  live. 

222.  writ  ...  duty,  laid  down  among  the  items  of  our  iluty,  as 
though  they  had  a  scroll  willi  the  different  particulars 
enumt-rated  ;  for  the  curtailed  form  of  tlic  ])artici])le,  see  Abb. 
>!  'MX 

224.  Indeed  ... .  me,  assuredly  this  troubles  me ;  literally, 
a.ssiu'edly  this  does  not  do  anything  except  trouble  me. 

226.  Armd,  say  you?  .said  witli  reference  to  the  ghost. 

228.  beaver,  '■  tiie  lower  portion  of  tbe  face-guard  of  a  helmet, 
when  worn  with  a  visoi-  ;  but  occasionally  serving  the  |)urj)oses 
of  both.  .M.K.  Iidflcri',  frr)m  O.F.  hariere,  originally  a  child's 
liili,  f.  hare,  .saliva  "  (Murray,   A'».'/.   Dirt). 

2:{0.  A  countenance  ...  anger,  tlic  expression  of  Ids  features  was 
that  (jf  .sorrow  ratlier  than  anger. 

2:VA.  constantly,  persistently,  without  taking  ti: -m  oti  our 
fa<;es. 

2.'il.   amazed.  Ix'w  ililcii-d  ;  a-,  A.S.  intensive  prefix. 


148  HAML1<:T.  [act  I. 

238.  grizzled,  of  greyish  colour  ;  F.  .'/m,  grey  :  no  ?  seems  to 
be  said  hy  Hainlet  on  Horatio  shaking  his  head  in  dissent. 

'240.  A  sable  silverd,  a  Ijlack  lieard  with  threa<ls  of  siher  in 
it  ;  op.  Sonn.  xii.  4,  "  And  f!ah/e  curls  all  si/rrr'd  o'er  with 
white  "  ;  and  in  proof  that  Shakespeare  use<i  sable  for  black,  cp. 
below,  ii.  2.  428,  ' '  he  whose  sable  arms  Black  as  his  purpose. " 
Sable,  an  animal  of  the  weasel  kind,  the  most  highly  prized  fur 
of  which  is  l)livck  ;  so  sable  in  blazonrj^  means  black. 

242.  assume  . . .  person,  present  itself  in  the  form  of  my  father ; 
assume,  take  upon  it,  but  without  any  idea  of  its  doing  so  with- 
out right. 

243,  4.  though  hell ...  peace,  though  hell,  by  opening  at  my 
feet,  should  endeavour  to  deter  me  from  speaking.  Staimton 
thinks  that  gape  perhaps  means  yell,  hoivl,  roar. 

246.  Let  it  ...  still,  let  it  be  a  tiling  aliout  which  you  find  it 
still  possible  to  keep  silence  ;  tenable,  not  elsewhere  used  by 
Shakespeare. 

247.  hap,  happen. 

248.  Give  it  .  tongue,  take  it  well  into  your  minds,  let  it 
impress  itself  firmly  upon  your  minds,  but  do  not  utter  a  word 
about  it. 

249.  requite,  "  The  word  ought  rather  to  be  reqiiif  ...  But  just 
as  qnife  occurs  as  a  variant  <>i  qu'if,  so  requite  is  put  for  requit  " 
(Skeat,  tty.  Dirt.)  -.  your  loves,  the  proofs  you  may  give  of  your 
love  ;  see  note  on  i.  1.  ITo. 

2.51.  Our  duty  to  your  honour,  we  assure  your  honour  (used  a.s 
a  title)  of  our  loyal  ol)edience. 

252.  Your  loves,  i.e.  it  is  your  affection,  not  your  duty,  that  I 
desire,  just  as  it  is  affection  that  I  feel  towards  you. 

2;i3.  in  arms  1  not  merely,  or  so  much,  that  the  ghost  appears 
clad  in  armour,  but  that  it  has  risen  to  avenge  .some  injury  :  all 
is  not  well,  some  wrong  has  c-s'idently  lieen  perpetrated. 
Hitherto  Hamlet,  though  \igoroiisly  condemning  his  mother's 
haste  in  re-marrying,  especially  as  her  choice  is  a  so  unworthy 
one,  and  pouring  contempt  upon  his  uncle,  has  had  no  suspicion 
of  foul  play. 

254.  doubt,  .:uspect. 

255.  sit  still,   sti'ive  to  be  composed. 

2.55,  6.  foul  deeds  . . .  eyes,  foul  deeds  will  re\eal  themselves  to 
men's  eyes,  howevei'  thoroughly  they  may  appear  to  be  hidden  ; 
cp.  Macb.  iii.  4.  123-6,  "Stones  have  been  known  to  move  and 
trees  to  speg,k  ;  Augurs  and  understood  relations  have  IJy  magot- 
pies  and  chjughs  and  rooks  brought  fortli  The  secret 'st  man  of 
blood."  Corson  doubts  whether  to  men's  eyes  should  be  con- 
nected with  rise  or  witli  o'erwhelm  them, 


scEVKHT.]  NOTES.  149 


SCENK   111. 

• 

Of  this  scene  Coleridge  remarks,  "  Thi.s  scene  must  hn  regaided 
its  one  of  Sliiikespeare"s  lyric  movements  in  the  play,  and  the  skill 
with  which  it  is  interwoven  witii  tliu  dramatic  ))arts  is  peculiarly 
an  excellence  of  our  poetr  You  experience  tlie  sensation  of  a 
pjiuse  without  the  sense  of  a  stop." 

I.  necessaries,  luggage  or  baggage,  as  we  shoidd  say:  em- 
bark'd,  put  nn  lioar<l  the  vessel. 

•J.  as  the  ...  benefit,  according  as  (whenever)  from  time  to  time 
the  winds  serve,  are  in  a  ijuartei-  favourable  to  the  sailing  of  a 
vessel.  Cp.  Cyinb.  iv.  '2.342,  '' Luciu><.  When  expect  you  them  ? 
C'a/itai)i.   With  the  next  beiifjit  of  the  wind." 

3.  And  coavoy  is  assistant,  and  the  means  of  conveying  a  letter 
is  at  hand:  /.<.  when  tlicre  is  both  a  favourable  Mind  and  a 
vessel  Sidling  in  that  direction:  for  convoy  cp.  T.  C.  \.  1.  ll>7, 
"this  sailing  Pandar.  Our  doubtful  hope,  our  conroy  and  oui- 
bark  "  :  do  not  sleep,  do  not  be  too  lazy  to  write. 

.").  For  Hamlet  . . .  favour,  as  for  Hamlet  and  the  admiration 
which  he  carele.-sly  oHers  you. 

H.  Hold  it  a  fashion,  regard  it  as  nothing  more  than  a  passing 
fancy,  a  tiling  sure  to  change  as  quickly  as  fashicm  in  dress  :  a 
toy  in  blood,  a  mere  caprice  of  impulse  ;  for  toy,  cp.  i.  4.  75.  and 
Otk.  iii.  4.  156,  "  And  no  conception  nor  no  jealous  toy  Concern- 
ing you";  for  blood,  cp.  M.A.  ii.  1.  187,  "  beauty  is  a  Mitch 
Against  whose  charms  faith  melteth  into  blood." 

7.  A  violet  ...  nature,  as  a  violet  appearing  in  the  early  spring 
[i.e.  before  its  proper  season)  ;  primy,  belonging  to  the  prime, 
early  days  of  the  year  ;  not  elsewhere  found  in  Shakespeare, 
though  Me  have  //(-('//k  -  spring,  Liur.  332,  Soiiii.  xcvii.  2. 

H.  Forward,  not  permanent,  precocious,  but  enduring  for  a 
short  season  only. 

f).  The  perfume  .  minute,  the  perfume  M-hich  a  minute  affords 
and  mIucIi  willi  the  iiiiiiutc  passes  away  ;  merely  an  am])liiicati()ii 
of  the  M'ords  sweet,  not  lasting. 

10.   No  more  but  so'.'  notiiing  more  than  that? 

1 1-4.  For  nature  ...  withal,  for  a  man's  nature,  when  in  a  state 
of  growth,  iloes  not  show  its  expansion  merely  in  physical 
strcngtli  and  size  ;  but  as  the  body  iills  out,  the  niinil  and  soul 
alS'tV-Vpiirirl  III  Ihi!  service  they  inwardly  jjutform,  extending  their 
operations  to  a  much  M'ider  sphere.  In  other  M'ords,  Hamlet  as 
yet  is  ir  mere  youth,  and  the  scope  of  his  thoughts  being  but 
naiimr.  lit'  ftlids  pleas\ire  in  makjng  J.ove  to  you  ;  but,  as  he 
gr<7^rr7)TrreT7inTger  interests  will  occupy  his  mind,  and  he  M'ill 


150  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

forget  all  about  you  :  thews,  sinews,  strength,  from  A..S.  Ihfair, 
habit,  custom,  behaviour  ...  the  l)ase  is  than-,  evidently  from  tlie 
Teut. 'base  Tiir,  to  be  strong"  ...  (8keat,  Etii.  Did.)  ;  temple, 
body  ;  cp.  AJ<ich.  ii.  3.  73,  "murder  hath  broke  ope  .The  Lord's 
anointed  fenip/r."  Caldecott  points  out  that  the  word  is  never  so 
used  but  on  great  occasions. 

1-1.  Perhaps  ...  now.  Laertes  does  not  mean  to  charge  Hamlet 
with  insincerity  ;  his  love  may  be  real  enough,  he  says,  biit  it 
will  quickly  change. 

lo,  6.  And  now...  will,  and  at  present  no  evil  thought  or  crafty 
design  stains  the  essential  goodness  of  his  intentions  towards  j'ou ; 
cautel,  used  here  and  in  the  Lovers  (.'omji/aiitf,  303,  only,  though 
cait'doiis  occurs  in  Cor.  iv.  1.  33,  /.  C.  ii.  1.  129,  with  the  same 
bad  sense  ;  the  Lat.  caufela,  a  term  of  Roman  law,  from  which 
the  word  ultimately  comes,  meant  nothing  more  than  a  precaution, 
the  acquired  in^ddiousuess  being  probalily  due  to  the  subtlety  of 
such  precautions. 

16j  7.  but  you  ...  own,  but  what  you  have  to  fear  is  that,  his 
position  in  the  state  being  taken  into  consideration,  he  is  not  at 
liberty  to  follow  his  own  inclinations. 

IS.  For  he...  birth,  for  he  must  submit  himself  to  the  con- 
ditions of  his  birth  ;  cp.  Gymb.  ii.  3.  121-6,  "And  though  it  be 
allow'd  in  meaner  parties  ...  to  knit  their  souls  ...  in  self-tigur'd 
knot ;  Yet  you  are  curbed  from  that  enlargement  by  The  con- 
sequence o'  the  crown." 

19,  20.  He  may  not  ...  himself,  it  is  not  possible  for  him,  like 
persons  of  no  consequence,  to  cut  out  a  path  for  himself  in  wliat- 
ever  direction  it  pleases  him  ;  cp.  R  II.  ii.  3.  14-1,  "  But  in  this 
kind  to  come,  in  braving  arms.  Be  his  own  carver  and  cut  out  his 
wajf "  :  on  his  choice,  on  the  choice  he  makes  of  a  wife. 

22-4.  And  therefore  ...  head,  and  therefore  must  that  choice  be 
restricted  in  accordance  with  the  approval  and  consent  of  the 
body  politic,  whose  head  he  is<^ 

25-7,  It  fits  ...  deed,  it  is  incumbent  upon  you,  if  you  are  wise, 
to  put  fn.ith  in  his  professions  of  love  only  so  far  as  he,  acting  as 
he  must  act  in  the  pai'ticular  conditions  of  his  rank,  is  able  to 
give  effect  to  his  promises. 

27,  S.  which  is  ...withal,  and  this  fi-eedom  of  action  extends 
no  further  than  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  general  wish  of  the 
people  ;  withal,  when  used  as  a  preposition,  always  in  Shake- 
speare at  the  end  of  the  sentence.  .• 

30.  credent,  readily  believing,  credulous  ;  used  again  in  'this, 
its  moi'e  proper,  sense  in  L.  C.  279,  but  in  W.  T.  i.  2.  142,  and 
M.  M.  iv.  4.  29  (the  only  otlier  passages  in  which  it  occurs)  as  - 
credible  :  list  his  songs,  listen  to  his  love  songs ;  cp.  M.  A\  D. 
i.  1.  30-3. 

0^^ 


SCENE  m.]  NOTES.  151 

.">!.  lose  your  heart,  yield  up  your  love:  chaste  treasure, 
Irea.surc  consist iug  in  chastity. 

.S2.  unmasterd,  wiiieli  gets  the  better  of  liini  ;  at  a  time  when 
lie  has  no  control  over  his  passions. 

33.  it,  ■■"■.  the  ilaii<,'ci'  of  accepting  and  returning  his  love. 

34.  And  keep  ...  affection,  do  not  aIlo«'  yourself  to  go  so  far 
in  meeting  his  wishes  as  your  love  foi-  liini  would  prompt  yon 
to  do. 

35.  Out  of   .    desire,  out  of  the  dangerous  aim  of  passion. 

36.  7.  The  chariest  .  moon,  even  that  maiden  who  is  most 
chary  of  allr>\\  ing  hci-  lic.iuty  to  be  gazed  upon,  and  who  refuses 
to  let  it  be  gazed  upon  except  1)y  the  chaste  moon,  is  in  doing  so 
(juite  as  prodigal  as  she  ought  to  be  ;  '  chary  '  from  "A.S.  rearit, 
i-iru,  care  ...  thus  chary  is  the  a<ljective  of  rare,  and  partakes  of 
its  double  sense,  viz.  :  (1)  sorrow,  ('!)  heedfulness  ;  the  former  of 
these  being  the  oldci-  sense"  (Skeat,  Ety.  JJict.). 

38.  Virtue  ...  strokes,  not  even  the  very  impersonatifni  of 
virtue  is  exempt  from  tiic  .sluifts  of  caluuiny  ;  cp.  IT.  ']'.  ii.  71-4, 
"  these  petty  brands  That  calunmy  dotli  use-  t),  I  am  out — That 
mercy  does,  for  calumny  will  sear  Virtue  itself." 

39-4'2.  The  canker  ...  imminent,  the  firstlings  frf  the  spring, 
even  liefore  their  bu<is  iia\c  opened,  are  l)lighteil  by  the  canker- 
woi-m  ;  and  youth  while  in  its  tirst  bloom,  a  flower  just  washed 
by  the  dew  of  early  morning,  is  most  in  danger  of  Jjeing  withei-ed 
by  pernicious  blasts  ;  in  plaiji  language,  Ophelia's  youth  and 
innocence  render  her  most  lialjle  to  danger.  The  canker,  a  small 
worm  that  eats  into  anil  destroys  the  flower  ;  a  doublet  of  ranri  r, 
literally  a  crab,  the  disease  l)eing  so  named  froTii  eating  into  the 
flesh  ;  galls,  literally  rvd)s  into  a  sore  ;  the  infants  of  the  spring, 
cp.  L.  L.  L.  i.  \.  101,  "  Hiron  is  like  an  envious  sneaping  frost 
That  bites  the  tirst-born  infaiitu  of  tfir  s/iriii;/  "  .•  buttons,  buds, 
the  original  sense  of  the  word  ;  contagious,  pestilential,  perni- 
cious, used  by  Shakespeaie  of  fogs,  clouds,  darkness,  breatli, 
etc.  ;  blastments,  the  abstract  for  the  concrete. 

43.  best  safety  lies  in  fear.  ip.  Murh.  iii.  5.  3"J,  "And  you 
all  know,  secuiity  {i.e.  a  sense  of  safety)  is  mortals'  chiefest 
enemy. " 

44.  Youth  ...  near,  "in  the  absence  of  any  tempter,  youth 
rebels  against  itself,  /.''.  the  passions  of  youth  levolt  from  the 
jKiwer  of  self-restraint ;  there  is  a  traitor  in  the  camp.  The 
substantive  verb  is  similarly  omitted  in  ('y)iifi.  iv.  4,  2,"," 
["Though  rioten  then  l)Ut  young"]  (("I.  Vi:  Edd.). 

4~>,  6.  I  shall  .  heart,  I  shall  keep  tlu;  purjjort  of  thiij  lesson 
as  a  safeguard  to  my  heart  ;  I  shall  lay  yf>ui'  lesson  to  my  heart 
and  trust  it  to  act  as  a  watc'h  against  all  inclinations  to  weakness; 


152  HAMLET.  [act  ). 

for  effect,  op.  Tim.  iii.  5.  97,  "  "Tis  few  in  words,  Init  spacious  in 
effect'"  ;  good,  my  brother,  see  Abb.  g  13.  Coleridge  reinaiks, 
"You  will  observe  in  Ophelia's  short  and  geneial  answer  tf)  the 
long  speech  of  Laertes  the  natural  carelessness  of  innocence, 
which  cannot  think  such  a  code  of  cautions  and  prudences 
necessary  to  its  own  preservation." 

47.  ungracious,  who  have  none  of  that  holiness  Mhich  they 
preach  toothers;  cp.  /'.  //.  ii.  3.  89.  "and  that  word  'grace' 
In  an  unt/raciou>i  mouth  is  but  profane. " 

49-51.  Whiles.  ...  rede,  while,  like  a  debauchee,  bloated  with 
indulgence  and  heedless  of  all  conse(|uence,  you  tread  the  Hower- 
strewn  path  ot  wahton  lolly,  and  haTe  no  tliought  of  following  tlie 
advice  you  offer  to  others.  There  is  a  confusion  of  constructions 
lietween  Whiles  like,  etc.,  you  tread  the,  etc.,  and  reck,  etc.,  and 
Whiles  you  act  like,  etc..  who  treads,  etc.  For  puff'd,  cp.  77//?. 
iv.  3.  180,  "  who-se  self-same  mettle.  Whereof  thy  proud  child, 
arrogant  man,  is  puff'd."  ;  for  primrose  path,  Mach.  ii.  3.  17, 
"  I  had  tliought  to  have  let  in  some  of  all  professions  that  go  the 
primrose  way  to  the  everlasting  l)ontire  ;  "  rede,  from  A.S.  rdd, 
advice,  from  wliich  also  comes  our  verb  to  irad. 

51.   fear  me  oot,  do  not  be  anxious  on  my  account. 

53.  A  double  .  grace,  a  double  blessing  carries  with  it  a  double 
store  of  happiness;  Polonius  has  already  said  good-bye  (Ood  be 
with  you)  once. 

54.  Occasion  . . .  leave,  accident  is  propitious  in  allowing  us  a 
second  farewell. 

55.  for  shame  !  i.e.  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  youiself  for 
having  delayed  so  long. 

56.  sits  .  sail,  is  already  filling  your  sails.  The  sail  wlien 
blown  out  looks  like  a  stooping  shoulder  ;  cp.  7\  C.  ii.  2.  74, 
' '  Your  breath  of  full  consent  bellied  his  sails. " 

57.  And  you  ..  for,  and  your  companions  are  waiting  foi-  you  : 
with  thee  !  go  witli  you  I 

59.  character,  inscrilie  indelil)ly  :  cp.  7'.  G.  ii.  7.  4,  i^  I  do 
conjui'e  thee,  Who  art  the  taV)le  wherein  all  my  thoughts  Are 
visibly  characfer'd  and  engraved  '"  ;  in  both  cases  the  accent 
being  on  the  second  syllable. 

HO.  Nor  any  ...  act,  nor  translate  into  action  any  ill-regidated 
thought;  cp.  Tem.p.  v.  1.  290.  "He  is  as  disproportioii'd  in  his 
manners  As  in  his  shape  "  ;  Ot/i.  iii.  3.  233,  "  Foul  disproportion, 
thoughts  unnatural  "  ;  his  act,  the  act  which  would  be  the  con- 
sequence of  the  thought  ;  his  =  its. 

61.  Be  thou  ...vulgar,  show  yourself  ready  to  be  upon  intimate 
terms  with  your  acquaintances,  but  do  not   make  yourself   too 


SCENE  III.]  NOTES.  163 

iMiiiiiKiii  :  (•}).  i.  //.  /r.  iii.  '2.  tiO,  etc.,  where  Henry  ile.scri))P.s 
liow  Hieliaiil  forfeited  all  I'cspeet  by  making  liiiiif<elf  too 
coiiiniun. 

6'i.  .">.  Those  friends  ...  steel,  liind  to  your  veiy  soul  tliose 
frieinls  you  liavc.  :iU(i  ^\■llo.s^'  adoption  y)y  you  has  l)een  ])ut  tf>  the 
pi'oof.  On  Poi)e's  leading  /lookt,  which  hasheen  accejited  by  Malone 
and  others,  tiie  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  remark  that  it  "makes  the  figure 
suggested  by  '  grapple  '  the  very  reverse  of  what  Shakespeare 
intended  ;  grappling  Viy  hooks  is  the  act  f)f  an  enemy  ami  not  of 
a  friend.''  To  this  it  might  be  rcjjlied  that  in  J/.  I',  iii.  Cfior. 
IS,  we  have  "  (irajipli  yoiu-  nnnds  to  sternage  r)f  this  navy," 
wheie.  though  the  idea  of  graj)pling-hooks  is  evidently  present, 
there  is  no  thought  of  hostility.  But  the  figure  is  probably 
taken  from  hooping  together  the  several  staves  of  a  cask,  etc.,  so 
as  to  form  one  compact  whole  ;  cp.  ii.  H.  IV.  iv.  4.  43-7,  "A 
hooji  of' ijold  to  hind  thii  hrothtrf  in.  That  the  united  ren.si-/  of  tlieir 
blood  ■...'shall  II,  nr  kak "  ;  A.  C.  ii.  2.  117,  "Vet  if  1  knew 
Wliat  /looji  shoii/d  held  lis  Munch'' :  and  tlieir  adoption  tried,  is 
tciken  by  I)elius  as  a  participial  parentiicsis,  and  this  seems  to 
nie  the  most  probable  construction,  since  hast  is  not  here  an 
auxiliary  veib. 

H4,  .1.  But  do  not  ...  comrade,  but  do  not  make  yourself  incap- 
able of  judging  between  the  value  of  one  man  and  another  l)y 
acce])ting  the  ofi'er  of  friendsliip  made  by  anyone  with  whom  you 
are  thrown,  however  raw  and  inexperienced  in  the  world  lie  may 
be.  'i'lie  figure  is  that  of  depriving  the  .sense  of  touch  of  that 
delicate  sensitiveness  which  enables  a  man  to  distinguisli  with 
nicety  between  diff'eient  surfaces  :  cp.  v.  1.  ()5,  6,  "  The  haml  of 
little  employment  hath  the  daintier  sense  "  ;  Ci/nih.  i.  6.  lOli, 
"join  gripes  with  handi  Made  hard  with  hourly  falsehood." 

6.5-7.  Beware  .  thee,  be  cautious  about  engaging  in  a  (juarrel, 
but  M  lien  once  engaged  in  it,  cany  matters  in  such  a  way  that 
your  enemy  may  in  future  hesitate  about  provoking  you. 

HS.  Give  .  voice,  be  ready  to  listen  to  what  eacli  man  lia.s  to 
say,  but  l)e  chary  of  giving  your  o«n  views. 

()!).  Take...  judgement,  hear  each  mans  opinion,  but  forbear  to 
deliver  your  own  decision  as  to  its  merits  ;  censure,  o|)iiiioii,  the 
wider  and  original  meaning  oi  the  word  ;  llie  ])rcsciit  limited 
sense  of  ini/aroumhff  opinion  being  due  to  the  fact  that  men  are 
more  rea<ly  to  blame  than  to  juaise. 

70.  Costly  ...  buy,  let  youi'  di-ess  be  as  costly  as  your  means  will 
allow. 

71.  But  not  ...  gaudy,  but  do  not  let  its  costliness  be  sliown  by 
its  being  fanciful,  extravagant  ;  let  it  be  rich  looking,  but  not 
showy. 


154  HAMLET.  [ACT  t. 

72.  For  the  apparel  ...  man,  for  liis  dress  is  often  an  indication 
of  tlie  %vearcr  s  cliaiactcr. 

73,  4.  And  they  ...  that,  the  (juartos  give  'Are  (or  'Or")  of  a 
most  select  and  generous,  cliiefe  (or  cheefe)  in  that ' ;  the  folios, 
'  Are  of  a  most  select  and  generous  cheft'  in  that.'  The  reading 
in  the  text,  which  is  Rowe's,  is  adopted  by  most  modern  editors, 
and  gives  a  certain  sense,  to  wit,  the  men  of  highest  birth  and 
rank  in  France,  priding  themselves  as  they  do  upon  their  taste, 
and  addicted  as  they  are  to  what  is  rich  and  nol)Iedooking,  show 
those  tendencies  in  matters  of  dress  more  than  in  anything  else  ; 
chief,  as  a  substantive,  in  the  sense  of  '  eminence.'  '  superiority,' 
or  in  that  of  '  note,'  'estimation,'  commends  itself  to  some 
editors  :  while  Staunton  and  Inglel)y,  who  retain  of  a,  advocate 
aheaf,  in  the  sense  of  '  clique,'  '  class,'  '  set,'  the  figure,  according 
to  the  former,  1)eing  borrowed  from  archery,  in  the  affected 
phraseology  of  the  Euphuists,  according  to  the  latter,  partly 
from  archery,  partly  from  husbandry. 

76.  For  loan  . . .  friend,  for  by  lending  to  a  friend  you  often  lose 
both  the  money  itself  and  the  friendship  of  him  to  whom  you 
lent  it,  sc.  owing  to  the  disputes  arising  from  his  not  repaying 
his  debt. 

77.  dulls  ...  husbandry,  takes  the  fine  edge  off  economy ;  makes 
a  man  less  thrifty  than  he  would  lie  if  he  knew  that  nobody 
would  lend  hi!n  money;  for  husbandry,  cp.  Marh.  ii.  1.  4, 
"There's  hioihcmdry  \n  heaven  ;  Their  candles  are  all  out,"  said 
of  a  dark  night. 

79.  as  the  night,  as  surely  as  the  night  follows. 

81.  season,  give  dural^ility  ;  cp.  iii.  2.  219.  Polonius  hopes 
that  his  blessing  accompanying  his  advice  will  make  it  more 
lasting  than  it  would  otherwise  be,  just  as  wood  is  seasoned  by 
weather. 

S3.  The  time  invites  you,  i.e.  it  is  high  time  that  you  should  ; 
tend,  wait  for,  are  expecting,  you. 

86.  And  you  ...  it,  and  unless  you  say  that  it  is  no  longer 
necessary  for  me  to  keep  it  safely,  it  shall  ever  remain  there 

89.  So  please  you,  if  it  so  please  you  (the  '  if '  being  inherent 
in  the  subjunctive)  ;  a  deprecatory  form  of  courtesy. 

90.  Marry,  a  corruption  of  the  name  Mary,  i.e.  the  Mother  of 
Christ,  in  order  to  avoid  the  statute  against  profane  swearing  : 
well  bethought,  that  is  fortunately  thought  of  ;  I  am  glad  j^ou 
should  have  reminded  me  of  the  subject. 

92.  Given  . . .  you,  spent  upon  you  in  private  some  of  the  leisure 
at  his  disposal  :  tlie  tin-n  of  the  sentence  seems  to  show  that 
private  comprises  the  character  of  the  time,  i.e.  time  that  Hamlet 
could  call  his  own,  time  that  was  not  needed  for  public  jiurposes, 


SCENE  m.]  NOTF.S.  155 

and  also  tlie  mannrr  in  ^vllich  lie  spent  that  time,  .sf.  piivatcly 
with  Opliclia  ;  for  tlic  former  sense,  cp.  //.  I',  iv.  1.  254,  "  Wliat 
infinite  heart 's-ease  .Must  kings  neglect,  that  privatt  men  enjoy  "  : 
for  tiie  latter,  M.  X.  D.  i.  1.  11(3,  "I  have  some /»vi;a<e  schooling 
for  yon  both.' 

93.  Have  ...  bounteous,  have  been  more  ready  to  listen  t<>  liini 
than  yon  shmUd  liave  been. 

94.  as  so. ..me,  for  so  I  have  been  informed;  not,  I  think, 
xmjiiextid  (though  the  expression  is  common  enough  in  that  sense), 
the  suggestion  here  being  contained  in  the  next  line  ;  cp.  M.  ^f. 
ii.  2.  133,  "  ^^'hy  do  you  put  these  sni/iii'/.i  upon  me  V 

9.1.  And  that . . .  caution,  and  informed  with  the  object  of  ])utting 
me  upon  my  guard  ;  And  that,  tiiii)liasizes  the  object  with  which 
he  was  told ;  must,  cannot  help. 

IXJ,  7.  You  do  not  ..  honour,  yon  have  not  such  a  clear  concep- 
tion as  yfiu  ought  to  iiavu  of  what  becomes  you  as  my  daughter 
an<l  as  a  modest  maiden. 

95.  What  is  between  you?  What  understanding  or  agreement 
exists  between  you'.'  give  ...  truth,  tell  me  without  keeping  any- 
thing back. 

99.  tenders,  offers. 

101.  green,  raw,  inexperienced,  foolish  ;  cp.  iv.  5.  99. 

102.  Unsifted  ...  circumstance,  one  that  has  not  been  sifted, 
tried,  bj'  ex]ierience  of  such  dangerous  matters;  cp.  ii.  //.  JV. 
\\.  1.  194,  "  sVe  shall  be  iriuiiourd  with  so  rough  a  wind  That 
even  our  coin  shall  seem  as  light  as  chaflf. " 

104.  what  I  should  think,  wiiat  to  believe. 

106.  7.  That  you  .  sterling,  for  having  taken  as  current  coin 
these  offers  which  aie  of  no  .sterling  value  ;  sterling,  first  applicrl 
to  the  English  penny,  said  to  be  so  called  from  the  Easterlings  or 
North  Germans,  M'ho  w  ere  the  first  moncyers  in  England. 

107.  Tender  ...  dearly,  put  a  higher  value  upon  yourself. 

108.  to  crack  ...  phrase,  t(j  ride  the  phrase  to  de;ith. 

109.  Running  it  thus,  carrying  on  the  figure  of  a  horse  being 
ridilcn  till,  broken-winded,  it  comes  to  a  stand-still ;  Running  is 
Collier's  corix'ction  of  the  reading  of  the  folicjs,  Iioiimiiiij :  tender 
me  a  fool,  ])i'esent  me  to  the  world  as  a  fof)l,  s1k)w  me  as  a  fool  ; 
tender  -  hoM  ileai",  from  V.  tciidra  (a<lj.),  Lat.  ic/iier,  tender ; 
tender  =  oflFer,  from  F.  tendre  (vb.),  Lat.  tendere,  to  stretch. 

110.  1.  he  hath  ...  fashion,  he  has  made  nu;  urgent  proposals  of 
hononralile  lovt-. 

112.  Ay,  ...  it,  you  are  quite  right  to  use  the  word  fashion,  for 
his  proiler.s  of  love  are  but  a  meie  fashion,  something  that  w  ill 
change  quickly  enough  ;  cp.  above,  1.  6  :  go  to,  go  to,    nonsense, 


156  HAMLET.  [ACTi. 

nonsense ;    a  common   phrase   of   contemptuous  reproof,   oi-,   as 
sometimes,  of  exhortation. 

113,4.  And  hath  ..  heaven,  and  lias  contirmed  Iiis  vows  by 
ahnost  every  possible  appeal  to  heaven  ;  countenance,  credit, 
authority,  as  in  i.  H.  IV.  iii.  2.  65,  and  the  verb,  ii.  H.  IV. 
iv.  1.  35. 

115.  Ay,  ...  woodcocks,  yes  (said  scornfully),  snares  to  catch 
fools.  The  woodcock,  from  its  being  easily  snared,  or  from  its 
being  supposed  to  have  but  little  brain,  was  a  frequent  equivalent 
for  a  fool,  simpleton. 

116.  When  the  blood  burns,  when  passion  is  strong,  when  the 
heart  is  inflamed  with  passion  :  prodigal,  for  adjectives  used  ad- 
verbially, see  Abb.  §  1. 

117-'20.  thes3  bla33S  ...  fire,  these  flashes  of  passion,  which  give 
forth  more  light  than  warmth,  and  of  which  both  tlie  light  and 
the  warmth  die  out  even  at  the  moment  of  their  promise,  while 
it  is  yet  in  the  course  of  being  made,  you  must  not  mistake  for 
the  lire  which  burns  with  steadj'  and  comforting  warmth  ; 
promise  seems  to  be  used  with  an  allusion  to  its  literal  meaning, 
that  which  is  sent  forth,  and  so  perhaps  in  /.  C.  iv.  2.  24,  "  like 
horses  hot  at  hand.  Make  gallant  show  and  promise  of  their 
mettle  "  ;  as  it  is  a-maldng  is  an  expansion  of  Even  in  their 
promise  ;  for  the  prefix  a-,  =  on,  in,  of,  before  adjectives  and 
participles  used  as  nouns,  see  Abb.  §  24. 

121.  Be  somewhat  ...  presence,  show  the  reserve  which  be- 
comes a  maiden  by  allowing  him  fewer  opportunities  of  meeting 
you  ;  maiden,  from  its  position,  seems  to  have  this  emphatic 
sense. 

122,  3.  Set  your  ...  parley,  put  a  higher  value  upon  yourself 
than  to  consider  the  entreaties  you  receive  from  him  as  a  com- 
mand, which  you  cannot  disregard,  to  enter  into  negotiations  ; 
your,  used  olijectively,  of  which  you  are  the  object. 

124-6.  Believe  ...  you,  so  far,  and  so  far  only,  let  your  belief  in 
him  go  as  to  bear  in  mind  that  lie  is  young,  and  therefore  both 
eager  and  changeable,  and  that  to  him,  as  a  man,  a  larger  license 
in  making  love  is  allowable  than  to  you  in  accepting  love  ;  do 
not  be  over-credulous  in  trusting  him,  but  remember  that  his 
youth  and  his  sex  are  both  to  be  consi<lered  in  estimating  his  pro- 
fessions of  love  :  in  few,  to  sum  up  shortW  ;  for  adjectives  used 
as  nouns,  even  in  the  singular,  see  Abb.  §  5. 

127,  S.  for  they  ...  show,  for  they  are  go-betweens  that  do  not 
show  themselves  in  their  true  colours  ;  for  investments  =  dress, 
cp.  ii.  //.  IV.  iv.  1.  45,  "  Whose  white  iiire-tfment.^  figure  inno- 
cence. '" 

12!).  mere...  suits,  nothing  but  advocates  to  urge  disgraceful 
])roposals  ;  cp.  L.  C.  173,  "  rows  were  even  brokers  to  defiling." 


scF.NK  lit.]  NOTKS. 


;>< 


l.'{(i.  1.  Breathing  ..  beguile,  talking  in  tlio  language  of  sancti- 
monious aii<l  liypiiLTitical  hawds  so  as  the  nioie  etlectually  to 
deceive  ;  bawds,  Tiuohald's  correction  of  bmidK,  the  leading  of 
the  quartos  and  folios  which  is  sometimes  defended,  though  it 
seems  imi)ossilile  tiuit  any  of  the  three  words.  Breathing,  sancti- 
fied, oi-  pious  .should  be  applied  to  bonds  .-  This  is  for  all,  to  sum 
up  all  1  liavi-  to  say. 

\:V^.  Have  you  ...  leisure,  have  you  so  misused  any  moment  of 
your  leisure  ;  moment  is  the  reading  of  the  earlier  quartos, 
luovunts.  of  the  latei-  ones,  wliitii  many  editors,  adding  the 
apostiophe,  follow.  The  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  point  out  that  if  moment 
is  tlie  right  reading,  it  must  he  taken  as  an  adjective,  as  in  i.  .">. 
33,  "Lethe  wharf."  For  slander  =  abuse,  misuse,  Moberly 
oompiires  "misuse"'  for  "slander,"'  A.   Y.  L.  iv.  1.  205. 

l.'U.  As  to  Hamlet,  thougii  talk  is  here  a  substantive,  with 
is  prol.a))ly  due  to  its  being  the  preposition  used  with  the  verb 
'  to  talk,"  tile  two  expressions  lieing  equivalent  to  '  give  words  to, 
or  hold  talk  with,  the  Lord  Hamlet." 

1 3.").  Look  to  "t.  take  taic  that  you  do  as  I  bid  you  ;  it  being 
usod  indelinitely  :  come  your  ways,  come  along  witli  me  where 
you  should  go,  i.e.  to  your  room  ;  ways  is  not  here  the  plura\ 
but  the  old  genitive  used  adverbially,  on  your  way. 

130.  shall,  •'When  a  person  speaks  of  hi.s  ojc?/  future  actions 
as  inevitable,  he  often  regards  them  as  inevitalile  only  because 
H.xe.l  by  himself"...  (Abb.  §  318). 


Scene  IV. 

St.ack  Dinr.cTiox.      Tlif  platform,  ■■ir.  in  front  of  the  castle. 

1.  shrewdly,  bitterly  ;  shrenxl,  past  particijjle  of  M.  E.  shmroi, 
to  curse  ;  thence  used  of  anything  sharp  or  bitter,  especially  of 
tenipei-  or  language. 

'2.  eager,  sharp  :  O.  F.  nii/r/',  Lat.  acc7\  shaip,  keen  ;  cp.  i.  v. 
G,  and  .Sotni.  cxviii.  2,  "  With  ear/er  conipouiuls  we  our  palate 
urge."" 

3.  lacks  of  twelve,  is  somewhat  short  of  midnight. 

fl.  he]d  ,.  walk,  has  been  accustomed  to  walk  ;  wont,  "  a  cor- 
luption  from  iroind.  from  the  verb  'imvi/f,'  E.  E.  '  w  uiinian,' A.S. 
■  to  dwell"  ""  (Abb.  S  ")). 

.St.\i;k  l)iKE<TioN.  .1  floiirixh  of  trumpet  fs,  a  sounding  of  trum- 
pets in  a  triumphal  manner. 

S.  doth  wake  to  night,  sits  up  feasting  ;  is  '  making  a  night  of 
it,'  a.s  the  slang  expression  is  ;  hence  a  wake  =  a  xi^il,  and  then 


158  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

the  feast  of  the  dedication  of  a  church  (formerly  kept  by  watch- 
ing all  night)  :  rouse,   see  note  on  i.  2.  127. 

9.  wassail,  revelry  ;  from  ivces  h<U,  i,e.  be  of  good  health  ;  cp. 
L.  L.  L.  V.  2.  .SI 8,  "  At  wakes  and  ?w<.ss(///v,  meetings,  markets, 
fairs":  up-spring,  Steevens  ^^uotes  Chapman's  Aliihomux,  iii., 
"  We  Germans  have  no  changes  in  our  dances.  An  Almain  and 
an  vp-tp)-iii!i  that  is  all,"  to  show  that  this  was  a  German  dance, 
and  Eltze  further  asserts  that  it  was  "  the  Hupfauf"  the  last  and 
consequently  the  wildest  dance  of  the  old  German  merry-makings, 
though  Schmidt  speaks  of  that  dance  as  "  apocryplial  "  ;  others 
explain  the  word  as  '  upstart,"  referring  it  to  tlie  king,  and  with 
this  explanation  the  words  swaggering  and  reels  seem  better  to 
agree,  the  latter  word  being  especially  used  of  the  movements  of 
a  drunkard. 

10.  Rhenish,  Rhine  wine. 

11.  kettle-drum,  a  drum  resembling  a  kettle  in  shape;  Douce 
quotes  Cleaveland's  Fu.^rara,  "Tuning  his  drauglits  with  drowsie 
hums  As  Danes  carowse  by  kef t/r-d rums  "  :  bray,  like  h/arc,  used 
especially  of  trumpets,  clarions,  and  such  like  wind-ir.stru- 
ments. 

12.  The  triumpli  of  his  pledge,  the  victorious  deed  of  drinking 
a  toast,  pledging  some  one  in  a  toast  ;  Deliiis  points  out  that  tlie 
words  are  said  in  the  bitterest  irony. 

14.  to  my  mind,  to  my  thinking  ;  in  my  opinion. 

15.  And  ...  born,  and  therefore  by  my  birth  accustomed  to  the 
fashion;  cp.  /.'.  •/.  iv.  1.  109,  "Then,  as  the  manner  of  our 
country  is." 

16.  More  honour'd  ..  observance,  wliicli  it  is  more  honourable 
to  neglect  than  to  ubservc. 

17.  heavy-headed  revel,  revelry  that  ends  in  a  iieavy  head,  a 
headache:  or  'perhaps  only  'stupid,'  'doltish':  east  and  west, 
far  and  wide  ;  from  one  side  of  the  world  to  the  other. 

18.  Makes  ...  nations,  causes  us  to  be  viliiied  and  reproached 
l)y  other  nations  ;  for  tax'd,  cp.  ^4.  Y.  L.  ii.  7.  71,  "  who  cries 
out  on  pride  That  can  therein  tax  any  private  party  ?  "  of,  by. 

19.  clepe.  call  ;  A.S.  cleopian,  clypian,  of  which  the  participle 
still  survives  in  the  archaic  y-cJept,  sometimes  affectedly  used  at 
tlie  present  day. 

19,  20.  and  with  ...  addition,  brand  us  with  the  title  of  hogs  ; 
addition,  in  this  sense  is  more  commonly  used  by  Shakespeare  of 
an  honourable  title.  In  0th.  ii.  ;->.  79-Sl.  the  Dane  is  coupled 
with  tlie  (Tcrman  and  the  Hollander  for  their  love  of  drinking, 
while  the  Englishman  is  said  to  outdo  them  all  in  this  accom- 
plishment. 


scENK  IV.]  NOTK.^.  159 

■Jl.  though  ...  height,  tliougli  performed  ^itli  the  loftiest 
cliiviiliy  aiul  courage  ;  Fiwness  eon.sideis  at  height  to  lie  an 
iiistanoe  of  the  absorption  of  tiie  definite  article  between  the  Uvo 
words,  Abbott  siin])ly  a  case  of  omission. 

'2'2.  The  pith  ..  attribute,  the  most  essentia!  and  most  valuable 
])art  of  our  rejjutation  for  courage,  .sc.  by  makinj:  out  that  that 
courage  is  inspired  by  liquor.  So,  we  speak  of  '  Dutch  couiage,' 
meaning  courage  inspiied  by  lioUands  gin  ;  and  so  Lamartine  in 
his  descrijjtion  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo  accounts  for  the  furious 
charges  of  our  cavalry  by  asserting  that  they  had  been  drugged 
with  bran<ly.  For  attribute,  c]).  7'.  ('.  ii.  li.  ]'25,  "Much  altri- 
hull  he  hath,  and  mucli  the  reason  V\'\\y  we  asciibe  it  to  him." 

'I'A,  4.  So,  oft  ...  them,  in  a  similar  manner  it  often  happens  in 
the  ciise  of  particular  men  (hei-e  opjiosed  to  a  Mhole  nation)  that 
in  consequence  of  some  natural  blenusli  ;  vicious  is  not  here  used 
in  the  more  common  modern  sense  of  'addicted  to  a  ice,' but  as 
^faulty,  defective;  mole,  more  commonly  used  of  a  phj-sical 
mark,  as  in  M.  X.  D.  v.  1.  418,  "Never  mole,  haie-lip,  nor 
scar,"  etc. 

2o.  As,  Walker  remarks  that  the  Avoi-d  is  here  used  not  in  the 
.sense  of  '  for  instance,' but  in  that  of  '  namely.'  '  to  \\it.'  The 
]»articulars  enumerated  in  this  passage  are  (1)  in  their  birth,  {'!) 
By  the  oergrowth,  etc.,  (3)  by  some  habit,  wherein  they  are  not 
gtiilty,  foi-  wliicli  defect  they  cannot  be  hehl  answerable. 

'2(j.  Since  ...  origin,  since  the  luiture  of  a  man  cannot  choose 
from  what  source  it  will  be  derived  ;  his,  =  its. 

27,  S.  By  the  . . .  reason,  owing  to  the  fact  of  some  particular 
temperament  developing  itself  to  excess,  and  so  breaking  dow  n 
the  strongiiold  of  reason  ;  tiie  figuie  is  that  of  a  plant,  which  by 
being  allowed  to  gi'ow  uncliecked  to  an  excessive  size,  lireaks 
down  by  its  weiglit  the  enclosuics  and  liaiiiers  liy  \\liicli  it  ought 
to  be  hennned  in.  Warburton  refers  to  the  diti'erent  humours, 
the  sanguine,  the  melancholy,  the  phlegnuvtic,  etc.,  by  one  oi' 
other  of  which  each  man  was  of  old  supposed  to  be  governed. 

'2*t,  %\.  that  too  much  ..  manners,  wlnCh  by  its  excessive  ad- 
mixtun-  viciously  aHiiuia.tli(-  form  of  manners  naturally  pleasing; 
for  plausive,  =  worthy  of  apijlause,  cp.  A.  M  .  i.  '_'  .).•;,  "  Ins 
liluHtire  words  He  scatter'd  not  in  ears"  :  that  these  men,  it 
clmnces.  I  say,  that  tiiese  men  ;  the  construction  lieing  con- 
tinued from  1.  2.'^ 

'M.  Carrying  ..  defect,  bearing  about  u])on  tlicm  the  brand  of 
some  one  defect. 

32.  Being ...  star,  which  they  owe  either  to  natint-  or  to  for- 
tune ;  in  the  one  case  the  defect  is  spoken  of  as  the  dress  which 
nature  has  forced  u|)on  them,  in  the  otiier  as  some  atHiction  ilue 
to  the  nuilignant  iuHuence  of  fortune's  stars. 


inO  HAMLET.  [actt. 

38,  4.  Their  virtues  . . .  underg^o,  their  virtues  in  all  other 
respects,  even  though  they  are  as  jnire  as  grace  itself,  as  infinite 
as  it  is  possible  for  the  nature  of  man  to  support  ;  in  undergo 
the  iilea  is  of  a  load  of  goodness  such  as  frail  human  nature  is 
hardly  equal  to  ;  cp.  M.  M.  i.  1.  24,  "  If  any  in  Vienna  be  of 
worth  To  uiidert/o  such  ample  grace  and  honour."  Here  tlie 
nominative  is  changed  fioin  these  men  (1.  ,iO)  to  Their  virtues, 
implying  these  virtuoiis  men. 

35,  6.  Shall  . . .  fault,  are  certain  in  tlie  general  estimation  of 
mankind  to  he  looked  upon  as  tainted  with  evil  contracted  from 
that  particular  fault ;  for  censure,  see  note  on  1.  69  above  ;  take, 
used  in  the  sense  of  contracting  a  disease. 

36-8.  the  dram  ...  scandal,  the  earlier  quartos  give  dram  of 
eafe  and  of  a  dovht  :  the  later  ones  the  dram  of  ea><e.  I  have 
adopted  a  conjecture  of  Steevens's,  not  because  I  suppose  it  to  be 
at  all  certain,  but  because  it  gives  a  reasonable  sense  ;  the  small 
admixture-of  what  is  base  often  puts  out,  nullifies,  tlie  whole  of 
the  noble  substance  into  whieli  it  lias  found  entrance,  and  .so 
makes  the  reproacli  Avliich  properly  l)elongs  to  the  dram  of  base 
cleave  to  the  noble  substance  ;  though  own  should  refer  to  the 
former.  The  following  are  among  the  more  plausible  conjectures 
recorded  ;  '  the  dram  of  base  ...  oft  adoubt ' ;  '  the  dram  of  eA'il  ... 
oft  debase'  ;  '  the  dram  of  base  ...  oft  eat  out'  ;  'the  dram  of  ill 
...  often  dout '  ;  Init  to  chronicle  the  host  that  has  gathered  since 
tlie  days  of  Steevens  takes,  with  their  explanations,  more  than 
six  pages  of  small  type  in  Furness's  New  Variorum  edition  ;  and 
of  them  all  perhaps  not  one  has  carried  conviction  to  anybody 
l)iit  its  author.  For  dout  =  do  out,  as  don  =  do  on,  dqff'=  do  ofl", 
dnji  =  do  \ip,  cp.  iv.  7.  189. 

40.  Be  thou  ...  damnd.  whether  you  be  a  good  spirit  or  an  evil 
one  condemned  to  hell;  spirit  Of  health,  "a  healed  or  saved 
spirit"  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

41.  Bring  with  thee,  whether  you  bring  with  you. 

4.3.  Thou  comest  . . .  shape,  you  appear  in  a  form  which  so  pro- 
vokes interrogation;  cp.  Much.  i.  3.  43,  "Live  you,  or  are  you 
aught  Thai  mail  may  question?"  addressed  to  the  witches. 

45.  King  ...  Dane.  Hamlet  in  his  excitement  heaps  one  title 
upon  another,  expressing  his  readiness  to  use  any  term  of  address 
wliich  may  be  likely  to  elicit  an  answei'. 

46.  burst  in  ignorance,  i.e.  in  the  eager  desire  to  have  his 
ignorance  dispelled. 

47.  canonized,  over  Mhicli  the  service  prescribed  in  tlie  canon 
foi-  tlie  dead  has  been  performed  ;  accent  on  the  second  syllable  ; 
hearsed  in  death,  at  your  death  consigned  to  the  tomb. 

48.  cerements,  grave  clothes  ;  the  shrtmil,  a  cloth  dipped  iu 
melted  wax  (Lat.  rera.  wax)  in  order  to  preserve  it. 


SCENE  IV.]  NOTES.  161 

49.  Inum'd,  ontfunbed  ;  for  urn,  =  grave,  the  CI.  Pr.  EiUl. 
ooinpari'  //.  I',  i.  '2.  ±28,  "Or  lay  these  bones  in  an  unworthy 
urti." 

50.  ponderous  and  marble,  ponderous  because  made  of  marble. 

51.  may.  c;ui  jjonsibl)'  ;  see  Abli.  g  807. 

52.  in  complete  steel,  in  panoply,  armed  from  head  to  foot : 
complete,  accent  on  the  former  syllable.  Steevens  remarks  tliat 
the  (Jliost  is  proba)>ly  introduced  in  armour  for  tlie  sake  of 
greater  solenmity  ;  though  it  was  really  the  custom  of  the  Danish 
kings  to  be  buried  in  tlwit  manner. 

53.  Revlsit'st  ..  moon,  revisit  the  earth  at  this  hour  of  night 
when  tile  moon  is  struggling  to  appear  from  behind  the  clouds. 

54-6.  and  we  ...  souls?  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  construction 
here  is  'making  us  (ive  where  we  siiould  write  tw)  to  shake,'  or 
'that  (from  1.  52)  we  should  be  made  to  shake  ' ;  see  Abb.  §  216. 
In  either  case  the  general  sense  is  '  so  that  tlie  mental  organiza- 
tion of  us  who  are  the  sport  of  nature  should  l»c  convulsed  with 
thoughts  that  our  souls  cannot  grasp  ;  for  reaches,  see  note  on  i. 
1.  173,  and  cp.  below,  ii.  1.  62. 

57.  should,  ought. 

59,  ()0.  As  if.,  alone,  as  if  it  had  some  knowledge  which  it 
wished  to  communicate  to  you  in  privacy. 

61.  waves  you,  invites  you  by  waving  its  hand  :  removed, 
distant  ;  cp.  iV.  7'.  v.  2.  116,  "  siie  hath  ...  visited  that  removed 
house. " 

63.  then,  i.e.  as  it  evidently  will  not  speak  to  me  here. 

64.  should  be,  can  possil)ly  be  ;  see  Ab)j.  fj  325. 

65.  I  do  not  ..  fee,  I  do  not  value  my  life  at  the  worth  of  a 
pin;  set,  used  in  tiie  language  of  gaming  for  'stake';  I  woidd 
not  stake  my  life  as  an  e(juivalent  to  a  pin  ;  fee,  property,  Jiay- 
ment,  from  .A.  8.  /eoh,J'e6,  cattle,  property,  of  which  cattle  were 
the  earliest  form. 

66.  for,  as  regards. 

69.  What  if  flood,  sup[)ose  it  should  temytt  you  to  the 
ocean  :  flood,  t'lKiiutntly  in  this  sense,  e.i/.  M.  X.  D.  ii.  1.  127, 
M.   V.  X.  I.  10. 

71.  That  beetles  ..  sea,  that  hangs  frowningly  over  its  base 
and  di]).-<  (1(juii  into  the  sea;  beetles,  ..  "  tin- idea  was  adopti'd 
from  tiie  M.  K.  Iiilillirinrtd,  beetle-lirowcd,  iiaving  projecting  or 
sliarjj  l)rows ...  .\1.  K.  hilil,  biting,  siiaip"'..   (Skeat,  Kty.  I>i<t.). 

73.  which  might  reason,  the  sight  of  which  might  take  away 
the  controlling  jirinciple  of  your  reason  ;  for  the  constr\K'tion 
here  of  deprive,  see  .Abb.  S  200,  and  for  instances  whcie  pro- 
nominal  and   other  adjectives  are   placed   before   a  whole  com- 

I.. 


162  HAMLET.  [ACT  I. 

pound  noun  instead  of,  as  they  strictly  should  be,  before  the 
second  of  the  two  nouns,  see  Abb.  §  42.3. 

75.  toys  of  desperation,  desperate  fancies;  "an  allusion  to 
what  many  persons  feel  when  on  lofty  heights,  a  desire  of 
throwing  themselves  down  "  (Hunter). 

76.  Without  more  motive,  though  it  have  no  other  induce- 
ment. 

78.  waves  me  still,  still  invites  me,  by  waving  its  arms,  to 
follow  it. 

81.  Be  ruled,  suffer  yourself  to  l)e  contiolled,  over-persuaded, 
by  us  in  this  matter :  My  fate  cries  out,  my  destiny  calls  upon 
me  to  act. 

82,  3.  And  makes  ...  nerve.  Shakespeare  seems  always  to  have 
used  nerve  for  sinew,  tendon  (in  accordance  with  its  derivation 
from  (ik.  vevpov,  a  sinew),  not  for  a  fibre  conveying  sensation  ; 
and  froui  this  passage  to  have  supposed  that  nerve  and  artery 
were  of  the  same  texture,  their  outward  appearance  being  very 
similar,  and  it  not  being  known  in  his  day  that  arteries  convey 
the  blood  from  the  heart.  Cp.  The  Faithful  Friends,  iii.  3,  "  till 
my  ffinH  And  sinews  crack,  I'll  stretch  my  utmost  strength." 
Nemean,  with  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable  as  in  L.  L.  L.  i\;,^J.90. 

85.  I  '11  make  ...  me,  I  '11  send  him  who  hinders  me  to  join  the 
ghost  in  the  regions  below;  to  /e<,  =  to  hinder,  from  A.S.  loet, 
slow;  to  A';*,  =  allow,  from  A.S.  kutan,  to  allow. 

87-  He  waxes  ..  imagination,  liis  excited  imagination  is  driving 
him  into  madness  ;  to  wa.c,  to  grow,  increase,  become. 

89.  Have  after,  let  us  follow  him  ;  frequent  in  Shakespeare,  who 
also  has  '  have  rt/,'  '  have  to,'  '  have  thrmigh,'  '  have  icith,'  •  let  me  ' 
or  '  let  us '  having  to  be  supplied  :  issue,  conclusion,  result. 

90.  rotten,  utterly  unsound  ;  in  a  morbid  state. 

91.  it,  "that  is,  the  issue  "  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.) :  Nay,  let  us  not 
leave  it  to  heaven  to  set  things  right,  but  act  ourselves. 


Scene  V. 

2.  My  hour,  the  time  at  which  I  must  return  to  the  lower 
regions. 

6.  boimd,  Delius  points  out  that  Hamlet  uses  the  word  in  the 
sense  of  ready  to  go  [M.  E.  boun,  ready  to  go],  while  the  (ihost 
takes  it  as  the  past  participle  of  the  verb  to  hind. 

S.  What  ?  sc.  am  I  to  revenge  ! 

10.  to  walk  the  night,  to  spend  the  night  in  wandering  about 
the  earth. 


scENKv.]  NOTES.  103 

IJ.  to  fast  in  flres,  tlie  coinineiitators  quote  passages  from 
CliaiK-er  iiiul  otlier  old  writei's  in  which  among  the  punishments 
of  hfll  are  nientioneil  luinger,  sickness,  frost,  etc.  ;  and  if  a  sj)irit 
can  lie  sensihle  to  fire,  as  was  the  ordinary  helief  in  regard  to 
hell,  tliere  is  no  reason  wliy  it  should  not  ))e  sensihle  to  hunger. 

1'2.  my  days  of  nature,  the  days  of  my  natural  life  ;  or, 
possilily,  the  days  in  wliich  I  was  subject  to  the  passions  of  tlie 
natural  man. 

13.  But...  forbid,  except  that  I  am  forbidden;  if  it  were  not 
that  I  am  forbidden  ;  for  the  curtailed  form  of  tlie  participle,  see 
Abb.  S  34.S. 

14.  my  prison  house,  .^f.  purgatory. 

1().  harrow  up,  see  note  on  i.  1.  44  ;  up  gives  an  intensive  force 
to  the  verb. 

17.  Start  from  their  spheres,  cp.  M.  N.  D.  ii.  1.  153,  "And 
certain  stars  shut  inudhi/rom  their  spheres,  To  hear  the  sea-maid's 
music."  Furnivall  (Tranixictions  of  the  N.  S.  Society,  1S77-9,  ])p. 
431,  etc.)  has  shown  that  in  the  Ptf)lemaic  sj'stem,  which 
Shakespeare  followed,  round  the  earth,  wiiicli  was  the  centre  of 
the  system,  were  nine  hollow  sphei-es,  consisting  of  the  seven 
planets,  the  fixed  stars  or  firmament,  and  the  Primnm  I\Iobilc  ; 
and  that  in  or  on  each  of  the  seven  spheres  was  a  planet  fixed, 
whicli  was  whirled  by  that  sphere  right  round  the  earth  ui 
twenty-four  hours,  the  driving  power  being  the  Primuni  Mabi/f. 

15.  knotted  and  combined,  closely  interwoven  with  each 
other. 

19.  particular,  separate,  individual :  an  end,  for  a-,  represent- 
ing a  preposition,  such  as  in,  on,  of,  and  retaining  the  n  for 
euphony,  see  Abb.  S  24. 

20.  fretful  porpentine,  easily  irritated  porcupine,  which  in  its 
nervous  excitement  erects  its  bristles  ;  Skeat  shows  that  the 
animal  had  formerly  two  very  similar  names,  "(1)  porkepyn, 
siiortly  porpin,  easily  lengthened  to  porpint ...  and  finally  altered 
to  porpi-ntivp  ...  and  (2)  pork-point,  por/ioint  "  ..  ="a  'pork  '  or 
])ig  fui-nished  with  points  or  sharp  ((uills,"  and  that  the  niodein 
porrnpinr  is  fif)m  the-  M.  K.  ])()iki-i)yn  from  O.  F.  pore  es/tiu,  the 
jiig  with  spines,  ultimately  from  Lat.  ■•^/liiia,  a  tliorn. 

21.  2.  But  this  .  blood,  but  this  proclaination  of  the  world 
beyond  must  not  be  made  to  those  still  in  tiie  ilesh  :  in  eternal 
thei'e  is  a  contr-ast  betw(;en  the  everlasting  and  s])iritual  world, 
and  that  tcmporarN'  world  in  which  flesh  and  blood,  i.e.  material 
life  exist  ;  blazon,  according  to  Skeat,  is  a  cori'tiption  of  hlazc. 
in  the  sense  of  to  blaze  abroad,  proclaim,  the  final  »  being  due  (1 ) 
to  M.  K.  hla>»n,  to  trnmj)et  forth,  and  (2)  to  confusion  with 
hla'.on  in  the  purely  heraldic  sense. 


164  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

27,  8.  Murder  . . .  unnatural,  murder  most  foul,  as  it  is  even 
in  circumstances  where  there  is  some  palliation,  such  as  long- 
existing  hatred,  great  provocation  ;  but  in  my  case  doulily  foul, 
as  l)eing  of  so  strange  and  unnatural  a  character,  the  murder  of  a 
brother  bj'  a  brother  to  whom  nothing  but  brotherly  love  had 
ever  been  shown. 

29.  Haste  me  to  know  't.  let  me  quickly  know  it ;  quickly  j^ut 
me  in  the  position  of  learning  it. 

30.  meditation,  in  its  original  sense,  has  the  idea  of  pondering, 
dwelling  upon  a  thing  ;  and  if  here  taken  ff)r  the  process  of 
thought,  is  somewhat  tautological  with  thoughts  of  love.  War- 
burton  takes  the  word  in  the  sense  given  it  by  the  Mystics, 
"  that  flight  of  the  mind  which  aspires  to  the  enjoyment'  of  the 
supreme  Good," — a  sense  which  seems  very  forced  here. 

31.  sweep,  like  a  whirlwind  :  apt,  ready  and  fitted  for  the  pur- 
pose. 

.32-4.  And  duller  ...  tMs,  and  more  sluggish  would  you  neces- 
sarily prove  yourself  than  that  heavy  weed  whose  torpid  growth 
clings  to  the  banks  of  Lethe,  if  you  were  unwilling  to  bestir 
yourself  in  avenging  my  Tnurde'r.  For  roDts.  the  folios  give  rots, 
and  this  reading  is  preferred  by  some  editors,  who  compare  A .  C. 
i.  4.  47,  "To  rot  itself  by  motion."  Xo  two  ideas,  however, 
could  be  more  unlike.  In  A.  >'.  the  "  var/ahond  flag"  (i.e.  the 
water-plant.  Iris)  is  represented  in  iiiid-fttream  borne  forwards 
and  backwards  by  each  flow  and  ebb  of  the  tide  till  at  last  it  is 
rotted  away  by  its  constant  action  ;  here  the  fat  weed  lazily  and 
securely  adheres  to  the  hanJ:.  For  Lethe  ("the  river  of  oblivion," 
P.  L.  583),  u.sed  as  an  adjective,  see  Abb.  §  22  ;  for  shouldst,  § 
322,  and  for  wouldst,  =were  disposed,  willing,  §  331. 

35.  given  out,  currently  reported. 

36-8.  so  the  whole  ...  abused,  the  consequence  of  which  is  that 
eveiy  one  in  Denmark  is  grossly  deceived  by  a  forged  storj'  of 
the  manner  in  which  I  met  my  death  ;  cp.  ff.  ///.  iv.  3.  32,  "the 
-jtroctfoi  of  their  death. "  The  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  think  that  the  word 
here  has  perhaps  "  the  sense  of  an  official  narrative,  coming 
nearly  to  the  meaning  of  the  French  proccs  rerha/." 

39.  did  sting  . . .  life,  stung  your  father  to  death. 

40.  prophetic,  see  above,  i.  2.  254. 

4.3.  With  witchcraft  ...  gifts,  cp.  Jf.  N.  D.  i.  L  27-35: 
traitorous  in  ])eing  given  for  the  purpose  of  winning  away  her 
love  from  her  husband. 

45.  won  to,  won  over  to,  persuaded  her  to  yield  to. 

47.  falling-off,  desertion,  act  of  faithlessness  :  cp.  i.  H.  IV.  \. 
3.   94,   ' '  He  never  did  fall  off,  my  sovereign  liege,  But  by  the 


SCENE  v.]  NOTES.  165 

chance  of  war  "  :  Lfnr,  i.  2.    116,  "  friendship /a/A«  o//;  Inotliers 
divide. " 

4S-ri(».  whose  love  ...  marriage,  whose  love  was  so  worthy  of 
the  name  tliat  it  nevei-  for  a  inonicnt  swerved  from  the  vow  made 
to  her  at  the  altar  ;  even,  exactly,  precisely. 

TtO'l.  and  to  decline  .  .  mine  !  and  to  tliink  that  she  should  not 
only  ftirsakf  iiu',  luit  fdr.sake  me  for  a  miseiahle  creature  whose 
natural  gifts  could  not  for  a  moment  comj)aie  with  mine  !  For 
to,  =  in  conij)ai'ison  with,  see  Ahb.  §  18". 

53,  4.  But  virtue  ...  heaven,  but  just  as  virtue  (i.e.  a  really 
virtuous  ])erson)  will  never  be  led  astray  even  though  it  be 
solicited  by  lewdness  (('.(.  a  lewd  person)  in  the  garb  of  an  angel ; 
virtue  here  is  a  noun  absolute  ;  see  Abb.  ii  417  ;  level,  originally 
'  lay,'  '  belonging  to  the  laity,'  then  '  untaught,'  '  ignorant,'  then 
'base,"  '  vile.  ^ 

.5.1-7.  So  lust  ...  garbage,  so  lust  {ij .  a  lustful  person),  though 
linked  in  mairiage  with  one  as  white  of  soul  as  a  radiant  angel, 
will  ravenously  glut  itself  with  garbage  even  in  a  bed  of  heavenly 
purity  ;  cp.  Cymh.  i.  5.  47-50,  "  The  cloyed  will,  That  satiate  yet 
unsatisfied  desire,  ...  ravening  first  the  lamb  Longs  after  for  the 
f/arhai/e  "  :  sate,  a  shortened  form  of  natiate ;  garbage,  ofit'al, 
refuse. 

."jS.  soft  1  let  me  pause  in  these  reflections  and  go  on  quickly 
with  my  story. 

59.  orcliard,  garden  ;  as  always  in  Shakespeare  ;  literally  ort- 
yard,  a  yard  for  orts  or  worts  ;  now  used  only  for  a  garden  of 
fruit-trees. 

60.  My  custom,  /.<.  which,  or  as,  is  my  custom  :  of  the  after- 
noon,  during  the  afternoon  ;  see  Abl).  j?  17<i. 

61.  Upon...  stole,  your  uncle  crept  softly  upon  me  in  my  un- 
guarded iiour,  at  a  time  when  I  fancied  myself  safe. 

62.  hebenon,  jjrobably  ehcmy,  thcjugh  by  some  thought  to  be 
henbaiii .  lioth  are  spoken  of  as  being  jioisonous,  cij.  Marlowe, 
Jew  of  Malta,  iii.  4.  99,  "  The  juice  of  hehou,"  mentioned  in  a  list 
of  poisons  ;  Drayton,  Bacon'. ^  Ma>-.s' (quoted  by  Stcevens),  "Tlie 
pois"ning  hinhane  and  the  mandrake  drad."'  In  regard  to  tlu; 
latter,  <ircy  refers  to  Pliny,  who  states  that  the  oil  made  from 
the  seeds  of  this  plant,  instilled  into  the  cars,  will  injure  the 
understanding  ;  and  Caldccott  jjoints  out  that  "  tiic  eminent 
surgeon,  Ambroise  Pai-c,  Shakespeare's  contemj)orary,  was  sus- 
pected of  having,  when  lie  dressed  the  ear  of  Francis  II.,  infused 
jKiison  into  it."  liut  the  Lat.  hehi-nvni.  ebony,  is  so  near  to 
h^lii  noil,  that  it  can  scarcely  be  doid)lcd  that  Shakespeare  meant 
this  tree. 

63.  porches,  entrances. 


1(56  HAMLET.  [act  I. 

64.  leperous,  producing  upon  the  skin  blotches  like  those  in  a 
leper  :  whose  effect,  which  in  its  effect. 

65.  Holds  ,.,  man,  is  so  hostile  to  the,  etc. 

66.  quicksilver,  mercury  ;  quick-,  in  its  lively,  fluid  state,  as 
opposed  to  solid,  though  the  mineral  has  really  no  connection 
with  silver  :  courses,  rushes. 

67.  The  natural  ...  body,  the  passages  and  channels  of  the 
body,  but  here  especially  of  the  veins  ;  gates,  gateways. 

68-70.  And  with  . . .  blood,  and  with  a  sudden  energy  thickens 
and  curdles  with  the  same  effect  as  that  of  acids  upon  milk,  when 
dropped  into  it,  the  blood  which,  while  in  a  healthy  state,  is  thin 
and  fluid  ;  a  posstt,  from  which  Shakespeare  forms  the  verb,  was 
a  drink  generally  composed  of  hot  milk  curdled  l)y  being  poured 
upon  ale  or  sack,  and  was  much  in  vogue  at  the  time  ;  for  eager, 
see  note  on  i.  4.  2. 

71-3,  And  a  most ...  body,  and  a  most  instantaneous  eruption 
spread  over  my  skin,  covering  it  with  a  loathsome  crust  such  as 
is  seen  upon  lepers  ;  bark'd,  formed  as  a  bark  or  crust ;  Inzar,  a 
person  afflicted  with  sores  such  as  those  of  Lazarus  in  the 
parable  ;  see  Luke,  xvi.  20. 

75.  dispatch'd,  suddenly  deprived  of  ;  more  properly  belonging 
to  life  than  to  crown  or  queen  :  cp.  Lear,  iv.  5.  12,  "  Edmund, 
I  think,  is  gone  ...  to  dispafrh  His  nighted  life." 

76.  even  in  ...  sin,  even  when  my  sins  were  in  full  blossom. 

77.  unhousel'd,  without  having  received  the  sacrament  ad- 
ministered to  dying  persons:  from  A..S.  hiisel,  the  eucharist : 
disappointed,  unprepared  ;  not  furnished,  or  appointed,  with  t;he 
religious  consolations  given  to  a  dying  man  :  so  in  T.  N.  K.  iii. 
6.  136,  we  have,  "like  knight  appointed,"  i.e.  fully  furnished 
with  everything  necessary  in  the  way  of  arms  and  armour  : 
unaneled,  without  having"  received  extreme  unction,  the  cere- 
mony in  the  Catliolic  Church  of  anointing  a  dying  person  with 
holy  oil;  from  A.S.  ''on,  upon,  and  elan,  to  oil,  ...horn  el  e,  sub- 
stantive, oil"  (vSkeat,  Ely.  Diet.). 

78.  No  reckoning  made,  without  having  made  my  reckoning 
with  God  by  confession  of  my  sins  and  repentance  :  sent  to  my 
account,  sent  to  answer  for  my  sins  before  the  judgment-seatof 
God;  cp.  A'.  /.  iv.  2.  216,  "0,  when  the  last  account  'twixt 
heaven  and  earth  Is  to  be  nuide." 

79.  imperfections,  shortcomings. 

81.  nature,  any  feelings  of  natural  afi'ection  for  me  and  of 
natural  regard  for  your  mother's  honour. 

83.  luxury,  lust  :  as  always  in  Shakespeare,  the  adjective  and 
the  adverb  having  the  same  idea. 


SCKNF.V.l  NOTKS.  167 

S4.  howsoever  . . .  act,  whatcNcr  measures  you  nuiy  take  to 
punisli  till'  inunliTi'i . 

S."),  (j.  Taint  not  ...aught,  do  not  allow  your  miiul  to  bu  in  any 
way  poisoned,  or  your  soul  to  plot  any  injury,  against  your 
motlier  :  leave  her  to  heaven,  leave  her  to  he  punished  hy  (iod. 

87-  thorns,  pricks  of  conscience. 

89.  matin,  morning  ;  not  elsewhere  found,  though  we  still  use 
r)ia(iii'i,  1.1'.  morning  prayers  :  from  Lat.  matiitiniis,  belonging  to 
the  morning. 

90.  his  uneflfectual  fire,  his  tire  rendered  ineffectual  by  the 
morning  beams  ;  a  proleptic  sense.  Halliwell  points  out  that 
.strictly  speaking  his  should  be  h<r,  the  female  only  giving  the 
light. 

9.3.   shall  I  couple  hell  ?  shall  I  invoke  the  powers  of  hell  also? 

94.  instant,  suddenl}-. 

95.  stiflSy,  tirndy,  unshrinkingly. 

96.  7.  while  memory  ..  globe,  so  long  as  my  brain  remendiers 
anything  ;  so  long  as  memory  is  not  deposed  fi-om  her  throne  in 
the  brain ;  said  as  he  points  to  his  head  ;  distracted,  wracked 
with  agonizing  thoughts. 

98.  table,  tablets;  cp.  T.  G.  ii.  7.  3,  "Who  art  the  table 
wherein  all  my  thoughts  Are  visibly  charaeter'd  and  engraved. " 

99.  fond,  foolish,  frivolous  :  records,  accented  on  the  latter 
syllable,  as  more  usually  in  Sluikespearc. 

100.  saws,  sayings,  maxims ;  forms,  images  formed  in  the  mind ; 
pressures,  impressions  ;  cp.  iii.  2.  27. 

101.  That  youth  ...  there,  that  my  youthful  observation  has  set 
down  there.  /.  < .  in  tiie  tablets  of  his  nn'Uiory. 

1(>"2.   live,  have  lasting  record. 

lO.S,  book  and  volume,  the  reduii<lancy  gives  tlie  idea  of 
completeness:  the  one  thing  contained  in  the  whole  of  the 
pages. 

104,  Unmixd  matter,  unalloyed  by  anything  of  meaner 
impiii'tan<'('. 

107,  My  tables, —  let  me  get  out  my  tal)lets  :  set  it  down, 
make  a  nuinoiaudum  of  it. 

1 10,  So,  uncle,  there  you  are,  sn,  uncle,  now  1  Iimac  gf)t  my 
uii  iiioiandum  about  you  set  down  in  bla(-'k  and  white  ;  Now 
word,  now  for  the  injunction  given  me  by  my  father,  .vc.  the 
words  Adieu  .  .  me.  Vm-  word,  used  of  a  phrase,  cp.  R.  II.  i.  '^. 
1;V2.  "The  hopeless  vorit  of  '  never  to  return"";  //.  ./.  i.  4.  40. 
"Tut,  dun's  the  mouse,   the  con.stable's  own  word."     Stecvens 


168  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

supposes  word  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  watch-word,  given  every 
day  in  military  service. 

113.  secure  him,  protect  him  from  injury. 

114.  So  be  it!  In  the  quartos  these  words  are  given  to  Hamlet; 
in  the  folios,  to  Marcellus,  and  as  =  '  amen  '  they  seem  a  natural 
answer  on  the  part  of  Marcellus  to  Horatio's  prayer.  From 
Horatio's  again  calling  out  (1.  115)  it  appears  that  he  and 
Marcellus  did  not  hear  Hamlet's  reply,  ii  these  wdrds  are 
Hamlet's,  and  consequently  Hamlet  may  not  haA'e  heard 
Horatio's  exclamation  Heaven  secure  Mm  !  which  M'ould  not 
have  been  uttered  in  the  same  loud  tone  as  the  cry  in  1.  113. 
It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  -words,  if  Hamlet's,  can  only  refer 
to  some  resolution  at  which  he  has  arrived,  or  some  action  he 
has  completed. 

116.  come,  bird,  come,  "this  is  the  call  which  falconers  use  to 
their  hawk  in  the  air,  when  they  would  have  liim  come  down 
to  them  "  (Hanmer)  ;  Handet  taking  up  Horatio's  call,  as  used 
in  falconry,  carries  on  in  his  I'eply  the  language  of  that  pursuit. 

121.  once,  so  much  as  once  ;  ever. 

122.  But  you'll  be  secret?  Handet  pretends  to  pause,  just  as 
he  is  about  to  disclose  wJiat  had  happened,  for  a  further  assur- 
ance from  Horatio  and  Marcellus  that  they  will  never  reveal 
what  he  may  tell  them. 

124.   But  he  's,  without  his  being  ;  who  is  not. 

127.  without  ...  all.  without  further  ceremony;  cp.  ir.  T.  v. 
1.  90,  "  liis  approach  8o  dut  o/ circumstance  and  sudden." 

128.  I  hold  ...  part,  it  seems  better  that  we  should,  etc.  ; 
shake  and  part,  subjunctives. 

129.  You,  as...  you,  you  to  occupy  yourselves  in  such  r,  way 
as,  etc. 

13f>.  For  every  ...  desire,  I  say  'business  and  desire^'  for  you, 
like  other  men,  are  sure  to  have  some,  etc. 

131.  Such  as  it  is,  whatever  it  may  be. 

132.  go  pray,  for  the  omission  of  '  to,'  see  Abb.  §  349. 

133.  whirling,  extravagant,  inconsequent. 

136.  faint  Patrick,  Shakespeare  probably  named  the  first 
saint  that  came  into  his  head,  and  had  no  such  subtle  intention 
in  choosing  tlie  patron  saint  of  Ireland  as  some  commentators 
suppose.  He  makes  his  characters  swear  by  a  variety  of 
saints  without  much  regard  for  tlieir  special  functions  or 
character. 

137.  And  much  offence  too,  "Handet  purposely  misunder- 
stands his  friend's  words  in  order  to  evade  their  inquiries.  At 
first  he  pretends  that  his  words  have  given  offence,  whereas  his 


SCENE  V.  NOTES.  1 69 

friends  have  merely  found  them  \ague  ;  and  when  they  reply 
that  there  is  no  ortence,  lie  takes  '  ofifence  '  in  a  wider  sense  as  a 
'crime,'  and  refers  it  to  the  crime  of  his  uncle  that  had  just  been 
divulged  to  him  "  (l)elius). 

l.SS.  that  let  me  tell  you,  so  mucli  it  is  well  you  should  know  ; 
siiid  as  tlinugli  lie  wi'ie  really  confiding  something  to  them. 

139.  what  is  between  us,  the  secret  between  myself  and  the 
Ghost. 

140.  O'ermaster  t  as  you  may,  I  must  recommend  you  to  curb 
it  as  best  you  may. 

141.  As  you  are  ...  soldiers,  on  your  faith  as,  etc. 

14(i.  not  I,    I.I.  I  will  not  divulge  it. 

147.  Upon  my  sword,  it  was  customary  to  swear  upon  a  sword, 
the  hilt  of  which  with  the  blade  formed  a  cross. 

1 49.  Indeed, , . .  indeed,  strongly  emphasizing  his  demand.  Staun- 
ton prints  (/(  deed,  in  deed,  and  e.xplains,  "Not  in  words  only, 
l>ut  in  act,  in  J'orm  ;  upon  the  cross  of  my  sword  swear  your- 
selves." 

bXt.  truepenny,  according  to  Collier,  "  a  mining  term,  signify- 
ing a  paiticular  indication  in  the  soil  of  the  direction  in  which 
ore  is  to  be  found  "  ;  but  the  term  was  evidently  used  in  a  wider 
sense,  for  in  'I  he  Retxiiiie  J'rcm  Pemas-sn.s  (quoted  in  tlie  iV^.  S. 
Soriffy'.s  TraiiHactioiiH  for  1877-9,  p.  466),  we  have,  "  AVhat  have 
we  here  ?  old  true-penny  come  to  towne,  to  fetch  away  the  lining 
in  l:is  old  greasie  slops  ...  the  time  hatli  beene  wlien  such  a  fellow 
medled  with  nothing  but  his  plowshare,  his  spade,  and  his  hob- 
nailes,  and  so  to  a  peece  of  bread  and  cheese,  and  went  his 
way  ■'  ;  from  which  the  word  appears  to  have  been  nothing  more 
than  a  familiarly  contemptuous  term  a])plied  to  a  countryman, 
much  as  'gaffer'  (i.e.  grandfatlier)  is  still  used  in  villages  to  old 
men.  Marston,  The  Mulcontent,  iii.  1.  250,  has '•  Illo,  ho,  ho, 
ho  I  art  there,  old  trvepenvy"  made  uj)  of  Horatio's  words  in  1.  1 15 
and  Hamlet's  here,  in  sarcastically  addressing  Mendo/a. 

151.  cellarage,  not  exactly  the  same  as  'cellar,'  but  under- 
ground rooms  suital)le  for  cellars  ;  here  of  course  meaning  noth- 
ing more  than  undergFound. 

15.3.  Never  ...  seen,  i.e.  swear  never,  etc. 

1;")6.  Hie  et  ubique,  here  and  everywliere  ;  wliat,  says  Hamlet, 
are  you  lierc,  tlicre.  and  everywhere? 

l.">8.  9.   And  lay  ...  heard,  /.'.  and  swear  iievei-,  etc. 

Iti'J.  canst  ..  fast?  can  you  luiriow  in  the  earth  like  a  mole  so 
f.ist  that  you  have  already  reached  the  point  directly  undei-  tiie 
spot  to  which  we  luive  moved  ? 


170  '  HAMLET.  [act  i. 

163.  A  worthy  pioner  I  well  done  !  you  are  an  excellent  pioneer  ; 
for  the  form  of  the  word,  see  Alib.  §  492. 

164.  0  day  ...  strange  !  I  call  day  and  night  to  witness  if  this 
be  not  wondrous  strange  ;  i.e.  assuredly  this  is  wondrous  strange. 

165.  And  therefore  ...  welcome,  if,  as  you  say,  it  is  strange, 
then  treat  it  with  the  courteous  welcome  you  would  give  to  a 
stranger. 

166.  7.  There  are  ...  philosophy,  to  you  this  may  seem  very 
strange,  but  that  is  only  because  there  are  many  more  things  in 
heaven  and  earth  than  the  philosopny  to  which  you  are  so  ad- 
dicted ever  conceived  ;  for  your,  in  this  colloquial  sense,  see 
Abb.  §  221. 

169.  so  help  you  mercy,  promise  as  you  hope  to  find  the  mercy 
of  God  in  your  hour  of  need. 

170.  How  strange  ...  myself,  however  strange  and  odd  I  may 
be  in  my  manner. 

172.  an  antic  disposition,  a  fantastic  behaviour  ;  antic,  liter- 
ally old,  then  old-fashioned,  quaint. 

174.  encumber'd,  locked  one  with  the  other,  like  a  man  in 
deep  thought ;  an  attitude  which  Hamlet  imitates  as  he  speaks. 
To  enaimher  is  literally  to  load,  hence  to  impede  freedom  of 
action,  as  would  be  the  case  with  the  arms  folded  :  this  head- 
shake,  this  grave  shake  of  the  head  assuming  intense  wisdom  ; 
this  Lord-Burleigh-like  nod  of  the  head. 

175.  pronouncing  of,  see  .4bb.  §  178  :  doubtful,  enigmatical. 

176.  '  Well,  well,  we  know,'  sc.  but  do  not  care  to  tell  :  '  We 
could  ...  would,'  we  could  explain  all  this,  if  we  thought  proper 
to  do  so  ;  for  an  if,  see  Ablj.  §  108. 

177.  If  we  list,  if  we  should  so  please  ;  list,  subjunctive  from 
A.S.  lystan,  to  desire,  used  impersonally:  'There  be...  might,' 
there  are  those  who  corild  explain  this,  if  they  were  allowed  to 
do  so  ;  be,  used  with  an  affectation  of  profound  wisdom. 

178.  giving  out,  declaration;  cp.  Ofh.  iv.  1.  l.*^!,  "  This  is  the 
monkey's  own  i/iri-iig  out "'  ;  to  note,  to  indicate  by  the  outMard 
signs  of  manner  or  speech.  The  construction  of  the  sentence, 
which  began  with  you  never  shall,  liecomes  changed,  owing  to 
the  long  parenthesis,  t  >  (never)  to  note;  cp.  K.  J.  v.  2.  37-9, 
"  Where  these  two  Cliristian  armies  might  combine  The  blood  of 
malice  in  a  vein  of  league,  And  not  to  spend  it  so  unneigh- 
bourly." 

179-81.  this  not  to  do  ...  Swear,  svveai',  according  as  you  hope 
that  heaven's  grace  and  mercy  may  help  you  in  your  time  of  need, 
not  to  do  this  ;  the  oath  which  Hamlet  calls  upon  them  to  take 
would  be  '  I  swear,  so  help  me  grace  and  mercy  at  my  most  need, 


SCENKV.]  NOTES.  171 

nut  to  do  so,"  tlio  liflj)  of  grace  and  mercy  being  made  by  the 
takor  of  tlie  oath  conditional  npon  Iiis  keeping  it ;  for  most,  used 
for  i/reates',  sec  Aljl).  (5  17. 

184.  With  all ...  you,  M'ith  my  best  love  I  reconnnend  myself  to 
you  ;  by  an  avowal  of  my  gi'eat  love  to  you  I  .solicit  a  return  of 
c<jual  love  to  myself  ;  a  polite  form  of  fare^^  ell. 

185.  Hamlet,  Clai-ke  notes  in  this  use  of  the  third  person  the 
characteristic  "'of  the  y)hilosophic  man,  —  reflective,  thougiitful, 
given  to  moraljy.c  ami  .speak  in  the  abstract.'"  In  the  mouth  of 
CiesTir  and  ot  AlacbcUi  the  fl'('((iiuit  use  is  characteristic  of  arro- 
gance. 

186.  friending,  friendship  shown  in  action. 

187.  God  willing,  if  it  so  please  God  :  shall  not  lack,  shall  not 
be  wanting'. 

188.  And  still  ...  lips,  and  ever  be  silent  of  what  you  have 
seen  ;  the  ])lac)ng  of  the  finger  upon  the  lips  being  a  sign  that 
silence  is  to  be  kept. 

189.  out  of  joint,  utterly  disordered  ;  a  meta])hor  fiom  a  bone 
which  has  sli])pcd  from  its  proper  juncture  with  another  bone, 
the  same  metaphor  being  apparently  mixed  up  with  that  of 
setting  a  clock. 

189,90.  0  cursed  spite ...  right,  "Hamlet  does  not  lament 
that  the  disjointed  time  is  to  be  sef  rif/ht  by  him,  l)Ut  that  he  ... 
whose  duty  it  of  necessity  becomes  to  set  the  time  right,  should 
hare  hefu  born  "  (Seymour). 

191.  Nay,  ...together,  saiil  as  Hoi-atio  and  Marcellus  are  on 
the  point  of  lea\ing  liim,  under  the  idea  that  he  wished  to  be  left 
alone. 


Act  II.     ScHXE  I. 

1.  notes,  memorandums  of  advice;  cj).  Ci/mh.  i.  1.  171,  "left 
these  iiotfx  Of  what  commands  I  should  be  subject  to." 

3.  You  shall  ...  wisely,  the  vain  old  man  cojnplimcnts  himself 
in  comj)liiri(  iiting  Itcynaldo  ;  shall,  you  will  ccitainly  ;  see  Abb. 
§  31. ">  ;  marvellous,  used  adverbially. 

4,  .■».  to  make  ...  behaviour,  to  makt^incjuiries  as  toJiow  he  has 
borne  himself  since  he  an  i\cd  in  Paris  ;  the  folios  give  hiqniri/, 
but  in  J'l-r.  iii.  I'r.  22.  we  have  hiqiiin'  as  a  su',)stantive,  necessary 
to  the  rhyme,  and  though  that  Prologue  is  by  (Jowei-  it  is 
authority  for  the  existence  of  the  Wf)rd. 

n.  well  said,  you  are  (|uitr'  light  ;  a  fi'c(|ucnt  ex)>i-cssion  of 
approval  of  deeds  a.s  well  as  words. 


172  HAMLET.  [actu. 

7.  Inquire  me,  inquire  on  my  account  ;  on  the  old  dative  =  for 
me,  by  me,  see  Abb.  §  220:  Danskers,  " />a»,.s/.r,  for  Denmark, 
occurs  often  in  Warner's  Albion  >i  En<jland  "  (Capell). 

8.  And  how  ..  keep,  and  what  their  manner  of  life  is,  who  they 
are,  what  their  resources,  income,  and  in  what  part  of  the  city 
they  live  ;  keep,  dwell  ;  a  term  still  in  use  in  the  Universities. 

9.  What  company  . . .  expense,  what  company  they  keep,  whom 
they  entertain,  and  how  much  they  spend  in  such  hospitality  ; 
inquiries  by  means  of  which  it  may  be  indirectly  ascertained 
whether  they  are  companions  of  Laertes. 

10.  By  this  ...  question,  by  this  roundabout  way  in  which 
your  questioning  drives  at  its  purpose;  cp.  iii.  1.  1,  "drift  of 
circumstance  "  ;  and  iii.  3.  83,  "  in  our  circumstance  and  course 
of  thought. " 

11.  know,  are  acqiiainted  with. 

11,2.  come  you  ...  it,  approach  more  nearly  to  the  subject  than 
these  demands  regarding  particulars  will  Ijring  you  ;  for  it,  used 
indefinitely,  see  Abb.  §  226. 

13.  Take  ...  him,  pretend  that  you  have  some  distant  acquaint- 
ance with  him. 

14.  As  thus,  saying  for  instance. 

17.  hut...  well,  adding  '  but  only  slightly.' 

19.  Addicted  so  and  so,  with  such  and  such  propensities. 

19,  20.  and  there  ...  please,  and  at  this  point,  when  you  ha\e 
got  so  far  in  your  conversation,  you  may  put  upon  him  any 
imputations  you  think  fit :  rank,  gross. 

22-4.  But  ...  liberty,  l)ut  imputations  of  such  wildness  and 
extravagances  as  are  commonly  found  to  be  the  accompaniments 
of  youth  when  not  kept  in  too  strait-laced  control  ;  of  young 
fellows  when  not  tied,  as  we  say,  to  their  mother's  apron-strings; 
for  slips,  cp.  0th.  iv.  1.  9,  "So  they  do  nothing,  'tis  a  venial 
slip." 

2.5.  fencing,  "I  suppose  it  means  piquing  himself  on  his  skill  in 
the  use  of  the  sword,  and  consequently  quairelling  and  brawling. 
'  The  cunning  of  Fencers  applied  to  (juarrelling. '  Gosson,  Schoole 
of  Abuse  "  (Malone). 

2(5.  you  may  go  so  far,  you  may  venture  to  bring  these  charges 
against  him. 

28.  "Faith,  i.r.  in  faith,  indeed:  as  you  ...  charge,  if  you 
qualify  the  accusation,  as  you  may  do  l)y  plausible  excuses. 

29.  another  scandal,  the  further  reproach. 

30.  open  to,  liable  to  the  charge  of  incoutinency. 


SCENE  I.]  NOTES.  173 

31.  breathe,  utter,  give  voice  to  :  quaintly,  with  such  ingeni- 
ous reservations. 

32.  the  taints  of  liberty,  the  faults  wiiich  naturally  arise  from 
a  young  man  lieing  so  completely  his  own  master. 

'^'i.  fiery,  lli^'ll-spiritc(l,  im))ctuous. 

.'U.  A  savageness  ...  blood,  a  wildness  such  as  is  found  in  hot- 
blooded  young  men  not  yet  tamed  hy  tiie  stern  discij>line  of  life; 
the  language  is  from  falconry,  in  which  pursuit  to  '  reclaim  '  (i.e. 
to  call  back)  a  hawk  was  to  bring  it  to  obedience  in  stoo])ing  to 
the  lure  ;  thus  Cotgrave,  "  /%'tc/ame,  a  loud  calling,  whooting, 
whooping,  to  make  a  Hawk  stoop  unto  the  lure." 

3.").   Of  general  assault,  to  tlie  attack  of  wliich  all  are  liable. 

.30.  Wherefore  ...  this  ?  you  would  ask  me  why  I  niakc  these 
suggestions  to  3'ou. 

37.  would,  should  like  to  :  drift,  that  at  which  I  am  driving; 
my  secret  ol)ject. 

38.  a  fetch  of  warrant,  a  well-approved  design  ;  a  stratagem 
which  will  be  justified  by  its  success  ;  cp.  Lear,  ii.  4.  90,  "  Mere 
fttchen"  i.e.  pretexts  ;  the  quartos  read  '  a  fetch  of  wit,^  i.e.  a 
cunning  stratagem. 

39.  You  laying ...  son,  you  having  iuiputeil  these  trivial 
blemishes  to  my  son. 

40.  As  'twere  . . .  working,  comparing  him  in  that  way  to 
something  that  by  being  used  has  lost  somewhat  of  its  first 
gloss. 

42.  Your  ...  converse,  the  person  with  whom  you  are  talking: 
him  you  would  sound,  he,  I  mean,  to  the  bottom  of  wliose 
tliouglits  you  wi.sli  to  get;  the  figure  is  that  of  taking  soundings 
at  sea  ;  on  him,  put  for.Ae  by  attraction  to  whom  uiulerstood,  see 
Abl>.  §  208. 

43-5.  Having  ever  consequence,  if  he  has  ever  seen  the  youth 
you  speak  of  guilty  of  the  sins  already  mentioned,  he  will  be 
sure  to  endorse  your  remarks  witli,  show  his  agreenient  by,  some 
such  words  as  these  ;  for  consequence,  lliat  wliich  follows,  cp. 
0th.  ii.  3.  65,  "If  roiisefpieiirt  do  Ijut  approve  my  dream." 

46.  or  80,  or  something  of  the  sort. 

47,  8.  According ...  country,  using  .such  jjhraseology  as  is 
customary  in  hi.'-  country  or  such  title  as  is  {.'enerally  applied  to 
men  ;  phrase  going  with  country,  addition  with  man  :  (•)>.  IT.  7'. 
iii.  2.  164,  .5,  "  though  I  witli  dcatli  and  with  Reward  did 
threaten  and  encourage  him  "  ;  for  addition,  see  note  on  i.  4.  20. 

.")0.  mass,  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist  in  the  Catholic  Church. 

51.   leave,  break  off. 


174  HAMLET.  [ACT  II. 

55.  He  closes  with  you  thus,  he  agrees  with  you  in  these  words. 

57.  Or  then,  or  then,  or  at  some  time  or  other  :  with  such,  or 
such,  accompanied  by  such  and  such  jjersons. 

58.  o'ertook.  overpowered  by  drink  ;  an  euphemism  for 
'  drunk  '  :  's,  liis  :  rouse,  see  note  on  i.  2.  127. 

59.  falling' out,  WTangling  ;  witli  the  French,  tennis  was  a  par- 
ticularly favourite  game,  and  it  was  from  that  country  tliat  it 
was  l)rought  to  England.  In  the  Scornful  Lady,  1.  1,  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher  speak  of  being  in  France  and  playing  tennis  as 
almost  synonjanous  ;  ' '  And  after  your  whole  year  spent  in 
tennis  and  broken  speech,"  Loveless  Ijeing  about  to  visit  France. 

61.  Your  bait  of  falsehood,  this  falsehood  which  I  suggested 
to  you  to  use  as  a  bait ;  takes  ...  truth,  catches  this  fish,  viz.  the 
truth  of  the  matter;  cp.  3f.  V.  i.  1.  101,  2,  "But  fish  not, 
with  this  melancholy  bait,  For  this  fool  gudgeon,  this  opinion  "  ; 
bait  of,  bait  made  of,  consisting  in. 

62.  we  of...  reach,  we  men  of  wisdom  and  far-reaching  in- 
tellect ;  the  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  compare  L.  L.  L.  iv.  2.  30,  "we  or' 
taste  and  feeling." 

6.3.  windlasses,  a  writer  in  the  Edinhurrih  Review  for  Jiily, 
1869,  shows  that  in  Shakespeai'e's  day  wind/a-i--^,  "literally  a 
winding,  was  used  to  expi-ess  taking  a  circuitous  course,  fetching 
a  compass,  making  an  indirect  advarice,  oi'  Inore  colloquially 
beating  about  the  bush  instead  of  going  directly  to  a  place  or 
object";  he  quotes  Golding's  translation  of  Ovid,  "Continued 
not  directly  forth  l)ut  gan  me  down  to  stoupe  And  fetched  a 
irindlax-^e  round  about'';  and  again,  "  Nor  make  a  irind/as  over 
all  the  champion  fields  aljout "'  :  assays  of  bias,  indirect 
attempts  ;  the  bias  was  the  weight  put  into  the  bowl,  at  the 
game  of  bowls,  to  make  it  travel  in  a  curved  path  so  as  to  avoid 
other  bowls  in  its  way,  or  to  counteracf  the  lie  of  the  ground  ; 
cp.  A'.  ./.  ii.  1.  574-8,  "Commodity,  the  bias  of  the  world  ...  this 
vile-drawing  bia-<i.  This  sway  of  motion." 

64.  indirections,  olilicjue  courses ;  cp.  K.  J.  iii.  1.  276, 
"though  indirect,  Yet  indirection  thereby  grows  direct." 

65.  So  by  ...  advice,  so  by  following  out  the  lesson  of  advice  I 
just  now  gave  you  :  lecture  and  advice,  a  hendiadys. 

66.  You  have  me,  you  understand  me,  take  me. 

69.  in  yourself,  for  yourself  ;  not  being  content  with  what  you 
hear  of  his  conduct,  but  using  your  own  observation  also  as  to  his 
tendencies. 

71.  And  let  ..  music,  probably,  as  it  is  generally  taken,  let  him 
follow  his  o\ra  bent,  strike  what  note  he  pleases :  though  the  first 
quarto  reads  "  And  bid  him  ply  liis  musicke,"  which  seems  to  be 
intended  literally  :  Well,  very  good. 


.-^ 


SPKN-E  I.]  NOTES.  17;') 

7">.  sewing  in  my  closet,  occupiod  with  iieecUe-work  in  my  o-\\n 
room  ;  tor  closet,  c[i.  ./.  ('.  ii.  1.  ;i't,  " 'I'hc  taper  Iminutli  in  your 
c/oset. 

76.  doublet,  an  inner  garment,  a  (loiil)le  to  the  onter  one,  but 
used  also  for  a  coat  generally  :  unbraced,  with  the  '  point.s  '  not 
tied. 

77.  foul'd.  stained  with  dirt,  muddy. 

78.  Ungarter'd,  with  no  garters  to  his  hose,  or  w  itli  his  garters 
not  fastened:  downgjnred  to  his  ancle,  allo\\ed  to  fall  down  to 
his  ancle,  and  so  looking  like  tiie  fetters  around  the  ancles  of  a, 
malefactor. 

70.  knocking  each  other,  knocking  together  in  his  agitation. 

SO.   so  piteous  in  purport,  so  expressi\  e  of  misery. 

82.  To  speak  of  horrors,  only  iii  order  that  he  might  tell  of  its 
horrors. 

S.S.  Mad  for  thy  love  '.'  distracted  by  his  intense  love  for  you  ? 

So.  held  me  hard,  grasped  my  wrist  tightly. 

86.  Then  goes  ...  arm,  then  stands  back  from  me  at  the  full 
length  of  liis  arm. 

87.  thus  o'er  his  brow,  holding  his  forehead  and  shading  his 
ej'es  so  that  he  might  fix  his  look  more  intently  upon  me. 

88.  perusal,  eai-nest  study. 

89.  As  he  would  draw  it,  as  though  he  wished  to  ])aint  it ; 
literally  as  he  would  do  if  he  wished  to  paint  it  ;  see  Abb.  §  178. 

00.  a  little  ...  arm,  slightly  shaking  my  arm  ;  on  the  verbal 
noun  followed  by  of,  see  Abb.  §  178. 

9.".  As  it  ..  bulk,  that  it  seemed  to  shatter  his  whole  trunk  ;  for 
bulk,  =  breast,  bust,  Dyce  quotes  Cotgrave  and  Florio,  and 
Singer  Baret's  Ali'earie,  "  The  Bulke  or  breast  of  a  man." 

94.  that  done,  after  that. 

9.5.  with  his  ...  tum"d,  looking  all  the  while  over  his  shoulder. 

98.  And  to  the  last  . . .  me,  and  till  he  disappeared  in  the  door- 
way, kept  them  fixed  upon  me. 

99.  go  seek,  for  the  omission  of  to,  see  Abb.  §  .S49. 

100.  ecstasy,  madness;  literally  a  standing  out  of  oneself; 
applied  l>y  Siiakes|)eare  to  any  violent  emotion. 

101.  Whose  violent  ...  itself,  whose  violent  nature  destroys 
itself;  property,  that  wliidi  specially  belongs  to  it;  Lat. 
/iro/nnm,  own  ;  foi  fordoes,  cp.  below,  v.  1.  207,  /.car,  v.  3. 
291,  "  Your  eldest  daughters  have  t'ordoni'  themselves." 

10.5.  hard  words,  harsh  answers  to  his  entreaties. 

lOr,.   as       command,  in  obedience  to  your  commands,. 


176  HAMLET.  [ACT  II. 

107.  repel,  i-eject,  decline  to  receive  ;  cp.  below,  ii.  2.  146. 

107,  8.   denied  ..   me,  refused  him  permission  to  visit  mc. 

lOit,  10.  I  am  sorry  ...  him,  I  am  sorrj'  that  I  did  not  observe 
him  with  greater  care  and  judgment;  ^'  '  Qnoter,  To  quote,  or 
viarke  in  the  margent,  to  note  by  the  way/  Cotgrave  "  (Malone). 
Cp.  T.  C.  iv.  5.  23.3  ;  ^.  /.  i.  4.  31. 

111.  wreck,  ruin :  beshrew,  a  nuld  form  of  imprecation  ; 
literally  '  curse. ' 

112.  as  proper  ...  age,  as  much  a  characteristic  of  old  men  like 
myself. 

113.  To  cast  ...  opinions,  to  over-reach  ourselves  by  a  belief  in 
oxir  far-sightedness. 

114.  sort,  class. 

115.  discretion,  discernment  ;  the  old  look  too  far  ahead,  the 
young  do  not  look  ahead  at  all. 

116.  Tliis  must  be  known,  the  king  has  a  right  to  know  this. 

116,  7.  which,  being  ...  love,  for  if  we  kept  this  secret,  the 
hiding  of  it  might  be  more  productive  of  grief  than  the  aversion 
to  utter  it  would  be  productive  of  love  :  i.e.  the  concealment  of 
what  has  happened  would  be  attended  by  more  dangei-  to  us 
(if  that  concealment  were  discovered)  than  the  good  motive  which 
actuated  us  would  be  attended  by  the  love  of  those  from  whom 
we  concealed  it,  even  if,  on  its  discovery,  that  good  motive  were 
credited.  Polonius"s  sentiments  are  purely  selfish,  and  he  thinks 
nothing  of  the  consecpiences  to  anyone  else.  The  CI.  Pr.  Edd. 
think  the  sense  is,  "  Hamlet's  mad  conduct  might  cause  inore 
grief  if  it  were  hidden  than  the  re\elation  of  his  love  for-  Ophelia 
would  cause  hatred,  i.e.  on  the  part  of  the  King  and  Queen  "  ; 
but  they  admit  that  the  Queen  afterwards,  iii.  1.  38,  and  v.  1. 
230-2,  expresses  her  approval  of  the  match. 

Scene  II. 

Staoe  Direction.  Rowncrantz,  "  A  Danish  nobleman  of  this 
name  attended  the  Danish  ambassador  into  England  on  the 
accession  of  James  I."  (Thornbury). 

2.  Moreover  that,  over  and  above  the  fact  that. 

3.  provoke,  incite,  instigate. 

4.  Our  hasty  sending,  our  sending  for  you  in  such  haste. 

5.  transformation,  complete  metamorphosis. 

6.  Sith,  since  ;  from  "  ...  A.S.  .hUJi  than  ..  after  that,  since... a 
contraction  from  nith  than,  put  for  .'<ith  thdm,  after  that ;  where 
thdm,  that,  is  the  dative  case  masculine  of  the  demonstrative 
pronoun  used  as  a  relative "...  (Skeat,  Jiiy.  Diet.).  Here  used 
illatively  ;  in  1.  12  temporarily. 


scENKii.j  NOTKS.  177 

7.  tliat  it  was,  tliat  which  it  was  ;  for  tlie  omission  of  the 
n'lativc,  sto  Aldi.  ?;  244  :  What  it  should  he,  wliaf  it  is  |nol>ahle 
tliat  it  sliuuM  tic. 

S,  9.  that  thus  himself,  tliat  has  so  completely  estranged 
liim  from  all  know  Itdge  of  himself  ;  made  it  impossible  for  him 
to  recognize  what  is  projier,  heconiing  to  him  ;  for  put  him  . . .  from, 
c]).  helow,  iii.  1.  IS'J,  and  //.  VIII.  ii.  L*.  57,  "And  with  some 
other  l)usiness  //«/  the  king  From  these  sad  thoughts." 

10.  I  cannot  dream  of,  I  cannot  conceive  in  the  faintest  degree, 
liy  the  wildest  tlight  of  imagination. 

11.  being  ..him,  since  you  were  brought  up  with  him  from 
your  earliest  days  ;  for  of,  applied  to  time  and  meaning  from, 
see  Al)h.  ji  lfi7. 

12.  And  sith  ...  humour,  ami  as  you  have  since  then  been  so 
intimately  ac([uainted  with  his  youthful  disposition.  Ids  disposi- 
tion since  he  grew  up  to  manhood  ;  youth  and  humour,  p. 
hendiadys  ;  tlie  (juartos  read  hamour. 

l.'i.  That,  redundant  owing  to  the  jiaren thesis  :  vouchsafe  yoiu- 
rest,   be  good  enough  to  remain. 

14.  companies,  comimnionship  ;  for  the  plural,  see  note  on  i. 
1.  173. 

15.  pleasures,  indulgence  in  the  way  of  amusements. 

16.  So  much  ..  glean,  so  far  as  opportunity  will  enable  you  to 
pick  \\\)  stray  indications  ;  in  a  literal  sense,  to  gather  what  is 
left  of  the  corn  after  the  field  has  been  reaped  and  the  sheaves 
tie<l  togethci-. 

17.  Whether,   metrically  a  monosyllable. 

18.  That,  ...  remedy,  which,  if  made  known  to  us,  it  would  be 
in  oiir  jMiwci-  to  line. 

•Jl.  To  whom  he  more  adheres,  for  whom  lie  has  a  closer  rc- 
garrl  :  cp.  1.  12,  above. 

'22.  gentry,  courtesy  ;  cp.  v.  2.  106. 

24.  For  the  supply  hope,  thereby  to  furnish  us  with  the 
means  of  realizing  our  Impe  in  regard  to  Hamlet  ;  thereby  to 
furnish  us  with  a  hope  which  may  lie  comei'ted  into  a  certainty. 

2;').  vtsitation,  visit  ;  now  more  generally  used  for  the  ajjjiear- 
ance  of  some  aliliction,  as  the  verb  Id  rim/,  in  L.  L.  L.  v.  2.  222, 
"  These  lords  are  visited,''  .sc.  by  the  plague  (of  lovtO  ;  oi-  for  the 
act  of  huliitual  visiting,  as  in  the  visitation  of  the  sick. 

26.  As  fits  ...  remembrance,  as  it  is  fitting  for  a  king  to  show 
when  bearing  in  mind  a  sei\  ice  rendered  to  him. 

27.  of  us,    over  us  ;   see  .\bl».  §  174. 

28.  9.   Put  your  ...  entreaty,  signilied  your  desires,  which  are 

M 


178  HAMLET.  rAPTii. 

to  a  subject  too  awful  to  be  disobeyed,  in  the  shape  of  coiiiinand 
ratliei-  than  of  entreaty  :  But.  tliough  you  might  have  coni.nanded 
rather  than-C^Ueuited,  we  are  just  as  ready  to  obey. 

30.  in  the  full  bent,  with  the  most  thorough  bending  (of  our 
energies)  ;  the  tigure  i.s  that  of  bending  a  bow  to  its  fullest  ex- 
tent ;  ep.  below,  iii.  2.  367,  and  M.  A.  ii.  3.  232,  "it  seems  her 
affections  have  their  /«//  bent." 

32.  To  be  commanded,  to  be  put  to  such  purposes  as  you  may 
direct. 

34.  Thanks  . .  Rosencrantz,  the  queen  in\erts  the  order  of  the 
king's  form  of  thanks  to  show  that  their  gratitude  was  eqxially 
great  to  each  of  them. 

37.  bring,   conduct  ;  as  frequently  in  Shakespeare. 

38,  9.  Heavens  . . .  Mm  !  God  grant  that  he  may  find  pleasure  in 
our  society  and  help  in  our  actions  on  his  behalf  ;  cp.  Teniji.  i.  2. 
175,  "  Heavena  thank  you  for  't  !  " 

41.  Are  joyfully  retum'd,  have  come  back  full  of  joy  at  the 
success  of  their  mission. 

42.  Thou  still  ...  news,  you  have  ever  been  the  autlior,  parent, 
of  good  news  ;  cp.  A.  W.  i  2.  62,  "  whose  judgements  are  Mere 
father-^  of  their  garments  '" ;  for  still,  cp.  i.  1.  122. 

44,  5.  I  hold  . . .  king,  I  keep  my  duty  and  my  soul  as  equally 
things  in  trust  to  my  (4od  and  to  my  king  ;  my  soul  to  (4od,  my 
duty  to  my  king  ;  in  hold  there  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  feudal 
holdings. 

4(j-8,  or  else  ...  to  do,  unless  the  brain  of  mine  follows  up  the 
trail  of  policy  less  keenly  than  it  has  been  accustomed  to  do  ;  this 
brain  of  mine,  said  with  an  affectation  of  humility  which  yet 
does  not  hide  his  complacent  belief  in  himself  ;  in  trail  of  policy 
there  seems  to  be  a  blending  of  two  ideas,  (1)  the  trail  left  by 
events,  as  an  animal  leaves  a  trail  ])ehind  him  either  by  his  foot- 
marks or  by  his  scent,  (2)  the  clue  discovered  by  sagacious 
management. 

50.  0,  speak  ...  hear,  let  me  hear  al)out  that  first,  and  leave 
the  subject  of  the  nussion,  as  of  much  less  interest  to  me,  till 
aftei-wards. 

51.  first,  "  thus  Polonius  gains  the  opportunity  of  studying  a 
brief  and  pointed  exordium,  the  only  fault  in  which  is  its  being 
altogether  needless  and  misplaced  "  (^loberly). 

52.  the  fruit,  what  we  now  call  the  dessert  (that  Avhieh  is 
fierred  apart),  i.e.  fruits  and  sweetmeats  (formerly)  put  o\\  the 
table  after  dinner,  or  served  in  a  different  room. 

53.  Thyself  ...  in,  do  you  pay  tliem  the  compliment  of  bringing 
them  in. 


scFNKii.]  NOTES.  170 

')4.  my  dear  Gertrude,  tlie  folios  give  *  my  sweet  Queen,' 
wliich  (irant  W'liite  prefers  as  smacking  more  of  the  honeymoon. 

.").").  distemper,  litre  mental  ilerangement  ;  but  also  used  by 
Shaki'speari'  of  jjiiysifal  sickness,  Ct/nih.  iii.  4.  194,  and  of  intem- 
l)crance  in  drinking,  JI.  I',  ii.  2.  '>4,  0th.  i.  1.  99  ;  and  below,  iii. 
•J.  -JSS. 

56.  the  main,  the  principal  matter ;  cp.  T.  C.  ii.  8.  '273,  "  We 
jnust  with  all  our  main  of  power  stand  fast." 

5S.  shall  sift  him,  sliail  di.scover  by  sifting  him. 

60.  Most  fair  ...  desires,   most  courteous  reciprocation  of  your 

''reetiuLTS  and  <;o()(l  wishes. 

01.  Upon  our  first,  at  our  first  audience  with  him  to  state  the 
object  of  our  mission  :  sent  out>  issued  orders. 

02.  levies,  ai'ts  of  levying  troops. 

63.  gainst  the  Polack,  against  the  Poles  ;  Polack,  used  coUec- 
tivelj\ 

04,  5.  But,  ...  highness,  but,  having  looked  into  the  matter 
more  closely,  he  found  that  this  j)reparation  was  in  reality 
directed  against,  etc.  ;  truly  goes  with  was;  cp.  M.  N.  I),  i.  1. 
126,  "Of  something  ntarlii  that  conctrns  ourselves,"  i.e.  which 
nearly  concerns  ;  and  see  Abb.  §  421. 

0(J.  7.  That  so  ...  hand,  that  lie,  in  the  powerlessness  to  which 
he  liad  been  reduced  by  sickness  an<l  old  age,  had  been  so 
imposed  upon  ;  cp.  Mad),  iii.  1.  80,  "  pass'd  in  probation  to  you 
How  you  were  home  in  hand"  ;  Marlowe,  Jev  of  Malta,  iii.  3.  3, 
"  Botli  held  in  hand,  and  flatly  both  beguiled  "  :  sends  out,  for 
the  cllip.^is  of  the  nominative,  see  Abb.  §  399. 

05.  in  brief,  not  to  enter  into  details. 

69.  Receives  rebuke,  is  rebuked  by,  and  loyally  accepts  rebuke. 

71.  To  give  .  majesty,  to  make  an  attack  upon,  etc.,  to  make 
trial  of  .superiority  by  hrst  attacking,  etc. 

73.  in  annual  fee,  "  the  king  gave  his  nephew  a/e?<f/,  or  fee  (in 
land),  of  tiiat  yearly  value"  (Ritson). 

74.  commission,  antliority. 

7").  So  levied  as  before,  levied  in  tlii'  manner  already 
mentioned. 

70.  shown,  .set  f(jrth  in  writing. 
77.  quiet  pass,  a  free  pa.ssage. 

75.  this  enterprise,  /.'.  the  trrutps  to  be  engaged  in  this 
enterprise. 

79.  Ou  such  .  allowance,  on  smli  conditions  regarding  the 
seeiirity  of  your  <'ouiil  ry  and  tlie  liniits  of  action  (<>  ))i'  allo\\-ed 
to  tiiem. 


180  HAM  LET.  [act  n. 

SO.  It  likes  us  well,  we  are  well  satisfied  ;  on  the  frequency 
of  impersonal  verbs  in  Early  and  Elizabethan  English,  see  Abb. 
§297. 

81.  at  our...  time,  at  a  time  more  suitable  for  consideration. 
For  instances  of  an  indefinite  and  apparently  not  passive  use  of 
passive  participles,  see  Abb.  §  374. 

82.  Answer  ...  business,  give  our  deliberate  answer  i-egarding 
this  business.  To  get  rid  of  what  Shakespeare  might  call  the 
'  preposterous'  position  of  Answer,  the  hysteron  proteron  of  gram- 
marians, Hanmer  would  read  '  And  think  upon  an  answer  to,' 
while  another  conjecture  is  '  And  think  upon  and  answer  to." 

83.  well-took  labour,  service  loyally  undertaken  and  success- 
fully carried  out. 

8G.  liege,  see  note  on  i.  1.  15:  expostulate,  investigate  by 
means  of  discussion  ;  in  T.  G.  iii.  1.  2;5],  "The  time  now  serves 
not  to  exposfidat.e,"  the  word  means  simply  to  enter  into  discus- 
sion. 

87.   should  be,  ought  to  be  ;  what  its  essentials  are. 

90.  soul,  essence  :  wit,  wisdom. 

91.  outward  flourishes,  mere  ostentatious  embellishments;  as 
in  ornamental  writing. 

!».">.  But  let  that  go,  but  let  that  pass,  never  mind  about 
further  discussion  of  that  point  :  matter,  what  is  material. 

96.  art,    "the   Queen   uses    'art'    in   reference  to   Polonius's 

stilted  style  ;  the  latter  uses  it  as  opposed  to  truth  and  nature  " 
(Delius). 

98.  figure,  in  the  sense  of  a  figure  in  rhetoric  ;  said  of  his  own 
words  "  'tis  true  ...  true  "  ;  what  Puttenham,  Art  of  Poesie,  calls 
the  figure  of  '  antimetavole." 

100.  and  now  remains,  and  it,  or  there,  remains ;  for  the 
ellipsis,  see  Abb.  §  404. 

103.  For  this  ...  cause,  for  this  residt  which  is  one  of  deficiency, 
is  not  without  its  own  cause. 

104.  Thus  it  .  thus,  that  is  the  position  of  matters  so  far  (if. 
I  have  stated  the  case  as  regards  his  l)eing  mad,  and  of  his  mad- 
ness being  due  to  some  cause  or  other)  and  now  I  come  to  my 
conclusion  (showing  ivhaf  the  cause  is  of  the  madness  which  I  have 
demonstrated). 

105.  Perpend,  weigh  carefully  what  I  am  about  to  say  ;  the 
word  here  used  by  Polonius  in  all  seriousness,  occurs  again  in  the 
affected  jargon  of  the  Olowais  in  A.  Y.  L.  iii.  1.  69,  7'.  X.  v.  1. 
307,  and  of  the  braggart  Pistol  in  J/.  W.  ii.  1.  119,  //.  V.  iv. 
4.  8. 


scENKii.]  NOTES.  181 

106.  have  mine,  1  say  '  have,'  which  is  true  so  long  as  she  is 
mine. 

lOS.  gather,  and  surmise,  a  further  piece  of  pedantry. 

10!i.  the  celestial  ..  idol,  the  heavenly  Ophelia,  the  object  of 
my  soul's  worship:  beautified,  >v.  by  nature,  ij .  beautiful. 
Dyce  sjiys  *tlie  vile  phrase'  is  conunon  enough  in  our  earlier 
writers,  and  Polonius's  opinion  in  a  matter  of  taste  is  certainly 
not  final.     Shakespeare  uses  the  word  again  in  7'.  G.  iv.  1.  .^S. 

11.'^.  In  her  ...  these,  an  imitation  of  tlie  form  of  address  upon 
letters  in  those  days  ;  i.e..  I  send  these  writings  to  her  hoping 
they  may  find  a  place  in,  etc.,  letters  being  often  treasured  up  in 
that  way;  cp.  T.  G.  iii.  1.  •2;iO,  "  Thy  letters...  Which  being  writ 
to  me,  shall  be  delivered  Kvcn  in  the  milk-white  honom  of  thy 
love." 

115.  I  will  be  faithful.  1  will  keep  nothing  back,  will  reveal  to 
you  evci'Vtliiiig  I  know  myself. 

118.  Doubt  ..  liar,  suspect  even  truth  itself  of  being,  etc. 

1"J0.  ill  at  these  numbers,  a  ])oi)r  liand  at  writing  verses  :  art, 
skill,  ca])acily. 

121.  reckon,  numlier  :  his  groans  being  inmmierable  ;  Delius 
takes  the  woi'd  to  mean  "  numl)er  metrically";  most  best,  ])etter 
than  all  superlatives  can  express;  ep.  Cymh.  iii.  2.  58,  "O  not 
like  me ;  For  mine  's  beyond  beyond. " 

12.S,  4.  whilst  ...  him,  .so  long  as  he  lives  ;  machine,  the  body 
endowed  witii  life.  The  CI.  Pr.  Kdd.  point  out  tliat  the  letter 
is  written  in  tiie  affected  language  of  euphuism. 
.  r2<}-8.  And  mere  ...  ear,  and  over  and  above  this  has  descriljed 
^to  me  all  his  solicitations,  s))ecifying  when,  how,  and  where  tl\ey 
were  made 

129.  What  do...  me'.'  said  with  sorrowful  reproach,  do  you 
suppose  me  to  be  so  wanting  in  wisdom  as  to  allow  her  to 
receive  proffers  of  love  from  one  so  much  above  her  in  rank  as  a 
prince  ? 

1.'?].  fain.  ;:lafl]y  ;  properly  an  ailjective  :  what  ...think,  what 
migiit  you  //'''  tliink,  as  we  should  now  say. 

1.S2.  this  hot  ...  wing,  this  love  borne  upon  so  strong  a  wing;  a 
figure  fiom  biid.s  in  full  flight. 

13.S.  As  I. ..that,  for,  I  nuist  tell  you,  I  certainly  did  per- 
ceive it. 

l.'{<)  If  I  had  .  .  table  book,  if  1  had  sliown  iny.seif  of  no  more 
intelligence  tiian  a  desk  or  iiiemorandiiml)ook  (which  have  secrets 
committed  to  their  keeping,  but  no  power  to  take  any  action 
regarding  those  secrets). 

137.  Or  given  ...  dumb,  or  lulled  my  heart  to  sleep,  so  that  my 


IH2  HAMLET.  [act  n. 

feelings  should  not  trouble  me  ;    cp.   W.   T.  i.  2.  817,  "  To  ;iirc 
mine  enemy  a  lasting  winh,"  i.e.  put  him  to  sleep  for  ever. 

138.  Or  look'd  ...  siglit,  or,  recognizing  the  real  importance  of 
his  love,  had  not  taken  such  serious  notice  of  it  as  I  ought. 
There  is  a  climax  here. 

139.  I  went ...  work,  instead  of  behaving  in  such  a  supine  way, 
I  proceeded  to  act  with  promptitude  and  firmness  ;  Abbott, 
Bacon,  k'ssai/  of  Truth,  remarks,  "  roH?;.rZ  was  naturally  used  of 
tliat  which  was  symmetrical  and  complete  (as  a  ciicle  is)  :  then 
of  anything  thorough.  Hence  (paradoxically  enougli)  'I  went 
round  to  work,'  means  I  went  straight  to  the  point." 

140.  bespeak,  address  with  words  of  caution  ;  more  commonly 
used  of  ordering  something  beforehand.  For  the  use  of  the  pre- 
fix he-,  see  Abb.  S  438. 

141.  oat  of  thy  star,  fai'  above  you  in  his  fortunes  ;  another 
allusion  to  the  influence  of  the  stars  upon  man's  destiny  ;  cp.  T. 
N.  ii.  5.  bifi,  "  ill  my  dar.s  I  am  above  thee."' 

142.  prescripts,  instructions  to  govern  conduct  ;  cp.  ^4.  C.  iii. 
8.  5,  "  Do  not  exceed  The  prescript  of  this  scroll." 

143.  lock  ..  resort,  shut  herself  up  where  he  could  not  gain 
access  to  her. 

144.  tokens,  xr.  of  love  ;  presents,  etc. 

145.  she  took  ...  advice,  she  followed,  and  profited  by,  my 
advice. 

146.  repulsed,  meeting  with  this  repulse  from  her. 

147.  Fell  into  ..  fast,  first  sank  into  a  state  of  melancholy, 
which  was  followed  by  his  abstaining  from  food. 

148.  a  watch,  a  sleepless  state  ;  cp.  Cymh.  iii.  4.  43,  "  To  lie 
in  icatch  there  and  to  think  of  him  "  ;  and  the  verb,  iii.  2.  263, 
below. 

149.  lightness,  lightheadedness,  flightiness  ;  cp.  C.  E.  v.  1.  72, 
"And  thereof  comes  it  that  hi.^i  head  is  liijht'":  by  this  declension, 
by  these  downward  degrees,  this  gradual  passage  from  one  state 
to  another. 

151.  And  all  we,  and  which  we  all;  "a  feeling  of  the  un- 
emphatic  nature  of  the  nominatives  we  and  /^ey  prevents  us  from 
saying  '  all  we,'  '  all  they  '  "  (Abb.  §  240). 

153.  Hath  there  been  .  otherwise?  in  all  the  years  of  my 
service  as  lord  chamberlain  can  you  call  to  mind  a  single  occa- 
sion when  I  have  made  a  positive  assertion  that  has  after- 
wards proved  to  he  unfounded  ?  Polonins  is  deeply  scandalized 
at  the  idea  of  his  infallibility  being  called  in  question. 

156.   Take  this  ...  otherwise,  you  may  strike  my  head  from  my 


scENF.  1 1.  J  NOTES.  183 

sliouMi'is  if  w  hat  I  tell  j'ou  does  not  piovo  to  be   the  fact  ;  saitl 
as  lie  points  to  liis  head  and  slioulders. 

1  ")7.  If  circumstances  lead  me,  if  I  have  any  facts  to  guide  nie, 
any  clue  to  follow  up. 

159.  the  centre,  ■•"•.  of  the  earth  :  How  may  ...  further?  what 
further  test  can  we  employ  in  order  to  arrive  at  certainty  in  the 
matter. 

1H(».  four  hours,  used  for  a  long,  l>ut  indctinite,  time.  Staunton 
antl  Eltze  have  shown  that  in  Elizabethan  writers /o?(/'  nud/orf;/ 
were  frequently  used  in  this  indefinite  way.  To  Indian  students 
their  own  jKinch  chaluir  will  at  once  occur. 

161.  lofeby,  hall,  ante  room,  passage. 

162.  loose  ...  him,  allow  my  daughter  to  come  out  of  her  room 
to  meet  him. 

16.3.  an  arras,  a  fold  of  tapestiy  ;  more  fre(juently  '  //n  arias'  ; 
so  called  from  Arras,  a  town  in  Artois,  France,  the  chief  seat  of 
the  tapestry  manufacture. 

164.  encounter,  meeting. 

165.  thereon,  in  conscfjiicuce  of  his  love. 

166.  7.  Let  me  ..  carters,  let  me  no  longer  hold  the  responsil)le 
p<')st  I  have  so  long  held,  but  be  sent  to  the  country  to  busy  my- 
self with  such  a  degrading  pursuit  as  agriculture. 

168.   poor  wretch,  poor  unhappy  fellow. 

]•>;>.   Away,  make  haste  to  conceal  yourselves. 

170.  I'll.,  presently.  I'll  attack  liim  (i.e.  in  speech)  immed- 
iately ;  cp.  7".  y.  i.  3.  60,  "  board  her,  woo  her,  assail  her  ";  pre- 
sently, .sometimes  used  by  Shakespeare  in  the  modern  sense  of 
'  by  and  by ',  'shortly',  but  mucli  more  frecjuently  as  =  at  once, 
innnediately  :  give  me  leave,  excuse  my  interrupting  you. 

17"2.  Well,  God-a  mercy,  well,  tliank  God;  a  contraction  of 
'  ( lorl  ha\c  iniTi  y.' 

174.  Excellent  well,  tlioroughly  well  ;  for  adjectives  used  as 
adverbs,  see  .Abb.  ^  1  :  a  fishmonger,  various  recondite  e.xplana- 
tions  have  been  given  of  Hamlet  s  meaning  here,  esj)ecially  by  the 
metaphysical  Germans ;  the  most  simple  one  is  Coleridge's,  that 
Polr)nius  is  regarded  by  Hamlet  as  being  sent  to  fish  o\it  his 
secret — if,  indeed,  Handet  meant  anything  more  tlian  to  mystify 
the  ini|Misiti\e  old  man. 

177.  Honest,  my  lord  !  rolonius  is  indignant  tliat  his  lionesty 
should  be  doubted. 

178.  as  this  world  goes,  as  tinu^s  are  now. 

181,  2.  being  a  ...  carrion,  though  a  (lod,  yet  stooping  to  ki.ss 
carrion;  Mahjne  ((uotes  i.  //.  /F.  ii.  4.  11,3.  "     idst  thou  never 


184  HAMLET.  [act  ii. 

see  Titan  [i.e.  the  sun]  ki^s  a  dish  of  l)uttei?"  aiul  KiiKj  Edward 
the  Third,  1596,  "The  freshest  snmmei;t  day  doth  soonest  taint 
The  loathed  carrion  that  it  seems  to  tiss."  Possibly,  as  has  been 
suggested,  this  obscure  speech  has  reference  to  something  pre- 
viously passing  in  Hamlet's  mind  ;  more  piobal)ly,  I  think,  it  Avas 
intended  to  contain  such  an  admixture  of  sense  and  nonsense  as 
would  lead  Polonius  to  the  very  conclusion  at  which  he  arrives 
in  11.  203,  4,  "Though  this  be  madness,  yet  there  is  method  in 
it." 

185.  look  to  't,  be  cautious  in  the  matter  ;  take  care  that  she 
does  not  walk  1'  the  sun. 

186.  How  say  you  by  that?  what  ilo  you  think  of  that','  said 
to  himself  in  congratulation  upon  his  own  acuteness  in  divining 
that  Hamlet's  love  for  his  daughter  was  the  cause  of  his  madness. 
For  instances  of  hi/  meaning  about,  coiicerninij,  see  Abli.  §  145. 

186,  7.  Still  ...  daughter,  ever  dwelling  on  the  subject  of  my 
daughter  ;  ever  hai'ping  on  the  same  sti'ing  ;  cp.  /'.  ///.  iv.  4.  864, 
"  Harp  on  that  string,  madam  ;  that  is  past";  ^4.^'.  iii.  13.  14'2, 
"  harpinij  on  what  I  am,  Not  what  he  knew  I  was." 

188.  far  gone,  ac  in  love. 

189.  suffered  ...  love,  suffered  the  extremest  pangs  for  love's 
sake  ;  cp.  Touchstone's  descriptions  of  his  sufl'ei'ings,  A.  Y.  //.ii. 
4.  46-57  :  very  near  this,  i.e.  and  was  almost  as  far  gone  as 
Hamlet. 

192.  the  matter,  the  subject  matter. 

193.  who,  for  instances  of  neglect  in  the  inflection  of  icho,  see 
Abb.  §  274.  Hamlet  pretends  to  understand  Polonius'  question 
as  meaning  '  What  is  the  matter  in  dispute  ? ' 

197.  eyes  ..gum,  eyes  from  which  the  rheum  exudes  of  the 
colour  and  consistency  of  (liquid)  amber  or  the  gum  of  plum- 
trees  ;  cp.  //.  I'',  iv.  2.  48,  "  The  gnrii  douii-roptng  from  their 
pale-dead  e,(/e.s." 

198.  a  plentiful  lack,  strictly  speaking,  a  contradiction  of 
terms  :  hams,  knee-joints  ;  cp.  R.  J.  ii.  4.  57,  "such  a  case  as 
yours  constrained  a  man  to  how  in  the  hams.^'  ^ 

199.  most  powerfully  ...  believe,  most  thoroughly  believe  ;  tlio 
exaggerated  language  is  part  of  the  plan  to  bamboozle  tlie  ohl 
man. 

200.  hold  it  not  honesty,  do  not  consider  it  a  gentlemanly 
sentiment  to  give  utterance  to. 

200-2.  for  yourself  ..  backward,  probably  only  intended  to 
puzzle  the  old  man.  "  The  natural  reason,"  says  Moberly,  "  woidd 
have  been,  '  For  some  time  I  shall  be  as  old  as  you  are  now  '  (and, 
therefore,  I  take  such  sayings  as  proleptically  personal).  But 
Hamlet  turns  it  to  the  opposite." 


SCENE  II.]  NOTES.  185 

•J(i;>.  method,  a  ocrtain  oidciliiiuss. 

•_'(»4.  out  of  the  air,  out  into  tlie  aii-. 

•J0().  pregnant,  full  of  point. 

207.  a  happiuess,  a  happy,  felicitous  turn  of  expiession. 

•2()S.  hits  on.  liglits  on  l>y  aoridont. 

'2()S,  '.I.  could  not  ...  of,  could  not  manage  to  express  so 
jjointedly  and  neiitly. 

'210.  means  ...  daughter,  inea.sures  by  which  he  and  my 
dauijhtfi'  shall  he  hrongiit  together. 

'2]li.  withal,  the  emphatic  form  of  icith,  always  in  Shakespeare 

at  the  end  nf  the  f^entciu'c.      See  Abb.  i?  196. 

'21 1».  These  tedious  old  fools  !  Relieved  of  the  empty  verbiage 
of  the  old  man,  Haiidet  at  once  rctui-ns  to  hi.s  natuial  self, 
though  i-eady  to  assume  his  "antic  disposition"  at  the  appear- 
ance of  Rosencnvntz  and  Guildenstern. 

'2'2'2.  ."V   Good  lads.     .  both  ?  my  fine  fellows,  how  are  you  both  ? 

'2'2-l.  As  the  . . .  earth,  as  men  whose  lot  on  earth  is  in  neither 
extreme. 

'2'2.'k  Happy  .  happy,  happy  in  the  fact  that  we  are  not  at  sucli 
a  dizzy  height  of  fortune  that  we  need  fear  a  sudden  fall ;  a  button 
being  often  placed  at  the  top  of  the  cap  where  the  seams  meet. 

2^\.  Then  is  doomsday  near,  then  must  the  end  of  the  world, 

the  day  of  judgeim-nt  lie  at  iiand. 

2.'V2.  more  in  particular,  more  closely  as  to  the  particulars  of 
yf)ur  situation. 

237.  Then  is  the  world  one,  tiu-n  must  the  -whole  world  be  a 
piison,  if  Denmark,  so  hajjpy  and  free,  is  one. 

2."i8.  confines,   chambers    in   which   the  lunatics  are  shut  up  ; 
more  usually  in  the  sense  of  boundaries,  limits. 
2.S9.   wards,  cells. 

'242.  but  thinking-  ..  so,  unless  it  is  made  so  by  thinking  it  to 
be  good  oi-  l)ad. 

'244.  your  ambition  ...  one,  it  seems  to  you  so  because  you  are 
tf>o  ambitious  to  l)e  satistied  witii  your  own  subordinate  ])osition; 
an  attempt  to  sound  Hamlet  as  to  the  cause  of  his  discontent. 

'24f;.  I  could  nutshell,  I  could  easily  be  satisfied  with  the 
narrowest  liniits. 

249,  ")().  for  the  very  dream,  Un  that  on  which  the  ambitious 
fee<l  their  minds  is  even  less  substantial  tiian  a  dream,  it  being 
merely  the  reflection  of  a  dream. 

■2.')4,  .")  Then  are  shadows,  in  that  case  {-sc.  if  ambition  is  of 
so  airy  and  light  a  (piality),  si^ee  it  is  only  our  monarohs  and 
heroes  who  "  bestride  the  narrow  world  like  a  Colossus"  (J.  C. 


186  HAMLET.  [act  11. 

i.  2.  134,  5),  that  are  ambitious,  it  follows  that  our  beggars  (who 
are  the  antitypes  of  the  monarchs  and  heroes)  must  be  the  true 
bodies  (the  really  substantial  existences)  of  which  the  monarchs 
and  heroes  are  but  the  shadows  :  shall  we  to,  sc.  go  ;  the  verb  of 
motion  being  omitted,  as  frequently. 

256.  fay,  "  a  corruption  probably  of  the  French /o«,  which  hi 
its  earlier  forms  wa,s  feid,  feif,  J'ey,  /e,  or  it  m;i,y  be  a  corruption 
of  'faith'"  ...  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.).  The  former  seems  to  be  the  more 
probal)le  origin. 

257.  We  '11  wait  upon  you.   Me  will  attend  you  thither. 

25S.  No  sucti  matter,  I  cannot  allow  of  that,  sc.  of  your  wait- 
ing upon  me  ;  taking  the  words  in  a  more  literal  sense  than  •was 
intended  by  the  speakers. 

258-60.  I  will ...  attended,  I  will  not  put  you  on  a  level  with 
the  rest  of  my  servants,  for,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  am  vei'V 
l)adly  served,  those  servants  of  mine  are  a  liad  lot  ;  said  as  if  he 
were  confiding  to  them  some  strange  and  important  secret  the 
telling  of  which  needed  the  assurance  that  he  was  speaking  the 
honest  truth. 

260,  1.  But, ...  Elsinore  ?  Init,  to  ask  you  in  the  ordinary  way  of 
friendship,  to  ask  you  a  (juestion  usual  among  friends,  what  has 
brought  you  to  Elsinore  ? 

262.   occasion,  cause,  motive. 

26."5.  Beggar  . . .  thanks,  so  utterly  a  l)eggar  am  I  that  I  ha\e 
hardly  thanks  to  give  you  :  but  I  thank  you,  still  I  do  thank 
you. 

264.  5.  my  thanks  .  halfpenny,  the  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  compare 
Chaucer,  C.  T.  8S75,  "  dere  j^-nough  a  jane  "'  [i.e.  a  small  coin  of 
(ienoa),  and  12723,  "  deere  y-nough  aleeke."  Also,  A.  Y.  L.  ii. 
3.  74,  "  too  late  a  week"  :  Were  ...  for  ?  I  fancy  you  were  sent 
for  Ijy  the  king  (in  order  that  you,  as  my  old  and  intimate 
acquaintances,  might  find  o\it  what  was  the  matter  with  me). 

265.  6.   Is  it   . .  inclining  ?  did  you  come  of  your  own  accord  ? 

266.  Is  it  ...  visitation  ?  have  you  come  to  visit  me  of  your  own 
free  will  ? 

267.  nay,  speak,   nay,  do  not  hesitate,  but  speak  out. 

268.  should  we  say,   ought  we  to  say  ;  do  you  wish  us  to  say  ? 

269.  Why  . . .  purpose,  an  intentionally  enigmatical  sentence 
which  might  bear  either  of  two  meanings,  (1)  saj^  anj^thing  so 
long  as  it  is  to  the  point,  (2)  say  anything  except  what  is  to  the 
point.  Hamlet  has  divined  clearly  enough  the  reason  of  this 
sudden  appearance  of  his  old  companions. 

270-2.  there  is  ...  colour,  I  can  see  in  your  looks  a  sort  of  con- 
fession which  your  natural  ingenuousness  prevents  you  fiom  dis- 


S.KNKII.]  NOTES.  187 

Ciiif^ing  as  yoii  wnulil  fin  if  you  were  more  crafty  ;  for  colour,  cp. 
lit'lowriii.  1.  4."),  and  i.  //.  /  V.  i.  'A.  1(19,  "Never  did  l)ase  and 
rotten  policy  Colour  her  working  with  such  deadly  wounds.  ' 

27."{.  To  what  end,  witli  wliat  object. 

"274.  That  ..  me,  nay,  tliat  is  for  j'ou  to  toll  ine,  not  fni-  mc  to 
guess. 

•27o-8.  by  the  rights  ...  no  ?  by  the  chiinus  wliich  our  long  friend- 
sliip  give  nie,  by  tlie  fact  of  our  having  l)een  brought  up  together 
in  such  close  companionship,  by  tlie  ties  of  afl'ection  \\  Iiich  have 
ever  l>ound  us  to  one  anotlier,  and  by  anything  even  more  sacred 
to  wlii'-li  a  more  skilful  advocate  could  persxuisively  apjieal,  tell 
mc  in  phiin  and  straightforward  terms  whetlier,  etc.  For  con- 
sonancy,  cp.  7'.  ..V.  ii.  5.  141,  "  Tiiere  is  no  coiisoiiamy  in  the 
sequel."' 

280.  Nay,  then  ...  you,  ali,  if  you  liesitate  and  whisper  together, 
I  see  plaiidy  tlicre  is  sometliing  you  wish  to  hide  ;  my  eye  is 
upon  you  and  you  cannot  deceive  )ne.  Steevens  explains  an  eye 
of  you  as  "  a  glimpse  of  your  meaning,"  but  surely  Handet  has  a 
good  deal  more  than  a  '  glimpse.'     For  Of,  =  on,  see  Abb.  §  174. 

2S1.  hold  not  off,  do  not  keep  aloof  fioui  me  (figuratively),  do 
not  hesitate  tn  speak  out  plainly. 

28;i.  I  will  tell  you  why,  I  know  that,  and  will  tell  you  \\illi 
wliat  object. 

2S3-ii.  so  shall ...  feather,  by  forestalling  you  in  explaining  with 
wiiat  oVtjccl  you  were  sent  for,  I  sluill  save  you  from  revealing  it 
youi'selves,  and  your  good  faith  to  the  king  and  (jueen,  which 
bin<ls  you  to  secrecj'  in  the  mattei-,  w  ill  not  suffer  in  the  smallest 
jjurtiiul.u  :  prevent,  go  before  and  so  hinder  (put  lieliind,  stop) ; 
discovery,  cp.  //.  I',  ii.  2.  162,  "  Never  did  faithful  subject  more 
lejoice  At  the  dUcovery  (i.e.  exposure)  of  most  dangerous 
treason";  moult  no  feather,  literally  lose  none  of  its  feathers, 
as  birds  do  al  certain  .sea.sons  of  the  year  ;  moult,  ultimately  from 
Lat.  mnlare,  to  change. 

286.  forgone,  exercises,  comjilctely  abandoned  all  tho.se  exer- 
cises \\  hiidi  were  custrimary  \\\\\\  mc  ;  such  as  fencing,  horseman- 
siiip,  etc.  For  exercises,  in  tliis  sense,  cj).  A'.  J.  iv.  2.  60, 
"deny  his  youtli  'I'lic  ii(  li  ad\antage  of  good  ( xtrcise  l"' 

287.  it  goes  .  disposition,  it  fares  so  .sadly  with  the  tone  of  my 
min<l,  my  mood  has  become  so  desponding. 

2S.'%.  f).  most  excellent  canopy,  su))reniely  beautiful  covering; 
canopy  has  a  strange  origin,  it  being  from  the  "(!k.  KW^WTrfuLv, 
Ktiivijiirrlov,  an  Kgj'tian  bed  \\ith  nio.s(piito  curtains— flk.  Kijovww-. 
stem  of  Kiovuif/,  a  gnat,  mosfjuito  ;  literally  'cone-faced,'  or  an 
animal  with  a  cone-shaped  head,  from  some  fancied  resemblance 


188  HAMLET.  [act  ii. 

to  a  cone.  —  Gk.  kQvos,  a  cone ;  and  cii/',  a  face  "  (Skeat,  Kty.  Diet. ) ; 
brave,  glorious,  splendid. 

'2\)0.  fretted,  ornamented;  A. ii.  fni'/ iccdi,  Jhifivia)!,  to  -Adnvn  ; 
cp.  Ci/mh.  ii.  4.  SS,  "The  roof  o'  tlie  clianil)cr  With  golden 
cherubins  is  fretfed." 

292.  What  a  piece,  i.e.  what  a  vonderful  piece. 

293.  in  reason,  in  the  matter  of  reason  :  faculty,  mental  power, 
literally,  facility  in  acting. 

294.  moving,  movement,  carriage  of  the  body :  express,  "exact, 
fitted  to  its  purpose,  as  the  seal  tits  the  stamp  "  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

294,  5.  the  heauty  of  the  world,  the  supreme  excellence  of 
creation ;  the  paragon  of  animals,  peerless  among  things  en- 
dowed with  life:  paragon,  "  a  model  of  excellence...  A  singular 
word,  owing  its  origin  to  two  prepositions  united  in  a  phrase. — 
Span,  para,  con,  in  comparison  with  ...  .Span,  para,  for,  to,  to- 
wards, which  is  itself  a  compound  preposition  answering  to  (). 
Span,  pora,  from  Lat.  i>ro,  ad,  and  con,  with,  from  Lat.  cum, 
with.  Thus  it  is  really  equivalent  to  the  three  Lat.  prepositions 
pro,  ad,  cum"  (Skeat,  Efy.  Dirt.).  Marston,  The  Malcoittenf, 
i.  1.  349-52,  parodies  this  passage  in  descril)ing  women. 

297.  quintessence,  literally  the  fifth  essence,  the  pure  essence 
of  anything.  "  Aristoteles . . .  hath  put  down  . . .  for  elements,  foure ; 
and  for  a  fifth,  qninte.-i.'ieMce,  the  heavenly  body  which  is  immu- 
table "  (Holland's  F/nfar'-h,  apud  Skeat).     Cp.   /'.  L.  iii.  714-21. 

299.  no  such  stuff,  nothing  of  the  kind  ;  my  mind  was  not 
filled  with  any  .such  thought. 

302.  To  think,  at  the  thought ;  the  indefinite  infinitive  ;  see 
Abb.  §  256. 

303.  lenten  entertainment,  poor,  scanty,  welcome  ;  fromthe 
spare  diet  prescribed  during  the  fast  of  Lent.  Cp.  T.  N.  i.  5.  9, 
"  A  good  leDteii  answer." 

304.  coted,  overtook  and  passed;  the  word  in  the  *' technical 
sense  is  applied  to  a  brace  of  greyhounds  slipped  together  at  the 
stag  or  hare,  and  means  that  one  of  the  dogs  outstrips  the  other 
and  reaches  the  game  first "'...  (td.  Rev.,  Oct.  1872). 

307.  shaU  have  ...me,  shall  receive  from  me  the  tribute  of 
applause,  as  a  king  receives  tribute  of  money,  etc.  ;  the  adven- 
turous knight,  the'kuight-errant  who  goes  in  quest  of  adventures. 

308.  shall  use  ..target,  shall  liave  full  opportunity  of  display- 
ing his  valour  :  the  lover  ...  gratis,  the  lover  shall  be  rewarded 
for  playing  his  pathetic  part. 

309.  the  humorous  . . .  peace,  the  capricious  man  shall  have  his 
full  opportunity  of  venting  his  spleen. 


S.1.SKII.1  NOTES.  189 

.{1(1.  tickle  o'  the  sere.  "The  nere  ...  of  a  gun-lock  is  the  bar  or 
lialanoe  lever  inttrpo-si-d  between  the  trigger  on  the  one  side, 
anil  the  tumbler  and  other  mechanism  on  the  other,  and  is  so 
oallfd  frr)m  its  acting  the  ])art  of  a  serre,  oi-  talon,  in  gri))i)ing 
that  nieoluinism  and  i^reventing  its  action  ...  Now  ...  thi.s  sear  ... 
may  be  so  tickle  or  ticklish  in  it.s  adjustment  that  a  slight 
touch,  or  even  jar  may  displace  it,  and  then,  of  course,  tlie  gun 
goes  otf".  Hence  '  light,'  or  '  tickle  of  the  sear  '  ...  applied  meta- 
phorically, means  that  which  can  be  started  into  action  at  a 
mere  touch,  or  on  the  slightest  provocation,  or  on  what  ought  to 
be  no  provocation  at  all"  (Nicholson).  Here,  ready  to  laugh  at 
tlie  smallest  joke.    Stre  =  talon,  claw,  is  common  in  the  di'aniatists. 

311,  2.  the  lady  ...  for 't,  the  lady  shall  talk  as  freely  as  she 
likes,  or  the  fault  of  her  not  doing  so  shall  lie  in  the  halting 
character  of  the  blank  verse. 

.'■{14.  city,  by  this  word  "Shakespeare's  jniblic  at  once  under- 
stood London  "  (Delius). 

.315.  travel,  are  'on  a  tour  in  the  ))rovinces,'  as  we  should 
now  say. 

31."),  6.  their  residence  ...  ways,  it  would  be  better  for  them,  as 
regards  both  fame  and  ])iotit,  if  they  stayed  in  the  capital. 

317,  8.  I  think  ...  innovation,  Steevens  explains,  "  Rosencrantz 
means  that  their  permission  to  act  any  longer  at  an  established 
house  is  taken  away  in  consequence  of  the  new  custom  of  intro- 
ducing jjersonal  alnise  into  their  comedies.  Several  companies 
of  actorii  III  Lllli  Inne  of  >Khakespeare  were  silenced  on  account  of 
this  licentious  practice."  This  explanation  is  questioned  by  the 
CI.  Pr.  Edd.,  who  in  a  very  full  discussion  of  the  point 
(Iiitrodurtion,  pp.  xiii.-xv.)  sliow  that  foi'  a  very  long  period 
there  had  been  a  strong  op])osilion  in  the  city  to  theatrical 
performances.  Inhibitions,  oi-  refusals  to  license  theatres,  had 
occurred  in  l.")7.S,  1.574,  Vun,  1.581,  1.589,  1590,  1.597,  and  other 
measure.^  to  restrain  the  abuses  of  the  actors  had  been  taken 
during  the  period.  "  It  is  difficult  therefore,"  continue  the 
etlitors,  "  to  see  at  what  precise  pcrioil  the  explanation  oH'ered 
by  Steevens  could  be  true.  In  KiOl  the  iiululgence  of  tlie  actois 
in  personal  abuse  could  har<lly  lie  called  an  '  innovation  ' ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  was  a  jiractice  from  which  the  stage  had  never  been 
entirely  free."  They  therefore  conjecture  that  the  '  innovation  ' 
may  refer  to  the  authority  given  to  the  children  to  act  at  the 
legularly  licensed  theatres,  a  ])ermission  which  might  have 
operatf^d  as  an  '  inhibition  '  uj)oii  the  older  actors  by  driving 
tliem  into  the  country.  Tiiey  also  point  out  that  nothing  is 
said  about  'inhibition'  or  'innovation'  in  the  (piarto  of  16()."{, 
the  first  mention  of  the  words  being  in  the  ((uarto  of  1604,  an<l 
"  it  is  to  the  interval  therefore  that  we  must  look  for  the 
explanation.''     See  also  Sidney  Lee,  IJj'c  of  Shakoiixarc,  p.  'J14, 


1!)0  HAMLET.  [act  ii. 

:H9.  do  they  ...  estimation,  are  they  held  in  tlie  same  esteem 
as,  etc. 

320.   so  followed,  so  much  run  after. 

3-22.  Do  they  grow  rusty?  is  their  acting  less  sprightly  than 
before?  have  their  powers  of  acting  grown  rusty  by  want  of 
exercise  ? 

323.  Nay,  ...  pace,  not  in  the  least,  they  take  just  as  much 
pains  to  please. 

324.  aery,  nest;  from  "Low  Lat.  arcn,  a  nest  of  a  bird  of 
prey"...  (Skeat,  Ety.  Dirt.);  so  Shakespeare  speaks  of  a  "jie.s-d 
of  traitors,"  \V.  T.  ii.  3.  81  ;  "a  ned  of  hollow  bosoms,"  H.  Y. 
ii.  Chor.  21  :  eyases,  young  hawks  ;  "  '  maix,  a  neastling,  a 
young  bird  taken  out  of  a  neast ;  hence  a  yoinigling,  novice,' 
etc.,  Cotgrave"  (Dyce).  Capell  .says  "  tliese  children  were  so 
called  from  their  eagerness,  and  tiieir  Hying  at  game  above 
them." 

324,  5.  cry  ...  question,  probably  means  '  declaim  at  the  top  of 
their  shrill,  querulous  voices";  as  though  their  speeches  weie 
one  perpetual  shriek  of  interrogation :  tyrannically  clapped, 
fiercely  applauded. 

320-8.  and  so  ...  thither,  and  make  such  an  uproar  on  the 
common  stages  {^.^'.  the  stages  occupied  by  the  ordinary  player) 
— as  they  contemptuously  call  them— that  many  of  mail's  estate 
(as  shown  l)y  tlieir  wearing  swords)  are  afraid  to  face  these 
pigmies  whose  only  weapon  is  a  goose-quill  {i.e.  that  are  merely 
armed  with  the  words  put  into  their  mouths  by  the  play-writersf; 
berattle,  the  prefix  is  intensive,  and  berattle  the  stages  is  an 
expression  like  'be-thump  the  pul}Mt  cusliion,"  though  there 
may  be  in  it  the  figurative  sense  of  vociferous  crying  down  the 
ordinary  players. 

330.  escotei,  paid;  "  '  .S'svo/!,  A  shot  ...  Esc  utter.  Everyone  to 
pay  his  shot,'  etc.,  Cotgrave"  (Dyce):  quality,  profession  of 
acting  ;  as  frequently  in  Massinger. 

331-4.  will  they  not  ...  succession?  will  they  not  hereafter  say, 
when  they  come  to  be  men  and  are  obliged  to  content  themselves 
with  lieing  ordinary  actors  (such  as  they  now  <lespise) — which  in 
all  probability  is  what  will  happen  to  them,  unless  they  find 
some  more  lucrative  occupation— that  the  authors  whose  plays 
they  act,  by  putting  such  words  into  their  mouths,  are  doing 
them  a  wrong  in  making  them  call  out  against  that  very  occupa- 
tion they  must  inherit?  After  will  they  afterwards  Me  .should 
expect  did  them  wrong. 

335-8.  'Faith  ...  question,  indeed,  there  has  already  been  much 
dispute  on  this  point,  and  both  sides  have  been  pretty  actively 
engaged,  the  children  and  the  ordinary  actors  each  attacking  tii'e 


STENKII.]  NOTKS.  llll 

olIuT.  wliile  the  nation  is  not  ashiuiied  to  fan  tlic  flame  of  (he 
(juarrel  ;  to  siicli  an  extent  has  this  gone  on  that  for  a  time  tiie 
stage  companies  \vouhl  give  nothing  for  argument  in  a  iilay 
unless  in  the  dialogue  poet  and  player  were  ready  to  liolah<)ur 
one  another,  the  poet  running  down  tlie  ordinary  actor  and 
the  ordinary  actor  retaliating  on  the  poet,  i.e.  tlie  poet  was 
called  upon  by  tliose  who  employed  him  to  dramatize  the 
([uarrel,  hinuclf  representing  one  side  and  the  ordinary  actor  the 
other.  For  went  to  cuffs,  cp  i.  //.  /I',  ii.  H.  35,  "I  could 
<livide  myself  and  ;/o  to  huffetx"  i.e.  tight  one  hand  against  the 
other,  lielius  and  Schmidt  take  argument  as  •  plot  of  the  drama,' 
hut  in  all  the  other  passages  in  Shakespeare  in  which  the  word 
is  used  in  this  sense  it  has  either  the  article  or  a  pronominal 
adjective  before  it  ;  tarre,  cp.  A'.  J.  iv.  1.  117,  "And  like  a  dog 
. . .  Snatch  at  his  master  that  doth  turri'  him  on  "  ;  an  old  verb  from 
A.S.  t<  rijaii,  tiffi/d)!,  to  irritate. 

.340.  much  ...  brains,  plenty  of  lively  fighting. 

341.  carry  it  away,  come  off'  best  in  their  rivalry  with  the 
older  players. 

34'2.  that  they  do.  assuredly  they  do ;  an  enqiliatic  assent. 
Hercules  ...  too,  most  completely  ;  Steevens  thinks  tliere  may  be 
an  allusion  to  the  (dobe  theatre,  the  sign  of  wliicli  was  Heicules 
carrying  the  globe. 

343.  It  is  ...  strange,  tliere  is  nothing  very  strange  in  tiiis 
change  of  fashion. 

343,  4.  for  mine  that,  i.t.  for  now  that  my  uncle  is  king, 
those  that,  etc.  ;  mows,  grimaces  ;  ¥.  itxivr,  a  tlirusting  out  of 
the  !ij)s. 

34().  apiece,  each  as  his  share  ;  literally  ov  jn/re,  as  a-lnd, 
(i.tlifp,  etc.:  in  little,  in  miniature:  "Sblocd  (by)  (iod's  blood, 
i.f.  as  taken  in  the  eucliarist  ;  so  'zoiuids,  or  'siromnlx,  (Jod's 
wounds  ;  '."/i/c,  God's  life  ;  'shody,  God's  body. 

.347.  if  philosophy  .. .  out.  if  ])hilo.sophy,  whirh  is  so  ]jioud  of 
its  achievenicMts,  could  only  find  it  (nit. 

.300- 1.  cDme  then,  i.c  do  not  hesitate  to  shake  hands  with  me  : 
the  appurtenance  ...  ceremony,  ceremonious  couilesy  is  an 
essential  part  of  welcome  ;  foi-  similar  formalities  of  ■\\elcomc,  cp. 
Marl,,  iii.  3.  .32-.-). 

351 -3.  let  me  comply  yours,  let  me  show  courtesy  to  yon  by 
the  outward  formality  of  shaking  hands,  lest  in  that  welcome 
wliich  I  shall  liohl  out  to  the  ])layer8,— a  courtesy  that  must  be 
evidenced  by  formal  civilities, — I  should  seem  to  be  giving 
tiien«  a  warmer  receT)tion  tlian  I  <h)  to  you.  Singer  takes  comvly 
liere,  an<l  in  v,  2.  1715.  U>v  'end>race,' 


192  HAMLET.  [ACT  11. 

357.  lam  ...  north-north-west,  I  am  mad  only  in  one  quarter 
of  my  mental  compass. 

when  the  wind  . . .  handsaw,  when  the  wind  is  southerly 
with  me  (i.e.  not  in  the  (quarter  in  which  alone  I  am  mad)  I  can 
distinguish  between  a  hawk  and  a  heron.  Heath,  quoted  by  the 
CI.  Pr.  Edd.,  explains  as  follows;  "The  expression  obviously 
refers  to  the  sport  of  hawking.  Most  birds,  especially  one  of 
heavy  flight  like  the  heron,  when  roused  by  the  falconer  or  his 
doi^,  would  fly  down,  or  with  the  wind  in  order  to  escape.  When 
the  wind  is  from  the  north,  the  heron  flies  towards  the  south, 
and  the  spectator  may  be  dazzled  l)y  the  sun,  and  be  unable  to 
distinguish  the  hawk  from  the  heron.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
the  wind  is  southerly,  the  heron  flies  towards  the  north',  and  it 
and  the  pursuing  hawk  are  clearly  seen  by  the  sportsman,  who 
has  then  his  back  to  the  sun,  and  without  difficulty  knows  the 
liawk  from  the  hernsew  "...  The  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  add  that  in  Suffolk 
and  Norfolk  '  heriasew '  is  pronounced  '  harnsa, '  from  which  to 
'  handsaw  '  is  but  a  single  step. 

359.  Well  be  with  you,  may  things  be  well  with  you  ;  probably 
a  piece  of  Polonius'  pedantic  aff"ectation. 

,S60,  1.  at  each  ...  hearer,  a  curious  way  of  .saying  '  let  each  of 
you  lend  me  an  ear,'  i.e.  listen  to  me. 

362.  swaddling-clouts,  the  clothes  in  which  infants  are  swathed 
or  enwrapped. 

363.  Happily,  possibly,  perhaps  ;  see  Abb.  §  42. 

364.  an  old  ...  child,  so  we  speak  of  extreme  old  age  as  second 
childhood. 

366,  7.  You  say  . . .  indeed,  it  is  just  as  you  say  ;  it  did  happen 
on  Monday  morning  :  said  merely  to  prevent  Polonius  from 
guessing  that  they  liad  been  talking  about  him. 

369.  My  lord...  you,  nay,  my  lord  (mimicking  his  address), 
first  hear  what  I  have  to  say  ;  you,  emphatic. 

372.  Buz,  buz !  nonsense,  nonsense  !  probably,  as  Steeyens 
says,  "only  interjections  employed  to  interrupt  Polonius,"  or 
rather,  perhaps,  to  disconcert  him. 

374.  Then  came  ...  ass, — ,  probably  a  line  fiom  an  old  ballad. 

377,  8.  scene  ...unlimited,  the  former  "refers  to  dramas  that 
carefully  observed  the  unity  of  Place  "  :  the  latter  "  to  those 
that  disregarded  .mwll  resbi4eti©«S'"^Trelius). 

379.  For  the  law  . . .  liberty,  for  those  plays  in  which  the  laws 
of  dramatic  composition  are  observed,  and  equally  for  those 
which  are  a  law  unto  themselves,  allow  themselves  every  kind  of 
licence,  these,  etc.  This  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  text,  if 
genuine  ;  but  no  example  of  writ  ^- that  which  is  written,  lias  yet 


9CENE II.  1  NOTES.  193 

been  cited.  Of  course,  'a  writ,'  'the  writ,'  'that  writ,'  etc.,  are 
common  enough  ;  but  \Viilker"s  criticism  is  undenialile  when  he 
says  "  It  is  as  if  we  should  say,  the  lair.s  of  poem  for  the  laws  of 
poetry...  or  the  ijtnius  of  ode  lueamng  the  ijeHius  of  lyrical  comjtoni- 
tion."  He  reads  wit,  and  points  out  that  the  same  error  occurs 
in  J.  C.  iii.  2.  225. 

381.  Jephthah,  one  of  the  twelve  judges  of  Israel,  when  it  was 
under  that  form  of  government,  who,  going  to  fight  against  the 
Anunonites,  vowed  that  if  successful  against  them,  he  would 
sacrifice  to  the  Lord  the  first  thing  that  met  him  on  his  return 
home.  His  daughter  coming  out  to  welcome  him,  was  accordingly 
offered  up.  See  Jiidiif.i,  xi.  .30-40;  and  Tennyson,  Dream  of  Fair 
Women,  180-'244. 

385,  6.  'One  fair  ...  well,"  from  an  old  liallad  on  the  subject 
published  in  Percy's  li(H<jites,  in  1757. 

387.  Still  on  my  daughter,  still  thinking  of  my  daughter ;  cp. 
above  11.  186,  7. 

389,  90.  If  you...  well,  if  by  Jephthah  you  mean  me,  I,  like 
him  have  a  daughter  whom  I  lo\ c  most  dearly,  passing,  sur- 
passingly, exceedingly. 

391 .  Nay,  that  follows  not,  Handet  uaea  follows  in  an  ambiguous 
sense,  (lltluit  is  not  a  necessary  consequence,  (2)  those  are  not 
the  words  that  follow  in  the  ballad  ;  and  when  Polonius  takes 
them  in  the  former  sense,  Hamlet  replies  in  the  latter. 

397,  8.  the  first  row  ...  comes,  the  first  verse  of  the  pious  (i.e. 
scriptural)  ballad  will  tell  you  more,  and  to  that  I  must  leave 
you.  for  see,  there  come  those  who  interrupt  me.  Though 
abridgement  is  u.sed  in  M.  J\'.  7).  v.  1.  39,  for  a  pastime,  a 
dramatic  entertainment,  and  there  may  here  be  an  allusion  to  the 
same  sense,  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  means  anything  more  than 
'that  which  cuts  short  what  I  was  about  to  say.'  The  reading 
of  the  folios,  '  abriflgements,'  seems  against  the  dcmble  sense. 

401.  is  valanced,  has  become  fiinged  with  a  beard  ;  tiie 
'valance'  in  the  beds  of  former  days  was  the  drapery  which 
hung  from  tiie  bedstaif  to  tiie  ground  ;  the  word  is  supposed  to 
be  derived  from  Valence,  in  Fiance,  not  far  from  Lyons,  a  city 
still  celebrated  for  its  silks  :  to  beard  me,  to  defy  me  ;  of  course 
said  jestingly. 

402.  Wliat,  ...  mistress!  what,  is  that  you,  my  young  lady 
whom  I  remember  so  well?  By'r  lady,  by  our  lady,  i.e.  the 
Virgin  Mary.  Until  after  the  iiestoralion  women's  parts  were 
acted  by  men. 

404.  chopine,  '  chopines, '  or  '  chapineys,' as  f'oryat  call.s  them, 
were  conli  i\  amcs  of  wood  covered  with  leather  which  ladies, 
especially  those  of  Venice,  wore  under  the  shoe  to  add  to  their 


194  HAMtET.  [act  IT. 

height.  Furness  mentions  that  lie  was  present  at  a  Jewish 
wedding  in  Jerusalem,  in  lSa6.  when  the  young  ])ride,  aged 
twelve,  wore  chopines  at  least  ten  inches  high. 

40.").  cracked  within  the  ring,  i.e.  cracked  beyond  all  use  ; 
coins  cracked  within  the  ring  rumiing  round  tiieni  were  no  longer 
current.  The  voice  is  said  to  rrark  wlien,  at  the  age  of  puberty, 
it  gradually  passes  from  the  "  childish  treble  "  {A.  Y.  L.  ii.  7. 
162)  to  a  more  manly  fulness,  having  during  the  transition  a 
cracked  sound.  Cp.  Cymb.  iv.  2  2.36,  "  though  now  our  voices 
Have  got  the  mannish  crack";  M  V.  iii.  4.  66,  "And  speak 
between  the  change  of  man  and  boy  With  a  reed  voice,"  i.e.  shrill 
as  the  note  of  a  reed. 

406,  7.  We  '11  e'en  . .  see,  we  will  set  to  work  upon  some  dramatic 
performance  or-  other,  whatever  may  come  most  readily  for  the 
moment.  This  has  V)een  taken  as  a  sneer  at  French  sportsman- 
ship, but  Toilet  quotes  8ir  T.  Bi'owne  that  '•  The  French  seem 
to  have  been  the  first  and  noisiest  falconers  in  the  western  pait 
of  Europe,"  and  tlie  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  add  a  passage  from  the  same 
author  in  wliich  is  mentioned  a  falcon  of  Henry  of  Navarre 
"  which  Scaliger  saith,  lie  saw  strike  down  a  buzzard,  two  wild 
geese,  divers  kites,  a  crane  and  a  swan." 

408.  give  'US  ...  quality,  give  us  a  specimen  of  your  capabili- 
ties ;  not  here,  I  think,  used  in  the  technical  sense  of  profession, 
as  in  1.  329  above. 

413.  the  million,  the  multitude. 

413,  4.  'twas  ...  general,  it  was  a  delicacy  not  appreciated  by 
the  common  herd  of  play-goers  ;  caviare,  the  preserved  roe  of 
the  sturgeon,  a  delicacy  new  in  .Shakespeare's  day,  and  "not 
generally  relished;  general,  cp.  M.  M.  ii.  4.  27,  "and  even  so 
The  c/eneral,  subject  to  a  well-wish'd  king.  Quit  their  own  part  "  ; 
./.  C.  ii.  1.  12,  "I  know  no  personal  cause  to  spurn  at  him,  But 
for  the  (jeneral"  i.e.  except  for  the  people  at  large  ;  as  I  received 
it,   in  my  opinion. 

415.  cried  ...  mine,  were  of  greater  ■weight  than  mine  ;  out- 
went mine  in  authority.  Henley  says,  "  To  over-top  is  a  hunting 
term  applied  to  a  dog  when  he  gives  more  tongue  than  the  rest 
of  the  cry,"  i.e.  pack. 

416.  well  ...  scenes,  the  scenes  of  which  were  well  arranged. 

417.  modesty,  propriety  :  cunning,  skill :  one  said,  it  was  said 
by  somebody. 

418.  no  sallets  .  savoury,  nothing  piquant  to  give  the  lines  a 
relish  ;  no  indecencies  to  suit  vicious  tastes  ;  sallets,  another 
form  of  salads,  preparations  of  garden  green-stutl'.  mixed  with 
oil,  vinegar,  mustard,  etc.,  and  used  as  a  relisli  with  meat. 


scKNKii.l  NOTES.  195 

41S--20.  nor  no  ...  affection,  nothiii.tr  in  tlie  language  which 
could  clKirge  the  author  with  all'eftation  ;  affection  is  the  leading 
of  tlie  (juartos  here,  as  of  the  (luartosanil  the  first  folio  in  L.  L.  /.. 
V.  1.  4,  "Your  reasons  at  dinner  have  been  shaii)  and  senten- 
tious ;' pleasant  without  scurrility,  witty  without  aiD'cllon"  (-d. 
passage  elosely  resenihling  our  text);  and  in  T.  N.  ii.  .S.  100, 
Malvolio  is  called  "  -.in  afecfioncd  (i.e.  affected)  ass";  the  folio.s 
here  give  affictation,  and  that  form  is  found  in  L.  L.  L.  v.  2.  407  : 
as  wholesome  as  sweet,  equally  healthy  in  tone  and  pleasant. 

421.  by  very  ...  fine,  with  a  very  great  deal  more  of  real  beauty 
in  it  than  of  tawdry  splendour  ;  "rich  not  gaudy,"  as  i'olor.ius 
recommends  that  Laertes'  dress  should  be,  i.  2.  71  :  one  speech, 
see  Introduction,  p.  xxvii. 

422.  thereabout  of  it,  about  that  part  in  it. 

42tj.  Hyrcanian  beast,  i.v.  the  tiger.  Hyrcania,  a  province  of 
the  ancient  Ptr.sian  ein])ire,  on  the  south  and  southeast  of  the 
Caspian  or  Hyrcanian  Sea,  is  fre()ueiitly  mentioned  in  old  Engli.sh 
writers  as  the  habitat  of  tigers,  the  Hyrcan  tiger  being  \>y  tlfeiii 
regarded,  like  the  Bengal  tiger  of  to-day,  as  the  syndjol  of  dead- 
liest ferocity.     Op.  Marh.  iii.  4.  101,  M.   V.  ii.  7.  41. 

428.   sable,  see  note  on  i.  2.  242. 

4.S0.  coached  ...  horse,  Pyrrhus,  or  Neoptolemus,  son  of 
Achilles,  was  one  of  tlie  band  of  heroes  who  concealed  themselves 
in  a  wooden  horse  they  had  constructed,  and  whicli  Sinon  in- 
duced the  Trojans  to  receive  within  tlieir  gates.  In  the  side  of 
this  iiorse  was  a  door  which  Sinon  at  nightfall  unlocked,  and  his 
fellow  (ireeks  being  let  out  opene.l  the  gates  of  the  city  and  with 
the  rest  of  the  Creciaii  army  sacked  Troy. 

432.  With  heraldry  more  dismal,  with  a  tincture  (as  it  is  called 
in  heraldry)  of  more  dismal  colour. 

43.3.  total  ^es,  one  mass  of  blood  ;  from  "  F.  (jueit/cs,  'gules, 
red,  or  sanguine,  in  l»lazon,'CV)tgrave.. This  word  is  nothing  but  the 
plural  of  F.  (ine.ide,  the  mouth  ...  thougli  the  reason  for  the  name 
is  not  very  clear,  unless  the  reference  be  (as  is  ])robal)le)  to  the 
colour  of  the  open  moutii  of  the  (lieialdic)  lion.  —  I.at.  ijiila,  the 
throat"  (Skeat,  Ety.  Dirt.):  trick'd,  smeared;  cp.  Jonson,  The, 
I'op.laslcr,  i.  1,  "  there  they  aie  trirk'd,  they  and  their  pedigrees  "  ; 
I.e.  have  their  coat  of  arms  drawn  with  a  jien. 

435.  Baked  ..  streets,  which  (.vf.  the  blood)  was  caked  into  a 
thick  ciust  by  the  lieat  of  the  streets  ;  the  city  having  been  set 
(m  fire  by  the  ( Ireeks.     Or  perliaps  better  refeired  to  '  Pyrrhus.' 

43(!,  7.  That  lend  ...  murders,  whicii  by  their  accursed  light 
give  the  Greeks  a  cruel  opiiortunity  for  their,  etc.  For  vile,  of 
the  folios,  the  (juartos  give  lord's,  which  is  objectioiial)le  as 
Priams  mui<ler  is  afterwards   mentioned,  and,  of   course,  was 


196  HAMLET.  [ACT  II. 

not   the  only  murder:    roasted ...  fire,    ablaze  with   wrath   and 
lire. 

43S.  o'er-sized.  smeared  over  as  with  size  ;  a  gluey  substance  : 
coagulate  gore,  l)loo(l  curdled  by  the  heat.  Cp.  T.  N.  K.  1.  1.  99, 
"tli'blood-.s/cVi  field." 

439.  like  carbuncles,  as  crim.son  as  carbuncles. 

441.   So,  proceed  you,  go  on  from  that  point. 

445.  Striking  . . .  Greeks,  unable  to  reach  his  opponents  with 
his  sword.  -_ 

440.  Rebellious  to  his  arm,  refusing  to  obey  his  arm;  i.e.  his 
arm  being  too  weak  to  wield  it. 

447.  unequal  match'd,  in  the  strength  of  his  youth  more  than  a 
match  fur  the  old  man  ;  unequal,  used  adverbially  ;  see  Abb.  §  1, 

448.  in  rage  strikes  wide,  in  his  fury  misses  his  blow. 

449.  But  with  the  whiff,  with  the  mere  whiff. 

4'50.  unnerved,  ac  by  bodily  weakness  :  senseless,  though,  as 
a  material  thing,  without  feeling. 

452.  Ms,  its. 

453.  Takes  . . .  ear,  so  stuns  him  that  his  action  is  arrested. 

454.  declining,  about  to  fall  upon  :  milky,  milk-white  with 
age. 

456.  as  a  . . .  tyrant,  like  the  figure  of  a  tyrant  in  the  old 
tapestry  hangings  ;  cp.  Math.  v.  8.  23-5,  for  a  similar  image, 
"  We  '11  have  thee,  as  our  rarer  monsters  are,  Painted  upon  a 
pole,  and  underwrit,  '  Here  you  may  see  the  tyrant.'  " 

457.  And  like  ...  matter,  and  like  one  who  inclines  neither  to 
one  party  nor  to  the  other  ;  his  will,  being  one  party,  matter,  the 
stroke  of  his  sword,  the  other. 

459.  against,  in  anticipation  of,  shortly  before  ;  see  Abb.  §  142, 
and  cp.  i.  1.  158  above,  and  iii.  3.  30  below. 

460.  the  rack,  "  a  mass  of  vapoury  clouds.  So  Bacon's  Sylva 
Sylvarum,  §  115,  'The  winds  in  the  u])per  region,  which  move 
the  clouds  above  (which  we  call  the  rack) ' "  (Dyce). 

462.  hush,  hushed,  silent ;  see  Abb.  §  22. 

463.  the  region,  "originally  a  division  of  the  sky  marked  out 
by  the  Roman  augurs.  In  later  times  the  atmosphere  was 
divided  into  three  regions,  upper,  middle,  and  lower.  By 
Shakespeare  the  word  is  used  to  denote  the  air  generally  "  (CI. 
Pr.  Edd. ).  So  climate  from  meaning  the  region  of  the  earth 
lying  in  the  same  parallel  of  latitude,  has  come  to  mean  the 
condition  of  a  region  as  regards  its  atmospheric  phenomena. 

464.  Aroused  . . .  a-work,  his  vengeance  stirred  to  double  fury 
by  the  pause  he  had  been  constrained  to  make. 


scKNE  II.]  NOTES.  197 

46/i.  Cyclops*,  the  Cyclops  were  Titans,  sons  of  Uranus 
(lieaven)  aii.l  (Jo  (earth),  who,  as  the  assistants  of  Hepha-stus 
(Vulcan),  forged  armour,  etc.,  for  the  gods  and  heroes. 

466.  forged  .  eterne,  so  forged  as  to  be  for  ever  proof  against 
all  strain  put  upon  thoni  ;  cp.  Cymh.  v.  5.  5,  "whose  naked 
hreasts,  8tepp"d  before  targes  of  proof"  ;  and  see  note  on  iv.  7. 
154,  l)elow.  ,  ^'^>>  ^  -'•^ 

467.  remorse,  pity  ;  as  usually  in  Shakespeare,  not  tKe  regret 
felt  for  sonic  ill  iloing,  the  only  modern  sense. 

470.  In  general  synod,  assembled  in  full  conclave  ;  their  deci- 
sion being  thus  made  more  solemn. 

471.  fellies,  or  felloes,  the  outer  circumference  of  the  wheel  put 
togetiicr  in  separate  parts  and  contined  by  the  tire;  from  A. S. 
feolan,  to  stick. 

472.  the  nave,  the  central  portion  of  the  wheel  through  which 
the  axle  ])a«ses  and  the  spokes  radiate. 

475.  Its  hall . . .  heard,  it,  like  your  beard,  shall  pay  a  visit  to 
the  l)arber's  shop. 

476.  he  "s  for  a  jig,  he  (.sc.  Polonius)  would  prefer  a  jig,  i.e.  a 
ludicrous  comj^jsition  in  verse,  something  that  he  could  laugh 
at  :  or  he  sleeps,  or  he  is  drowsy,  and  does  not  care  to  be  awak- 
ened by  anything  so  stirring  in  character. 

478.  mobled  queen,  queen  muffled  up  in  a  cap  ;  the  word  mob- 
ra}i,  as  Coleridge  jioints  out,  is  still  used  of  a  large  cap,  worn 
more  commonly  by  old  women  of  the  lower  classes  in  the  early 
morning,  and  ditrering  l)ut  little  from  a  ni^ht-cap.  The  picture 
is  of  the  aged  Hecuba  roused  up  from  bed  by  the  alarm  of  tire. 

480.  that's  good,  Polonius,  who  had  objected  to  "beauti- 
fied "  (1.  109  al>ove)  as  "  a  vile  phrase,"  speaks  with  patronizing 
approval  of  tiiis  aH'ected  expression. 

481,  2.  threatening  ...  rheum,  threatening  the  flames  that  she 
will  i)ut  them  out  with  her  lilinding  tears  ;  bisson,  literally  pur- 
IjHikI,  as  in  Car.  ii.  1.  70,  "  your  6J.syo»  conspcctuities  "  :  clout, 
a  piece  of  cloth,  which  she  has  snatched  up  in  her  hurry  ;  used 
contemptuously. 

483.  for,  in  place  of. 

484.  o'erteemed  loins,  "exhausted  by  child-bearing  "  (CI.  Pr. 
Kdd.).      l*riam  wa.s  said  to  have  had  fifty-two  cliildren  by  her. 

486.  Who  this  had  seen,  any  one  wlio  had  witnessed  so  sad  a 
spectacle  as  this. 

487.  "Gainst  ..  pronounced,  woidil  liavc  lailed  against  tiie  ma 
jesty  of  i-'oi-lune  in  I  lie  uni.sl  trciisonal)le  langiuige  ;  c]j.  A.  Y.  L. 
ii.  7.  16,  "  And  rail'd  on  Lady  Fortune  in  good  terms." 


198  HAMLET.  [act  ii. 

492.  Unless  ...  all,  unless,  as  philosophers  say,  they  are 
utterly  iiidifterent  to  the  concerns  of  men. 

493.  Would  have  . . .  heaven,  would  have  drawn  tears  from  the 
burning  eyes  of  heaven,  as  milk  is  drawn  from  the  udder  of  a 
cow  ;  milch,  milky  ;  a  '  77iilch-co\v  '  is  still  in  common  \ise. 

494.  And  passion  . . .  gods,  and  would  have  excited  deep  com- 
passion in  the  gods. 

495.  6.  Look,  ...  eyes,  see  if  he  {sc.  the  player)  has  not  turned 
pale,  and  if  the  tears  are  not  ready  to  fall  from  his  eyes,  he 
having  entered  so  thoroughly  into  the  pathos  of  the  scene. 

497.  speak  out  the  rest,  complete  the  speech. 

498.  well  bestowed,  comfortably  lodged. 

499,  500.  the  abstracts  . . .  time,  the  compendium  in  which  the 
events  of  the  time  are  summarized  :  the  quartos  give  abstract, 
but  the  adjective  is  nowhere  else  found  in  Shakespeare. 

500,  1.  you  were  better  have,  it  would  be  better  for  you  to 
have  ;  for  this  ungrammatical  remnant  of  ancient  usage,  see 
Abb.  §  -230. 

502.  I  will  use  ...  desert,  I  will  treat  them  as  men  in  their 
station  of  life  deserve  to  be  treated. 

503.  God's  bodykins,  by  God's  little  body  ;  an  affectionately 
irreverent  adjuration;  cp.  "od's  pittikins,"  Cymb.  iv.  2.  293; 
"od's  heartlings,"  M.  W.  iii.  2.  49;  "od's 'my  little  life," 
A.  Y.  L.  iii.  5.  43. 

504.  after,  according  to  :  who  should,  i.e.  nobody  would. 

505.  after  your  ...  dignity,  with  .'^uch  courtesy  and  condescen- 
sion as  befits  a  man  in  your  high  position. 

505,  6.  the  less  . . .  bounty,  cp.  M.  K.  D.  v.  1 .  89-92. 

512.  for  a  need,  if  it  was  necessary. 

513.  a  speech  ...  lines,  see  note  on  iii.  2.  182. 
521.  peasant  slave,  wretched  bondman. 

523.  But  in  ...  passion,  under  the  influence  of  nothing  more 
real  than  a  poet's  creati/)n,  a  mere  imaginaiy  passion. 

524.  Could  force  . . .  conceit,  could  so  constrain  his  soul  into 
sympathy  with  the  idea  which  he  had  made  liis  own  in  inter- 
preting it. 

525.  That  from  ...  wann'd,  that,  from  the  emotion  of  his  soul, 
his  face  became  pale  ;  cp.  above  1.  495. 

526.  Tears  ...  aspect,  that  tears  showed  themselves  in  his  eyes, 
frenzy  possessed  his  looks. 

527.  8.  A  broken  ...  conceit,  that  his  voice  became  broken  with 
sobs,  and  all  the  faculties  of  his  body  took  shape  from  the  idea 


scKSKii.]  NOTES.  199 

in  liis  niiiul.  The  various  pHrtienlars  of  his  emotion  are  general- 
i/.f<l  in  the  last  olausc. 

5.S0,  1.  Wliafs  Hecuba  ...  her  ?  wliat  rehition  is  there  between 
Heouha  ami  him  that  he  should  so  sympathize  with  her  woes? 
i.e.  there  is  no  such  relation. 

53"J.  cue.  indication,  prompting  ;  literally  the  last  words  in 
the  player's  acting  copy  of  the  speech  preceding  that  which  the 
player  is  himself  to  deliver  ;  according  to  some  from  Q,  the  first 
letter  of  the  Lat.  qimiulo,  when,  showing  when  the  actor  was 
to  enter  and  speak,  according  to  others  from  the  F.  queve, 
a  tail. 

'•,:U.  And  cleave  ...  speech,  and  split  the  ears  of  his  audience 
with  the  liorror  of  his  \\()i(ls. 

.18.").  Make  mad  ...  free,  drive  those  conscious  of  guilt  to  down- 
right madness,  and  fill  with  terror  even  those  whose  conscience 
was  clear  of  guilt ;  for  free,  cp.  iii.  2.  235. 

'}^^6,  7.  Confound  ears,  utterly  hewildcr  the  ignorant,  and  .so 
amaze  spectators  and  liearcrs  that  they  would  not  know  whether 
their  faculties  were  their  own,  whether  they  were  not  under 
some  horrihle  hallucination. 

539.  muddy-mettled,  dull-brained,  sluggish-natured ;  for  a 
similar  metaphor,  cji.  .V.  T.  i.  I.  SS,  9,  "a  sort  of  men  w]io.se 
visages  Do  cream  and  mantle  like  a^standing  pond";  for  mettled, 
see  note  on  i.  1.  116  :  peak,  allow  my  resolution  to  fade  into 
nothing  ;  more  usually  of  physical  dwindling  away  ;  cp.  Macb. 
i.  3.  23,  "  Weary  se'nnights  nine  times  nine  Shall  he  dwindle, 
/Kak  and  pine." 

540.  John-a-dreams,  i.e.  Jolm  of  dreams,  =  a  sluggish,  sleepy, 
fellow  ;  c)).  .Inrk-a-lint,  Jaclc-a-lanlern,  Ja'k-aii-ape.<),  etc.  Collier 
fpiotes  Armins  A>.s/  0/  Aiviiies,  1608.  "His  name  is  John, 
indeede,  sales  the  cinnick  ;  but  neither  .John  a  nods,  nor  John  a 
i/nti )»■'.■<.  yet  either  as  you  take  it "  ;  unpregnant  of  my  cause, 
with  my  mind  utterly  barren  of  all  designs  to  ctltct  my  ])urpose  ; 
with  a  mind  tliat  as  yet  has  conceived  no  method  of  aition  ;  cp. 
Leru;  ii.  li.  229,  "Who,  by  the  act  of  knowii  and  feeling  sorrows, 
Am  preijiiant  to  good  pity." 

542.  property,  everything  that  lielonged  to  him  ;  cp.  above,  i. 
5.  75,  "Tiius  was  I,  .sleeping,  by  a  l)rother"s  hand  Of  life,  of 
crown,  of  (jueen,  at  once  <lispat(5h'd." 

543.  A  damn'd  ...  made,  ruin  was  brouj^dil  down  by  most 
accursed  means.  Steevens  compares  Ciiapman's  /\'(  nni/f  for 
Honour,  i.  I,  "That  he  meantime  might  make,  a  -mre.  defeat.  On 
our  aged  father's  ///'  <u)il  ii/ipin ."     ( !p.  also  v.  2.  58,  below. 

5-14.  Who  calls  me  villain"^  iloes  any  one  call  me  villain  ?  i.e. 
anyone  might  do  so  without  fear  of  conscciuences,  for,  as  he  says 


200  HAMLET.  [act  ti. 

below,  1.  549,  I  should  meekly  accept'  the  insult:  breaks... 
across  ?  breaks  my  head  from  one  side  to  the  other  ;  perhaps  with 
an  allusion  to  the  clumsiness  of  those  who  in  tilting  broke  their 
spear  across  the  body  of  their  antagonist  and  not  by  a  direct 
thrust,  as  in  A.  W.  ii.  2.  20,  "  King.  I  would  I  had  ;  so  I  had 
broke  thy  pate.  And  ask'd  thy  mercy  for 't.  Lafeti.  Good  faith, 
across." 

545.  blows  it  in  my  face,  gives  it  to  the  wind  to  blow  it  into 
my  face,  thus  adding  to  the  insult  of  plucking  it  out. 

546.  Tweaks,  pulls  ;  a  word  always  used  in  a  contemptuous 
sense. 

546,  7.  gives  me  ...  lungs,  there  were  various  gradations  of 
giving  the  lie  ;  as  the  simple  "  Thou  liest  "  ;  then  "  Thou  liest  in 
the  throat";  "Thou  liest  in  the  throat  like  a  rogue  "  ;  "Thou 
liest  in  the  throat  like  a  rogue  as  thou  art "  ;  here  the  lie  is 
given  deeper  still,  in  the  lungs  ;  who  does  me  this  ?  is  there  any 
one  who  does  this  to  me  ?  for  the  old  dative  thus  used  see  Abb. 
§  220. 

549.  'Swounds,  I  should  take  it,  by  God's  wounds  {i.e.  those 
inflicted  upon  Christ  in  His  crucifixion),  I  should  accept  the 
insult  without  retaliating. 

549-51.  for  it ...  bitter,  for  clearly  I  must  have  the  liver  of  a 
pigeon  {i.e.  he  no  more  courageous  than  the  timid  pigeon),  and  be 
utterly  wanting  in  that  spirit  which  feels  and  resents  an  injury  ; 
the  liver  was  of  old  supposed  to  be  the  seat  of  courage,  passion, 
love,  etc.  ;  for  gaU,  cp.  T.  C.  i.  3.  237,  H.  V.  ii.  2.  .30. 

552.  fatted,  fattened  :  all  the  region  kites,  all  the  kites  of  this 
part  of  the  country  ;  see  note  on  1.  463,  above. 

553.  offal,  refuse  :  ...  "  formerly  used  of  chips  of  wood  falling 
from  a  cut  log  ;  and  ...  merely  compounded  of  off  and  fall  ..." 
(Skeat,  Ety.  Dirt.). 

5.54.  Remorseless,  pitiless;  see  note  on  1.  467,  above:  kindless, 
without  natural  feeling. 

556.  most  brave,  .said  ironically. 

5oS.  by  heaven  and  hell,  l)y  heaven,  as  shown  by  the  prodigies 
seen  ;  by  hell,  in  its  sending  the  spirit  of  the  dead  king  to  stir 
me  up. 

559.  Must . . .  words,  cannot  help  exhibiting  my  fury  in  mere 
words ;  unpack,  an  allusion  to  peddlers  opening  their  packs  and 
displaying  their  wai-es. 

560.  a-cursing,  i.e.  on  cursing  ;  see  Abb.  §  24. 

561.  A  scuUion,  a  sharp-tongued  kitchen-wench. 

562.  About,  my  brain  !  lie  active,  my  brain  !  stir  yourself  to 
some  design .' 


RrKVK  II.]  NOTES.  201 

r>()3.  sitting:  at  a  play,  Todd  gives  one  such  story  from  A 
^yarniiui for  Fairt  ]Vom<)i,  1599,  and  tlie  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  refer  to 
Massinger's  Roman  Actor,  ii.  1. 

ii64.   cunning,  skill  with  which  the  scene  was  portrayed. 

565.  to  the  soul,  cp.  1.  571,  "  tented  to  the  (juick  " :  presently, 
at  once. 

567,  8.  will  speak  ...  organ,  will  make  itself  known  by  most 
miraculous  meaihs  ;  cp.  Temp.  iii.  3.  96-9,  "  Methought  the 
billows  spoke  untl  told  me  of  it  ;  The  winds  did  sing  it  to  me, 
and  the  thunder.  That  deep  and  dreadful  or^/aji-pipe,  pronounced 
The  name  of  Prosper  ;  it  did  bass  my  trespass  "  ;  also  MavJ).  iii. 
4.  122-6. 

571.  I  11  tent  ...  quick,  I'll  probe  him  to  the  sensitive  point; 
tent,  "  to  search  with  a  tent,  which  was  a  rf)ll  of  lint  for  search- 
ing or  cleansing  a  wound  or  soi-e  '"  (l)yce)  :  the  quick,  the  living, 
sensitive,  ])art  :  blench,   shrink. 

572.  I  know  my  course,  I  shall  at  once  know  how  to  proceed  ; 
the  present  tense  indicates  the  instantaneous  knowledge  which 
will  then  be  his. 

575.  Out  of,  by  means  of. 

576.  As  he  is  ...  spirits,  for  such  spirits  are  allies  which  he 
turns  to  tlic  fullest  use. 

577.  Abuses  . . .  me,  misleads  me  with  the  object  of  making  me 
commit  some  great  crime  which  will  consign  me  to  perdition. 

578.  more  relative,  more  pertinent,  and  so  more  conclusive. 

579.  catch,  snare. 


Act  III.     ScENK  I. 

1.  drift  of  circumstance,  "  rojuiuliU»«Mit.method.  '  Drift '  occurs 
in  ii.  1.  10,  and  '  rircunistance  '  in  this  same  .sense,  in  i.  5.  127, 
and  the  two  words  in  7*.  ('.  iii.  3.  ll.'J.  4,  'I  do  not  strain  at 
the  position,  —  ...  but  at  the  author's  diil't  ;  Who  in  his  circvm- 
s/aticf  expressly  proves,'"  etc.  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.).  Cp.  also  iii.  3.  8.3, 
below. 

2.  Get  from  him  ...  confusion,  lind  out  from  him  what  has  led 
him  to  behave  in  this  excited  manner  ;  cp.  7'.  C.  ii.  3.  135,  "the 
savage  strangeness  he  puis  on  '  .•  ./.  C.  i.  3.  60,  "  And  puf,  on  fear 
and  cast  yourself  in  wonder";  in  neither  of  which  passages  is 
there  any  idea  of  making  a  pretence.  Schmidt  t.d<(s  puts  on  as 
=  incite,  instigate,  but  the  two  ne.xt  lines  show  that  the  I'onfusion 
refers  to  Hamlet  himself  only. 


202  HAMF.KT.  [act  m. 

3,4.  Grating  ...  lunacy,  thus  disturbing  his  peaceful  life  with 
outbursts  of  dangerous  madness  ;  the  figurative  sense  of  grating 
is  from  the  literal  sense  of  two  bodies  roughly  rubbing  against 
each  other,  as  in  i.  H.  IV.  iii.  1.  132,  "  Or  a  dry  wheel  grate  on 
the  axle-tree." 

6.  he  will . . .  speak,   he  cannot  by  any  method  be  persuaded  to 

say. 

7.  forward  to  be  sounded,  inclined  to  let  us  find  out  what  is  at 
the  bottom  of  his  mind. 

8.  But.  with  . . .  aloof,  but  with  a  cunning  such  as  is  seen  in 
mad  people  holds  us  at  a  distance. 

1 1 .  Most  like  a  gentleman,  with  tlie  greatest  courtesy.    ' 

12.  But  with  ...  disposition,  though  he  was  e\ddently  very  ill 
inclined  to  iiave  much  to  do  with  us. 

13,  4.  Niggard  ...  reply,  if  question  is  used  in  its  ordinary 
sense,  this  statement  is  not  true,  for  Handet  had  plied  them  well 
with  questions  of  various  kinds,  whereas  they  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  have  made  any  demands  of  him.  Warburton  therefore 
would  transpose  Niggard  and  Most  free.  Against  this  it  may  be 
urged  that  Hamlet  could  not  be  said  to  lie  niggard  of  his  answers 
when  none  were  required  of  him.  Maloue  and  others  take 
question  as  =  conversation,  discourse,  a  sense  which  it  often 
bears  in  Shakespeare.  But  here  again  we  are  as  far  from  the 
fact  as  ever,  for  Hamlet  conversed  witli  them  freely  on  a  variety 
of  subjects.  The  real  explanation  seems  to  me  that  suggested  by 
the  CI.  Pr.  Edd. ,  that  "perhaps  they  did  not  intend  to  give  a 
correct  account  of  the  interview."  Pos.'<lh/i/  after  Hamlet's 
generous  forbearance  in  not  forcing  them  to  a  confession  as  to 
the  leasoii  of  their  coming,  they  may  have  felt  some  scruples  of 
delicacy  in  betraying  what  they  knew  ;  probably  they  felt  that  if 
tliey  reported  much  of  the  conversation  it  would  be  disco\'?!red 
how  completely  Hamlet  had  seen  through  them,  what  poor  diplo- 
matists they  had  shown  themselves  :  of  our  demands,  as  regarded 
our  demands  ;  see  Abli.  §  173. 

14,  5.  Did  you  pastime?  did  you  test  him  as  regards  his 
inclination  to  take  part  in  any  amusement?  Cp.  M.  M.  i.  2.  1S6, 
"  V)id  herself  assay  lihn."  The  .sul)stantive  assay,  which  is  merely 
another  spelling  of  ^.sso,?/,  from  Lat.  exar/iiun,  a  weighing,  is  now 
used  only  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  testing  of  metal  or  weights. 

17.   o'er-raught,  passed  ;  literally  over-reached. 

20.  as  I  think.  I  lielieve  :  they  . . .  order,  they  liave  already 
received  orders. 

23.  matter,  in  this  word,  according  to  Delius,  there  is  a  tinge 
of  contempt. 

24.  doth  much  content  me,  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me. 


SCKNKI.]  NOTES.  203 

'2('>.  give  him'  edge,  it  seems  doubtful  whether  this  means 
'sharpen  his  incluiutiou.'  oi-  "push  liim  towards,'  in  which  sense 
we  commonly  use  the  verb  to  'egg.'  The  next  line  seems  to 
indicate  the  latter  meaning. 

'29.   Closely,  privately,  secretly. 

'A\  Aifront,  meet  face  to  face,  confront;  the  only  sense  of  the 
wonl  in  Siiakespeare.  wliereas  its  only  meaning  now  is  to  '  insult,' 
from  the  idea  of  meeting  with  too  hold  a  face. 

3'2.  lawful  espials,  who  may  justifiably  act  as  spies  in  such  a 
matter  ;  used  again  in  this  concrete  sense  in  i.  H.  VI.  i.  4.  8, 
iv.  3.  6.  Cp.  "intelligence,"  K.  J.  iv.  2.  116;  "speculations," 
Leav,  iii.  1.  24. 

33.  bestow  ourselves,  station  ourselves. 

34.  encounter,  meeting,  interview:  frankly,  freely;  F./ra7ic,free. 
.3.").  And  gather  ...  behaved,  and  infer  from  his  behaviour. 

36.  afiaiction  of  his  love,  the  passionate  love  he  feels. 

37.  That  thus  ...  for,  which  causes  him  to  suffer  in  this  way. 

38.  for  your  part,  as  regards  you. 

;>n.  your  good  beauties,  the  fascinations  of  your  great  beauty  : 
be  the  happy  cause,  may  happily  prove  to  be  the«cause. 

40-'2.  80  shall  I  ..  honours,  for  in  that  case  I  shall  be  able  to 
cherish  the  hope  tliat  youi-  various  virtues  will  restore  him  to  his 
usual  healthy  state  of  mind,  with  a  result  honourable  alike  to 
him  and  to  you. 

43.  Gracious,  addressed  to  the  king  ;  ep.  "  High  and  mighty,'' 
iv.  7.  43  :  so  please  you,  provided  it  is  agreeable  to  you. 

44.  bestow  ourselves,  place  ourselves  where  we  shall  be  unseen  ; 
cp.  1.  33,  above  :  Read  on,  fix  your  eyes  on  as  though  reading. 

45.  (!.  That  show  .  loneliness,  the  ap])earance  of  your  being 
occupied  in  that  way  will  account  for  you  being  here  all  alone. 

46-9.  'We  are  ...  himself ,  we  are  often  guilty, — as  only  too 
common  experience  sliows,— of  coating  over  our  intentions,  vile 
a.s  the  devil  him.self,  with  looks  of  sanctity  and  pious  acts  ;  for 
sugar  oer,  cp.  i.  //.  IV.  i.  3.  '251,  "  Why,  what  a  camly  deal  of 
luiirUny  The  fawning  greyhound  then  did  proffer  me  !"  and  below, 
iii.  1.  156,  iii.  2.  65. 

51.  beautified  ...  art,  which  owes  its  beauty  to  rouge,  etc.,  cp. 
Cymh.  iii.  4.  51,  2,  "Some  jay  of  Italy  Whos«!  motiier  was  her 
painting." 

.')'2.  Is  not  ...  it,  is  not  more  ugly  in  com])arison  with  the  thing 
to  wiiicli  it  owes  its  beauty  ;  cp.  Mach.  iii.  4.  64,  "0,  these  flaws 
and  starts  Impostors  lo  true  fear." 


204  HAMLET.  [act  ni. 

53.  Than  is  . . .  word,  than  are  my  actions  in  comparison  with 
the  specious  language  in  wliich  I  dress  them  up  ;  most  painted, 
thickly  plastered  over  with  specious  words  ;  deed  does  not  refer 
to  the  particular  deed  of  murdering  his  brother,  but  to  his  base 
actions  generally. 

56.  To  be  . . .  question,  whether  to  continue  to  live  or  not,  that 
is  the  doubt  I  have  to  solve. 

57.  whether  ...  mind,  whether  it  shows  a  nobler  mind. 

58.  slings,  properly  that  which  casts  a  stone,  here  the  missile 
itself  :  outrageous,  violent,  cruel. 

59.  a  sea  of  troubles,  many  pages  have  been  written  upon  the 
incongruity  of  taking  arms  against  a  sea,  but  a  sea  of  troiibles 
is  a  common  expression  in  other  languages  besides  English  for  a 
host,  immensity,  of  troubles,  and  the  mixture  of  metaphors  is 
not  greater  than  in  many  passages  of  Shakespeare  ;  not  much 
greater,  for  instance,  than  the  "  music  of  his  honey  vows,"  1.  156 
below. 

61.  No  more,  i.e.  for  death  is  nothing  more  than  a  sleep:  to 
say  we  end,  to  assure  ourselves  that  we  thus  put  ;kn  end  to,  etc. 

63,  4.   'tis  a  . . .  wlsh'd,  that  is  a  conclusion  for  which  we  may 

well  pray. 

65.  there  "s  the  rub,  there  is  the  difficulty ;  if  we  could  be  quite 
sure  that  death  was  a  dreamless  sleep,  we  should  not  need  to 
have  any  hesitation  about  encountering  it ;  rub,  obstacle  ;  a 
metaphor  from  the  game  of  bowls;  cp.  K.  J.  iii.  iv.  128,  "the 
Tjreath  of  what  I  mean  to  speak  Shall  blow  each  dust,  each  straw, 
each  little  rub  Out  of  the  path":  H.  V.  ii.  2.  188,  "  For  every 
rub  is  smoothed  on  our  way." 

66-8.  For  in  ...  pause,  for  the  doubt  as  to  what  dreams  may 
come  in  that  sleejj  of  death,  when  we  have  put  off  this  encum- 
brance of  the  body  ("  this  muddy  vesture  of  decay,"  3f.  V.  v.  1. 
64),  must  compel  us  to  hesitate  when  considering  the  question  of 
suicide  ;  though  coil  is  elsewhere  used  by  Shakespeare  as  -  tur- 
moil, tumult,  and  may  here  include  that  meaning  also,  the  words 
shuffled  off  seem  to  show  that  the  primary  idea  was  that  of  a 
garment  impeding  freedom  of  action. 

68,  9.  there  "s  the  respect  ...  life,  in  that  lies  the  consideration 
wliich  makes  misfortune  so  long-lived  ;  if  it  were  not  for  that 
consideration,  we  should  quickly  put  an  end  to  calamity  by 
ending  our  lives. 

70.  the  whips . . .  time,  the  lilows  a)id  flouts  to  Avhich  one  is 
exposed  in  tjjisjife  ;  here  time  seems  to  be  opposed  to  eternity, 
as  in  Macb.  i.  7.  6,  "If  ...  that  but  this  blow  Might  be  the  be-all 
and  the  end-all  here.  But  here  upon  this  bank  and  shoal  of  fi7}ie. 
We 'Id  jump  the  ivorld  to  come" ;  and  the  whips  and  scorns 


SCENE  1. 1  NOTES.  205 

to  be  a  general  expression  for  the  particulars  in  the  next  four 
lines,  "the  oppressor's  wrong,"  "'the  law's  delay,"  "the 
insolence  of  office,"  coming  under  the  head  of  whips,  and  "the 
proud  man's  contumely,"  "tiie  pangs  of  despised  love,"  and 
"  the  spurns  that  patient  merit  of  the  uuwortiiy  takes,"  under 
that  of  scorns.  It  is,  however,  possible  that  of  time  may  be 
equivalent  t(j  "of  the  times,"  as  e.y.  in  A".  J.  v.  •_'.  \'l,  "lam 
not  glad  tliat  such  a  sore  of  lime  Should  seek  a  plaster  by 
contemn'd  revolt." 

73.  The  insolence  of  office,  the  insolent  behaviour  witli  which 
men  in  office  treat  those  who  have  to  sue  to  them  :  cp.  tlie  teini 
"Jack  in  office,"  and  i.  //.  VJ.  i.  1.  17"),  "But  long  I  will  not 
be  Jack  out  of  office." 

74.  That  patient  . .  takes,  that  men  of  merit  have  patiently  to 
endure  at  the  hands  of  those  w  lio  liave  no  claim  to  respect. 
Furness  remarks,  "  In  the  enumeration  of  tliese  ills,  is  it  not 
evident  that  Sliakespeare  is  speaking  in  his  own  person  ?  As 
•Tolinson  says,  these  are  not  the  evils  that  would  particularly 
strike  a  prince." 

75.  his  quietus,  his  release,  acquittance  ;  quietus  was  the 
technical  term  for  ac(juittance  of  all  debts  at  the  audit  of 
accounts  in  tlie  Exchecjuei-,  and  is  used  as  late  as  Burke,  Speech 
on  Economical  Reform.  Cp.  Sonn.  cxxvi.  12,  "  Her  audit, 
though  delay 'd,  answer'd  must  be,  And  her  quietu.i  is  to  render 
thee." 

7(i.  With  a  bare  bodkin,  with  a  mere  dagger.  Though  Sluike- 
spaaie  probal)!}'  had  in  liis  mind  tlie  idea  also  of  an  iinsfifn/hed 
dagger,  his  ])rimary  idea  seems  to  be  tiie  t-asiness  with  which  the 
release  could  lie  obtained,  and  the  word  bodkin,  a  diminutive,  = 
small  dagger,  goes  to  confirm  tiiis  notion.  Among  other  passages 
in  wliich  tlie  word  occurs,  Steevens  (juotes  Beaumont  and 
Klotchcr.  The  Ctiatom  of  the  Coinitri/.  ii.  3.  S7,  "  Out  with  your 
hotlki II.  \onv  pocket-dagger,  j'oni-  stiletto"':  fardels,  burdens; 
"a  diminutive  of  F.  farde,  a  ))urden,  still  in  use  in  the  sense  of 
•  bale  of  coffee  '  "  ...  (Skeat,  Etij.  Diet.). 

77.  grnint,  groan  ;  the  word,  tliough  now  having  a  ludicrous 
association,  liad  none  to  the  ears  of  our  forefathers.  Steevens 
gives  several  instances  of  its  use,  and  Staunton  one  from  Arniin's 
Sent  of'  Xinnien,  wliich  is  particularly  apt  ;  "  how  the  fat  fooles 
of  this  age  will  fp-onte  and  nweat  under  their  massie  burden." 

79.  bourn,  lioimdary,  confines;  cp.  Ltar,  iv.  (5.  ")7,  "From  the 
dread  summit  of  this  chalky  bourn." 

80.  No  traveller  returns,  to  the  cavil  tliat  this  is  in  opposition 
tf)  tlu;  fact  of  the  gliost  of  the  king  having  re-visited  the  earth, 
Coleridge  conclusively  replies,  "  If  it  be  necessary  to  remove  the 
apparent    contradiction, — if  it  be  not  rather  a  great  beauty, — 


206  HAMLKT.  [ACTiii. 

surely  it  were  easy  to  say  that  no  travellei-  returns  to  this  world 
as  to  his  home  or  abiding-place  "  :  will,  resolution. 

84,  5.  And  thus  ...  thought,  and  thus  over  the  natural  colour  of 
determination  there  is  thrown  the  pale  and  sickly  tinge  of  anxious 
reflection. 

86.  of  great  pitch  and  moment,  of  soaring  character  and 
mighty  impulse.  The  folios  give  pith  for  pitch,  a  word  we  have 
already  had  in  i.  4.  22,  in  a  different  context.  With  Staunton,  I 
take  pitch  in  the  sense  of  the  highest  point  of  a  falcon's  flight,  as 
in  R.  II.  i.  1.  109,  "How  high  a  />?'<rA  his  resolution  soars!" 
./.  C.  \.  1.  78,  "Will  make  him  "fly  an  ordinary  pitrh"  ;  but 
moment  seems  to  me  to  be  used  here  for  'momentum,'  'impulse.' 
the  sense  which  the  word  ajjpears  to  have  in  A,  C.  i.  2.  147, 
' '  I  have  seen  her  die  twenty  times  upon  far  poorer  moment. " 

87,8.  With  this  ...  action,  influenced  by  this  consideration, 
divert  their  course,  turn  themselves  from  the  path  along  which 
they  were  going,  and  no  longer  can  be  said  to  l>e  active. 

88.  Soft  you  now  !  said  to  himself,  '  but  let  me  pause  ! ' 

89.  Nymph,  literally  bride,  was  a  title  given  to  female  deities 
of  lower  rank  :  orisons,  prayers  ;  through  F.  from  Lat.  oyarf,  to 
pray. 

90.  Be  all  ...  remember'd  !  may  you  remember  to  ask  pardon 
for  all  my  sins  !  to  intercede  for  me. 

91.  How  does...  day?  how  have  j^ou  fared  for  these  many 
days  during  which  I  have  not  seen  you  ?  for  many  a  day,  see 
Abb.  §  87. 

93.  remembrances,  tokens  of  love  given  to  ensure  being  re- 
membered. 

94.  longed  long,  long  been  most  desirous. 

97.  you  know  . . .  did,  you  know  well  enough,  if  you  choose  to 
remember,  that  you  did  give  them  to  me,  trifles  though  they 
may  now  seem,  not  worth  remembering. 

99,  100.  their  perfume  ...  again,  now  that  you  no  longer  have 
kind  words  to  give  me,  take  Imek  the  remembi-ances  which  those 
words  made  so  dear  to  me.  -^  • 

100,  1.  for  to  . . .  unkindTfoi-,  to  a  mind  of  any  nobility,  gifts, 
however  costly,  lose  all  their  value  when  their  givers  change 
from  what  they  were  when  they  1)estowed  them. 

102.  There,  my  lord,  said  as  she  oflers  to  return  his  gifts. 

103.  honest,  virtuous,  modest. 

107,  8  That  if . . .  beauty,  that  if  you  be  virtuous  and  fair,  j'our 
virtue  should  not  allow  itself  any  intercourse  with  your  beauty. 

109,  10.   Could  beauty  ...  honesty  ?     Ophelia,  with  a  womans 


SCF.NK  I.]  NOTPX  207 

wil,  inverts  the  terms  of  tin-  ])r<>])o.sitioii  hy  asking  wlictlier 
l)fi'uty  could  associate  witli  anytliing  more  j)rofitably  tlian  with 
virtue. 

111.  Ay,  truly,  yes,  assuiedly  it  could,  so  far  as  the  interests 
of  virtue  are  concerned. 

li;>,  4.  this  was  .  proof,  this  was  at  one  time  considered  a 
strange  idea,  liut  the  ))rcscut  time  •  have  shown  that  it  is  a  mere 
truism  ;  paradox,  literally  that  which  is  contrarj'  to  (received) 
opinion.  >■  ■  '"■  •'        — 

1 17.  S.  for  virtue  .  it,  for  ^irtue  cannot  so  graft  herself  n\H>n 
Lmiiiaii  nature  lait  it  shall  .sTmiok  ot  its  oiigiiial  (U^iniivily  ;  in- 
oculate, Lat.  ('//,  in,  and  ori(/us,iin  eye,  the  tccliuKal  tciTTrttrr  the 
hud  which  is  grafted  on  to  another  tree.     Cp.    IT.   7'.  iv.  4.  92-5. 

I'Jn.  I  was  the  more  deceived,  then  my  mistake  was  all  tlio 
greater. 

1 '_'  I .  why  wouldst  thou,  why  should  you  desire. 

!•_''_'.  indifferent  honest,  fairly  honourable  as  men  go  :  in- 
different, used  advcrliially. 

\'2',i.  it  were  better,  it  would  be  better. 

12."i.  at  my  back,  ready  to  come  at  my  sunnnoiis,  whenever  I 
choo.se  to  beckon  to  them  ;  thoughts  ...  in,  tlioughts  in  which  t\) 
clothe  them. 

127,  S.  What  should ...  heaven  ?  what  Imsiness  have  such 
wretched  fellows  as  myself  to  lie  ci-awling,  like  noxious  reptiles, 
on  eai'th  and  aspiring  to  heaven?  arrant,  thoiough,  utter  ;  "  a 
variant  of  trraul.  wandering,  vagrant,  vagabond,  which  from  its 
fre<)uent  use  in  such  expressions  as  arrmit,  thief,  became  an  in- 
tensive, 'thorough,  notori(jus,  downright,'  especially  from  its 
original  as.sociations,  with  opprobrious  names  "  (Murray,  Emj. 
J)i<l.).  Though  generally  used  in  a  liad  sense,  we  find  it  occa- 
.sionally  in  a  good  (jne,  cij.  Ford,  'I  lu'  JumrifK,  C'/ia^tc  und  .\ol>/(', 
iii.  2,  "  true  and  a?vo,;//  ladies";  also  Fold,  Lort's  Sarrijirf,  ii. 
2,  and  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  The  Loyal  Sidiject,  iii.  5,  and 
The  Little  French  Lauder,  iv.  4.  4. 

120.  thy  ways,  .see  note  on  i.  3.  1.35. 

1.32.  shut  upon  hiin,  shut  against  hiiji.going  out. 

1.3(i,  7.  be  thou  calumny,  see  quotation  from  IT.  7'.  ii.  1. 
71-4,  on  i.  1.  .38,  above. 

i.S.S.  needs,  of  necessity  ;  the  old  genitive  used  adverbially. 

I3!t.  what  monsters  ..  them,  an  allusion  to  the  old  belief  that 
horns  grew  out  of  the  foreiiead  of  men  whose  wives  had  been  un 
faithful  to  them. 

142.  your  paintings,  ilic  rouging  of  the  complexion  so  common 
among  your  se.\  ;  your,  useil  generally. 


208  HAMLET.  [act  hi. 

144.  jig,  are  given  to  loose  dances :  amble,  walk  with  a  min- 
cing gait. 

144,  5.  nick-name  God's  creatures,  are  not  content  with  calling 
God's'creatures  by  their  right  names,  but  must  invent  foolish  and 
ribald  ones  for  them:  a,  nick-nn7yie  is  an  cke-itcimf,  a  name  given  to 
eke  out  another  name,  an  additional  name  ;  creatures,  both  ani- 
mate and  inanimate,  as  in  K.  .1.  iv.  1.  121,  "tire  and  iron... 
creatures  of  note  for  mercy-lacking  uses."  So,  Bacon,  Esnaii  of 
Truth,  "The  first  creature  of  God,  in  the  works  of  the  days,  was 
the  light  of  the  sense  "  ;  also  Temp.  iii.  3.  74  :  and  make  . . . 
ignorance,  and  when  charged  with  immodest  beha^'iour  plead 
ingenuous  simplicity  as  your  excuse. 

146.  I  '11  no  more  on  "t,  I  will  allow  no  more  of  such  goings  on ; 
on't,  of  it,  sc.  your  behaviour. 

148.  one,  sc.  the  king.  "This  exception  would  be  quite 
unintelligible  to  Ophelia,  but  the  audience,  who  are  in  Handet's 
secret,  see  its  purport  "  (CI.  Pr.  Edd. ) :  keep  as  they  are,  remain 
unmarried. 

151.  The  courtier's  ...  sword,  i.e.  the  eye  of  the  courtier,  the 
tongue  of  the  scholar,  the  sword  of  the  soldier  ;  Hamlet,  accord- 
ing to  Ophelia,  being  endowed  with  the  sprightly  look  of  the 
courtier,  the  learning  of  the  scholar,  and  the  skill  in  arms  of  the 
soldier. 

152.  The  expectancy  ...  state,  the  hope  and  chief  ornament  of 
the  state,  thus  beautified  by  him  ;  fair  is  used  proleptically, 
which  was  made  fair  by  wearing  him  (as  a  rose  in  a  dress,  coat, 
etc.). 

153.  The  glass  of  fashion,  in  whom  was  reflected  all  that  was 
in  the  highest  fashion,  the  most  perfect  good  taste  ;  the  mould  of 
form,  "the  model  by  whom  all  endeavoured  to  form  themselves  " 
(Johnson). 

154.  The  ohserved  of  all  observers,  he  whose  conduct  and 
carriage  was  closely  observed  by  every  one  as  an  example  to 
be  followed  :  quite,  quite  down,  now  utterly  overthrown  ;  cp. 
iii.  2.  198. 

155.  deject,  dejected,  broken-spirited  ;  for  the  omission  of  the 
participial  termination,  see  Abb.  §  342. 

156.  That  sucked  . . .  vows,  who  so  greedily  drank  in  his  honeyed 
words  of  love  ;  Ophelia  combines  what  is  sweet  to  the  taste  and 
sweet  to  the  ear. 

157.  sovereign,  the  supreme  power  in  the  state  of  man:  cp.  /. 
C.  ii.  1.  68,  "the  state  of  man.  Like  to  a  little  kingdom,  suffers 
then  The  nature  of  an  insurrection." 

158.  Like  sweet ..  harsh,  like  bells  naturally  of  a  sweet  tone, 
rung  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  out  of  tune  with  each  other,  and  so 


scENK  I.]  NOTES.  209 

harslisnundin^'.  It  seems  V)etter  to  follow  the  folios  in  ])lacing 
tlie  coiiima  after  tune  and  not  after  jangled,  as  most  editors 
follow  C'apell  in  doing. 

ir)9,  60.  That  unmatch'd  ...  ecstasy,  that  peerless  form  and 
feature  of  youth  in  its  full  lilooni  now  t'ruelly  marred  by  madness 
(as  a  flower  in  bloom  is  blasted  by  a  storm)  ;  feature  is  used  by 
Shakespeare  for  the  per-son  in  general  (and  especially  of  dignified 
appearance,  e.;/.  A".  //.  i.  1.  19,  Cymh.  v.  5.  163,  as  feafttrelesfi  in 
Soiiii.  xi.  10,  for  'ugly'),  and  rarely,  if  ever,  in  the  restricted 
modern  sense  of  the  particular  jjarts  of  the  face  :  so  that  form 
and  feature  is  almost  redundant :    woe  is  me,  woe  is  to  me  ;  see 

Abb.  §  L';it). 

161.  To  have  ..  see,  that  I  should  have  known  him  as  he  once 
was,  and  should  know  him  as  he  now  is.  


162.  Love  I  ...  tend,  you  say  that  love  is  the  cause  of  his  mad- 
ness !  nonsense  I  the  bent  of  his  mind  is  not  in  that  direction. 

163.  though  it  .  little,  though  it  was  somewhat  incoherent, 
unmethodical. 

164.  "Was  not,  for  the  emphatic  double  negative,  see  Abb. 
§406. 

165.  on  brood,  a-brnoding  ;  cp.  i.  5.  19. 

166.  7.  And  I  do  .  danger,  and  I  suspect  that  when  the  out- 
come of  it  is  seen,  we  shall  find  it  something  dangerous  ;  disclose 
"'is  when  the  young  just  peeps  through  the  shell.'  It  is  also 
taken  for  laying,  hatching,  or  bringing  forth  young  ;  as  '  She 
disclosed  three  birds.'  R.  Holme's  Academy  of  Armory  and 
Blazon  ...  Cp.  also  v.  1.  275  [273]  "  (Steevens). 

167.  which  for  to  prevent,  in  order  to  anticipate  which ;  for  to, 
now  a  vulgarism,  occurs,  among  the  undou})ted  and  wliolly 
Shakespearian  plays,  in  W.  7'.  i.  2.  427,  A.  W .  v.  3.  181,  and 
below  v.  1.  89. 

108,  9.  I  have  ...  down,  I  have  with  prompt  determination 
decide<l :  he  shall,  ■'■'■•  be  sent,  go  ;  the  verb  of  motion  omitted, 
as  fre([ucntly. 

170.  For  the  ...  tribute,  to  demand  the  tribute  of  money  due 
to  us,  which  they  have  neglected  to  pay  ;  cp.  Cynih.  iii.  1.  8-10. 

171-5.  Haply  ...  himself,  possiblj'  the  variety  of  novel  sights 
which  in  his  voyage  anil  travels  he  will  bciiold  will  drive  out  this 
matter  which  has  to  some  extent  settled  in  his  heart,  and  which 
by  his  brains  constantly  beating  on  it,  has  changed  him  from  his 
usual  self  ;  the  gi'ammatical  construction  is  '  the  beating  of  his 
brains  on  which  ';  cp.  Cymh.  i.  6.  8,  "blest  be  those  ...  that  have 
their  h<jnest  wills,  which  (xc.  the  iiaving  their  wills)  seasons 
comfort ;  "  and  see  Abb.  §  337. 

o 


210  HAMLET.  [ACT  III. 

176.  It  shall  do  well,  the  plan  is  certain  to  answer  :  yet,  still  (in 
time),  not,  notwithstanding  what  yoa  say. 

177,8.  The  origin  ...  love,  a  redundancy  for  'tile  origin  and 
commencement  are  from,'  etc.,  or  '  his  grief  sprung  from'  :  How 
now,  Ophelia  !  what  brings  you  here  ? 

181.  if  you...  fit,  if  you  agree  with  me  as  to  the  pi-opriety  of 
doing  so. 

183.  grief,  some  editors  prefer  the  reading  of  the  folios,  uriefn, 
but  we  have  the  singular  in  1.  177,  and  the  idea  of  a  burden, 
which  here  seems  wanted,  is  better  exjjressed  by  the  singular 
than  the  plural  :  round,  peremptory,  plain  spoken  ;  see  note  on 
ii.  2.  139. 

184,5.  in  the  ear  ...  conference,  where  I  can  hear  all  that 
passes  between  them.  Polonius  insinuates  that  from  maternal 
affection  the  queen  may  not  faithfully  report  the  interview,  and 
also  perhaps  that  his  wisdom  is  necessary  to  judge  of  the  real 
meaning  of  what  Hamlet  may  say  with  an  accuracy  that  could 
not  be  expected  of  a  woman  :  find  him,  discover  his  secret  ;  cp. 
Lear,  iv.  6.  104,  "  there  I  found  'em,  there  1  smelt  'em  out." 

187.  Your  wisdom,  you  in  your  wisdom. 


Scene  II. 

1.  Coleridge  remarks,  "This  dialogue  of  Hamlet  with  the 
Players  is  one  of  the  happiest  instances  of  Shakespeare's  power 
of  diversifying  the  scene  while  he  is  carrying  on  the  plot." 

2.  trippingly  on  the  tongue,  with  an  easy  delivery  :  but  if  you, 
before  these  words  we  nuist  supply  some  such  clause  as  '  and  then 
all  will  go  well ' :  mouth  it,   deliver  it  in  a  bonil)astic  manner. 

3.  your  players,  many  players  that  you  and  I  know  well  ;  see 
A])l).  S  221  :  had  as  lief,  should  l>e  as  willing  ;  lief,  literally 
dear,  beloved,  pleasing  ;  from  A.S.  leqf,  116/,  dear  :  the  town- 
crier,  who  shouts  out  proclamations,  notices,  etc.,  in  the  streets. 

4.  saw  the  air,  mo\e  your  arms  up  and  down  in  emphatic 
gesture. 

5.  use  all  gently,   in  everything  act  with  a  quiet  dignitj'. 

~)-l.  for  in  ...  smoothness,  for  even  when  your  passion  is  at  its 
liighest  pitch,  you  must  learn  to  employ  a  restraint  which  shall 
make  it  go  smoothly  ofl'. 

8.  to  the  soul,  to  the  very  depths  of  )ny  nature. 

8-11.  to  hear  ...  noise,  to  hear  a  big  blustering  bully  in  a  wig 
utterly  ruin  the  expression  of  strong  emotion  merely  in  order  that 
the  thunder  of  his  tones  may  win  the  applause  of  the  pit,  fellows 


scEN'Eii.]  NOTES.  211 

for  tlie  most  pivrt  inc.ijKible  of  appreciating  anything  but  unin- 
telligible (lunil)  shows  and  noise  ;  robustious,  used  again  in 
//.  I',  iii.  7.  l'>!*.  \N'alkei'  cites  paialld  old  forms,  jirolixiouH, 
stii/ii  iidioii-t.  sii/itrltiou-1,  and  even  sj,/f  iididioiis  :  periwig',  '.' The  i 
aftei'  /•  is  corruptly  inserted  ;  Minslieu  gives  tlic  sjitlliugs  per- 
irii/iji' and  ptririckr.  Of  these  forms,  ptririgt/c.  is  a  weakened 
form  of  /terwicke,  or  penrirk  ;  and  penoick  is  an  K.  rendering  of 
the  0.  Du.  form  [peruyk]  as  distinct  from  jieruke.,  which  is  the  F. 
form  "  ...  (Skeat,  Etii.  Dirt.).  8teevens  points  out  that  in  Shake- 
speare's time  players  most  generally  \\ore  periwigs  :  groundlings, 
the  fre(juenters  of  the  pit,  who  stood  on  its  Hoor,  no  benches 
being  provided  in  that  part  of  the  theatre  ;  the  siiftix  ■liiir/a  gives 
H  contemptuous  Havour  to  the  word  ;  dumb-shows,  such  as  that 
which  follows  1.  I'iO  of  this  scene. 

12.  I  would,  i.f.  if  I  had  my  way  :  o'erdoing,  exceeding  in 
violence:  Termagant,  "  was  one  of  the  idols.,  the  Saracens  are 
supposed  to  worsliip  ...  The  name  is  a  corrujjtion  of  O.  F.  Terra- 
(ji'ut,  Terrar/aii,  or  'Jarrar/an..  — Ital.  7VmV/a)/./e"...  (.Skeat,  A/y. 
Dirt.).  This  personage  was  frequently  introduced  into  the  old 
Moralities,  and  represented  as  of  a  violent  character  ;  the  word  is 
now  used  only  of  a  boisterous,  scolding  woman. 

13.  out-herods  Herod,  outdoes  Herod  in  fury  ;  Herod  in  tlic 
old  Mystery  plays  being  always  represented  as  violent,  in  refer- 
ence to  his  slaughter  of  the  innocents  in  the  hopes  of  killing 
Christ,  whose  advent  had  been  prophesied. 

14.  I  warrant  your  honour,  I  promise  you  I  will  avoid  all  such 
extravagunies  ;  your  honour,  a  title  of  respect. 

15.  Be  not  ...  neither,  at  the  same  time  take  care  to  act  with 
sufKcient  spirit  ;  for  neither,  where  we  should  say  either,  see  Abb. 
§  128. 

17.  with  ...  observance,  .specially  observing,  taking  note  of, 
this. 

IS.  the  modesty  of  nature,  the  limits  of  natural  moderation: 
such  moderation  as  nature  dictates  :  from,  away  from,  and  .so 
opp<.).sed  to  ;  see  Abb.  ^  loS. 

19.  end,  ol)ject,  purpose  ;  at  the  first  and  now,  from  tiie  earli- 
est times  of  the  theatre  to  the  present. 

21.  feature,  shape,  form  ;  see  note  on  iii.  1-  li'9  :  scorn,  ap- 
parently objects  of  coiilemijt  ;  cp.  ('.  K.  iv.  4.  KM!. 

22.  the  very  ...  pressure,  give  the  period  of  time  represented 
its  exact  form  and  image  in  every  particuhir  :  time  being 
regarded  as  something  living  is  endowed  with  age  and  body  ; 
pressure,  impression  taken  as  it  were  in  wax  ;  cp.  i.  ">.  100. 

22.  ?>.  Now  .  off,  now  if  you  o\  f  ido  this  on  the  one  hand,  or 
fall  short  of  it  on  tin-  other  ;  unskilful,  r.ij.  the  "groundlings." 


212  HAMLET.  [act  III. 

24-6.  the  censure . . .  others,  the  opinion  of  one  of  whom  (sr.  good 
judges)  you  must  admit  wouhl  far  outweigh  a  whole  theatreful  of 
ignorant  persons  ;  that  censure  of  the  which  one  =  the  opinion  of 
one  of  which  class  (though  it  he  a  licentious  expression)  is,  I 
think,  clearly  proved  l)y  a  whole  theatre  of  others. 

27,  8.  not  to  ...  profanely,  of  \\liom  I  hope  I  may  without  pro- 
fanity say.  Cp.  M.  V.  i.  2.  60,  1,  "(4od  made  him,  and  there- 
fore let  him  pass  for  a  man." 

28,  9.  that  neither  ...  man,  who  not  Iteing  able  to  speak  like 
Christians,  and  in  the  matter  of  carnage  resembling  neither 
Christian,  pagan,  or  man  at  all. 

.30.  journeymen,  apprentices  ;  from  F.joni-nee,  a  day,  properly 
one  who  is  hired  by  the  day  :  cp.  Burns,  Green  ijrow  the  rn.<ihfi^, 
0,  "  On  man  she  tried  her  prentice  han'.  And  then  she  made  the 
lasses,  Oh  !  ",  said  of  Nature. 

;^0,  1.  had  made  men,  had  been  making  men  ;  not  all  mankind, 
but  these  actors. 

33.  indifferently,  pretty  thoroughly. 

34.  with  us,  in  our  company. 

.35-7.  And  let...  them,  do  not  let  them  follow  the  example  of 
those  actors  who  are  always  ready  to  insert  something  of  their 
own  into  the  speeches  they  have  to  deliver  ;  to  'gag,  "as  it  is  now 
called  in  theatrical  parlance,  —a  practice  common  in  Shakespeare's 
day,  and  carried  to  great  lengths.  Stowe,  quoted  by  Steevens, 
speaks  of  two  men  especially  who  were  famed  for  their  "  extem- 
pora/l  witt,"  viz.  Thomas  Wilson  and  Richard  Tarleton  :  of  them, 
among  them  (sr..  the  players). 

37,  S.  to  set  on  .  too,  to  incite  some  of  the  more  barren-witted 
of  their  aiulience  to  join  in  the  laugh. 

38-40.  though  . . .  considered,  though  at  the  time  some  impor- 
tant point  in  the  play  has  to  be  dealt  with ;  pitiful,  con- 
temptible. 

41.  uses  it,  is  guilty  of  the  practice. 

43.  and  that  presently,  not  only  hear  it,  but  hear  it  at  once. 

48.  sweet  lord,  a  common  form  of  address  in  Shakespeare's  day : 
at  your  service,  ready  to  attend  your  wishes. 

49.  e'en  as  just  a  man,  as  thoroughly  upright  a  man. 

50.  As  e'er  ...  withal,  as  ever  I  have  met  with  in  my  intercourse 
with  men  :  conversation,  in  the  older  and  more  literal  sense  of 
mixing  with,  associating  with  men;  cp.  Cymh.  i.  4.  113,  "With 
five  times  so  much  roncersation,  I  should  get  ground  of  your  fair 
mistress";  frequent  in  the  Bible,  eg.  P.s'a/w.s,  xxxvii.  14, 
ii.  Peter,  iii.  11 ;  to  cope  is  used  both  transitively  and  intransitively 
by  Shakespeare,  e.g.  M.   V.  iv.  1.  412,  "in  lieu  whereof.  Three 


scENF.  ri.]  NOTRS.  213 

thousjiiul  ducats  ...  Wo  freely  rope  your  courteous  paius  withal  "  ; 
W.  ']'.  iv.  4.  4.'^5,  "who  of  force  must  know  The  royal  fool  thou 

COpr<t  iri'fh." 

'y2.  advancement,  preferment. 

5.S.  revenue,  with  the  accent  on  the  second  syllable. 

.")4.  Why  should  ..  flatterd  ?  what  good  could  there  he  in 
flatterin-,''.' 

55-7.  No,  let . . .  fawning,  no,  let  the  man  of  sugared  words  spend 
them  u])on  foolish  ponijj  {i.e.  those  who  iil)surdly  hoast  themselves 
of  their  grandeur),  and  how  their  supple  knees  in  those  cases  in 
wliioli  their  adulation  is  likely  to  he  rewaided  by  gain  ;  for 
pregnant,  cp.  T.  C.  iv.  4.  90,  "fair  virtues  all,  To  which  the 
firecians  are  most  promj)t  and  pre<inant" ;  Lear,  iv.  6.  227, 
"  Who,  bv  the  art  of  known  and  feeling  sorrow,  Are  prerjiiaid  to 
good  pity";  for  thrift.  =  gain.  If.  T.  i.  2.  311,  "To  see  alike 
niine  honour  as  tlieir  profits,  Their  own  particular  fhri/ts." 

oiS-GO.  Since  my  ...  herself,  since  my  soul,  so  precious  a  posses- 
sion, was  capal)le  of  making  choice,  and  could  distinguish  among 
men,  her  choice  has  been  irre^•ocably  tixed  upon  you  ;  distin- 
gnish,  in  this  sense,  used  by  Shakespeare,  with  hettrlxt,  except 
in  ii.  //.  VI.  ii.  1.  129,  "Sight  may  (liNfijxjiiish  of  colours"  ;  for 
seal'd,  cp  M.  M.  \.  1.  245,  "That's  seaPd  in  approbation"; 
Ci/mh.  iii.  6.  85,  "had  the  virtue  Which  their  own  conscience 
neal'd  them." 

61.  As  one,  ...  nothing,  like  one  wiio,  tiiough  enduring  every 
misfortune,  seems  umouscious  that  he  is  cnduriiig  any. 

03.  with  equal  thanks,  with  the  same  ini])erturbability. 

64.  Whose  blood  . .  commingled,  in  \\hom  passionate  feeling  and 
judgement  are  mingled  in  such  due  proportion. 

65,  6.  That  they  . . .  please,  that  fortune  is  not  able  to  do  what 
she  will  witli  them  ;  the  '  stops '  in  a  wind  instrument  are  the 
holes  upon  which  the  fingers  are  placed  to  regulate  the  passage 
of  sound. 

67.  passions  slave,  the  slave  of  uncontrolled  emotion. 

68.  my  heart's  core,  the  centre  of  my  heart,  or,  as  he  goes  on 
to  say,  the  licai  t  of  his  heart  ;  core  b(ung  nothing  more  than 
the  Lat.  ror.  heart  :  most  fre(|uently  used  of  the  heart  of  fruits. 

69.  Something  too  much  of  this,  Claike  remarks,  "  The  genuine 
manliness  of  tiiis  little  sentence,  where  Handet  checks  himself 
when  consciou.s  that  he  has  been  cari'ied  away  by  fervour  of 
affectionate  friendship  into  stronger  pi'otestation  than  mayhap 
lieeomes  the  truth  and  simjjlicity  of  sentiment  between  man  and 
man,  is  j)recisely  one  of  Shakespeare's  touches  of  innate  propriety 
in  (jUestions  of  feeling  "... 

70.  before  the  king,  i.e.  to  be  acted  before  the  king. 


214  HAMLET.  [act  111. 

71,  2.  comes  .  death,  closely  resembles  in  fletail  the  manner 
of  my  father's  death,  of  which  I  have  already  told  you. 

73.  that  act,  that  part  of  the  drama :  afoot,  in  process  of  being 
represented. 

74.  Even  with  ..."  soul,  with  the  most  intense  direction  of  every 
faculty"  (Caldecott). 

75.  occulted,  hidden  ;  here  only  in  Shakespeare. 

76.  unkennel,  discover  ;  literally  to  loose  from  the  kennel. 

77.  damned,  apparently  nsed  in  a  double  sense,  condemned  to 
hell,  and  accursed  in  having  deceived  us. 

79.  stithy,  forge  ;  formerly  used  for  both  the  forge  and  the 
anvil ;  here  what  we  now  call  the  '  smithy,'  i.e.  place  where  the 
smith  works  ;  Give  ...  note,  mark  him  most  carefully. 

80.  rivet,  fix  immoveably  ;  for  the  figurative  sense,  cp.  Cymh. 
ii.  2.  43,  "  Why  should  1  write  this  down,  that's  riveted,  Screw'd 
to  my  memory  ?  " 

81.  2.  And  after  ...  seeming,  and  when  the  play  is  over,  we  will 
compare  our  impressions  as  to  his  behaviour  during  it,  and  see 
what  conclusions  M'e  come  to. 

83,  4.  If  he  steal  . . .  theft,  if  during  the  play  any  guilty  look 
or  movement  of  his  escapes  my  notice,  you  may  punish  me  as 
you  like  for  liaving  allowed  myself  to  be  duped  V)y  him  ;  for  pay, 
=  pay  for,  the  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  compare  R.  J.  i.  1.  244,  "  I  11  y  w/ 
that  doctrine,  or  else  die  in  debt "  ;  and  for  theft,  =  the  thing 
stolen,  Exodwi,  xxii.  4,  "If  the  theft  be  certainly  found  in  his 
hand  alive,"  etc. 

85.  I  must  be  idle,  I  must  appear  to  be  utterly  unconcerned 
with  the  whole  business,  not  seem  in  the  least  interested  in 
watching  how  things  go.  Some  editors  understand  idle  to  mean 
'mad,'  'crazy':  but  the  point  is  that  while  Horatio  is  free  to 
give  his  whole  attention  to  the  king's  behaviour,  without  being 
noticed,  Hamlet  for  fear  of  being  suspected  of  having  planned 
the  scheme,  must  appear  to  take  no  interest  in  the  proceedings  : 
and  therefore  in  the  next  line  he  tells  Horatio  to  secure  a  seat 
for  himself  where  he  may  see  clearly  what  effect  the  play 
produces,  and  to  leave  him  to  stroll  about  alone,  lest  being 
together  they  might  seem  to  have  some  secret  understanding 
between  them. 

87.  How  fares  . . .  Hamlet  ?  how  are  you,  cousin  ? 

88,  9.  Excellent,  ...  so,  Hamlet  pretends  to  take  the  king's 
words  to  mean  what  fare  (food)  is  set  before  you?  ami  therefore 
answers,  capital  fare,  from  the  chameleon's  dish  ;  I,  like  that 
animal,  feeding  upon  air.  for  my  diet  is  promises,  which  are  not 
more  substantial  than  air  ;  you  can  feed  animals  like  •  the 
chameleon  and  myself  upon  such  food,  but  you  will  not  find  it 


SCKNE  1 1.1  NOTKS.  215 

fiittoiiiiig  for  fowls  ;  Excellent,  t lie  adjective  for  the  aclverU;  tlic 
ch.iiiR'leoii,  literally  tlie  tartli-lion,  from  fpwliiii;  on  insects  so 
small  as  iiardly  to  be  visible,  was  popularly  siipp<ised  to  live 
upon  air. 

!)0.  1.  I  have  mine,  tliis  answei-  has  no  connection  with  my 
(juestioii. 

9'J.  No,  nor  mine  now,  a  reference,  says  Johnson,  to  the  pro- 
verb, "  A  man's  vvdnls  are  his  own  no  longer  than  he  keeps  them 
unspoken." 

JKS.  university,  Shakespeare  had  in  his  mind  the  plays  acted  at 
tiie  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  by  thc^under-graduates, 
and  .sometimes  by  professional  actors. 

OH.  Julius  Caesar..  Capitol,  here,  as  in  Jnl'ms  dvnar,  Shake- 
speare mistiikenly  places  tlic  murder  of  Cicsar  in  the  Capitol, 
though  in  reality  it  took  place  in  or  near  Pompey's  theatre. 

98.  a  brute  part,  a  brutal  act  on  his  part. 

100.  stay  patience,  aie  waiting  till  you  shall  gi\e  them  per- 
nii.<sion  to  litgin  ;  for  patience,  in  this  sense,  cp.  7\'m/i.  iii.  3.  3, 
"  Hi/  your  paliencf,  I  needs  must  rest  me  ";    0th.  i.  3.  89. 

l(ti>.  here 's  metal  more  attractive,  Ophelia  being  the  magnet. 

104.  in  your  lap,  at  her  feet,  wilii  his  head  resting  against  her 
lap,  as  he  goe...  on  to  explain.  Steevens  says  that  to  lie  at  the 
feet  of  a  mistress,  during  any  dramatic  re])rescntation,  seems  tf 
liave  been  a  common  act  of  gallantry. 

1 10.  your  only  jig-maker,  only  your  composer  of  jigs  ;  see  note 
on  ii.  '2.  470,  and  for  the  transposition  of  only,  Abb.  §  420. 

1 12.  within  "s  two  hours,  within  this  period  of  two  hours  ;  less 
than  two  hours  ago. 

114,  o.  Nay  then, .  .  sables,  Warburton  reads  ]forr,  i.f.  before, 
a  conjecture  w  liicli  ."^taunton  tliinks  is  possibly  right,  Handet,  to 
(•ni])hasize  his  meaning,  hei'c  flinging  f)tl'  his  niouiiiing  cloak. 
Others  take  sables  to  mean  a  (hess  of  mucii  magniticencc  ;  while 
tithers  again  suppose  the  word  should  be  sahe/l,  i.e.  of  flame 
colour,  or  fawn-colour  a  good  deal  heightened  with  red.  Possibly 
the  meaning  is,  if  my  fatlier  has  been  reniemliered  so  long  a  time 
as  two  nifinths,  the  devil  may  well  wear  his  usual  mourning,  for 
I  too  will  show  my  regaril  for  his  memory  by  wearing  a  dress  of 
much  th(r  same  colour  as  his,  "  my  inky  cloak,"  as  he  calls  it,  i.  2. 
77.  Still  more  possibly  Hamlet  did  not  intend  himself  to  be 
understood  ;  his  words  being  pur[K)sely  the  "  matter  and  inditf'er- 
eiicy  nuxed  "  of  the  distracted  king  in  Laiir,  iv.  2.  178. 

117.  byr  lady,  see  note  on  ii.  2.  402. 

117,8.  he   must  ..then,    if   he   wishes   to   keep    his    memory 


216  HAMLET.  {act  iir. 

green,  lie  must  leave  liehind  him   some  visible  remembrance  of 
Iiimself :  not  thinking  on,  ol)livion  ;  as  though  one  word. 

119.  the  hobby-horse,  "  a  personage  belonging  to  the  ancient 
morris-dance  ...  made  ...  by  the  figure  of  a  horse  fastened  round 
the  waist  of  a  man,  his  own  legs  going  through  the  body  of  the 
horse  ...  but  concealed  by  a  long  foot-cloth  ;  while  false  legs  ap- 
peared where  those  of  the  man  should  l)e,  at  the  side  of  the 
horse  ...  Latterly  the  hobby-horse  was  fi-equeutly  omitted,  wliich 
appears  to  have  occasioned  a  popular  ballad,  in  which  was  this 
line  or  bm-den,  '  For  0,  for  0,  the  hobby-horse  is  forgot ' "  (Nares). 

St.\ge  DiRECTioy.  Hautboy fi  from  "0.  F.  hanlf  ...  high,  and 
F.  hois  ...  a  bush.*  Thus  the  literal  sense  is  '  high  wood ' ;  the 
hautboy  being  a  wooden  instrument  of  a  high  tone  "  (Skeat',  Ety. 
Diet.). 

122,  3.  makes  ...  him,  goes  through  the  action  of  earnestly 
declaring  her  love  for  him. 

123,  4.  takes  ...  neck,  raises  her  from  her  kneeling  position, 
and  lets  his  head  fall  upon  her  neck  :  lays  him  down,  lies  down. 

Vli'i,  kisses  it,  to  show  how  precious  it  is  in  his  sight,  how 
dearly  he  would  like  to  wear  it. 

128.  makes  passionate  action,  makes  demonstration  of  deepest 
sorrow. 

134.  miching  mallecho,  secret  mischief;  to  '  mich '  was  to 
lurk,  and  in  i.  H.  IV.  ii.  4.  450,  we  have  micher  for  a  truant; 
"  Shall  the  blessed  sun  of  heaven  prove  a  micher  and  eat  black- 
berries ? "  for  mallecho  Dyce  quotes  Connelly's  Span,  and  En<j. 
Diet.,  '"^  Mallecho  .An  evil  action,  an  indecent  and  indecorous 
behaviour  ;  malefaction." 

135.  Belike  ...  play,  probably  this  dumb-show  indicates  the  plot 
of  the  play  ;  Belike,  i.e.  by  like,  likelihood. 

136.  We  shall  ...  fellow,  we  shall  soon  find  out  from  this  fellow. 

137.  keep  counsel,  keep  a  secret. 

144.  Here  ...  clemency,  which  here  humbly  submits  itself  to 
you,  hoping  for  merciful  judgement. 

146.  posy,  motto,  frequently  in  verse,  engraved  upon  a  ring. 

149.  Phoebus'  cart,   the  chariot  of  the  sun -god. 

150.  salt  wash,  the  sea  ;  like  Phoebus'  cart,  orbed  ground,  etc., 
intentional  bombast. 

154.  commutual,  mutually,  each  in  each. 

156.  done,  ended. 

157.  you  are  . . .  late,  you  have  lately  been  so  sick. 

158.  So  far  ...  state,  so  different  from  your  usual  cheerful  self. 


scKNRii.]  NOTES.  217 

!.">!).  distrust  you,  am  anxious  about  you;  so,  "do  not  fear 
our  person,"  iv.  o.  103,  below. 

160.  nothing,  in  no  way. 

161,  2.  For  women's  extremity,  for  women's  fear  and  love 
are  c<mally  dispioportinnate  to  the  object,  being  in  either  ease 
much  less  or  nuuli  greater  than  they  should  be  ;  cp.  M.  JV  .D.  i. 
1.  "232,  "Things  base  and  vile,  holdhiij  no  (jiiaiilify,  Love  can 
transpose  to  form  and  dignity";  for  instances  of  the  inflection 
in  -.<  with  two  singular  nouns,  see  Al)b.  §  336. 

163.   proof  ..  know,  you  have  learnt  by  experience. 

16.').  the  littlest ...  fear,  even  the  smallest  doubt  as  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  loved  one  becomes  fear  :  littlest,  here  only  in 
Shakespeare. 

166.  Where  little  .. .  there,  where  small  fears  exaggerate  them- 
selves into  great  ones,  you  may  be  sure  that  gieat  love  is  present 
there  ;  the  figure  in  the, latter  clause  is  that  of  knowing  a  tree 
from  its  fruit. 

168.  My  operant  .do,  my  active  faculties  cease  to  perform  their 
functions;  cp.  Appiii--<  and  Vinjinici,  -p.  179/2,  ed.  Dyce,  "This 
siglit  hath  stitfen'd  all  my  operant  poicers. "  For  the  infinitive  verb 
used  as  a  noun,  see  Abb.  §  355.     169.  liv^...  behind,  survive  me. 

171.  0,  confound  the  rest !  shame  on  what  you  were  a])out  to 
add  I  i.e.  pause  Ijefore  uttering  such  shameful  words  as  are  in 
your  thought. 

172.  Such  .  breast,  such  love  if  entering  my  heart  would  be 
treason. 

173.  In  second  .  accurst,  if  I  marry  a  second  husband,  may  I 
find  him  everything  that  is  hateful. 

174.  but  who,  except  tliose  who. 

175.  Wormwood,  wormwood,  i.e.  that  stings  him  bitterly;  as 
we  siiy  '  that's  gall  and  wormwood  to  him  '  ;  wormwood,  a  very 
bitter  plant  still  used  in  France  in  the  maiuifacture  of  'absinthe,' 
and  'vermuth.'  Tiie  word  has  really  nothing  to  do  with  either 
v:orm  or  vood,  but  is  from  the  A.S.  vermt'xl,  which,  according  to 
•Skeat,  is  equivalent  to  '  mind-preserver,' from  A.S.  werian,  to 
protect,  and  A.S.  mM,  miiul,  tluis  pointing  back  "to  .some  primi- 
tive belief  as  to  the  curative  properties  of  the  plant  in  mental 
afflictions." 

176.  instances,  inducements  ;  the  word  is  used  l)y  Shakespeare 
in  a  variety  of  meanings  ;  motive,  inducement,  cause,  symptom, 
information,  proof,  etc. 

177.  base  respects  of  thrift,  mean  considerations  of  gain. 

17H,  9.  A  second   ..  bed,  i.e.  I  will  never  allow  a  second  husband 


218  HAMLET.  [act  nl. 

to   kiss  me,  never  wed  a  second  husband  :  kill  ...  dead,  a  not  un- 
common redundancy,  expressive  of  thoroughness. 

182,  3.  Purpose  ...validity,  determination  easily  yields  itself 
captive  to  memory  {i.e.  passes  away  when  that  which  gave  it 
birth  is  forgotten),  it  being  robust  enough  when  first  formed,  but 
soon  losing  its  strength. 

184.  fruit,  plural. 

185.  But  fall  ...be,  but  wliich  (sr.  the  fruits)  fall,  etc.  ;  fall 
grammatically  agrees  with  fruit,  but  logically  refers  to  purpose  ; 
see  Abb.  §  41.^. 

186.  7.  Most  necessary  ...  debt,  it  is  only  right  and  proper  that 
we  should  be  allowed  to  forget  the  payment  of  a  debt  which  is 
due  only  to  ourselves,  i.e.  omit,  if  we  think  fit,  to  carry  out  a  re- 
solution which  concerns  ourselves  and  nobody  else. 

188,  9.  What  to  ourselves  .  lose,  that  which  under  the  in- 
fluence of  strong  feeling  we  propose  to  ourselves  as  a  course  of 
action,  when  that  strong  feeling  passes*  away,  loses  its  motive. 

100,  1.  The  violence  ...  destroy,  the  violence  of  either  grief  or 
joy  destroys  those  passions,  and  at  the  same  time  puts  an  end  to 
the  execution  of  their  purposes  ;  for  the  confusion  of  proximity 
due  to  the  intervening  enactures,  cp.  above  i.  2.  37,  8,  and  see 
Abb.  §  412. 

192.  Where  joy  ..  lament,  excessive  indulgence  in  joy  is 
followed  by  excessi\e  aljandonment  to  grief  :  laughter  and  tears 
are  divided  by  the  thinnest  partition. 

193.  Grief  ..  accident,  a  very  slfght  incident  turns  grief  into 
joy,  joy  into  grief. 

194.  5.  This  world  . . .  change,  nothing,  not  even  the  world  itself, 
is  everlasting,  and  therefore  it  is  not  strange  that  even  our  love 
should  change  with  change  of  fortune. 

19f),  7.  for  'tis  . .  love,  for  it  is  a  point  still  undetermined  whether 
love  or  fortune  proves  itself  the  stronger  influence  when  the  two 
are  opposed  ;  Whether,  metricallj^  a  monosyllable,  as  in  ii.  2.  17  ; 
lead,  subjunctive. 

198.  The  great  ...  flies,  the  great  man  having  fallen  from  his 
high  estate,  you  see  his  former  favourites  at  once  quit  his  side  ; 
favourites  is  the  rea<ling  of  the  first  folio,  the  quartos  and  other 
folios  giving  favourite,  a  reading  which,  as  Abbott  says,  com- 
pletely misses  "  the  intention  to  describe  the  crowd  of  favourites 
ocatlerbui  inflight,  from  the  fallen  patron";  for  the  inflection  in -.■s 
with  a^jlural  subject,  see  Abb.  §  333. 

199.  The  poor  ...  enemies,  the  man  of  humble  rank  raised  to  a 
high  position  finds  his  former  enemies  quickly  turn  into  friends  ; 
not  '  makes  friends  ivith  his  enemies.' 


soENK  II.]  NOTES.  219 

•2<I0.  And  hitherto  ..  tend,  and  uj)  to  tliis  time  love  has  been 
found  to  wail  <>n  foil  line,  to  afoonmiodate  itself  to  fortune. 

201.  who  not  needs,  he  who  does  not  need  ;  for  the  omission  of 
the  auxiliary  verl>,  see  A'nl).  S  305. 

•202.  hollow,  insincere  ;  cp.  Lcm;  iii.  156,  "  Nor  are  tiiose 
empty-hearted  whose  low  sound  Reverbs  no  hollou-nesH." 

•203.  Directly  ..  enemy,  by  that  very  act  causes  liim  to  show  in 
full  flavour  that  ill  will  which  had  before  been  hidden. 

204.  orderly  ...  begim,  to  return  in  due  order  to  the  point  from 
which  1  sci  out  ;  begun,  for  hrt/aii,  for  the  sake  of  the  rhyme. 

205.  contrary,  in  such  opposite  directions  to  each  other  ;  for 
instances  of  words  in  which  the  accent  is  nearer  the  end  than 
with  us,  see  Abl).  t;  490. 

20().  still  are  overthrown,  are  constantly  being  upset. 
'2(>7.   none  of  our  own,  not  in  the  least  in  our  jiower. 
'20'.t.  die  thy  thoughts,  let  such  tlioughts  j  eiish. 

210.  Nor  earth   ..  light  !  may  the  earth  fail  to,  etc. 

211.  Sport  . .  night  :  may  the  (Lay  shut  me  out  of  all  enjoyment, 
the  night  fail  to  give  me  repose  ! 

212.  To  desperation  ...  hope  I  may  my  expectations  and  hope 
turn,  etc. 

213.  An  anchor's... scope  I  may  a  hermit's  fare  be  the  utmost  I 
can  hope  to  enjoy  I  anchor,  a  shortened  form  of  anrhoret, 
or  anchorite,  ultimately  from  (ik.  dcaxwp^jrTjs,  a  recluse,  one 
who  has  retired  from  the  world,  from  Ck.  ava,  back,  and 
Xi^fx^v,  to  retire. 

214.  5.  Each  opposite  .  destroy  I  may  that  which  is  most  hostile 
to  joy,  and  by  its  appearance  causes  joy's  radiant  face  to  turn 
[)ale  with  fear,  encounter  everything  to  which  I  wish  success, 
and  ruin  it  I 

218.  If  she  ...now,  how  terrible  if  after  all  her  protestations 
ghe  should  now  prove  unfaithful  to  her  first  husband  ! 

•?20.  My  spirits  grow  dull,  \\ caiiness  is  creeping  over  mo. 

2^21.   rock,  as  in  a  ciadic. 

•224.  doth  ...  much,  is  too  full  of  protestations  of  love  and 
loyalty. 

225.  0,  but  ...  word,  U,  but  you  will  see  that  she  will,  etc.  ; 
said  ironically. 

226.  argument,  plot ;  as  in  1.  135. 

2*26,  7.  Is  there  ..  in't?  does  it  not  seem  to  you  an  objection- 
able one?  "The  king  means  a  morcd  'offence,'  and  Hamlet  means 
a  jihyMiral  '  offence  '  or  crime,  as  in  i.  5.  137  "  (Delius). 


220  HAMLET.  [act  hi. 

231.  Tropically,  figuratively. 

232.  image,  exact  representation. 

234.  a  knavisli  piece  of  work,  sc.  the  murder:  but  what  o'  that? 
but  that  matters  nothing. 

235.  free,  innocent  of  all  crime. 

235,  6.  let  ...  unwrung,  let  those  shrink  who  from  their  con- 
sciousness of  guilt  feel  themselves  galled  by  such  a  representation, 
we  wlio  are  innocent  need  not  complain  ;  withers,  the  ridge 
between  the  shoulder  blades  of  a  horse  on  which  the  strain  of  the 
collar  falls  ;  are  unwrung,  escape  being  galled. 

238.  chorus,  such  as  those  in  The  Winter's  Tale,  Henry  the 
Fifth,  Romeo  ami  Juliet. 

239,  40.  I  could  . . .  dallying,  if  I  could  see  you  and  your  lover 
in  amorous  converse,  I  should  be  able  to  tell  what  was  passing 
lictween  you,  just  as  I  am  able  to  explain  who  Lucianus  is. 
H  unlet  likens  Ophelia  and  her  lover  {i.e.  any  one  with  whom  she 
mi  rht  lie  in  love)  to  puppets.  "  An  interpieter,''  says  Steevens. 
"  formerly  sat  on  the  stage  at  all  motions  or  j^upj^et-showa,  a,m\ 
interpreted  to  the  audience." 

242.  So  you  must  ...  husbands,  that 's  how  you  must  take  your 
husbands,  sc.  for  better,  for  woi'se  ;  a  reference  to  the  ritual  of 
the  marriage  ceremony  in  which  the  husband  and  wife  each  engage 
to  take  the  other  "  for  better  for  worse,  for  richer  for  poorer,  in 
sickness  and  in  health,"  etc. 

243.  leave  ...  faces,  have  done  with  all  the  contortions  of  your 
face. 

243,4.  'the  croaking  ...  revenge,'  Simpson  says  this  is  a 
satirical  condensation  of  two  lines  of  The  true  Traejedie  of 
Richard  the  Third,  "  The  screeking  raven  sits  croking  for 
revenge.  Whole  herds  of  beasts  come  bellowing  for  revenge." 

246.  Confederate  season,  "the  opportunity  conspiring  to  assist 
the  murderer"  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.)  :  else  ..  seeing,  no  one  but  myself 
being  here  to  see  what  I  do. 

247.  rank,  noisome,  foul :  of  ...  collected,  extracted  from  herbs 
gathered  at  midnight  ;  cp.  Jfwli.  iv.  1.  25. 

248.  with  Hecate's  ...  infected,  lilasted  by  a  triple  curse  of 
Hecate's,  and  so  trebly  poisonous  :  Hecate's,  a  dissyllable,  as 
always  in  Shakespeare. 

249.  50.  Thy  natural . . .  immediately,  appears  to  be  generally 
taken  to  mean  'let  your  natural  magic,  etc.,  usurp  on,'  etc. 
But  it  seems  douV)tful  whether  usurp  does  not  govern  natural 
magic  and  dire  property  in  the  sense  of  exercise  your  innate 
magic  and  baneful  (puilities  with  wrongful  force  on  healthy  life. 

251.  for's  estate,    in  order  to   get   possession  of   his   kingly 


SCENE  II.]  NOTKS.  221 

(liL'iiity  :  op.  MarJ>.  i.  4.  37,  '"  ^^'<■  "Hi  ost.ililisli  oaii-  cxlate  \\\Mm 
Our  eKU'.st.  Malcolm." 

2'y2.  writ,  for  the  ciirtiilid  form  of  the  participle,  see  Abl). 
§  343. 

256.  What,  ...  fire  't  what,  alarmed  by  a  mere  fiction  ! 

261,2.  Why,  let...  play,  i.e.  some  must  sutl'ei-  while  others 
meet  with  no  liarm  ;  and  so  almost  an  equivalent  to  the  next 
line. 

263.  watch,  keep  awake  ;  see  above,  ii.  2.  148. 

264.  So  runs . . .  away,  sueh  i.s  the  course  of  the  world.  Evidentlj' 
a  snatch  from  some  old  ballad,  chanted  ])yHandet  not  necessarily 
as  applying  to  what  has  happened,  but  in  exultation  at  the  success 
of  his  scheme. 

265.  a  forest  of  feathers,  i.e.  with  appropriate  costume.  Malone 
says  it  ajjpears  from  Decker's  GuVs  Iloruhooke  that  featliers  were 
much  worn  on  the  stage  in  .Shakespeare's  time. 

26."),  6.  if  the  rest  ..  me,  if  I  fail  in  every  other  way  to  get  mj' 
liveliliofiiij  turn  Turk,  a  proverbial  phrase  for  any  change  of 
coiidifion  for  the  worse,  used  specially  of  changing  one's  religion; 
cp.  ,1/.  A.  iii.  4.  ")7,  "Well,  an  you  be  not  turned  Turk,  there's 
no  more  sailing  by  the  star  "  :  Provincial  roses,  rosettes  as  large 
as  the  roses  of  Provence,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone,  in  France. 

267.  razed  shoes,  slashed  shoes,  shoes  with  ornamental  cuts  in 
the  fore  part,  a  fashion  revived  of  late  in  the  case  of  ladies' shoes : 
get  me  .  .  players,  ])rocure  me  a  partnership  in  a  company  of 
acturs  ;  cry,  more  usually  of  a  pack  of  hounds,  from  their  gi\ing 
tongue,  hence  a  troop  generally. 

268.  a  share,  ' '  the  actors  in  Shakespeare's  time  had  not 
annual  salaries  as  at  present.  Tlie  whole  receipts  of  each  theatre 
were  divided  into  shaies  of  wiiich  the  jiioprietors  of  the  theatre 
...  had  some  ;  and  each  actor  had  one  or  more  siiares,  or  part  of 
a  share,  according  to  his  merit"  (Malone). 

269.  A  whole  one.  I,  I  shouM  expect  a  whole  one. 

270.  0  Damon  dear,  my  dearest  friend  ;  an  allusion  to  the 
friendship  of  Damon  and  I'hintias, which  was  ])r(jverbial  for  its 
sincerity,  the  former  having  otl'ered  to  suffer  death  in  place  of  the 
latter. 

271.  dismantled,  lobbed  :  i)roperly  used  of  .stripping  a  house  of 
its  hanging.s,  etc 

273.  pajock,  peacock  ;  Dyce  oltserves  "I  have  often  heard  the 
lower  cla.sses  in  the'iioi'th  of  Scotland  call  the  ])eacock — the  'pea- 
jock,'  and  their  almost  invaiiable  name  for  tiie  turkey-cock  is 
'bubbly-jock  '  :  and  a  writer  in  tlie  1'aL  liev.  for  Oct.  187*2  says 
tliat  in  the  natural  history  of  Shakespeare's  time  tiie  liii'd  was  the 
accredited   renrese;italiv«!  of  inordinate  pride  and  envy,  as  well 


222  HAMLET.  [act  hi. 

as  of  unnatural  crueltj'  and  lust,  and  that  the  word  here 
expresses  in  a  concentrated  form  tlie  odious  qualities  of  the 
guilty  king." 

274.  You  ..   rhymed,  sr.  by  substituting  "ass  "  for  pajock. 

275,  6.  I'll  take . . .  pound,  I'll  wager  a  thousand  pounds  that 
the  ghost  spoke  the  truth  about  my  father's  death  ;  pound,  for 
the  concrete  sum,  as  frequently  in  Shakespeare. 

278.  Upon ...  poisoning,  i.e.  the  king's  behaviour  as  soon  a« 
the  poisoning  was  mentioned. 

280.  recorders,.  Chappell,  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time, 
says,  "  Recorders  and  (English)  Flutes  are  to  outward  appear- 
ance tlie  same  ...  Tlie  numlier  of  holes  for  the  tingers  is  the  same, 
and  the  scale,  the  compass,  and  the  manner  of  playing,  the 
same,"  etc. 

282.  perdy,  F.  par  dieit,  by  (lod  ;  probably  another  quotation 
in  which  Hamlet  alters  the  latter  part  of  the  second  verse. 

28.").  a  whole  history,  not  merely  a  word,  but  a  whole  history, 
if  you  wish  it. 

28S.  Is  in  ...  distempered,  has  become,  since  he  retired  from 
witnessing  the  play,  terrildy  distracted  ;  see  note  on  ii.  2.  55. 

289.  With  drink,  cp.  0th.  i.  1.  99,  "Being  full  of  supper  and 
di.sti-mptriiKj  draughts "  ;  the  word  dislem/>er  is  in  tliis  sense 
a  euphemism,  but  Oraccho,  in  Massinger's  Duke  of  Milan, 
i.  I.  18,  considers  the  term  too  liarsh  to  be  applied  to  so 
exalted  a  person  as  the  duke,  ".And  the  Duke  himself,  I  dare 
not  say  distemper' d,  ^^\\t  I'ind,  and  in  his  tottering  chair 
carousing. " 

290.  choler,  wrath  :  literally  '"Vr,  in  which  sense  Hamlet  pre- 
tends to  take  the  woi'<l. 

291,  2.  Your  wisdom  ...  doctor,   you  -would  act  more  wisely  to 
report  tliis  to  his  doctor. 

292,  3.  for  me  . . .  choler.  if  I  were  to  administer  his  purge 
(purges  being  given  for  l)ilious  disorders),  I  should  only  increase 
his  choler  ;  of  course  Hamlet's  purgative  would  be  a  moral  one, 
that  of  calling  upon  him  to  i-epent  his  crime. 

294,  5.  put  your  ..  affair.  l)e  pleased'to  answer  me  in  some  co- 
herent form  ;  some  orderly  shape. 

296.  tame,  ready  to  liear  anything  you  have  to  say  ;  used  with 
reference  to  Guildenstern's  wildly. 

300,  1.  Nay,  ...breed,  nay,  my  good  lord,  the  courtesj-  sh-own 
in  the  word  '  welcome'  is  not  of  tlie  kind  proper  to  the  occasion  ; 
wholesome,  proper,  reasonable, 


SCENE  IT.]  NOTES.  223 

W2.  I  will  ...  commandment,  I  will  give  you  the  message  sent 
liy  your  mother. 

.SCVJ,  .".  if  not  ...  business,  if  not.  I  will  tini.sh  my  business  by 
a.sking  your  ])erniission  to  leave  you,  and  returning  to  my 
mistress  :  for  pardon,  ep.  above,  1.  2.  5(i. 

.S06.  Make  you  .  answer,  give  you  a  healthy  answer  ;  Hamlet 
pretends  to  take  ( iuildenstern's  wholesome  in  a  literal  sense,  and 
gives  as  his  reason  for  not  l)eing  able  to  leturn  such  an  answer 
that  his  intellect  is  unsound. 

307.  you  shall  command,  shall  be  at  j-our  service  ;  shall  be 
rendered  to  you. 

:iOS,  9.  therefore  ...  matter,  therefore  without  further  preface 
let  us  come  to  the  business. 

311.  admiration,  wonder. 

312.  0  wonderful  .  mother!  what  a  wonderful  son  I  must  be 
if  1  can  cause  wonder  in  u\y  mother. 

313.  4.  But  ..  admiration  ?  but  is  this  aU  you  have  to  tell  me  ? 
is  theie  nothing  else  to  follow  after  this  exjtression  of  her  wonder? 
Impart,  do  not  keep  to  youiself  anything  you  have  to  tell. 

317.  We  shall  ...  mother,  further  to  bewilder  d'uildenstern. 
Handet  in  we  atleets  the  royal  style,  and  speaks  as  though  oliedi- 
ence  to  a  mother  was  about  the  last  thing  that  could  be  expected 
of  a  son,  instead  of  its  being  an  ordinary  duty. 

318.  trade,  business  ;  another  intentional  affectation. 

32f).  So  I  do  ...  stealers,  .so  T  do  still,  T  swear  by  these  hands  ; 
said  with  grim  irony  ;  pickers  and  stealers,  a  i-eference  to  the 
(^iuirch  Catechism,  one  of  the  ])romises  made  in  it  by  the 
catechumen  being  to  keep  his  "  hands  from  jiieking  and  stealing." 

.321.  distemper,  see  note  on  1.  288,  above. 

321,3.  you  do...  friend,  by  refusing  to  comnuuiieate  your 
griefs  to  your  friend,  you  do  but  decline  to  avail  yourself  vf  the 
means  of  escajiing  from  them  ;  cp.  Bacon,  lianay  of  hriendship, 
"  ,\  prinoipal  fruit  <jf  fi-ieml.ship  is  the  ease  an<l  disehaige  of  the 
fuhu.-.ss  anil  swellings  of  the  heai't  ..  You  may  take  Sar/.a  to  open 
the  liver;  steel  to  open  the  spleen  ...  But  no  reeeijit  ojieneth  the 
heart,  but  a  true  fi'iend  ;  to  whom  you  may  impart  griefs,  joys, 
fears,  hopes,  suspicions,  counsels,  and  whatsoever  lieth  u))on  the 
heart,  to  oj)pi-ess  it,  in  a  kind  of  civil  sliiift  or  confession." 

324.  advancement,  tliougli  Hamlet  is  not  here  speaking  of  his 
promotion  to  the  crown,  yet  when  ( .'uildenster'n  takes  him  to  be 
doing  so,  he  keej)s  up  the  delusion. 

32.5.   voice,  recoinnienilation  ;  cp.  i..2.   109, 

?2(i    for.  in  favoui-  of,  in  lieliulf  of, 


224  HAMLET.  [ACT  in. 

327.  While  ...  grows,  Malone  gives  the  remainder  of  the  pro- 
verb from  Whetstone's  Promo>i  and  Caxsandra,  1598,  "oft 
sterves  the  silly  steede,"  and  adds,  "Hamlet  means  that  whilst 
he  is  waiting  for  the  succession  to  the  throne  of  Denmark,  he  may 
himself  be  taken  off  by  death." 

328.  musty,  stale. 

329.  recorders,  see  note  on  1.  280,  above  ;  To  withdraw  with 
you,  to  step  aside  with  you  for  a  moment  where  we  can  be  alone; 
a  parenthetic  expression  explanatory  of  his  movement. 

.3.30,  ].  why  do  you  ...  toil?  why  do  you  endeavour  to  entrap 
me  into  some  indiscreet  avowal  ?  A  figure  from  stalking  gcame, 
the  object  with  the  hunter  being  to  get  the  animal  to  run  with 
the  wind  so  that  it  may  not  scent  him  or  the  snare  set  for  it.  Cp. 
T.  X.  iii.  4.  81,  "  Still  you  keep  o'  the.  windy  side  of  the  law." 

332,  3.  if  my  duty  . . .  unmannerly,  if  in  tlie  execution  of  my 
duty  I  seem  to  go  further  tlian  I  ought,  it  is  my  love  to  you  that 
makes  me  seem  so  rude*;  or,  perhaps,  when  the  duty  laid  upon 
me  is  one  that  needs  more  audacity  than  I  can  l)oast,  the  love 
which  bids  me  discliarge  it  makes  me  chimsy  in  nij'  eagerness. 

33-1.  I  do  not  ..that,  probably  Handet,  taking  advantage  of 
Guildenstern's  enigmatical  sentence,  means  that  lie  is  not  so  sure 
that  he  is  speaking  the  truth. 

340.  I  know...  it,  I  am  quite  ignorant  how  to  handle  the  in- 
strument so  as  to  produce  any  harmony  out  of  it  ;  touch,  used  in 
a  technical  sense,  as  in  R.  II.  i.  3.  105,  "Or  like  a  cunning 
instrument  ...  put  into  his  hands  That  knows  no  touch  to  tune 
the  harmony." 

341.  Tis  as  easy  as  lying,  with  the  innuendo  that  Guildenstern 
found  no  difficulty  in  that  act. 

341,  2.  govern  ...  thumb,  apply  your  fingers  and  thumb  to  the 
stops  to  regulate  the  emission  of  sound. 

343.   discourse,  utter,  give  expression  to. 

345,  6.  But  thesa  . . .  harmony,  but  these  stops  I  cannot  so  re- 
gulate as  to  make  tliem  give  forth  any  harmonious  sound  ;  the 
skill,  the  necessary  knowledge. 

347,  8.  how  unworthy  ..  me  1  how  mean  an  opinion  you  must 
have  of  me  ! 

348,  9.  you  would  ...  stops,  you  assume,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to 
know  how  to  extract  utterance  from  me  at  your  will. 

350,  1.  you  would  ...  compass,  you  fancy  you  can  interpret  my 
every  thought;  a  play  upon  the  word  sound  in  the  sense  (1)  to 
bring  forth  a  sound,  (2)  to  try  tlie  deptli  of  water,  cp.  i.  //.  IV. 
ii.  4.  6  :  compass,  the  range  of  a  musical  instrument  from  it« 
highest  to  its  lowest  note. 


SCENE  n.]  NOTES.  225 

354.  fret  me,  annoy  me  ;  with  a  j)lay  upon  the  sulistiintive 
'frets,'  i.e.  stops  of  sucli  iiistniineiits  as  hites,  guitars;  "small 
lengths  of  wire  [across  the  neck  of  the  instnimeiitl  on  wliich 
the  fingers  press  the  strings  in  plaj'ing  the  guitar "  (Kusby's 
Diet.  0/  Mu-iical  Terms,  quoted  by  Dyce). 

357,  H.  and  presently,  and  tliat  too  at  once. 
361.  mass,  see  note  on  ii.    1.  50  ;  and,  as  you  say  ;  for  and,  in 
this  confirmatory  sense,  see  Abb.  §  97. 
363.  backed  like  a  Weasel,  shaped  like  the  back  of  a  weasel. 

366.  Then  ...  by,  an  intentionally  inconsequent  answer:  by  and 
by,  at  once. 

367.  They  fool  ...  bent,  they  are  ready  to  assent  to  anytliing 
I  say,  however  foolisii,  in  order  to  gain  their  purpose;  for  bent, 
see  note  on  ii.  '2.  30. 

369.  By  and  by  .    said,  that's  not  a  very  difficult  undertaking. 

371.  the  very  ...  night,  the  very  time  of  night  when  witcliery 
abounds,  wiien  as  Macbeth  says  (Macb.  ii.  1.  ,')1,  2)  "witchcraft 
celebrates  Pale  Hecate's  offerings." 

372.  yawn,  open  wide,  to  allow  the  dead  to  walk. 

373.  Contagion,  infectious  vapours. 

374.  such  bitter  business,  such  deeds  of  bitter  cruelty. 

375.  Soft  I  let  me  pause  I 

376.  lose  not  thy  nature,  do  not  forget  your  natural  affection 
for  your  mother., 

377.  Nero,  who  murdered  his  mother  in  the  most  brutal 
manner;  cp.  A'.  J.  v.  2.  102,  "Your  bloody  Aeroes,  ripping  up 
the  womb  Of  your  dear  mother,  England":  this  firm  bosom,  this 
bosom  of  nunc,  fully  determined  though  it  is  to  punish  tiie 
guilty. 

379.  speak  daggers,  i.e.  words  tliat  will  stab  to  the  iieart  as 
keenly  as  daggers  would  pierce  the  ile.sli  ;  cp.  Af.  A.  ii.  1.  2o5, 
"She  speakfi  ])oniar(l><,  and  every  word  stabs,"  though  there 
used  in  no  very  serious  sense. 

380.  My  tongue  ...  hypocrites,  in  tliis  matter  let  my  soul  be  a 
hypocrite  to  my  tongue,  i.e.  though  ajjpearing  to  approve  of  my 
words  not  as.sent  to  my  carrying  tlicm  into  action. 

381.  2.  How  In  ...  consent  I  however  roughly  I  may  take  her  to 
task,  let  me  never  yield  to  the  iinjiulse  to  ratify  my  woi-ds  by 
deeds,  i.e.  the  deed  of  murder  :  seals,  becau.se  tlie  a(ii.\ing  of  the 
seal  was  necessary  to  give  validity  to  a  document ;  shent.  from 
nhend,  to  reprove,  castigate  with  words.  A  good  deal  of  indigna- 
tion has  been  ex  pres.sed  at  Hamlet's  being  made  to  contemplate 
even  the  possibility  of  punishing  his  mother  by  death.    But,  though 


226  HAMLET.  [ACT  III. 

determined  that  the  king  shall  not  escape  his  vengeance,  antl  here 
indirectly  dwelling  npon  that  determination,  Hamlet  seems  to  be 
referring  to  the  ghost's  words  in  i.  5.  84-8,  which  even  now  that  he 
feels  sure  of  his  mother's  having  been  privy  to  the  deed,  at  all 
events  after  it  was  done,  he  will  implicitly  obey,  however  violent 
his  wrath  against  her.  If  the  thought  of  snch  a  possibility  as 
killing  his  mother  enters  his  head,  it  is  the  ghosfs  caution  that 
has  put  it  there. 


Scene  III. 

1,  2.  I  like  ...  range,  I  do  not  like  the  look  of  things  as  regards 
him,  nor  is  it  safe  for  us  to  allow  his  madness  to  have  free  scope; 
Ms  madness,  him  who  is  mad  ;  you.  reflexive. 

3.  I  your  commission  ...  dispatch,  I  will  at  once  make  out  the 
commission  wliicli  you  are  to  take  to  England.  It  does  not  seem 
to  follow  at  all  necessarily  that  Rosencrautz  and  Guildenstern  are 
privy  to  the  traitorous  scheme  for  kiUing  Hamlet  in  England. 
That  he  was  to  be  got  out  of  the  way,  they  of  course  knew  ;  but 
the  king  would  hardl}'  be  likelj'  to  confide  to  his  agents  what  was 
to  lie  done  with  him  when  thus  out  of  the  way. 

4.  shall  along,  for  the  omission  of  the  verb  of  motion,  see 
Abb.  §  30. 

5-7.  The  terms  ...  lunacies,  the  terms  on  which  we  hold  sway 
are  not  of  so  secure  a  nature  that  we  can  afford  to  look  with  un- 
concern upon  the  dangers  which  everj'  moment  spring  from  his 
mad  freaks,  and  threalen-us-so-nearly  :  ourselves  provide,  supply 
cTurielVes  with  everything  necessary  for  the  voyage. 

8-10.  Most  holy ...  majesty,  the  anxiety  you  feel  for  the  safety 
of  those  who  are  tlependent  upon  you  is  a  most  holy  feeling,  their 
welfare  being  a  sacred  duty  to  one  in  your  position. 

11-3.  The  single  ...  noyance,  even  the  individual  man  (who  has 
no  one  to  think  of  but  himself)  is  in  prudence  bound  to  use  every 
faculty  of  his  mind  to  keep  himself  from  injury  ;  noyance,  i.e. 
annoyance,  used  for  injury,  danger,  as  in  R.  II.  iii.  2.  16,  Macb. 
V.  1.  84,  and  the  verb  cmuo;/  in  Cymh.  iv.  3.  34,  H.   V.  ii.  2.  103. 

14,  spirit,  here  little  more  than  life,  in  1.  11  ;  the  vital 
principle. 

15,  6.  The  cease  ...  alone,  the  extinction  of  majesty  in  the 
death  of  a  king  is  much  more  than  the  single  death  of  an 
ordinary  man. 

16,  7.  hut,  like  ...  it,  involves  the  sweeping  away  of  everything 
connected  with  it  {sr.  majesty),  as  a  whirlpool  engulfs  everything 
that  comes  within  its  area. 


scENK  iii.l  .  NOTES.  227 

18.  highest  mount,  !.>'.  from  wliioh  tlie  fall  will  be  most 
hcailloiii,'. 

20.  mortised,  firmly  fixed  ;  a  wio/Vwe  is  the  groove  made  in 
timber  into  w  liich  the  tenon  of  another  piece  of  timber  is  fixed  ; 
for  the  substantive,  op.  Olh.  ii.  1.  9,  "What  ribs  of  oak  ...Can 
hold  thf  iiiuftisi  ;  " 

'20'2.  which,  ...ruin,  aii<l  when  this  massive  wheel  is  precipi- 
tated down,  everything  however  small,  that  is  an  adjunct  of  it, 
everytlmig  however  trifling  that  accompanies  it,  is  swept  away 
in  its  violent  overthrow. 

23.  but  with  ...  gfToan,  withmil  tliat  sigh  being  echoed  by  the 
wroan  of  the  whole  kingduiu  ;  alone,  1.  22,  is  somewhat  re- 
dunilant. 

24.  Arm  you,  prepare  yourselves. 

2"),  ().  For  we  ...  free-footed,  for  I  will  put  restraint  upon  this 
dantrer  which  now  ranges  abroad  too  freely  ;  for  fear,  =  object 
of  fear,  ii.  //.  IV.  iv.  5.  19(),  "'all  tliese  hold  fcarx  Thou  see'st 
with  peril  I  have  answered." 

28.  Behind  .  myself,  I  will  betake  myself  to  a  place  behind 
the  tapestry;  that  space  between  it  and  the  wall  being  sometimes 
very  consillerable  ;  for  arras,  see  note  on  ii.  2.  163. 

29.  To  hear  the  process,  to  hear  how  the  interview  proceeds  ; 
tax,  a  douljlet  of  fast;  home,  used  adverbially. 

30.  as  you  said.  "  this  was  Polonius's  own  suggestion,  which, 
courtier-like,  he  ascribes  to  the  king  "  (Moberly). 

32.  of  vantage,  "from  the  vantage-ground  of  concealment" 
(Abb.  g  Itjj;. 

36-8.  0,  my  offence  ..  murder,  0,  my  crime,  the  murder  of  a 
brother,  is  so  foul  that  the  taint  of  it  has  reached  the  very 
heavens,  and  on  it  rests  the  curse  pronounced  upon  Cain. 

39.  Though  ...  will,  though  mj'  inclination  and  my  will  to 
do  so  equally  sjjui-  me  on  ;  inclination,  the  natural  disposition 
to  do  a  thing  ;  will,  tlie  determination  prompted  by  the  under- 
standing. 

40.  My  stronger  ...  intent,  strong  as  my  purpose  is,  my  guilt 
is  stronger  still,  and  overcomes  it. 

41.  to  double  ..  bound,  whose  attention  is  engaged  ujkjh  two 
matters  of  business  which  have  nothing  in  common  with  each 
.)ther. 

42.  in  pause,  hesitating. 

43.  What  if,  even  supposing  that. 

45.  sweet,  used  here  in  the  twofold  sense  of  kind,  gracious, 
and  of  purifying  by  means  of  rain  ;   for  the  former  sense,   cp. 


228  HAMLET.  .      [act  tit. 

Lear,  i.  5.  50,  "sweet  heaven  "  ;  iii.  4.  91,  "  in  the  sweet  face  of 
heaven  "  ;  Ofh.  ii.  1.  197. 

46,  7.  Whereto  ..  oflFence,  of  wliat  avail  is  mercy  except  to 
overawe  the  face  of  crime  so  that  it  shrinks  abashed  out  of 
sight  ? 

48-50.  And  what 's  . . .  down  ?  ami  what  efficacy  has  prayer 
except  the  twofold  one  of  arrestmg  our  fall,  or  of  jirocuring 
pardon  when  we  have  fallen  ?  The  original  sense  of  forestall  is, 
says  Skeat,  "to  Iniy  up  goods  before  they  had  been  displayed  at  a 
stall  in  the  market  "  ;  so  to  anticipate,  and  then  to  prevent ;  cp. 
V.  2.  203. 

50.  Then  I  "11  lookup,  i.e.  with  hopeful  eyes;  take  courage; 
cp.  ii.  H.  IV.  iv.  4.  113,  "My  soveieign  lord,  cheer  up  your- 
self,  look  11/1." 

52.  serve  my  turn  ?  be  of  service  in  my  case  ?  a  plirase  very 
frequent  in  Shakespeare,  turn  being  equivalent  to  occasion, 
exigence. 

54.  eflFects,   the  advantages  which  he  specifies  in  the  next  line. 

55.  ambition.  Delius  explains  this  as  the  realization  of  ambi- 
tion. It  does  not  seem  certain  to  me  that  the  word,  instead  of 
being  one  of  three  "  effects,"  is  not  in  apposition  with  My  crown, 
i.e.  my  crown  which  was  the  very  object  of  my  ambition. 

56.  May  one  . .  ofiFence,  is  it  possible  for  one  to  be  pardoned 
while  still  retaining  that  for  which  lie  sinned  ?  offence,  abstract 
for  concrete. 

57.  In  the  ...  world,  in  the  tainted  streams  of  this  world,  i.e.  in 
tlie  corrupted  ways  in  which  this  world  goes.  Dyce  and  Furness 
adopt  Walker's  conjecture  'currents,  i.e.  occurrents  ;  but  it  seems 
that  there  is  a  reference  to  a  polluted  stream,  and  the  confusion 
of  metaphors  is  not  greater  than  others  we  have  had. 

58.  offence's  . . .  justice,  tlie  wealtliy  ofl'ender  is  able  to  thrust 
justice  aside. 

59.  60.  the  wicked  law,  a  favourable  verdict  is  secured  by 
the  vei-y  wealth  which  has  been  wrongfully  acquired. 

61,  2.  There  ...  nature,  before  God's  tribunal  there  is  no  evad- 
ing justice,  there  the  deed  is  seen  in  its  real  enormity.  The  CI. 
Pr.  Edd.  say  that  Shakespeare  here  uses  lies  in  its  legal  sense  ; 
but  though  there  is  probably  a  play  upon  the  word  in  that  sense, 
it  can  scarcely  be  the  only  or  even  primary  one. 

62-4.  and  we  . . .  evidence,  and  we  cannot  escape  being  brought 
face  to  face  with  our  own  sins  to  give  evidence  against  them  ; 
for  to  the  teeth,  cp.  below,  iv.  7.  57,  and  //.  VIII.  i.  2.  36, 
"  Daring  the  event  to  the  teeth"  ;  the  auxiliary  verb  '  are'  before 
compelled  is  to  be  supplied  from  lies  in  1.  61. 


fiOF.NKiii.]  NOTES.  229 

65.  Try,  let  me  try. 

66.  Yet  wMt ...  repent?  yet  of  what  avail  is  repentance  \vlieii 
it  consists  in  .sonvjw  Dnly  without  amendment  of  life  ? 

6S,  9.  0  limed  soul  eng-aged  I  0  soul  entangled  in  difficulties, 
and  onlj-  niorf  thoroughly  entangled  by  your  etJorts  to  free  your- 
self. The  metaphor  is  from  snaring  a  bird  by  means  of  birddime, 
a  glutinous  substance  which  Ijoys  smear  over  a  stiek  placed  across 
the  nest,  and  by  which  the  bird  when  alighting  is  held  fast,  its 
struggles  to  get  free  only  causing  it  to  smear  itself  with  more  of 
the  bird  lime. 

69.  Make  assay  !  make  vigorous  eflfort  to  rescue  me  ! 

70.  heart ...  steel,  naturally  so  unyielding. 

73.  Now...  pat,  I  could  not  find  a  time  more  fit  formypui- 
pose  ;  cp.  H.  I' III.  ii.  3.  84,  "Come  }>a/  betwixt  too  early  and 
too  late  "  ;  "  this  can  hardly  be  other  than  the  same  word  as  /mf, 
a  tap  ..  But  the  senne  is  cleai'ly  due  to  an  e.xtraoi-dinary  confu.sion 
with  Du.  pas,  pat,  convenient,  in  time,  which  is  used  in  exactly 
the  same  way  as  E.  ;>a/  "...  (Skeat,  Jity.  JJicl.). 

74.  And  80,  and  the  consequence  will  be  that,  etc. 

7o.  That  would  be  scann'd,  that  point  requires  careful  scrutin- 
izing. 

76.  for  that,  in  return  for  that. 

79.  0,  this  . .  salary,  such  a  deed  as  that  would  be  something 
for  which  I  might  well  ask  payment,  i.e..  I  should  be  doing  him 
the  greatest  possible  kindness,  not  punishing  him,  as  I  ought. 

80.  He  took  ...  bread,  he  took  my  father  by  surprise  when  in  a 
state  of  gross  and  luxurious  living.  Malone  points  out  that  full 
of  bread  is  l)orrowed  from  Er-ekiel,  vi.  49,  "  Behold,  this  was  the 
iniquity  of  thy  sister  Sodom,  pride, /«^He,s.!f  q/' />;-ead,  and  abun- 
dance of  idleness." 

81.  With  all  ...  May,  with  all  his  sins  in  full  blossom,  and  with 
his  blood  flowing  in  his  veins  with  the  lusty  vigour  of  the  sap  of 
trees  in  mid -spring  ;  cp.  below,  iii.  4.  69. 

82.  And  how  .  heaven,  and  how  his  account  in  the  next  world 
stands  none  kiiow.s  liut  (lod. 

83.  4.  But  in  our  .  him,  but  so  far  as  we  can  judge  by  looking 
at  the  matter-  from  all  points  of  view,  things  are  in  an  evil  plight 
with  him  ;  our  circumstance  and  course  of  thought,  is  etiuivalent 
to  the  circumstantial  course  of  our  thought,  the  course  of  our 
thought  which  goes  ri)un<l  and  round  the  subject  and  views'it  in 
all  its  particulars. 

H.").  To  take...  soul,  in  .seizing  tin-  oppintiinity  of  killing  him 
when  he  is  purging  ids  soul  of  guilt. 
86.  passage,  -s'-.  from  this  world  to  the  next, 


230  HAMLET.  [act  III. 

88.  Up,  sword,  return  to  your  sheath  ;  suiting  the  action  to 
the  word  :  and  know  ...  hent,  and  wait  to  seize  a  more  terrible 
opportunity  ;  hent,  is  variously  explained  as  grasp,  opportunity^ 
grip  ;  it  is  the  participle  of  0.  E.  henten,  A. S.  hentan,  to  snatch, 
seize. 

89.  drunk  asleep,  in  a  drunken  sleep. 

91.  At  gaming,  enyaged  in  gaming  :  albout,  occupied  with. 

92.  That  has... in  "t,  that,  unlike  his  present  occupation,  has 
nothing  in  it  that  .savours  of  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 

9.3.  Then  trip  ...  heaven,  then  give  him  such  a  fall  that  he  will 
go  headlong  to  hell. 

95.  stays,  is  waiting  for  me. 

96.  This  physic  ...  days,  "Hamlet  calls  his  temporary  forbear- 
ance a  physic  which  does  not  impart  life  to  his  foe,  but  prolongs 
his  illness  "'  (Delius). 

98.  Words  ...go,  mere  words  of  praj^er,  into  which  heartfelt 
penitence  does  not  enter,  never  reach  the  throne  of  God. 


Scene  IV. 

1.  straight,  straightway,  immediately:  Look...  him,  be  sure 
you  drive  your  blows  home,  i.e.  press  him  with  your  questions  so 
that  he  cannot  escape  answering  definitely. 

2.  pranks,  freaks  of  madness  :  have  been  . . .  with,  have  gone  to 
too  great  a  length  to  be  endured  any  longer. 

3.  4.  hath  screen'd  ...  him,  have  interposed  to  shield  him  from 
much  wrath  which  would  otherwise  have  fallen  upon  him. 

4.  sconce  me,  hide  myself ;  from  0.  F.  e.'^conxer,  to  hide,  cover ; 
cp.  31.   W.  iii.  3.  96,  "I  will  ensconce  me  behind  the  arras." 

5.  he  round  with  him,  use  the  plainest  language  possible  to 
him  ;  for  round,  see  note  on  ii.  2.  139. 

6.  I'll  warrajit  you,  I  promise  you  that  I  will. 

7.  Fear  me  not,  do  not  doubt  my  pressing  him  hard. 

11.  you  answer   ..  tongue,  your  answer  is  mere  frivolity. 

14.  rood,  cross,  i.e.  of  Christ  ;  "it  would  appear  that,  at  least 
in  earlier  times,  the  rood  signilied  not  merely  the  cross,  but  the 
image  of  Christ  upon  the  cross  "  (Dyce). 

16.»  would  ...  so  I  alas  ! 

17.  Nay,  then,  ..  speak,  if  you  are  going  to  answer  me  in  such 
a  strain  as  this,  I  will  set  those  to  talk  to  you  who  will  force  you 
to  use  very  difl'erent  language. 

18.  budge,  stir,  move  a  .step. 


scKNK  IV.]  NOTES.  231 

1!»,  "JO.  You  go  not  ...  you,  you  will  not  be  allowctl  to  move 
fioiu  this  spot  till,  as  in  a  minor,  I  have  shown  you  your  real 
nature. 

•Jo.  a  rat,  Collier  points  out  that  in  Shirley's  Traitor,  1635, 
Dcjiazzi  says  of  a  secreted  listener,  "I  smell  a  rat  behind  the 
hangings  "  :  Dead,  for  a  ducat,  I  '11  wager  a  ducat  I  have  killed 
him. 

Stake  Dikkctkin.     A  paxs,  a  thrust  with  liis  rajiier. 

.S2.  thy  better,  i.e.  in  rank,  xc.  the  king:  take  thy  fortune,  take 
the  fate  which  has  befallen  you  owing  to  your  thrusting  yourself 
in  where  you  \\  ere  not  wanted. 

33.  is  some  danger,  is  a  dangerous  kind  of  business. 

34.  Leave  ..  hands,  it  is  no  good  your  making  all  this  outward 
show  of  grief. 

35.  6  And  let  me  . . .  stuff,  it  is  your  heart  that  should  be 
wrung,  and  that  I  mean  to  do,  if  it  is  not  impenetrably  callous. 

37,  8.  If  damned  ...  sense,  if  accursed  familiarity  with  crime 
has  not  so  l)razcned  it  as  to  be  proof  against  all  feeling. 

3!*.  wag  thy  tongue,  use  your  tongue  so  freely  ;  cp.  the  literal 
use  of  the  word  in  J/.  I',  iv.  1.  76,  "You  may  as  well  forbid  the 
mountain  pines  To  iratj  their  high  tops  and  to  make  no  noise,"  i.e. 
without  making  any  noise. 

40,  1.  Such  an  act .  .  modesty,  you  have  committed  a  deed  of 
a  nature  tliut  dini.s  the  grace  of  all  modest  blushes  ;  the  modesty 
of  all  your  sex  is  robbed  of  nnich  of  its  grace  by  the  fact  of  a 
woman  having  done  such  a  d<!ed. 

42.  calls  virtue  hjrpocrite,  makes  all  real  virtue  seem  mere 
hypocrisy  ;  cp.  Cymh.  iii.  4.  63-6,  H.   V.  ii.  2,  138-40. 

42-4.  takes  off...  there,  and  in  place  of  the  tenderness  that 
graces  an  innocent  love,  sets  upon  its  brow  a  shameless  flush. 

46,  7.  As  from  the  body  ...  soul,  as  robs  the  outward  form  of 
the  marriage  tie  of  that  which  is  its  essential  grace  ;  contraction, 
for  marriage  contract,  is  not  found  elsewhere. 

48.  A  rhapsody  of  words,  a  mere  extravagant  utterance  of 
words  without  meaning  ;  rhapsody.  Cik  fjarptfiSia,  the  reciting  of 
epic  poetry,  from  pai/'woos,  one  who  strings  odes  or  songs  to- 
gether. 

49-51.  Yea,  ...  act,  yea,  even  this  .solid  earth,  with  gloom-struck 
face,  its  though  expectant  of  the  day  of  judgement,  is  sick  at 
heart  in  beholding  such  a  deed.  Wordsworth  refers,  among 
other  passages  in  the  New  Testiiment,  to  ii.  Peter,  iii.  7-11, 
Hen /at  ions,  xx.  11.  For  doom,  cp.  Macb.  ii.  3.  83,  "up,  up,  and 
see  The  great  doomx  image  !  " 


>232  Hamlet.  [act  ni. 

51,  2.  what  act,  ...  index?  what  act  of  mine  is  it  that  lias  so 
stormy  a  prelude  ?  Dyce  gives  "  Index,  a  prelude,  anything  pre- 
paratory to  another, — the  index  (i.e.  table  of  contents)  being 
generally  in  Shakespeare's  day  prefixed  to  the  book." 

53.  this  picture  ...  this,  there  is  much  discussion  here  as  to 
whether  any  pictures  are  really  shown,  if  so,  whether  they  are 
pictures  hanging  on  the  wall,  or  miniatures  produced  for  the 
occasion,  one,  of  his  father,  possibly  hanging  round  Hamlet's 
neck,  the  other,  of  the  king,  round  that  of  the  queen. 

54.  counterfeit  presentment,  exact  resemblance  ;  counterfeit, 
here  an  adjective,  is  frequently  used  by  Shakespeare,  as  a  .sub- 
stantive, for  a  portrait,  e.g.  M.  V.  iii.  2.  115,  "Fair  Portia's 
counterfeit ! " 

56.  Hyperion's  curls,  see  note  on  i.  2.  140  ;  on  some  ancient 
coins  the  sun-god  is  represented  with  an  abundance  of  curls  in 
imitation  of  the  lambent  rays  on  the  circumference  of  the  sun's 
disc  :  front,  brow. 

57.  to  threaten,  expressive  of  threatening  ;  awe-striking. 

58.  station,  posture  :  herald,  Mercury  being  the  messenger  of 
the  gods. 

59.  heaven-kissiag,  reaching  almost  to  heaven. 

60.  combination,  .sc.  of  excellences. 

61.  2.  Where  every  ...  seal,  which  bore  the  impression  of  the 
hand  of  all  the  gods,  set  there  in  attestation  of  his  nobility. 

64,  5.  like  ...  brother,  infecting  and  so  destroying  his  brother 
as  a  mildewed  ear  of  corn  by  its  neighbourhood  to  a  healthy  ear 
infects  and  blights  it  ;  '^mi/dew,  from  A.S.  meledeaw,  honey- dew 
...The  sense  is  probably  'honey-dew,'  from  the  sticky,  honey- 
like appearance  of  some  kinds  of  IJight,  as,  e.<j.  on  lime-trees" 
(Skeat,  Ety.  Diet.). 

66.  leave  to  feed,  cease  to  draw  your  nourishment  from  ;  desert 
his  support. 

67.  batten,  grow  fat  ;  properly  intransitive,  as  here,  but  used 
transitively  by  Milton,  Lyridos,  29,  "  hatteniivj  our  flocks." 

68.  You...  love,  you  cannot  say  that  you  were  led  a,stray  by 
ardent  love. 

69.  The  hey-day  . . .  humble,  passion  no  longer  o^v^ 
bounds,  but  has  become  dulled  and  well  under  control 
properly  an  interjection  of  surprise  or  exultation. 

70.  waits  upon,  waits  for  the  direction  of. 

7 1 .  step,  transfer  itself,  pass  :  with  the  idea  of  passing  from 
what  is  good  to  what  is  bad  :  sure,  certainly. 

72.  motion,  "impulse  of  desire"  (Staunton),  who  compares 
M.  M.  i.  4.  59,  "  The  wanton  stings  and  motions  of  the  sense  "  ; 


actuE  IV. i  NOTks.  233 

O/h.  i.  3.  on.  "Of  spirit  so  still  and  ((iiiet,  that  het-  motion 
MlushM  at  herself;  ■"  i.  :i.  IVSi,  "our  raging  motions,  our  carnal 
stings." 

73.  apoplex'd,  suddenly  deprived  of  its  fnm  tions  ;  as  the  body 
is  hy  a  stroke  of  apoj)lexy  ;  from  (4k.  d.TroTrXrjaeeii',  to  cripple  by 
a  stroke. 

7.S-6.  for  madness  ...  difference,  for  even  madness  would  never 
make  such  a  mistake,  nor  .sense  ever  allow  itself  to  Vjecome  so 
entirely  the  slave  of  passionate  feeling  as  to  lea\e  itself  no  power 
of  choice  by  which  to  help  itself  in  deciding  between  two  objects 
so  different  from  each  other  (and  one  ao  inferior  to  the  other). 

77.  cozend,  cheated;  from  "  F.  cov/iiver,  'to  claime  kindred 
for  advantage,  or  particular  ends  ;  as  he,  who  to  save  charges  in 
travelling,  goes  from  house  to  house,  as  rosiji  to  the  honour  of 
every  one " ;  Cotgrave.  So  in  modern  F.  nniMvi-r  is  '  to  call 
cousin,  to  sponge,  to  live  upon  other  pe(>])le '  ;  Hamilton  and 
Legros.  The  change  of  meaning  from  '  sponge  '  to  '  beguile  '  or 
'cheat'  wiis  easy"  (Skeat,  AVj/.  Dirt.):  hoodman  blind,  what 
we  now  call  '  lilind-man's-buft','  a  game  anK)ng  children  in  wliich 
one  of  them  has  his  eye.s  '  liof)ded,"  or  l)lind('il,  witli  a  handkcr- 
chiet,  and  is  set  to  catch  and  name  one  of  his  companions,  a  for- 
feit Ijeing  j)aid  if  he  names  the  wrong  one. 

78-81.  Eyes  ...  mope,  eyes  without  the  help  of  touch  to  guide 
them,  touch  without  the  help  of  sight,  etc.,  or  even  a  small 
])ortion,  and  that  a  diseased  portion,  of  a  single  healthy  sense, 
woulil  not^show  itself  so  dull  and  stupid  ;  mope,  "  the  same  word 
a.s  mo]i.  to  grimace  ...  —  Du.  mojqirn,  to  pout ;  whence  to  grimace, 
or  to  sulk"..    (Skeat,  Ely.  Diet.). 

S^-.").  Rebellious  ...  fire,  if  hellish  ])assion  can  burst  out  into 
sucii  unconl rolled  mutiny  in  a  woman  of  her  age,  virtue  in  the 
case  of  ardent  youth  may  well  slmw  itself  as  ,'oft  iis  wax  and  melt 
in  the  fire  which'she  (in  flaming  youth)  feels  ;  mutine,  the  older 
form  of  '  mutiny,'  as  the  substantive  in  v  2.  6,  and  A'.  J.  ii.  i. 
378.      Haimier  y)Iausibly  conjectures  htat  for  hell. 

85-8.  proclaim  ...  will,  viitue  (in  the  case  of  young  men)  need 
not  protest  any  indignation  when  the  strength  of  passion  gives 
the  signal  for  action,  since  here  we  Jiave  pioof  that  aged  blood, 
which  should  be  cold  as  ice,  burns  aa  fiercely  as  that  which  runs 
in  the  veins  of  youtli,  and  that  reason  whicli  should  restrain  im- 
pulse only  acts  as  a  go-between  to  it  and  its  object  ;  for  gives  the 
Char^,  <•]).  Lurr.  434,  "  Anon  his  beating  heart,  alarum  striking, 
(lii-i.'t  th't  hot  rhni-ff  and  bids  them  do  their  liking." 

89.  Into  ...  soul,  so  that  lam  forced  lo  look  into  the  very 
ileptiis  of  my  soul. 

!Mi.  grained,  dyed  so  deeply^nd  permanently  ;  "  ffrnvnm,  in 
Latin,  signifies  a  seed  or  kernel,  and  it  was  early  apjdied  to  all 


234  HAMLET.  [act  hi. 

small  objects  resembling  seeds,  and  finally  to  all  minute  particles. 
Hence  it  was  applied  to  the  round,  seed-like  form  of  the  dried 
body,  or  rather  ovarium,  of  an  insect  of  the  genus  coccus,  which 
furnished  a  variety  of  red  dyes  ..  The  colour  obtained  from 
kermes  or  grain  was  peculiarly  durable  ...  See  C.  E.  iii.  2.  108, 
'Ant.  S.  That's  a  fault  that  water  will  mend.  Dro.  S.  No, 
sir,  'tis  in  (irain  ;  Noah's  flood  could  not  do  it'  ;  T.  N.  i.  5.  256, 
'  'Tis  in  (/rain,  sir  ;  'twill  endure  wind  and  weather.' "...  (Marsh, 
Lectures  on  the  Eng.  Lrtng.). 

91.  As  ■will  ...  tinct,  that  nothing  can  wash  them  out  ;  leave, 
"part  with,  give  up,  resign.  Cp.  7'.  G.  iv.  4.  79,  'It  seems  you 
loved  not  her  to  leave  her  token  '  "  (Steevens). 

94.  that  is  ...  tithe,  literally  who  is  not  the  twentieth  part  of 
the  tenth  part,  i.e.  who  weighs  nothing  as  against,  etc. 

95.  a  vice  of  kings,  who  is  to  a  real  king  nothing  more  than 
the  buffoon  in  the  old  Moralities  was  to  the  serious  characters. 
Douce  shows  that  the  '  Vice '  in  those  old  plays  was  so  named 
from  the  vicious  qualities  attributed  to  him,  and  from  the  mis- 
chievous nature  of  his  general  conduct. 

96.  A  cutpurse  ...  rule,  one  who  has  filched  the  empii-e  and  its 
swa}'  as  a  common  pick-pocket  filches  his  stolen  goods.  Purses 
were  in  Shakespeai'e's  day  worn  hanging  at  the  girdle,  and  so 
were  easilj'  cut  off  by  thieves. 

99.  A  Idng  . . .  patches,  a  king  with  nothing  kingly  about  him, 
made  up  of  nothing  but  the  cast-otT  remnants  of  kingly  dignity. 
Cp.  Antony's  contemptuous  description  of  Lepidus,  /.  C.  iv.  2. 
36-9. 

101.  What  would  ..  figure  ?  what  would  you  desire  appearing 
thus  ? 

103.  Do  you  ...  chide,  you  surely  must  have  come  to  chide,  etc. 

104,5.  That,  lapsed  ...  command  ?  who,  having  allowed  the 
time  to  pass  in  inactivity  and  passionate  regrets,  has  failed  to 
carry  out  your  dread  command,  a  matter  of  such  pressing  im- 
portance ;  for  important,  cp.  C.  E.  v.  1.  138,  "At  your  important 
letters." 

100.  amazement ...  sits,  utter  bewilderment  has  settled  down 
u^Jon  your  mother  ;  has  taken  entire  possession  of  her. 

1 10.  step  . . .  soul,  interpose  to  save  her  from  being  overpowered 
by  the  emotions  now  striiggling  in  her  heart. 

111.  Conceit  .  works,  imagination  works  most  powerfully  in 
those  who,  like  women,  are  physically  weakest. 

113,  4.  Alas  ..  vacancy,  alas,  it  is  not  you  who  should  ask  hoAV 
I  am,  Ijut  I  Mdio  should  ;i,sk  ho\»  you  are,  what  has  come  over 
you,  that  you  look  so  fixedly  upon  mere  empty  space. 


SCENE  IV.]  NOTES.  235 

11").  incorporal,  incorporeal,  immaterial. 

1  lb.  Fortli ...  peep,  from  your  eyes  your  soul  looks  out  in  wild 
amazement. 

117-9.  And  ...  end,  ami,  like  soldiers  awakened  by  tlie  signal 
of  the  enemy  being  ac  hand,  your  liair,  a  moment  ago  lying  still 
upon  your  head,  starts  up  and  stands  erect,  like  inanimate 
matter  suddenly  endowed  with  life;  the  ...  soldiers,  here  tlie 
defines  the  situation  of  soldiers  in  particular  circumstances ; 
alarm,  a  cry  to  arms,  from  Ital.  all  ^arme,  to  arms  !  excrements, 
anytiiing  that  grows  out  from  the  !)ody,  such  as  hair,  nails;  from 
Lat.  excrescere,  to  grow  out. 

122.  lio"w  pale  he  glares,  how  pale  he  looks  as  he  glares  upon 
us. 

12.S,  4.  His  form  ..  capable,  his  appearance,  coupled  with  the 
reason  of  that  appearance,  if  a])])caling  Lo  tlie  very  stones,  would 
stir  them  to  feeling.  For  capable,  =  susceptible,  receptive,  cp. 
A.   v.  L.  iii.  5.  23,  "The  cicatrice  and  capable  impressure. " 

12.^,  6.  convert  ...  effects,  turn  my  action  from  its  proper 
sternness  to  pity.  Singer  would  read  affects,  i.e..  dispositions, 
affection  of  the  mind,  as  in  OOi.  i.  3.  264,  "Not  to  comply  with 
heat — the  young  affects.  In  me  defunct." 

126,  7.  then  what  ..  colour,  then  the  vengeance  whirli  I  have 
to  take  will  lack  that  justification  which  it  would  otherwise 
have,  cp.  J.  C.  ii.  1.  29,  "And,  since  the  quarrel  Will  bear  no 
colour  for  the  thing  he  is.  Fashion  it  thus." 

127.  tears  ...  blood,  and  instead  of  shedding  the  Idood  of  the 
murderer,  I  shall  perhaps  only  shed  tears  of  pity  from  my  own 
eyes. 

129.  is,  exists,  is  not  "a  false  creation  Proceeding  from  the 
heat-oppressed  brain,"  Mach.  ii.  1.  38,  9. 

131.  steals  away,  gradually  vanishes. 

132.  in  his  ...  lived,  in  the  very  dress  he  wore  when  alive. 

135,  6.  This  bodiless  ...  in,  madness  is  very  skilful  in  giving 
birth  to  such  illusions  of  the  sight. 

137,  •'^.  doth  ...  music,  beats  with  as  regular  and  healthy  a 
rhythm  as  yours  ;  its  pulsations  are  as  indicative  of  a  sound 
frame  of  mind  as  yours. 

140.  re  word,  repeat  word  for  word. 

140,  1.  which  madness  ...  from,  whereas  a  madman  would 
wander  in  fantastic  fashion  from  the  sul)ject. 

141.  for  love  of  grrace,  as  you  hope  for  pardon  ;  grace,  (he 
grace  f)f  (Jod  ;  for  the  omission  of  the  definite  article  before  love, 
see  Abb.  §  89.  ^ 


236  Hamlet.  [act  m. 

142,  3.  Lay  not  ...  SpeakB,  rlo  not  try  to  soothe  your  soul  by 
imagining  to  yourself  that  it  is  not  your  sin  but  my  marlnes's 
which  calls  aloud  in  this  way. 

144-6.  It  will  ...  unseen,  to  do  so  will,  instead  of  healing  the 
sore,  only  cover  it  as  with  a  hlm^  while  rank  corruption,  eating 
into  the"  core  oi  your  sour,  poisons~it  unnoticed  ;  the  open  sore 
may  be  treated,  the  sore  skinned  over  will  prevent  the  progress 
of  the  disease  from  being  seen,  though  it  is  going  on  all  the  time 
and  can  only  end  in  death. 

147.  avoid  ...  come,  avoid  sin  in  the  future. 

14S,  9.  And  do  not  ..  ranker,  and  do  not  make  what  is  already 
so  foul  still  fouler  Ijy  self-deception  and  hypocrisy ;  compost, 
mixture,  composition,  manure  ;  cp.  composfure,  Tim.  i\.  ,S.  444, 
"  The  earth  's  a  thief.  That  feeds  and  breeds  by  a  cmnpoHtiire 
stolen  From  general  excrement." 

149.  Forgive  ...virtue,  forgive  me  for  this  virtuous  indignation. 
Staunton  puts  a  comma  after  this,  and  marks  the  passage  down 
to  1.  1J2  as  an  Aside. 

150.  For  in  ...  times,  for  in  these  times  of  gross  and  pampered 
indulgence ;  pursy,  literally  short-winded,  here  short-winded 
from  over-indulgence.  Cp.  Tim.  v.  4.  12,  "  pwnsy  insolence  shall 
bz-eak  his  wind  With  fear  and  horrid  flight. " 

152.  curb,  "'bend  and  truckle"  From  F.  courher.  So  in  the 
Vision  of  Piers  Ploughman,  "  Thanne  I  courhed  on  my  knees, 
And  cried  hire  of  grace  "  (Steevens). 

154.  worser,  lo:  the  double  comparative,  see  Abb.  §  11. 

155.  ttie  purer,  all  the  purer  ;  b}'  so  much  the  purer ;  the, 
ablative  case  of  the  demonstrative. 

157.  Assume  ...  not,  act  as  though  you  were  virtuous,  even  if 
you  have  not  the  feeling. 

158,9.  That  monster  ...  this,  "that  monster.  Custom,  who 
destroys  all  natural  feeling  and  prevents  it  from  being  exerted, 
and  is  the  malignant  attendant  on  habits,  is  yet  angel  in  this 
respect,  etc.  The  double  meanintr  of  the  word  '  habits  '  suggested 
the  'frock  or  livery'  in  1.  164  [161]  "'(CI.  Pr.  Edd.).  I  believe 
we  should  read  'out'  for  '  eat,'  and  '  devilish  '  for  'devil.' 

160-2.  That  ..put  on,  that,  to  accustom  us  to  the  practice  of 
good  actions,  he,  besides  what  else  he  does,  furnishes  us  with  the 
garb  of  virtue  which  we  can  easily  put  on,  if  we  so  desire. 

164,  5.  And  either  ...  potency,  and  either  completely  overcome 
the  devil,  or  at  least  expel  him  from  our  nature  with  irresistible 
force.  The  reading  in  the  text  is  a  conjeettire  of  Jennings  ; 
vTll'iuWto  other  conjectures  have  been  made,  < .[/.  mrh,  lay,  lodge, 
quell,  shame,  overcome,  the  earlier  quartos  giving  "And  either 
the  devil,"  the  later,  "  And  master  the  devil." 


SCEXF.  IV.]  NOTES.  237 

166,  7.  And  when...  you,  luid  wlien  you  oiave  for  a  blessing 
from  luaveu,  tlius  showing  your  contrition,  I  will  ask  of  you  a 
niotlier's  blessing  :   For,  as  regards. 

l()S-70.  but  heaven  ...  minister,  but  heaven  has  pleased  that  it 
should  l>e  so,  viz.,  that  I  should  be  its  instrument  of  vengeance 
in  order  that  I  might  be  punished  by  being  guilty  of  this  man's 
death,  and  this  man  be  punished  by  my  act  :  heaven  as  a  jilural 
occurs  frecjuently  in  Shakespeare,  e.<j.  R.  II.  i.  2.  (>,  i'tli.  iv.  2. 
47,  Per.  i.  4.  16.' 

171.  bestow  him,  get  rid  of  his  dead  body :  answer  well,  justify 
myself  ;  render  a  good  account  of  my  act  in  killing  him  ;  cp. 
Lear,  i.  'A.  10,  "the  fault  of  it  I'll  answer";  Cymh.  i.  4.  170, 
"Only  thus  far  you  shull  answer." 

173.  I  must ...  kind,  I  must  be  cruel  in  words  only  to  be  kind 
in  reality,  i.e.  my  reproaches  are  necessary  to  make  you  see  your 
con<luct  in  its  right  light,  and  so  bring  you  to  a  better  manner  of 
life. 

174.  Thus  bad  ...  behind,  thus  my  harsh  words  must  be 
followed  by  even  harsher  measures,  sc.  the  punishment  of  the 
king. 

17(5.  Not  this,  ...  do,  <lo  anything  in  the  world  except  this  that 
1  bid  you  do. 

177.   bloat,  ])loated  by  excess,  especially  in  drinking. 

17h.  Pinch  ..  check,  make  you  wanton  with  his  caresses: 
mouse,  a  term  of  endearment  connnon  in  Shakespeare's  day  ;  cp. 
T.  N.  i.  5.  69,  ' '  good  my  mouse  of  virtue. " 

179-81.  Make  you  craft,  make  you  confess  that  I  am  not 
mad  in  reality,  but  only  pretend  to  be  so  in  order  to  etl'ect  my 
objects;  ravel.,  out,  um-avel  ;  used  (jf  the  gradual  jtiocess  of 
extracting  Hanilet'.-s  secret,  disentangling,  as  it  were,  the  knotted 
skein. 

1S2-4.  For  who  .  hide?  for  who  but  one  that  has  everything 
that  ean  ennolile  a  woman — rank,  l)eauty,  virtue,  wisdom — would 
tliink  of  hiding  a  secret  of  sueh  vital  importance  from  a  filthy 
creature  like  your  husband  ;  concemings.  ep.  M .  M.  i.  i.  57, 
"  As  time  and  our  concern i7if/!i  shall  importune"  ;  paddock,  toad  ; 
cp.  Marh.  i.  \.%;  gib,  more  cwnunanly  (/ih-cnt,  a  ma.lc  ci^t. 

IS/j.  No,  in  despite  ..  secrecy,  no,  in  spite  of  the  secrecy 
which  conmion  sense  would  bid  you  maintain. 

188.  To  try  conclusions,  to  make  experiment. 

189.  break  ...  down,  break  your  neck  )>y  falling  lieadlong  in 
your  effort  to  fly  like  a  bird.  The  anecdote  in  <niestion  has 
never  been  discovereil,  but  "  the  reference,'"  as  the  (1.  Pi .  Kdd. 
point  out,  "must  be  to  some  fal)le  in  which  an  ape  opened  a 
basket  containing  live  birds,  tlien  crept  into  it  himself,  and  '  to 


238  HAMLET.  [act  rii. 

try  conclusions,'  whether  he  could  fly  like  them,  jumped  out  and 
broke  his  neck." 

190-2.  Be  thou  ...  me,  rest  assured  that,  if  words  are  made  of 
breath,  and  breath  is  made  of  life,  it  is  not  in  me  to  l)reathe  your 
secret  to  any  one  ;  for  a  similar  play  upon  life  in  two  ditferent 
senses,  cp.  H.  V.  iv.  2.  53-5,  "Description  cannot  suit  itself 
in  words  To  demonstrate  the  life  of  such  a  battle  In  life  so  life- 
less as  it  shows  itself." 

193.  I  must  to  England,  we  are  not  informed  how  Hamlet 
became  aware  of  this,  unless  he  overheard  the  king's  conversa- 
tion with  Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern. 

194.  concluded,  determined. 

195.  There  's  letters,  for  the  singular  verb  preceding  a  plural 
subject,  see  Abb.  §  335. 

196.  as,  just  as  much,  i.e.  no  more  ;  fang'd,  with  their  fangs 
still  in  them  ;  of  course  the  poison  is  not  in  the  fang  itself,  but 
in  the  poison-bag  at  the  back  of  it. 

197.  8.  They  must  ...  knavery,  it  is  for  them  to  make  the 
path  smooth  for  me,  and  to  lead  me  where  the  villanous  scheme 
of  the  king  may  be  put  into  execution  ;  the  original  sense  of  the 
substantive  mart^Jicdl  is  '  horse-servant,'  thence  an  attendant 
generally,  and  later  on  a  title  of  honour  :  Let  it  work,  let  the 
afl^pinc  t'o  oi^. 

199,  200.  For  'tis  ...  petar,  for  it  is  the  finest  sport  in  the  world 
to  see  the  engineer  blown  into  the  air  by  his  own  engine  of 
destruction  ;  the  sport,  for  the  emphatic  definite  article,  see  Abb. 
§  92,  and  for  the  form  enginer,  §  443  ;  Hoist,  probal)ly  the  past 
participle  of  the  old  verb  to  hoise,  or  perhaps  an  instance  of  the 
omission  of  the  participial  ternunation ;  petar,  a  war  engine  filled 
with  explosive  materials. 

200-2.  and  't  shall  . . .  moon,  and  it  will  be  sti-ange  if  I  do  not 
manage  to  drive  my  mine  beneath  theirs  and  blow  them  high  into 
the  air;  't  shall  go  hard,  i.e.  the  difficulty  must  be  a  great  one  if 
■"T?lo  not  manage  to  overcome  it  ;  for  at,  =  up  to,  see  Abb.  §  143. 
Mines  in  besieging  a  fortress,  etc.,  are  made  useless  by  running  a 
counter  mine  at  a  short  depth  below  or  directly  opposite  them, 
and  breaking  down  the  intervening  space  liy  the  explosion  of 
gunpowder,  when  those  working  in  them  will  be  Idown  into  the 
air. 

203.  wlien  . . .  meet,  when  two  skilful  designs  come  into  direct 
opposition  ;  the  figure  of  the  counter  mine  is  still  kept  up. 

204.  set  me  packing,  hurry  me  off  about  my  business  ;  in 
packing  there  is  perhaps  the  idea  of  contriving  whicli  is  often 
fountl  in  Shakespeare,  though  here  it  does  not  seem  to  be  the 
primary  one. 


SCENE  IV.]  NOTES.  239 

■_'().'>.  lug  gilts,  botli  words  used  in  a  contemptuous  way, 
tliougli  guts  liiid  not  the  vulgar  sense  vliiili  it  has  since  ac- 
quired :  neighbour,  used  as  an  adjective. 

208.  prating,  cliattering,  fond  of  idle  talk. 

209.  to  draw^  you,  tliat  I  may  have  done  with  you  ;  that  I 
may  put  the  tinishing  touch  to  this  business. 


Act  IV.     Scene  I. 

I.  matter,  something  of  importance,  something  material  :  pro- 
found. I'.iaw  n  from  tlie  depths  of  your  heart,  and  so  deep  in  signi- 
ticance. 

'2.  translate,  ex])lain  the  meaning  of  :  'tis  fit,  it  is  only  right. 

4.  Bestow  ..  while,  be  good  enouch  to  leave  us  alone  for  a  short 
time. 

6.  How  does  Hamlet  ?  what  is  the  state  of  Hamlet's  mind  ? 

5.  which,  as  to  which  ;  on  the  qiiestion  which. 

10.  Whips  out,  he  hastily  draws  ;  for  the  ellipsis  of  the  nomina- 
tive, sec  AM),  ji  899. 

II.  braijiish  apprehension,  mad-brained  fancy  ;  the  suffix  -{xh, 
having,  as  often,  a  contemptuous  signification. 

18.  It  had  ..  there,  I  myself  should  have  fared  as  Polonius  has, 
if  I  had  been  in  his  place.  The  king's  first  thought  is  a  selfish 
one. 

14.  His  liberty,  the  fact  of  his  being  allowed  to  go  at  lai'ge  ; 
threats,  risk,  danger. 

1(1.  how  shall ...  answer'd,  what  excuse  shall  we  be  able  to 
make  for  ourselves  in  regard  to  this  dee<l  ? 

1 7-9  It  will  man,  the  blame  of  the  deed  will  be  laid  upon  us 
for  not  having  us(;d  the  precaution  of  keeping  this  madman  under 
restraint  where  he  could  not  have  come  in  contact  with  anyone  ; 
short,  "oppo.-^cd  to  loose;  W.   3.  2"  (CI.  Pr.  Kdd.). 

20.  We  ..  understand,  we  <leliberately  refused  to  perceive  :  we 
purposely  shut  our  eyes  to  ;  the  king  cannot  help  being  a  hypo- 
crite even  to  himself  and  his  queen. 

21.  owner,  one  subject  to. 

22.  To  keep     .  divulging,    rather  than  let  it  be  known. 
28.    pith  of  life,  tlie  vital  jiarts. 

24.  To  draw  apart,  to  ]uil  out  of  the  way  so  that  no  harm  may 
come  to  it 

"2.T-7.  O'er  whom  ...done,  o\it  «liiih  he  .^'u-d  tears  of  repent- 
ance, his  very  madness  showing  in  tiiis  a  touch  of  soundness,  like 


240  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

a  vein  of  pure  ore  in  the  midst  of  mines  of  base  metal ;  ore,  pro- 
bably used  for  the  finest  of  ores,  gold  ;  for  mineral,  =  mine, 
Steevens  compares  Hall's  Satire.^,  "Shall  it  not  be  a  wild-fig  in  a 
wall,  Or  fired  brimstone  in  a  minerall  f"  Staunton  takes  the  word 
for  metallic  \'ein,  lode. 

29.  shall ...  touch,  gild  the  mountains  with  its  first  rays. 

30.  But,  than. 

81,  2.  We  must,  ..  excuse,  we  must  use  all  our  authority  as 
king  to  put  a  good  face  upon,  and  all  our  skill  in  special  pleading 
to  excuse,  the  deed  ;  cp.  Macb.  iii.  1.  118-20,  "  Though  I  could 
With  barefaced  power  sweep  him  from  my  sight,  And  bid  my 
will  avouch  it,  yet  I  must  not  For  certain  friends  that  are  both 
his  and  mine,"  i.e.  because  of  motives  of  policy. 

.S3,  join  you  ...  aid,  take  others  to  help  you. 

36.  speak  fair,  use  gentle  language  to  him. 

38.  call  up,  summon  to  our  assistance. 

40.  so,  haply,  slander,  in  that  way  if  we  take  those  measures, 
perhaps  slander  ;  the  quartos  and  folios  here  mark  a  hiatus  ; 
Theobald  conjectured  'for,  haply,  slander,'  which,  with  Capell's 
sulistitution  of  '  so  '  for  'for,'  has  been  accepted  by  most  modern 
editors. 

41-4.  Whose  whisper  ...  air,  whose  poisonous  whisper  flies  from 
end  to  end  of  the  world  as  unerringly  and  as  fatally  as  the  cannon- 
ball  to  its  mark,  may  pass  by  us  and  only  hit  the  air  which  feels 
no  wound ;  hlank,  the  white  disc,  now  the  '  gold,'  in  a  target, 
from  F.  bla7ir,  white  ;  for  woundless  air,  cp.  Macb.  v.  8.  9, 
"  the  intrenchant  air." 

45.  discord,  in  not  knowing  what  course  to  take,  one  mo- 
ment suggesting  one,  another  moment  suggesting  another :  dis- 
may, in  anticipating  what  others  may  do  in  consequence  of 
Polonius's  death. 


Scene  II. 

I.  stowed,  put  away. 

6.  Compounded  ...kin,  mixed  with  the  earth  of  which  it  was 
originally  formed;  cp.  the  Burial  Service,  "earth  to  earth, 
ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust."  Cp.  ii.  /f.  IT.  iv.  5.  116,  "  Only 
compound  me  with  forgotten  dust." 

I I .  Keep  your  counsel,  keep  your  secret ;  referring  perhaps  to 
his  discovery,  in  ii.  2.  284,  5,  that  they  had  been  sent  to  sound 
him. 

12.  Besides  . . .  sponge  !  besides,  to  think  of  my  being  ques- 
tioned by  a  fellow  like  you,  who  would  get  everything  out  of  me, 


^.KNKii.]  NOTES.  241 

suck  ine  dry,  witli  tlie  same  insidiousness  that  a  sponge  sucks  up 
water  I  Suiiie  editors  follow  the  (juaitos  and  folios  in  putting  a 
connna.  instead  of  a  note  of  admiration,  after  sponge ;  witli  that 
punctuation  the  meaning  will  be,  '  in  the  case  of  one's  being 
questioned,'  etc. 

1*2,  3.  what  ...  king  ?  what  sort  of  answer  do  you  expect  to 
receive  from  one,  like  me,  of  royal  birth  ?  do  you  ex])ect  that 
sucli  a  one  would  submit  to  be  sucked  dry  by  a  fellow  like  you? 
Rushton  says  that  replication  is  "an  excepticm  of  tiie  second 
degree  made  by  the  j)laintitt'  upon  the  answer  of  a  defendant." 
In  the  jargon  of  Holofernes,  L.  L.  J.,  iv.  2.  15,  the  word  is  used, 
its  here,  for  '  reply  '  ;  in  /.  C.  i.  1.  51,  for  'echo.' 

15.  countenance,  favour. 

16.  authorities,  the  several  attributes  of  power  ;  cp.  Lear,  i. 
3.  17. 

17.  like  an  .  nuts,  as  an  ape  does  nuts  ;  the  later  ([uartos  read 
"  like  an  apple,"  for  which  Farmer  conjectured  '  like  an  ape,  an 
apple  ' ;  the  reading  in  the  text  is  that  of  the  first  quarto,  and  is 
adopted  by  Staunton  and  Fui'ness. 

18.  mouthed,  taken  into  his  nioutii. 

19.  gleaned,  picked  up  in  the  way  of  information  :  it  is  but 
squeezing  you,  all  he  needs  to  do  is  to  squeeze  you  like  a 
sponge. 

'22.  a  knavish  ...  ear,  I  am  glad  you  should  not  understand  it, 
as  that  siiows  you  are  only  a  fool,  fools  never  seeing  the  point  of 
knavish  words. 

2.1,  6.  The  body  ...  thing,  various  subtle  meanings  have  been 
read  into  tliese  ^soiils,  but  they  were  probably  used  for  no 
other  purpose  than  that  of  mystifying  (iuildensteru— and  com- 
mentators. 

28,  9.  Hide  fox,  and  all  after,  an  allusion  to  tlie  game  of  hide 
and  .seek,  in  which  one  of  the  players,  called  tiie  fox,  hides,  and 
all  the  rest  have  to  go  after  him  and  tind  out  his  hiding-place. 
Here,  of  course,  merely  a  continuation  of  Hamlet's  feigned 
madness. 


Scene  III. 

1.  him,  Hamlet. 

2.  goes  loose,  is  allowed  his  freedom. 

.3.  Yet  must.,  him,  yet  it  will  not  do  for  me  to  employ  the  full 
force  of  tlie  law  against  him,  take  such  extreme  measures  as  the 
law  would  allow. 

4.  of,  by  ;  distracted,  weak-brained. 


242  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

5.  Who  like  . . .  eyes,  whose  liking  depends  not  upon  the  use  of 
their  judgement,  but,  etc. 

6.  the  offender's  scourge,  the  provocation  the  offender  has 
received  ;  that  by  which  he  has  been  lashed  into  furious  deeds. 

7-9.  To  hear  ...  pause,  in  order  that  things  may  go  smoothly, 
not  excite  opposition,  this  sending  him  away  so  suddenly  must 
be  made  to  seem  the  result  of  deliberate  calculation. 

14.  without,  outside  :  guarded  ...  pleasure,  under  a  guard  till 
it  be  known  what  it  is  your  pleasure  should  be  done. 

20,  1.  a  certain  ...  him,  a  certain  assemblage  of  discriminating 
worms,  woruLs  that  know  what  they  like,  are  even  now  engaged 
upon  him  ;  an  allusion  to  the  Diet  of  Worms. 

21,  2.  Your  worm  ...  diet,  the  worm  you  and  I  know  so  well  is 
the  only  real  emperor  as  regards  diet  ;  for  your,  used  in  this 
colloquial  sense,  see  Abb.  §  220  :  fat,  fatten. 

24,  5.  but  ...  table,  t.vo  dishes  served  in  a  different  way,  but 
placed  l)efore  the  same  company;  cp.  Westward  Ho!  i.  2,  "an 
excellent  pickled  gocse,  a  nen-  .'<e7-ri.ce,"  i.e.  dressed  in  a  new  way  : 
for  variabis,  cp.  iii.  1.  172 :  the  end,  what  it  all  comes  to. 

30.  go  a  progress,  an  allusion  to  the  royal  '  progresses,' 
journeys  of  state,  so  common  in  Engla.nd  in  former  days. 

.13.  send  thitber  to  see,  Delius  points  out  that  the  king  would 
not  be  able  himself  to  get  to  heaven  to  make  the  inquiry. 

34.  the  other  place,  hell. 

35.  nose,  smell  ;  cp.  Cor.  v.  1.  28,  "  to  nose  the  offence." 

38.  He  will ...  come,  you  need  not  be  afraid  of  his  running 
away,  he  's  fast  enough  there. 

40.  tender,  hold  precious  ;  see  note  on  i.  3.  107. 

41.  must  ...  hence,  will  render  it  necessary  for  you  to  leave 
Denmark.  The  king  pretends  that  it  is  no  wish  of  his,  but  a 
necessary  consequence  of  the  deed,  as  though  Hamlet  would  be 
seized  by  the  very  multitude  who  lie  had  just  before  said  loved 
hina  too  much  to  alloM'  anj'  harm  to  be  done  to  him. 

42.  with  fiery  quickness,  "with  hot  haste"  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

43.  the  wind  at  help,  the  wiiid  fa\ourable  ;  for  at,  in  place  of 
the  prefix  a-,  as  in  as/eep,  afoot,  etc.,  see  Abb.  §  143. 

44.  The  associates  tend,  the  companions  I  have  chosen  for 
your  voyage  are  in  readiness  for  you  :  bent,  directed,  in  trim. 

45.  For  England  !  in  order  that  he  may  not  be  suspected  of 
having  made  any  plans  of  his  own  to  bafHe  the  king's  design, 
Hamlet  pretends  to  be  surprised  at  the  information. 

46.  So  it  is  ...  purposes,  it  is  well,  as  you  would  allow  if  you 
knew,  etc, 


s(;knkiii.]  notes.  243 

."."?.  at  foot,  at  his  heels,  closely;  tempt  ...  aboard,  persuade 
iiim  to  go  on  hoard  as  (juickly  as  yoii  can. 

54.  I  11  have  htm  hence,  I  am  deteniiiiied  that  he  shall  sail. 

'm,  6.  for  every  ...  aflfair,  for  eveiything  else  that  depends  upon 
the  nmnagenient  of  this  hiisint'ss  is  tiioroughly  complete. 

57.  if  my  love  ...  aught,  if  ynn  in  the  least  value  my  love. 

58.  As  my  ..  sense,  and  the  greatness  of  my  power  may  well 
teach  yuu  to  do  so. 

59.  60.  Since  yet  . .  sword,  since  the  chastisement  you  received 
at  our  liands  is  still  fresh  in  your  memory  ;  cicatrice,  scar. 

60.  free  awe,  "  awe  still  felt,  thougli  no  longer  enforced  by  the 
presence  of  Danish  armies"  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

61.  homage,  i.e.  the  homage  of  being  ready  to  carry  out  our 
injunctions. 

61,  2.  thou  mayst ...  process,  you  may  not  treat  with  indiffer- 
ence our  royal  mandate ;  for  process,  cp.  ,4.  C.  i.  1.  28,  "  Where  's 
Fulvia's  prorea-i  ?  "  The  CI.  Pr.  i'.dd.  point  out  that  set  "  would 
not  have  been  thus  used  had  it  nctt  been  familiar  in  the  phrases 
'  set  at  nought,'  '  set  at  a  pin's  fee,'  etc. 

62-4.  which  imports  . . .  Hamlet,  tlie  lull  tenour  of  which  as 
explained  by  letters  sent  with  it,  and  enforcing  it  with  adjura- 
tions of  the  same  purport,  is  that  Handet  shouUl  at  once  be  put 
to  death;  conjuring  is  the  reading  of  the  folios,  the  quartos 
giving  coiKjniiw/,  the  objection  to  which  is  its  tautology. 

65.  For  like  ...  rages,  for  the  effect  which  Ins  existence  has 
upon  me  is  like  that  of  a  hectic  fever  on  the  blood,  i.e.  causing  it 
to  burn  violently  ;  hectic,  properly  an  adjective  =  continual, 
liabitual,  and  especially  applied  of  old  to  fevers  ;  now  used  only 
in  the  sense  of  consumptive,  as  '  a  hectic  cough,'  'a  hectic  colour 
(of  the  face).' 

66.  And  thou  . . .  me,  and  to  you  I  must  look  for  a  cure  for  this 
disease  of  mine. 

67.  Howeer  ...  hegun,  whatever  may  happen  to  me,  I  can  never 
feel  that  the  happiness  I  long  for  has  begun. 


SCKNK  IV. 

1.  from  me  greet,  bear  my  gieetings  to. 

2.  hy  his  license,  if  hi;  will  allow  it. 

S,  4.  Craves  ...  kingdom,  desires  that,  according  to  promise,  he 
may  be  allowed  to  tiaiisport  his  forces  aci'oss  Denmark  :  the  ren- 
dezvous, the  appointed  ])lace  of  meeting  ;  Fr.  render.,  2nd  pei'son 
jjjural,  imperative,  of  reiiUre,    to  render,    bring,   and    rous,  the 


244  HAMLI-yr.  [ACT  TV. 

plural  of  the  2nd  jieisonal  pronoun  ;  a  military  term  for  the  place 
appointed  for  soldiers  to  assemble. 

5.  would  ...  us,  wishes  to  see  us  for  any  purpose. 

6.  We  shall  . . .  eye,  we  shall  be  ready  to  appear  before  him  in 
person  and  do  homage  to  hmi ;  for  in  his  eye,  Steevens  compares 
A.  C.  ii.  2.  212,  "Her  gentlewomen  ...  tended  her  i'  the  (->/(■■■<," 
and  says  "  the  phrase  seems  to  ha\-e  been  a  formulary  for  the 
royal  presence." 

7.  And  let  him  know  so,  and  therefore  tell  him  so.  For  this 
change  of  construction,  cp.  M.  A.  v.  1.  303,  4,  "I  do  embrace 
your  offer;  and  dispose  {i.e.  do  you  dispose)  For  henceforth  of 
poor  Claudio. " 

8.  softly,  slowly  ;  i.e.  with  the  troops  under  your  conmiand. 

9.  powers,  forces  :  as  frequently  in  Shakespeare. 

10.  of  Norway,  belonging  to  Norway. 

11.  How  purposed,  with  what  object  have  they  marched 
hither  ? 

15,6.  Goes  it  frontier?  is  the  expedition  directed  against 
the  mainland  of  Poland,  or  only  some  outlying  portion  of  tliat 
kingdom  ? 

17.  with  no  addition,  without  exaggeration. 

18.  to  gain,  to  make  ourselves  masters  of. 

19.  That  hath  ...  name,  whose  only  value  lies  in  the  name  of 
possession. 

20.  To  pay  ...  it,  I  w(mld  not  pay  five  ducats,  not  even  five,  for 
the  lease  of  it. 

21.  Norway,  the  king  of  Norway. 

22.  ranker,  higher ;  literally  more  exuberant  in  growth  : 
sold  in  fee,  sold  out  and  out,  not  merely  farmed  ;  a  '  fee  ' 
originally  signified  an  estate  feudally  held  of  another  person, 
and  an  estate  in  fee  simple  is  the  greatest  estate  or  interest 
which  the  law  of  England  allows  any  person  to  possess  in  landed 
property. 

23.  then,  if  it  is  worth  no  more  than  that. 

25,  6.  Two  thousand . .  straw,  the  decision  of  tliis  petty  (piarrel 
will  cost  the  lives  of  at  least  two  thousand  men,  and  the  waste 
of,  etc.  ;  for  debate.  =  decide  by  combat,  cp.  Liiei:  1421,  "It 
seem'd  they  would  debate  with  angry  swords  "  ;  the  word  is  from 
the  O.  F.  debatre,  to  beat  down. 

27-9.  This  is  ...  dies,  this  morbid  desire  in  the  body  politic  to 
quarrel  about  nothing,  a  desire  due  to  superabundance  of  wealth 
and  the  idleness  of  a  long  peace,  is  like  an  abscess  in  the  physical 
body  which  bursts  inwardly  without  showing  any  visible  cause 


SCENE  IV.]  NOTES.  245 

of  (he  man's  death  :  i.e.  this  readiness  to  quarrel  merely  for  the 
sjikc  of  quarrelling  shows  an  iinliealtliy  coii<lilion  in  a  state  ;  so, 
in  i.  //.  /  r.  iv.  2.  3*2,  tiie  idle,  diseontented,  fellows  whom  Falstaff 
enlists  are  called  "  the  crtH^fj-.s  of  a  calm  iror/d  and  a  Ioikj  peace.  " ; 
iinposthume,  from  "t).F.  dpostiotic,  an  'inward  swelling  full  of 
(  uirui)t  mailer' ;  Cot.  — Lat.  apotattma,  an  abscess.  ^Gk.  dirdaTijim, 
a  standing  awiiy  from  ;  lienee  a  separation  of  coi  iu{)t  matter  .... 
Here  the  prefix  im-  is  due  to  mere  corruption  "  (Skeal,  AV//.  JJiri.). 
C"p.  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Four  Plays  in  One,  "the  two  imjjos- 
ihioiie-s  That  choke  a  kingdom's  welfare, — ease  and  wantonness." 

30.  God  ...  you,  meiely  a  courteous  form  of  bidding  farewell. 

32.  How  all  . .  me,  how  everything  that  happens  seems  to 
denounce  my  irresolution  !  inform  against  me,  being  a  charge 
against  me  as  informers  <lo  against  guilty  persons  ;  ep.  B.  II .  ii. 
1.  242,  "  what  they  will  infurm  ...  'r/aiuM  any  of  us  all." 

34.  market  of  his  time,  tliat  for  which  lie  brings  his  time  for 
sale  as  beasts  are  brouglit  on  market-day. 

3.">.  a  beast,  no  more,  thus  making  himself  no  better  than  a 
Ijrute  beast. 

36,  7-  made  us  ...  after,  endowed  us  with  such  comjjrehensive 
faculties,  faculties  wiiich  concern  themselves  with  both  the  future 
and  the  i)ast  ;  not  like  those  of  brute  beasts  which  seem  con- 
cerned with  the  present  moment  only. 

.39.  to  fust,  to  grow  fusty,  mouldy  ;  litendly  '  tasting  of  tlic 
cask,'  from  O.  F.  fit-s/e,  a  cask. 

40.  craven,  cowardly  :  literally  one  who  sues  for  mercy. 

41.  Of  thinking,  v.hich  consists  in  thinking  :  precisely, 
minutely. 

42.  3.  A  thought ...  coward,  a  mode  of  thinking  which,  if  quar- 
tered, will  lie  found  to  be  made  up  of  one  part  of  wisdom  to  three 
parts  of  cowardice. 

44.  '  This  .  do,'  tliis  act  still  remains  to  be  done;  foi-  tlic 
infinitive  active  where  we  use  the  passive,  see  Abb.  §  359. 

4(i.  Examples  .  me,  so  plain  and  material  that  the  dullest 
man  could  not  fail  to  recognize  tlicm  as  sucii. 

47.  Witness,  for  instance  ;  literally  '  let  this  ariny  witness  ' ; 
charge,  rost. 

48.  delicate  and  tender,  brought  up  in  ease  and  luxury,  and  so 
not  naturally  inclined  to  such  rough  work. 

50.  Makes  ...  event,  laughs  at  the  jjossible  consequences;  cp. 
ii.  2.  .344,  "■ '  makm  mown." 

.'il.   mortal,  liable  to  <leath. 

53.  an  egg-shell,  the  merest,  most  worthless,  trifle. 


— "^       246  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

54.  Is  not  to  stir,  Furness  thinks  that  the  negative  belongs  to 
the  copula,  and  that  there  should  be  a  comma  after  not :  argfu- 
ment,  cause  of  quarrel. 

55.  But  greatly ...  straw,  but  to  be  prompt  to  find  in  the 
slightest  trifle  provocation  for  fighting. 

5(1.  When  . . .  stake,  when  honour  is  concerned  ;  when  it  is 
honour  that  is  the  subject  of  attack  ;  cp.  T.  N.  iii.  1.  129, 
"  Have  you  not  set  mine  honour  at  the  stake  And  baited  it  with 
all  unmuzzled  thoughts...?"  Schmidt  takes  at  the  stake,  as 
equivalent  to  '  at  stake,'  as  in  0th.  iv.  2.  13. 
k  56-9.   How  stand    .  sleep?  how  unworthy  is  my  position,  then, 

who  though  my  father  has  been  murdered  and  my  mother's  good 
fame  destroyed, — facts  which  should  be  sufficient  to  stir  both 
my  rea.son  and  my  passion, — still  allow  things  to  remain  exactly 
as  they  were  without  making  the  smallest  effort  to  remedy  them. 
Gl.  for  a  ...  fame,  for  the  sake  of  such  a  fanciful  whim  as  the 
desire  of  fame  ;  for  trick,  in  this  sense,  cp.  M.  J/,  iii.  1.  114, 
"  Wliy  would  he  for  a  momentary  trick  Be  perdurably  fined?  " 
Schmidt  takes  trick  as- trifle,  as  in  Cor.  iv.  4.  21. 

62.  like  beds,  as  readily  as  they  would  to  their  beds  :  plot, 
small  strip  of  land. 

63.  Whereon  . . .  cause,  too  small  to  hold  the  combatants  for  it. 

64.  which  is  . . .  continent,  whicli  is  not  large  enough  to  be  the 
tomb  and  cover  ;  continent,  that  whicli  contains  ;  cp.  A.  C.  iv. 
4.  40,  "Heart  once  be  stronger  than  thy  continent,  Crack 
thy  frail  case  !  " 

Scene  V. 

2.  indeed  distract,  not  merely  importunate,  but  quite  out  of 
her  senses  ;  for  distract,  cp.  i.  2.  20,  "  cliyomt  and  out  of  frame.'" 

3.  Her  mood  . .  pitied,  it  is  impossible  not  to  pity  her  condition  ; 
for  will,  see  Abb.  §  319. 

5.  There  "s  tricks  i'  the  world,  there  are  strange  doings  going 
on  in  the  world  ;  cp.  K.  J.  i.  1.  232,  "There's  toys  abroad": 
heart,  breast. 

6.  Spurns  ...  straws,  kicks  impatiently  at  straws  in  her  path  ; 
is  angry  at  the  merest  trifles  ;  cp.  A.C.  iii.  5.  17,  8,  where  it  is 
said  of  Antony  in  a  bad  temper  that  he  ''spurns  The  rush  that 
lies  before  him  "  :  in  doubt,  in  dubious  language. 

7-13.  her  speech  ...  unhappily,  her  \vords  in  themselves  convey 
no  distinct  meaning,  yet,  used  as  they  are  in  such  disorder,  they 
pro\oked  their  hearers  to  try  to  gather  some  meaning  from  them, 
to  piece  them  together,  so  that  they  may  give  a  coherent  sense  ; 
they  (sc.  the  hearers)  make  a  guess  at  that  sense,  and  clumsily 


scENKv.]  NOTES.  247 

endeavour  to  suit  tlie  words  to  the  interpretation  they  put  upon 
llicni  ;  and  those  words,  as  they  are  eked  out  by  her  winks,  nods, 
and  gestures,  would  certainly  lead  one  to  suppose  that  they 
possibly  contain  the  thought  of  some  great  misfortune  of  which 
she  is  conscious,  though  conscious  only  in  a  dim,  confused  way. 

14.  strew,  unintentionally  suggest. 

15.  ill-breeding  minds,  minds  always  ready  to  coneeive  evil,  to 
put  the  worst  construction  upon  anything  said. 

17.  To  my  ...  is,  to  my  soul,  ill  at  ease  with  itself,  as  is  always 
the  case  when  guilt  is  present  to  it  ;  cp.  above,  iii.  1.  83,  "  Thus 
conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all. " 

18.  toy,  trifle:  amiss,  disa.ster  ;  for  the  word  used  as  a  sub- 
stantive, cp.  Soini.  x.\.\v.  7,  "  Myself  corrupting,  salving  thy 
amiss  "  ,•  and  cli.  3. 

19.  20.  So  fiill ...  spilt,  so  full  of  clumsy  suspicion  is  guilt  that 
it  betrays  itself  in  the  very  fear  of  being  discovered  ;  for  jealousy, 
-  suspicion,  cp.  M.  A.  ii.  2.  49,  "  There  shall  appear  .such  seem- 
ing truth  of  Hero's  disloj-alty  that  jea/ousi/  shall  be  called  assur- 
ance." The  metaphor  is  that  of  a  man  who  carrying  a  liquid  is 
so  excited  by  his  fear  of  spilling  it  that  the  nervous  feeling  causes 
his  hand  to  tremble  and  the  licjuid  to  run  over. 

2.3,  4.  know  from,  distinguish  from. 

2.5,  t>.  By  Ms  ...  shoon,  by  his  wearing  the  habit  of  a  pilgrim  ; 
cockle-shells  were  worn  by  pilgrims  in  their  hats  as  emblematical 
of  their  crossing  the  sea  to  visit  the  Holy  Land  ;  sandal  shoon, 
shoes  formed  of  sandals  worn  under,  and  attached  liy  straps  to, 
the  feet  ;  shoon,  an  archaic  plural. 

28.  Say  you  ?  what  is  it  you  say  ? 

.31,  2.  At  Ms  ...  stone,  graves  of  the  poorer  classes,  especially 
in  village  churchyards,  are  generally  covered  with  grass  with  a 
slab  of  stone  at  the  foot  having  the  date  of  birth,  death,  etc., 
engraved  upon  it. 

.3.5.  shroud,  grave-clothes,  winding-sheet. 

37.  Larded,  thickly  covered  ;  cp.  M.  W.  iv.  6.  14,  "  The  mirth 
so  (ardfid  with  my  matter  "  ;  the  word  in  this  sense  is  generally 
used  by  Shakespeare  in  a  figurative  sense. 

38,  9.  WMch  ...showers,  the  .«liroutl  of  him  wlio  went  to  his 
grave  bewept  with  showers  of  tears  by  his  faithful  lover. 

41.   'ild,  yield,  in  the  sense  of  reward. 

H,  2.  They  say  ...  daughter,  an  allusion  to  a  story,  told  by 
Douce,  of  Christ  paying  a  visit  to  a  baker's  sho|)  and  asking  for 
a  piece  of  bread,  when  the  daughter  rebuked  her  mother  for 
giving  Him  too  large  a  piece,  and  as  a  punishment  for  her 
niggard  behaviour  was  transformed  into  an  owl. 


^48  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

4.3.  God  ...  table,  l)e  present  with  you  when  you  eat. 

44.  Conceit  ...  father,  her  fancy  dwells  upon  her  father's  death. 

45.  let  's  have  . . .  this,  let  us  have  no  dispute  about  this. 

47.  Saint  Valentine's  day,  On  the  feast  of  St.  Valentine, 
birds,  according  to  an  old  tradition,  chose  their  mates  for  the 
year.  "From  this  notion,"  says  Dyer,  p.  2S0,  "it  has  been 
suggested,  arose  the  once  popular  practice  of  choosing  valentines, 
and  also  the  common  belief  that  the  first  two  single  persons  who 
meet  in  the  morning  of  St.  Valentine's  day  have  a  great  chance 
of  becoming  married  to  each  other."  Douce  traces  the  custom  of 
choosing  lovers  on  this  day  to  the  Lupercalia  of  Rome,  a  festival 
held  about  the  same  date,  and  during  which  a  similar  custom 
pre\ailed. 

48.  All  ...  betime,  at  the  earliest  dawn  of  day;  all,  merely 
intensive. 

49.  at  your  window,  greeting  you  at  your  window. 

53.  cannot  ...  weep,  cannot  help  weeping  :  cannot  choose  to  do 
anything  but  weep  ;  to  think,  at  the  thought  that ;  the  infinitive 
used  indefinitely. 

57.  give  ...  watch,  watch  her  carefully. 

Gl,  2.  they  come  ...  battalions,  they  do  not  come  like  single 
spies  sent  to  discover  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  but  in  full  force 
to  attack  his  position. 

63,  4.  and  he  ...  remove,  and  he  by  his  violence  the  cause  of 
his  richly-deserved  banishment;  for  remove,  =  removal,  cp.  Lear, 
ii.  4.  4,  "  This  night  before  there  was  no  purpose  in  them  Of  this 
remove  "  :  muddied,  like  a  stream  made  nuiddy  b}-  heavy  rain. 
Delius  points  out  that  tliis  word  and  unwholesome  refer  primarily 
to  the  blood,  and  then  to  the  mood  of  the  people. 

65.  Thick  ...  whispers,  their  thoughts  and  their  language,  so 
far  as  they  dare  let  it  be  heard,  are  polluted  with  unMliolesome 
matter,  i.e.  dangerous  ideas. 

66.  For,  on  account  of  ;  greenly,  without  ripe  judgement ;  cp. 
0th.  ii.  1.  251,  "the  knave  .  hath  all  those  requisites  in  him 
that  folly  and  </rei'ii  minds  look  after";  A.  C.  i. 5.  74,  "M}'  salad 
days,  When  I  was  [p-een  in  judgement." 

67.  In  hugger-mugger,  in  this  secret  and  hasty  way  ;  a  redu- 
plication like  hofch-potch,  hocu.^-pocn.s,  mint fl e- man <ili'.  Malone 
quotes  Florio's  Diclionary,  "Dinascoso,  secretly,  hiddenly,  in 
bugger-mugger. " 

68.  Divided  ...judgement,  estranged  from  her  own  sane  judge- 
ment ;  out  of  her  senses  ;  cp    \\  2.  219. 

69.  the  which,  see  Abb.  §  270 :  are  pictures,  are  no  better  than 
pictures. 


soENF.  v1  NOTES.  249 

TO.  and  as  these,  ami  a  oircumstanoe  as  full  of  import  as  all 
these  put  tojjrotln.T. 

7'2.  Feeds  on  his  wonder,  Urooils  over  the  iiiua/en\eiit  caused 
by  his  fathers  death:  keeps  ...  clouds,  shuts  himself  up  in  gloomy 
reserve. 

T.'-i.  wants  not,  is  not  ^^■ithout  :  buzzers,  ehatteriug  fellows  ; 
fellow.*  who  go  Uuzzing  ahout  him  like  noxious  insects. 

74.  of  his  father's  death,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  his  father 
met  his  death. 

7"'-7.  Wherein  ..  ear,  in  which  sufrgestious  the  speaker,  (uiven 
]>\  necessity  to  substantiate  his  story,  and  having  no  actual  cir- 
cfuiTstances'to  bi-ing  as  proof,  will  not  hesitate  to  accuse  me  from 
one  person  to  another. 

78.  a  murdering- piece,  or  nuirdei'er,  was  a  cannon  which  dis- 
charged case-shot,  /.(.  shot  confined  in  a  case  which  buist  in 
the  discharge  and  scattered  the  shot  widely  ;  hence  the  superfluous 
death  in  the  ne.\t  line,  any  one  of  the  missiles  being  sufficient  to 
cause  ileath. 

80.  my  Swltzers,  Swiss  mercenaries  were  fre(iuently  emjjloyed 
as  personal  guards  of  the  king  in  continental  countries  and  even 
now  form  the  Pope's  bodyguard. 

82.  overpeering  of  his  list,  when  it  raises  its  head  above  the 
boundary  which  usually  coniines  it  ;  the  idea  is  that  of  the  great 
billows  raising  their  crests  as  they  dash  over  the  shoie  ;  list, 
liniit,  literally  a  stripe  or  border  of  cloth  ;  for  the  verbal  followed 
by  of,  see  Abb.  §  178. 

S'i.  Eats  not  the  fiats,  does  not  swallo\\'  uj)  the  le\('l  stretches 
of  country;  cp.  A'.  ■/.  v.  (i.  40,  "half  my  power  this  night 
Passing  these /a/*-  are  taken  by  the  tide." 

84.  in  a  riotous  head,  with  an  armed  force  of  riotous  citizens  ; 
for  head,  <■]>.  i.  //.  J]',  iv.  4.  25,  "a  head  Of  gallant  warriors." 

85.  call  him  lord,  acknowledge  his  supremacy. 

86.  as  the  world  ...  begin,  as  though  the  world  had  only  now 
to  1)6  started  on  its  caieer. 

87.  Antiquity  . . .  known,  antiquity  being  treated  by  them  as 
something  that  never  had  any  existence,  and  custom  as  something 
which  needed  no  recognition. 

88,9.  The  ratiflers  king",  they,  as  though  it  rested  with 
them  to  ratify  or  annid,  to  sujjport  or  overturn,  every  proposition, 
cry,  etc. 

!K(.  Caps  .  .  clouds,  throwing  up  their  ctips,  clap])ing  their 
hands,  and  shouting  at  the  toj)  of  their  voices,  the}'  applaud 
their  own  decision  to  the  very  skies. 

02.    How    cheerfully  ...cry!     with   what    "gallant    chiding'" 


250  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

(J/.  ^V.  D.  iv.  1.  VIO)  these  hounds  hunt  the  false  scent  wliich 
they  have  so  eagerly  taken  up  !  for  cry,  cp.  T.  S.  Intl.  i.  23, 
"  He  cried  upon  it  at  the  merest  loss,"  said  of  a  hound. 

93.  this  is  counter,  to  hunt  counter  was  to  hunt  the  wrong 
way  of  the  scent,  to  trace  the  scent  backwards  ;  and  here  two 
ideas  are  com))ined,  tliat  of  being  on  the  wrong  scent,  and  that 
of  being  on  the  right  scent,  but  hunting  Imck  in  the  direction 
from  wiiich  the  game  started  instead  of  in  the  direction  in  which 
it  had  gone. 

9(j.  give  me  leave,  allow  me  to  enter  alone. 
DS.   keep  the  door,   guard  the  door  to  prevent  any  aid  1)eing 
sent  to  the  king. 

102.  That  thy  ...  giant-like  ?  that  you  have  broken  out  into  a 
rebellion  which  has  assumed  such  terrible  proportions  ? 

103.  Let  him  go,  do  not  try  to  hold  him  back. 

104.  hedge,  protect  as  with  a  hedge  which  cannot  be  passed  or 
overleaped. 

105.  6.  That  treason  ...  will,  that  treason  is  unable  to  do  more 
than  look  o\'er  the  hedge  which  separates  it  from  the  object  of 
its  vengeance,  M'ithout  being  able  to  strike  home. 

110.  Let  him  ...  fill,  let  him  state  his  demands  in  full. 

111.  How  . . .  dead  ?  how  came  he  to  die  ? 

113.  grace,  religious  feeling;  cp.  R.  J.  ii.  3.  28,  "Two  such 
opposed  kings  encamp  them  still  In  man  as  well  as  herbs,  grace 
and  rude  will. " 

114.  I  dare  damnation,  in  such  a  cause  as  this  I  am  ready  to 
risk  eternal  damnation  :  To  this  ...  stand,  here  I  firmly  take  my 
stand  ;  this  decision  I  am  prepared  to  abide  by. 

115-7.  That  both  ...  father,  that,  come  what  may,  I  will  give 
up  all  my  hopes  of  happiness  here  and  hereafter,  rather  than  not 
pursue  my  vengeance  for  my  father.  The  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  compare 
Mach.  iii.  2.  16,  "But  let  the  fi-ame  of  things  disjoint,  both  the 
worlds  suffer." 

118.  My  will  ...  world,  nothing  in  the  world  but  my  own  free 
will. 

119,  20.  And  for  ...  little,  and  as  regards  the  means  at  my  com- 
mand, I  will  make  such  prudent  use  of  them  that,  though  small, 
they  shall  go  far. 

122.  is  't  writ  in  your  revenge,  is  it  a  part  of  the  revenge  you 
have  prescribed  to  yourself? 

123,  4.  That,  ...loser,  "are  you  going  to  vent  your  rage  on 
both  friend  and  foe  ;  like  a  gambler  who  insists  on  sweeping 
the  stakes  [off  the  table],  whether  the  point  is  in  his  favour  or 
not  ?  "  (Moberly). 


SCENE  v.]  NOTES.  251 

]'2~.  life-rendering  pelican,  from  allowing  its  young  to  take 
Hshoiii  of  its  poucl),  tlie  pelican  was  popularly  believed  to  nourish 
them  on  its  life-blood;  cp.  li.  II.  ii.  1.  l^-'O,  "That  blood  already, 
like  the  pcticon.  Hast  thou  tapp'd  out  and  drunkenly  caroused." 

128.  Repast,  feed,  nourish.  Milton,  Ari'0}ta<jiticu,  p.  18,  ed. 
Hales,  uses  the  word  figuratively,  "  repaslimj  of  our  minds.  ' 

1'29.  good,  duteous. 

131.  And  am  ...  it,  and  am  deeply  pained  by  it. 

13'J,  3.  It  shall ...  eye,  it  shall  force  its  way  as  directl}'  to  j^our 
judgement  as  the  daylight ;  It,  the  nominative  repeated  owing  to 
the  parenthesis  of  1.  131. 

13.").  heat,  i.e.  the  heat  burning  in  his  head  :  seven  times,  i.e. 
many  times  :  cp.  the  heating  of  Xebuchadnezzars  furnace. 

1 .36.  the  sense  . . .  eye,  that  sensibility  and  property  by  which 
the  eye  is  enabled  to  see  ;  cp.  L.  L.  L.  v.  2.  348,  "The  virtue  of 
your  eye  must  break  my  oath." 

137,8.  thy  madness  ...  scale,  I  will  exact  such  retribution  as 
shall  be  nioie  tlian  adequate  to  the  deed  which  has  driven  you 
mad  ;  turn  the  beam,  cause  the  beam  of  the  balance  to  bow  owing 
to  the  greater  weight  in  our  scale. 

1.38.  of  May  I  i.e.  in  the  bloom  of  life's  spring-time. 

141.  mortal,  subject  to  destruction. 

142-4.  Nature  ...  loves,  where  love  is  concerned,  nature  shows 
herself  in  her  tenderest  form,  and  in  such  cases  it  sends  some 
precious  proof  of  itself  (here  Ophelia's  soundness  of  mind)  as  a 
tribute  of  afifection  to  follow  to  the  grave  that  which  was  so  dear 
to  it  (here  her  father) ;  for  instance,  see  note  on  iii.  2.  170. 

145.  barefaced;  with  his  face  uncovered. 

140.  Hey  non  ...  nonny,  "  Such  unmeaning  burdens  are  common 
in  ballads  of  most  languages"  (Nares). 

149,  .jO.  Hadst  thou  ...  thus,  no  words  of  ])ersuasion  that  you 
could  urge,  if  you  were  in  your  senses,  could  stir  me  to  revenge 
as  these  disjointed,  incoherent,  utterances. 

1.52.  An,  if;  see  Abb.  §  101. 

153.  the  wheel,  .-iccording  to  Steevens,  the  refrain  ;  but  tiie 
quotation  by  which  he  supports  his  explanation  is  generally 
regarded  as  mythical.  Malone  is  inclined  to  think  that 
the  allusion  is  to  the  occupation  of  the  girl  whose  song 
Ophelia  fjuotes.  Among  other  passages  in  some  way  bearing  f)ut 
his  view  he  quotes  T.  X.  ii.  4.  45-7,  "  The  spinsters  ami  the 
knitters  in  the  sun  ..  Do  use  to  chant  it"  ;  he  further  suggests 
as  possible  that  the  allusion  may  be  to  an  instrument  called  by 
Chaucer  a  rote,  which  was  played  upon  by  the  friction  of  a  wheel. 

1.53,  4.  It  la  ...  daughter,  tiie  ballad  is  on  the  sul)ject  of  the 
false  stcwar<l  who,  etc.      No  such  ballad  lias  yet  been  discovered. 


252  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

15.1.  This  nothing's  ...  matter,  these  incoherent  words  stir  my 
soul  more  tlian  sensible  ones  would. 

15(5.  rosemary,  from  Lat.  r-os  marinus,  or  ro.s  maris,  as  Ovid 
calls  it,  the  plant  which  deli<,dits  in  the  sea  spray.  It  was  an 
emblem  of  faithful  remembrance,  and,  according  to  Staunton,  is 
here  presented  to  Laertes,  whom  Ophelia  in  her  distraction  pro- 
bably confounds  with  her  lover ;  for,  appropriate  to,  emblenmt- 
ical  of. 

157.  pansies,  from  F.  pevsees,  thoughts,  of  which  the  flower  is 
supposed  to  be  symbolical. 

158.  document,  a  writer  in  the  Ed.  Rev.  for  July  1869  shows 
that  the  word  is  here  used  "  in  its  earlier  and  etymological, sense 
of  instruction,  lesson,  teaching." 

159.  fitted,  each  with  its  fitting  emblem. 

160.  fennel  ...  columbines,  presented  to  the  king  as  emblems  of 
cajolery  and  ingratitude  :  there  's  rue  for  you,  said  to  the  queen. 

161.  2.  we  may ...  Sundays,  "Ophelia  only  means,  I  think, 
that  the  queen  may  with  peculiar  propriety  on  Sundays,  when 
she  solicits  pardon  for  the  crime  which  she  has  so  much  occasion 
to  rue  and  repent  of,  call  her  '  rue  '  herb  of  grace  "...  (Malone). 

162.  with  a  difference,  according  to  the  writer  in  the  Ed.  Rev. 
already  quoted,  one  of  the  properties  of  rup  was  that  of  checking 
immodest  thoughts, — a  herb  therefore  appropriate  to  the  queen. 

16.S.  a  daisy,  it  does  not  appear  to  whom  the  daisy  is  given  ; 
according  to  Greene,  quoted  by  Henley,  it  was  a  "  dissembling" 
flower,  and  was  used  as  a  warning  to  young  girls  not  to  trust  the 
fair  promises  of  men  :  violets,  emblematical  of  fidelity. 

164.  made  a  good  end,  died  as  a  good  man  should  die,  at  peace 
with  all  men  and  trusting  to  God's  mercy  ;  cp.  //.  V.  ii.  3.  13, 
"  A'  ninde  a  fner  end  and  went  away  an  it  had  been  any  ohris- 
tom  child." 

166.  Thought,  melancholy;  cp  A.  C.  iv.  6.  35.  "If  swift 
i.howjhl  break  it  not  (.sr.  his  heart),  a  swifter  mean  Shall  outstrike 
fhoughi ;  but  tkowjht  will  do  't,  I  feel  "  :  passion,  sufiering  :  hell 
itself,  the  most  terrible  thoughts. 

167.  She  turns  ...  prettlness,  she  lends  a  grace  and  attractive- 
ness by  the  words  in  which  she  clothes  them. 

172.  Go  ...  deathbed,  i.e.  you  need  never  hope  to  see  him  again 
however  long  you  may  live  ;  corresponding  with  1.  177. 

175.  All  flaxen,  as  white  as  flax  ;  all,  intensive. 

177.  And  we  ...  moan,  and  we  but  waste  our  moans. 

179.  And  of...  souls,  "  Many  epitaphs  closed  with  such  a  pious 
prayer  as  tliis  "  (CI.  Pr.  Kdd.).  For  instances  of  of,  used  for  on, 
see  Abb.  §§  175,  181. 


SCENE  v.]  NOTES.  253 

180,  1.  I  must  ..  right.  y<>ii  <li)  tne  wrong  unless  you  allow  me 
to  foinimiiif  w  ilh  }<)u  in  your  grief,  i.e.  unless  you  tell  nic  what 
your  wislies  are  in  regard  to  j'our  father's  death,  and  allow  me  to 
counsel  you  in  the  matter. 

181.  2.  Go  but  ...  will,  do  but  go  aside  and  choose  out  from 
your  friends  those  who  are  likely  to  give  you  the  best  advice. 

184,  ;■).  If  by  ...  touch'd,  if  their  verdict  is  that  I  am  implicated 
in  this  crime  directly  or  indirectly  ;  find,  used  in  the  technical 
sense  of  the  finding  of  a  jury  ;  cp.  v.  1.  4. 

188.  Be  you  ...  us.  allow  yourself  patiently  to  listen  to  wliat  I 
have  to  say. 

189,  90.  And  we  ...  content,  and  you  will  find  that  I  shall 
endeavour  as  earnestly'  as  yourself  to  give  peace  to  your  mind  : 
labour  . .  soul,  labour  with  you  heart  and  soid. 

191.  His  means  of  death,  the  manner  of  his  death. 

192.  No  trophy,  in  which  tliere  was  no  memorial  erected  to 
him  ;  properly  a  monument  to  mark  tlie  spot  at  which  the  enemy 
turned  and  fled  :  hatchment,  "  not  only  the  sword,  but  the 
helmet,  gauntlets,  spurs,  aiul  tabard  {i.e.  a  coat  \vhereon  the 
armorial  ensigns  were  anciently  depicted  ...)  are  luing  o^  er  the 
grave  of  every  knight  "  (Sir  .1.  Hawkins). 

193.  No  noble  ..  ostentation,  no  such  rites  as  his  rank 
demanded,  none  of  the  funeral  pomp  which  lie  might  justly 
claim. 

194.  5.  Cry,  ..question,  call  so  loudly,  as  it  were  with  his 
voice  from  heaven,  that  I  am  bound  in  all  filial  love  to  inquire 
into  the  circumstances  and  find  out  the  meaning  of  them  ;  cp. 
J.  C.  iv.  .3.  16/5,  "Now  sit  we  close  about  this  taper  here  And 
call  in  qncsdon  our  necessities." 

196.  And  where  ..  fall,  and  let  the  fullest  vengeance  fall  upon 
him  who  deserves  it  ;  axe,  as  the  implement  used  in  the  execution 
of  ciindnals. 

Scene  VI. 

i .  What  are  they,  what  manner  of  men  ;  What,  less  definite 
than  "7(0. 

5.  I  should  be  greeted,  I  am  likely  to  receive  a  greeting. 

7.  Let  him,  may  he. 

9.  bound,  on  his  way  for. 

10.  let  to  know,  informed  ;  we  still  say  '  let  me  know,'  i.e.  tell 
me. 

12.   overlooked,  read. 


254  HAMLET.  [ACT  IV. 

]  .S.   some  . . .  king,  some  means  of  access  to,  etc. 

14.  Ere  we  ...  sea,  before  we  had  been  two  days  at  sea. 

15.  of ...  appointment,  fitted  oi;t  in  most  warlike  fashion,  i.e. 
heavily  armed. 

16.  we  put  on...  valour,  we  made  a  virtue  of  necessity  and 
assumed  a  warlike  bearing. 

16,  7.  in  the  grapple,  as  we  grappled,  i.e.  threw  out  our 
grappling-irons  in  order  to  hold  their  vessel  fast  to  ours  :  boarded, 
leaped  on  board  :  on  the  Instant,  just  as  I  did  so. 

19.  thieves  of  mercy,  merciful  thieves  ;  see  note  on  i.  2.  4. 

19,  20.  hut  they...  them,  but  their  mercy  was  due  to  politic 
reasons,  for  they  wanted  me  in  return  to  do  them  a  service' with 
the  king. 

21.  repair,  make  your  Avay  ;  in  this  sense  from  Lat.  repatriare, 
to  return  to  one's  own  country. 

22.  as  thou,  as  that  with  which  j'ou. 

23.  wiU  make,  i.e.  which  will  make;  for  the  omission  of  the 
relative,  see  Abb.  §  244. 

23,4.  yet  are  ...  matter,  yet  no  words  would  describe  the 
matter  in  sufhciently  strong  language  ;  the  metaphor  is  that  of 
shot  not  heavy  enough  for  the  calibre  of  a  gun. 

28.  I  will ...  letters,  I  will  give  you  the  means,  opportunity,  of 
delivering  these  letters. 

29.  And  do  't . . .  me.  and  do  it  all  the  more  quickly  that  by  my 
doing  su,  etc.  ;  the,  ablative  of  demonstration,  see  Abb.  §  !!4. 

Scene  VII. 

1.  Now  must ...  seal,  after  what  you  have  heai'd,  you  can  no 
longer  fail  to  accpiit  me  of  all  complicity  in  your  f;ither's  death  ; 
for  seal,  see  note  on  i.  2.  60. 

2.  And  you  ...  friend,  nor  can  you  help  heartily  recognizing  me 
as  a  friend. 

3.  Sith,  see  note  on  ii.  2.  6  ;  knowing,  intelligent. 

5.  It  well  appears,  it  appears  plam. 

6.  proceeded  not,  took  no  action  to  punish  :  feats,  deeds. 

7.  crimeful,  full  of  crime,  desperately  criminal  :  capital, 
heinous. 

8.  9.  As  by  ...  up,  as  by  all  considerations  of  your  own  safety, 
of  what  wisdom  dictated,  and  everytliing  else,  you  were  so 
strongly  prompted  to  do. 

10,    unsinew'd,  to  have  no  force  in  them. 


SCENE  vii.j  NOTES.  255 

I'J.  by  his  looks,  on  his  looks  ;  on  the  sight  of  him. 

13.  be  ...  which,  "perhaps  a  confusion  between  'be  it  either' 
and  'be  it  whichever  of  the  two.'  Perhaps,  however,  'either' 
may  be  taken  in  its  original  sense  of  '  one  of  the  two,'  so  that 
'  either  which  '  is  '  which-one-soever  of  the  two  '  "  (Abb.  §  '273). 

14.  She  '8  so  ...  soul,  my  life  and  soul  {i.e.  I  in  everything)  are 
so  wrapped  nj)  in  licr  ;  she  is  so  much  a  part  of  my  existence  ; 
cp.  0th.  i.  3.  374,  "  Let  us  be  conjiaictive  in  our  revenge  against 
him."' 

Hi.   I  could  ...  her,   I  could  not  but  move  as  she  moves. 
17.  Why  to  ...go,  why  I  could  not  have  recourse  to  a  public 
trial. 

1 5.  the  general  gender,  the  common  race,  the  common  people  ; 
cp.  ii.  "24.  14. 

19-21.  Who,  ...  graces,  wlio  seeing  his  offences  with  their  own 
eyes  (i.e.  e5'es  prejudiced  in  his  favour),  would  see  in  Ins  fetters 
only  further  reascm  to  love  him  (tliose  fetters  being  regarded  as 
an  act  of  injustice  calling  for  their  pitj').  Jolinson  points  out 
that  the  simile  would  luive  been  more  appi'opriate  if  the  spring 
ha«l  changed  base  metals  into  gold  ;  there  does  not  appear  to  be 
an  allusion  to  any  ])articular  spring,  as  Reed  supposed. 

21.  my  arrows,  my  scheme  for  punishing  him. 

22.  Too  slightly  ...  wind,  too  light  to  meet  so  strong  a  wind. 

23.  4.  Would  have  ...  them,  would  have  been  blown  back  in 
my  face  instead  of  hitting  the  mark  at  which  they  were  aimed. 

2."),  6.  And  so...  terms,  and  in  this  way  my  fatlier  has  been 
lo.st  to  me,  anil  my  sister  been  driven  into  circumstances  of 
desperation  ;  for  tlie  construction,  cp.  i.  2.  215,  iii.  3.  38.  Also 
see  Abb.  ^  42;'). 

27.  if  praises  ...  again,  if  I  may  speak  of  her  as  she  once  was. 

28,  9.  Stood  ...  perfections,  proudly  cliallenged  all  modern 
times  to  produce  one  equal  to  her  in  her  various  perfections  ; 
on  mount,  where  the  challenge  of  her  worth  could  be  widely 
heanl. 

30.  Break  .  that,  do  not  allow  your  sleep  to  be  broken  by  the 
fear  tliat  you  may  not  be  able  to  wreak  your  revenge.  For  the 
plural  sleeps,  Dyce  (juotes  Pliaer's  Virf/i/,  yEneidos,  ii.,  wliere  the 
original  Latin  has  the  singular. 

31.  That  we...  dull,  that  we  are  of  .so  spiiitlcss  and  inert  a 
nature  ;  flat,  a  metaplior  from  a  liquid  that  iia.s  l)ecome  insijiid. 

32.  3.  That  we  . . .  pastime,  that  we  can  endure  to  have  danger 
flaunt  us  in  the  face  and  treat  tlic  matter  as  thougli  it  were  a 
mere  joke  ;  our  beard,  with  an  allusion  to  the  insult  conveyed 
iti  plucking  a  man  by  the  beai<l  ;  for  with,  -  by,  see  Abb.  §  193, 


256  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

•34.  I ...  we,  in  the  former  case  speaking  of  himself  as  a  man,  in 
the  latter  of  himself  as  a  king. 

■  35.  that,  sc.  fact. 

4.3.  High  and  mighty,  i.e.  one;  cp.  above,  iii.  1.  43,  "Gracious, 
so  please  you." 

45,  6.  first  . . .  thereunto,  first  asking  yonr  gracious  permission 
to  do  so. 

46,  7.  my  sudden ...  return,  my  leturn,  the  suddenness  of  which 
is  only  exceeded  by  its  strangeness. 

49.  should,  can  possibly  ;  see  Al)b.  §  325. 

50.  atouse,  decejition. 

51.  character,  handwriting. 

54.  I  'm  lost  in  it,  I  am  completely  baffled  by  the  event. 

50.  That,  to  think  that :  live  and  tell,  live  to  tell,  as  we  should 
now  say. 

58.  As  how  ...  otherwise?  and  yet  I  know  not  how  it  can  Ije  so, 
or  how  it  can  be  otherwise  ;  that  he  should  have  returned  in 
face  of  the  measures  I  took,  is  inexplicable  ;  and  yet  that  he 
should  not  have  returned  is,  in  face  of  the  letter  received,  equally 
inexplicable  ;  the  one  thing  is  as  difficult  to  believe  as  the  othei'. 

59.  ruled  by  me,  guided  by  my  advice. 

60.  So  ...  peace,  provided  that  your  advice  does  not  compel  me 
to  keep  peace  with  him. 

62.  As  checking  at,  in  consequence  of  his  rebelling  against, 
starting  Ijack  in  alarm  at  ;  the  metaphor  is  from  falconry  ;  cp 
T.  iV.  iii.  1.  71,  "  And,  like  a  haggard,  chpck-  at  every  feather." 

63.  work  him,  persuade  him  ;  work  upon  him  so  that  he  will 
undertake. 

65.  Under ...  fall,  beneath  tiie  weight  of  which  he  shall  have  no 
choice  but  to  succuml). 

66.  And  for  ...  breathe,  and  not  the  smallest  ))reath  of  blame  for 
his  death  shall  ever  light  on  us. 

67.  uncharge  the  practice,  acquit  our  stratagem  of  any  evil 
intention  again.st  him  ;  practice,  =  plot,  stratagem,  is  very 
frequent  in  Shakespeare. 

69.  The  rather,  all  the  more  readily  ;  see  Abb.  §  94. 

70.  organ,  instrument :  It  falls  right,  everything  conspires  to 
that  entl ;  all  tl  ings  tend  to  a  successful  carrying  out  of  our 
plan. 

72.  And  that  ...  hearing,  and  that  too  when  Hamlet  was 
present ;  quality,  accomplishment. 


suENK  VII.]  NOTES.  257 

73.  your  sum  of  parts,  all  your  gifts  together;  parts,  in  the 
sense  of  gift.s,  iiofoinplishnients,  derives  itself  from  the  idea  of  a 
man  being  put  together  of  several  parts. 

7.">.  regard,  opinion. 

7(J.  Of  siege,  which  was  lowest  in  rank,  least  worthy  of 
respect  ;  siege,  meaning  originallj-  seat,  came  to  be  used  of  lank 
owing  to  tlie  care  that  was  taken  to  place  people  at  table  exactly 
aoeonling  to  their  rank  ;  op.  Oth.  i.  2.  2*2,  "  I  fetch  my  life  and 
being  From  men  of  royal  siege." 

77.  A  very    ..  youth,  a  mere  trifling  ornament  to  youth. 

78.  becomes,  is  in  accordance  with. 

79.  light       livery,  the  airy,  jaunty,  dress. 

80.  1.  Than  settled  graveness,  than  sedate  old  age  accords 
with  the  warm  clothing  which  concerns,  is  of  importance  to  (and 
so  is  chosen  with  regard  to)  health  and  gravity  of  demeanour  ; 
for  Importing,  op.  <Jth.  i.  3.  284.  "with  such  things  else  of 
quality  and  respect  As  doth  impori  you  "  :  for  settled,  c]).  ^f.  M . 
iii.  1.  90,  "nettled  visage  and  deliljerate  word  "  ;  his  sables  and 
his  weeds,  a  hendiadys  for  his  clothes  formed  of  sal)les  ;  for 
weeds,  op.  M.  X.  IJ.  ii.  1.  2.'3t),  "  Weed  wide  enough  to  wrap  a 
fairy  in." 

82.  Here  was,  tliere  was  at  this  court. 

84.  can  well  horseback,  are  adepts  in  horsemanship ;  for  can, 
=  are  skilled  in,  op.  Phmix  and  Turtle,  14,  "And  the  priest  in 
surplice  white  That  defunctive  nnisio  can." 

85.  in  t,  sc.  horsemanship  :  grew .  .  seat,  sat  as  though  riveted 
to  liis  saddle. 

86.  doing,  feats. 

87.  8.  As  bad...  beast,  as  he  would  have  done  if  he  and  his 
animal  were  one  in  form  and  nature  ;  "  an  like  an  appears  to  be 
(though  it  is  not)  \ised  by  Shakespeare  for  as  if  ..  the  'if'  i.s 
implied  in  the  subjunctive"  (Abb.  §  107). 

8S.  topp'd  my  thought,  surpassed  anything  I  had  ever  con- 
ceived ;  for  topp'd,  op.  ].<<ir  v.  3.  207,  "  To  amplify  too  much, 
would  make  much  more.  And  ton  extremity." 

89.  in  forgery  ..  tricks,  in  conjurine  up  in  my  fancy  feats  f>f 
dexterity;  for  forgery,  op.  ^f.  X.  I>.  ii.  1.  81  ;  for  shapes,  =  em- 
bodiments of  fancy,  /■'.  //.  ii.  2.  22,  "  Find  shapes  of  g/ief,  more 
than  him.self,  U>  wail." 

93.  brooch,  an  ornament  in  former  days  often  worn  in  the  hat, 
now  worn  by  women  only  at  the  throat ;  the  CI.  Pr.  Edd.  point 
out  that  when  worn  in  the  hat,  it  was  of  course  very  con- 
spicuous. 

n 


258  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

95.  made  confession  of  you,  admitted  your  excellence  in  vai-ious 
exercises;  confession,  "  liere  used  because  Lamond  would  not 
willingly  acknowledge  the  superiority  of  Laertes  over  the  French 
in  the  art  of  fighting  "  (l)elius). 

96-8.  And  gave  ...  especially,  and  gave  such  leport  of  your 
masterly  skill  in  the  science  and  practice  of  defence,  more 
especially  when  using  your  rapier  ;  Laertes  was  reported  l)y  him 
as  being  good  at  all  weapons  the  broadsword,  lance,  etc.,  but  as 
being  something  quite  out  of  the  common  way  when  handling 
the  rapier. 

100.  If  one  ...  you,  if  one  coidd  l)e  found  your  equal  at  fencing  ; 
cp.  Cymh.  ii.  1.  24,  "I  must  go  up  and  down  like  a  cock  that 
nobody  can  match  "  ;  scrimers,  fencers  ;  F.  esrrimeur,  a  fencer  ; 
probably  a  coinage  of  .Shakespeare's  ;  their,  "we  should  ha\e  ex- 
pected 'his,'  not  '  their,'  ))ut  in  the  oratio  recta  Lamond  might 
have  said  '  our  nation'  with  propriety"  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

101,  2.  liad  neither  ...  them,  seemed  when  fencing  with  you  to 
have  none  of  the  power  of  attack,  so  necessary  in  fencing,  none  of 
the  skill  by  which  alone  l)lows  can  be  warded  off,  none  of  that  keen 
sight  necessary  equally  in  otTence  and  defence  ;  cp.  Lear,  ii.  1.  52. 

103.  Did...  envy,  so  poisoned  the  mind  of  Hamlet  with  the 
envy  which  his  report  excited. 

105.  to  play  with  him,  that  you  might  play  a  match  with  him  ; 
to  play,  expresses  the  result  not  the  object  of  his  coming. 

108,  9.  Or  are  you  ...  heart?  or  are  you  like  the  picture  of  some 
one  in  deep  grief,  a  mere  face  without  the  heart  beating  beneath 
in  unison  with  the  look  upon  it?  i.e.  is  your  grief  deeply  seated 
and  prepared  to  show  its  reality  by  action  ? 

111-3.  But  that  ...  it,  but  that  I  see,  by  observation  of  occur- 
rences which  demonstrate  the  fact  lieyond  all  doubt,  that  the 
spark  and  fire  of  love  gradually  burns  low,  as  I  know  by  mj'  omhi 
experience  that  its  growth  also  is  a  gradual  one. 

114,  5.  There  lives  ...  it,  while  love  is  burning  most  brightly, 
even  then  there  is  in  it  something  which  will  sooner  or  later 
abate  its  fervour,  just  as  the  wick  of  a  candle  when  it  burns  to  a 
snuff  dims  its  brilliance  ;  i.e.  even  in  its  fullest  vigour,  love  con- 
tains within  it  the  principle  of  its  own  decay  ;  the  snuff  of  a 
candle  is  that  portion  of  the  wick  which  ceases  to  give  forth  light 
owing  to  the  wax  or  tallow  Ijcing  burnt  too  low  to  reach  and 
nourish  it,  and  this  snuff  only  dims  the  brightness  of  the  flame. 

116.  And  nothing  ...  still,  and  nothing  continues  for  a  long 
period  at  the  same  pitch  of  excellence  ;  still,  continually. 

117,  8.  For  goodness  ...  much,  for  goodness  itself,  growing  to  a 
fulness,  dies  of  its  own  excess.  Shakespeare,  like  many  of  his 
contemporaries,   has   here   derived  plurisy  from  the  Lat.   plus, 


SCENE  VII.]  NOTES.  259 

/iliiris,  more,  wlicreas  it  really  comes  from  tlie  (.Jk.  TrXei'pd,  a  rib, 
l>ltiiri.-<y,  iis  it  is  properly  spelt,  being  a  disease  of  the  membrane 
wliich  covers  the  lunus. 

1  IS,  n.  tliat  we  ..  woixld,  that  which  we  desire  to  do,  wc  ought 
to  do  %\  hile  the  desire  is  strong  upon  us  :  this  '  would,"  tiiis  desire, 
inclination. 

122.  3.  And  then  ..  easing,  and  then  this  feeling  of  duty,  with- 
out being  put  into  action,  is  as  hurtful  to  the  moral  nature  as  a 
sigh,  drawn  out  of  mere  wantonness  without  there  being  any 
sutlicient  cause  for  it,  is  to  the  physical  nature,  though  for  the 
moment  it  maj'  give  relief  ;  an  allusion  to  the  old  belief  tliat 
sighing  draws  drops  of  blood  from  the  heart ;  op.  M.  X.  D.  iii. 
2.  97,  "With  x'vjhH  of  love,  that  ros/.s  tht  fre.Kh  1)1  ood  ihar" ; 
ii.  H.  VI.  iii.  '2.  G.S,  "Look  pale  as  primrose  with  hlood-drinkiny 
sifffis  "  ;   R.  J.  iii.  .1.  5S,  "  Dry  sorrow  drinks  our  blood." 

123.  But  ..  ulcer,  but,  to  probe  the  ulcer  to  the  quick,  its  most 
sensitive  point  ;  i.e.  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  matter. 

124.  Hamlet  comes  back,  Hamlet,  as  we  have  just  heard,  is  on 
Ids  way  l)ack,  and  will  .soon  be  here,  i.e.  let  us  be  prepared  for 
his  return,  accept  it  as  certain  that  he  is  retuiiiing. 

127.  sanctuarize,  give  refuge  to,  shield  ;  criminals  from  early 
days,  if  tlicy  could  take  refuge  in  a  sacred  building,  weie  beyond 
the  reach  of  law,  and  wlien  doing  so  were  said  to  "take  sanctu- 
ary"; cp.  It  J 1 1,  iii.  1.  28,  a  E.  v.  1.  94;  the  word  here 
appears  to  be  another  of  Shakespeare's  coinages. 

129.  Will  you  ...  chamber  ■;  will  you  do  this,  viz.,  shut  your- 
self up  in  your  rooms  ?  Mo.st  modern  editors  follow  the  earlier 
quartos  and  the  Jirst  folio  in  putting  a  full  stop  aftei-  chamber,  in 
which  case  the  meaning  is  •  if  you  are  willing  to  do  lliis,  then,' 
eto.  This,  however,  seems  to  me  rather  more  peremptory 
language  than  the  king  would  use  to  Laertes. 

131.  put  on.  instigate  :  those  shall,  those  who  shall. 

132.  set  en,  give  a  fresh  coating  of  exaggerated  praise  to, 
etc. 

1.34.  wager  ...  heads,  lay  wagers  as  to  which  of  you  will  win  : 
remiss,  careless  ;  "  a  word  seldom  if  ever  used  now  except  with 
reference  to  some  particular  act  of  negligence  "  (CI.  Pr.  Edd. ). 

\Zr>.  free  from  all  contriving,  innocent  of  all  plotting  himself, 
ami  therefore  unsusj)icious  of  others. 

130.  peruse,  carefully  examine  ;  cp.  ii.  1.  90. 

137.  with  a  little  shuffling,  with  a  little  trickery  in  tlie  nuitter 
of  ciioosing  youi-  foil,  i.e.  by  mixing,  during  a  yjause  in  the 
cond)at,  the  foil  you  lirst  u.se  with  others  among  which  you  lia\e- 
already  yjlaced  one  that  has  no  l)utton  to  its  point,  and  then,  on 
resinning  tiie  combat,  taking  that  foil  up. 


2G0  HAMLET.  [act  iv. 

18S  unbated,  not  blunted  by  liaving  a  button,  a  round  piece 
of  leather,  at  its  point:  a  pass  of  practice,  "a  treacherous  thrust" 
(CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

139.  Requite  ...father,  pay  him  Ijack  for  the  murder  of  your 
father. 

141.  mountebank,  ([uaek  doctor  ;  literally  one  who  mounts 
on  a  bench  to  proclaim  liis  nostrums. 

142.  mortal,  deadly  :  but  dip,  if  one  only  dips. 

1 43.  cataplasm,  plaster,  jjoultice  :  so  rare,  however  rare  in  its 
effects. 

144.  all  simples  ...  virtue,  all  efficacious  herbs. 

147.  contagion,  infectious  poison  :  gall,  rub  the  skin  off  any 
part  of  him. 

148.  It  may  be  death,  the  result  will  be  death. 

149.  50.  Weigh  ...  shape,  let  us  consider  how  we  may  take  such 
advantage  of  time  and  means  as  will  best  accommodate  us  to  the 
form  of  proceeding  we  must  adopt ;  the  metaphor  is  that  of 
getting  a  garment  to  fit  the  body ;  cp.  Oi/vib.  iii.  4.  195,  "  To 
some  sliade  And  _^fif  you  to  your  manhood,"  i.e.  piit  on  a  dress 
which  will  suit  you  in  playing  your  assumed  part  of  a  man,  said 
to  Imogen  who  is  to  disguise  herself  as  a  page. 

151.  And  that  ..  performance,  and  if  we  should  play  our  parts 
so  badly  that  our  object  reveal  itself  ;  for  the  conjunctional  affix- 
that,  see  Abb.  §  287. 

153.  aback,  something  in  reserve  to  strengthen  it,  an  inner 
lining  as  it  were  :  second,  sometiiing  to  assist  (as  in  a  duel)  ;  cp. 
Cor.  i.  4.  43,  ' '  So,  now  the  gates  are  ope :  now  prove  good 
.seconds";  hold,  sc.  firm,  not  give  way. 

154.  If  this  ...  proof,  if  this  should  fly  to  pieces  wlien  put 
to  the  proof.  Before  being  issued  for  use,  weapons,  such  as 
cannon,  etc. ,  are  '  proved '  by  putting  a  great  strain  upon  them, 
loading  them  with  a  heavier  charge  than  will  be  ordinarily 
used  ;  and  if  not  well  made  they  'blast,'  blow  to  pieces  in  the 
trial. 

15G.   I  ha't,  I  have  it,  i.e.  I  have  hit  upon  a  capital  device. 

157.  motion,  the  lunging  and  retiring  in  making  and  receiving 
thrusts  :  dry,  thirsty. 

158.  As  make.,  end,  with  which  object  (.sr.  that  you  may  both 
become  hot  and  thirsty)  take  care  to  let  your  bouts  be  as  violent 
as  possible  ;  bout,  properly  a  turn  ;  then  the  turnings  and  twist- 
ings  in  a  personal  encounter,  especially  in  fencing ;  Dan.  bmjf,  a 
turn. 

159.  And  that,  and  when  ;  see  Al)b.  §  284. 

160.  chalice,  cup  ;    Lat.  calix,  cup  :    for  the  nonce,    for   the 


scKNEvii.]  NOTES.  261 

occasion  ;  originally  for  then  ants,  for  the  once,  the  n  properly 
belonging  to  the  dative  case,  (hen,  of  the  article,  and  anr-s  being 
a  genitive  case  used  adverbially  ;  op.  meds,  twice,  i.e.  tivien. 

161.  stuck,  thrust ;  Ital.  stoccado,  or  stoccata,  a  thrust. 

H)2.  Our...  there,  our  project  may  by  this  means  hold  good, 
be  carried  througli ;  cp.  1.  153. 

16(j.  grows,  which  grows:  aslant,  leaning  over,  literally  oi> 
slant. 

167.  hoar,  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  of  the  willow  being 
silvery  grey. 

108.  with,  bearing  :  fantastic,  fancifully  made  up  of  various 
flowers. 

169.  crow-flowers  ..  purples,  "the  crowflower,  according  to 
Parkinson,  was  called  The  Fiiyre  Mayde  of  France  :  the  '  long 
purples '  are  d<  nd  men's  fwjerH,  the  '  daisy  '  imports  pure  virginity 
or  spring  of  life  "...  (Farreu). 

170.  pendent,  hanging  over  the  water  :  her  coronet  weeds,  tlie 
flowers  she  had  woven  into  a  chaplet. 

171.  Clambering  ...  broke,  as  she  was  making  her  way  along 
the  sloping  Iruuk  in  order  to  hang  her  flowers  on  its  boughs,  a 
branch  on  which  her  foot  rested,  as  though  resenting  her  action, 
suddenly  gave  way  ;  sliver,  a  small  branch,  properly  a  slice;  cp. 
Macb.  iv.  1.  28,  ".slips  of  yew  Sfivcr'd  in  the  moon's  eclipse"; 
Lear,  iv.  2.  .3-1. 

174.  And,  .  up,  and  for  a  time  thej'  kept  her  afloat,  like  a 
mermaid  in  her  natural  element. 

\~'i.  Wlilch  time,  during  which  time,  i.e.  as  long  as  slie  was 
borne  up  by  licr  clothes  ;  for  the  omission  of  the  preposition. 
see  Abb.  §  202 :  snatches,  odds  and  ends  ;  such  as  she  sang  in 
Scene  '). 

176.  As  one  ...  distress,  as  though  she  were  insensible  of  tlie 
]iliglit  in  which  she  was;  for  incapable,  cp.  Cor.  iv.  6.  120, 
"  iiiiujiahle  of  help,"  /.'.  not  to  be  helped. 

177,  8.  Or  like...  element,  or  as  though  she  were  a  creature 
native  to  that  element  and  endowed  with  properties  suitaV)le 
to  existence  in  it  ;  indued,  a  corruption  of  endued,  in  the  sense 
of  'endow.' 

170.  heavy,  literally,  lait  with  a  i)lay  on  the  word  in  the  sense 
of  being  DVfi-come,  made  stupid,  by  intoxicating  liijuors. 

180,  1.  Pull'd  .  death,  put  an  end  to  her  melody  by  dragging 
iier  down  to  dcuh  at  the  bottom  of  the  stream. 

iS.'i.  It  is  our  trick,  it  is  a  haliit  we  cannot  shake  oH';  cp.  '/'.  (/. 
V.  4.  1,  "  How  use  doth  breed  a  habit  in  a  man  !  ' 


188. 

that 

189. 

But 

ars  ; 

dout 

190. 

How- 

191. 

will 

2G2  HAMLET.  [act  iv.  sc.  vii. 

186,  7.  when  these. .  out,  when  these  tears  \\;\\%  passed  away,  my 
thoughts  will  then  ))e  of  revenge  only ;  for  The  woman,  cp.  Mach. 
iv.  3.  230,  "  0,  I  could  p/ai/  tha  ironmu.  with  mine  eyes"  ;  //".  I', 
iv.  6.  31,  "  And  all.  my  mother  came  into  mine  eyes  And  gave  me 
up  to  tears." 

. . .  blaze,  that  is  eager  to  blaze  out. 

..  it,   if   it  were  not  extinguished  by  these  foolish 
see  note  on  i.  4.  37. 

...  calm,  how  mucli  troul)le  I  had  in  calnimg. 

..  again,  will  set  it  in  motion  again. 


Act  V.     Scene  I. 

2.  salvation,  the  clown's  blunder  for  damnation,  as  in  M.  A, 
iii.  3.  3. 

4,  5.  straight,  forthwith,  without  delay  :  crowner,  coroner, 
literally  merely  an  officer  of  the  crown,  but  used  specially  of  one 
appointed  to  hold  inquests  into  the  cause  of  death.  Skeat  says 
that  crowner,  which  has  been  generally  regarded  as  a  corruption  of 
'  coroner,'  is  a  correct  form,  '  coroner '  being  from  the  base  corou- 
of  the  M.E.  verb  coronen,  to  crown,  with  the  suffix  -er,  and 
thws  =  crown-er :  finds...  burial,  decides  that  Christian  burial  may 
be  granted,  she  not  having  committed  the  felony  of  suicide  ; 
finds,  the  technical  term  for  the  decision  of  the  coroner ;  cp. 
A.  Y.  L.  iv.  1.  101,  "the  foolish  coroners  of  that  a^ge  found  it 
was  '  Hero  of  Sestos.'  " 

9.  '  se  offendendo,'  another  blunder  of  the  Clown's  for  se 
dffenden.d'i,  in  self  defence,  "a  finding  of  the  jury  in  justifiable 
homicide  "  (Caldecott). 

11.  three  branches,  "ridicule  on  scholastic  divisions  without 
distinction  and  of  distinctions  without  diiference  "  (Warburton). 

12.  argal,  a  corruption  of  Lat.  en/o,  therefore. 

13.  goodman.  a  familiar  appellation,  frequent  in  Shakespeare, 
—  old  fellow  :  delver,  digger,  i.e..  grave-digger. 

14.  Give  me  leave,  allow  me  to  interrupt  you. 

16.  will  he.  nill  he,  he  goes  whether  his  intention  is  to  do  so 
or  not  ;  nlll,  =  ne  will,  not  will  ;  frequent  in  old  English. 

21.  quest,  inquest.  This  is  supposed  to  be  an  allusion  to  an 
incjuest  in  a  case  of  forfeiture  of  a  lease  to  the  crown  in  conse- 
quence of  the  suicide  \>y  drowning  of  Sir  John  Hales,  a  case  which 
Shakespeare  niay  have  heard  talked  about. 

22.  Will  ...  on't,  do  you  wish  to  know  the  Avhole  truth  of  the 
matter  ?     If  so,  I  will  tell  you  that,  etc. 


ACT  V.  sc.  I.]  NOTfiS.  1263 


-4 


'JS.  4.  out  burial,  >'.<'.  as  suititles  art;  buiietl,  .sc.  in  the  cross 
roads  witli  a  stake  driven  tiirough  the  heart  ;  cp.  M.  N.  Jj.  iii. 
'2.  :i83,  "  damned  spirits  all,  That  in  crossiray'i  and  floods  have 
burial." 

•2'>.  tbere  thou  say'st,  there  you  tell  the  truth,  speak  to  the 
jjurpose. 

26.  should  have  ...  to,  sliould  be  countenanced  in  drowning, 
etc.,  V)y  beiuf;  allowed  Christian  burial. 

27.  even  Christian,  fellow  Christian  :  Come,  my  spade,  come, 
let  me  take  my  spade,  and  get  to  my  work. 

28.  9.  There  is  . . .  profession,  there  are  no  gentlemen  that  can 
claim  anytliiiig  like  old  descent  except  gardeners,  etc.,  and  they 
alone  still  keep  up  the  professi(m  of  the  first  of  all  ancestors, 
Adam. 

W.  a  gentleman,  one  entitled  to  the  term  '  gentle,'  as  opposed 
to  '  simi)lc'."  r 

31.  bore  arms,  usecrm  a  double  sense,  (1)  carrying  arms,  in 
Adam's  case  a  spade,  and  (2)  having  a  coat  of  arms,  a  symbol  of 
gentle  birth. 

'ir'.  arms,  again  in  a  double  sense,  (1)  the  arms  of  the  body,  (2) 
implements. 

36.  to  the  purpose,  in  a  rational  way  :  confess  thyself — an  ass, 
he  was  going  to  add. 

37.  Go  to,  pooh. 

38.  What  is  he,  what  kind  of  person  is  he. 

41,  tenants,  occupants  ;  as  though  a  man  when  hanged  took  a 
lease  of  tlic  lmHows. 

42,  3.  the  gallows  does  well,  tlie  gallows,,  as  you  well  say,  <lo 
well,  though  not  in  the  wa}'  you  say,  that  of  lasting  a  lf)ng  time. 
Dogberry-like,  he  patronizingly  commends  his  comrade's  good 
sense  in  citing  the  gallows  as  doing  well,  but  with  his  superior 
wisdom  points  out  in  what  their  doing  well  consists. 

43,  4.  it  does  ...  ill,  xr.  by  putting  them  out  of  the  way. 

46.  Tot  again,  come,  make  another  effort  to  answer  my 
question. 

40.  Ay,  .  .  unyoke,  yes,  answer  that,  and  you  may  then  give 
over  youi-  work  ;  metaphorically  unharness  the  oxen  with  which 
he  is  ploughing. 

51    To  't,  go  at  it,  let  me  hear  you  answer. 

52.  Mass,  i.e.  by  the  mass  ;  see  note  on  ii.  1.  50. 

53,  4.  your  dull  ass,  a  dull  ass  like  you  ;  for  this  collocjuial  use 
of  your,  H>:c  .\l)b.  s  220. 

56.  Yaughan,  probal^ly  the  best  explanation  <>f  tliis  word,  about 


264  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

which  there  have  been  so  many  conjectures,  is  that  sug<;estecl  by 
Nicholson,  that  it  was  the  name  of  an  ale-house  keeper  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Globe  Theatre. 

57.   stoup,  flagon  ;  AS.  stedp,  a  cup. 

58-61.  In  youth  ...  meet,  the  Clown's  version  of  part  of  a  ballad 
in  Tottel's  Mixcfllany,  Arber's  Reprints,  p.  173. 

60.  To  contract  ...  behove,  these  words  probably  have  no 
meaning;  the  original  runs  "I  lothe  that  I  did  love,  In  youth 
that  I  thought  swete  ;  As  time  requires  for  my  behove  Methinkes 
they  are  not  mete."  Jennens  points  out  that  the  oh  I  and  the 
ah  !  form  no  part  of  the  song,  but  are  "only  the  breath  forced 
out  by  the  strokes  of  the  mattock. " 

61.  meet,  fitting,  suitable. 

62.  feeling  of  his  business,  no  sense  of  the  sadness  of  the  task 
on  which  he  is  engaged. 

64  Custom ...  easiness,  from  long  habit,  his  occupation,  as 
being  his  own  (proper  to  him)  has  lost  all  unpleasant  associa- 
tion ;  has  made  him  callous  to  the  fact  of  its  being  of  a  sad 
nature. 

65.  6.  the  hand  ...  sense,  the  hand  which  is  least  employed 
(i.e.  in  any  rough  work)  is  always  the  most  delicately  sensitive. 

69.  shipped,  carted,  as  we  might  say  :  intil,  into  ;  to  and  HI 
(till)  are  equivalent  in  sense.  The  original  runs,  "  For  age  with 
steyling  steppes.  Hath  clawed  me  with  his  cowche,  And  lusty  life 
away  she  leapes.  As  there  had  bene  none  such. " 

70.  such,  as  I  am  ;  the  words  being  made  doubly  ludicrous  by 
his  throwing  up  a  skull  as  he  utters  them. 

72.  jowls,  dashes  ;  jovl,  substantive,  is  the  jaw,  and  here  the 
idea  is  of  the  skull  crashing  against  the  ground  as  the  jaws 
crash  together  if  suddenly  closed,  more  especially  by  a  blow  ;  cp. 
A.  W.  i.  3.  59,  "they  ma,y  jowl  horns  together,  like  any  deer  i' 
the  herd." 

74.  politician,  plotter,  schemer;  cp.  T.  N.  iii.  2.  34,  "I  had 
as  lief  be  a  Brownist  as  a  politician  "  ;  but  as  the  CI.  Pr.  Edd. 
remark,  the  M-ord  is  always  used  by  Shakespeare  in  a  bad  sense: 
over-reaches,  used  in  a  double  sense  of  overtaking,  getting  hold 
of,  with  his  spade,  and  of  getting  the  better  of  by  cunning. 

79.  lord  Such-a-one,  some  lord  or  other  whose  name  is  not 
specified  ;  Steevens  compares  Tim.  i.  2.  216-8,  "  you  gave  Good 
words  the  other  day  of  a  bay  courser  I  rode  on  :  it  is  yours, 
because  you  liked  it." 

82.  my  lady  Worm's,  i.e.  the  property,  penjuisite  of,  etc.  : 
chapless,  with  its  jaws  no  longer  adhering  to  the  rest  of  the 
skull. 


SCENE  I.]  NOTKS.  265 

S.S.  mazzard,  a  burlesque  woid  for  the  head  ;  supposed  to  be 
derived  from  mazer,  or  niti.'<rr,  a  l)owl. 

84.  revolution,  used  in  a  double  sense  of  change,  and  of  being 
rolled  al)out  :  and  ...  see  "t,  sup])osingwe  had  the  Itnack  to  under- 
stand it  ;  for  and,  see  Abb.  g  Ktl. 

85.  cost... breeding',  gave  no  more  trouble  to  breed;  for  the, 
preceding  a  verlial,  see  Aid).  §  93. 

8.5,  6.  but  to  . . .  "em,  than  that  they  should  1)e  used  for  playing 
at  loggats;  the  ("1.  Pr.  Edd.,  abi-idging  a  description  of  the  game 
sent  them  by  the  Revd.  (i.  (Jould,  say  that  the  game  reseml)led 
bowls,  but  with  notable  differences.  First,  it  is  played  not  on  a 
green,  but  on  a  floor  strewed  with  ashes.  The  Jack  is  a  wheel 
made  of  some  hard  wood,  the  loggat,  of  which  each  player  has 
three,  is  a  truncated  cone,  held  lightly  at  the  tliin  end,  and  the 
object,  as  at  bowls,  is  to  pitch  them  so  as  to  lie  a.«  nearly  as 
possible  to  the  Jack. 

88.  For  and,  Byce  points  out  that  these  words  answer  to  A  iid 
eke  in  the  original  version. 

89.  for  to,  see  note  on  iii.  1.  167,  above. 

92.  quiddities,  "Mid.  Lat.  77nV/iVrt.>.-,  the  whatness  or  distinctive 
nature  of  a  tiling,  brougiit  into  a  by-word  by  the  nice  distinction 
of  the  schof)ls  "'  (Wedgwood,  JJirf.)  :  quillets,  frivolous  distinc- 
tions ;  probably  from  Lat.  qnkUihct,  wjiat  do  you  choose? 

9.S.  tricks,  legal  chicaneries. 

94.  sconce,  pro])erly  a  small  fort,  in  which  sense  it  is  used  in 
//.  r.  iii,  6.  76  ;  in  C.  E.  ii.  2.  37,  for  a  helmet;  and  i.  2.  75, 
for  a  head,  as  here. 

9.5.  of  his  action  of  battery,  of  the  action  for  battery  (assault) 
'vhich,  if  lie  chose,  he  might  luing  against  him. 

97.  8.  his  statutes  ..  recoveries,  "A  reco\ery  with  a  dovhle 
ixnichcr  is  the  one  usually  suffered,  and  is  so  denominated  from 
■  wo  persons  (the  latter  of  whom  is  always  the  common  crier,  or. 
some  such  inferior  person)  Ijeing  successively  coj^r/i^r/,  or  called 
upon,  to  warrant  the  tenant's  title.  Both  'fines'  and  '  re- 
'•overies  '  are  fictions  of  law,  used  to  conveit  an  estate  tail  into  a 
fee  simple.  '  IStatutes  '  are  (not  acts  of  parliament,  but)  sfa/n(es — 
mf.rrhout  and  fita/ife,  particular  modes  of  rero'jnizance  or  acknow- 
ledgment for  securing  deVits,  which  thereby  become  a  charge  upon 
the  party's  land.  '  Statutes  '  and  '  recognizances  '  are  constantly 
inentioned  together  in  the  covenants  f)f  a  pui-cliase  deed " 
(Rit.son). 

98.  fine  of  his  fines,  the  eml  of  all  his  legal  practice  ;  all  tliat 
comes  of  his  long  practising  as  a  lawyer. 

98,  9.  the  recovery  of  his  recoveries,  all  thai  he  recovers,  gets 
in  niturn  for  the  recoveries  in  \\lii(  h,  w  Inn  alive,  lie  was  engaged: 


266  HAMLET.  [act  v. 


\ 


fine  dirt,  Ruslitoii  (Shake.ippare  as  a  Lairyer,  p.  10)  explains  fine 
here,  as  in  1.  98,  in  the  sense  of  last.  "His  fine  pate  is  filled, 
not  with  fine  dirt,  but  with  the  fast  dirt  which  will  ev^er  occupy 
it,  leaving  a  satirical  inference  to  be  drawn,  that  even  in  his  life- 
time his  head  was  filled  with  dirt "  ;  but  if  this  be  the  primary 
sense,  there  must  also  be  play  upon  the  word  in  its  ordinary 
sense. 

100.  vouch  . . .  purchases,  give  him  no  better  title  to  his  pur- 
chases, even  though  those  vouchers  were  double  ones. 

101.  than  the  ...  indentures,  than  the  mere  parchment  on 
which  indentures  are  written.  "Indentures  were  agreements 
made  out  in  duplicate,  of  which  each  party  kept  one.  Both  wei'e 
written  on  the  same  sheet,  which  was  cut  in  two  in  a  crooked  or 
indented  line  (whence  the  name),  in  order  that  the  fitting  of  the 
two  parts  might  prove  the  genuineness  of  both  in  case  of  dispute  " 
(CI.  Pr.  Edd.).  Cp.  The  Km'r/hf.  of  fh"  Bnrninr/  Pestle,  iv.  2.  18, 
9,  "prentice  to  a  grocer  in  the  Strand  By  deed  indent,  of  whi<:h  I 
have  one  ])art  "  ;  this  part  was  called  the  '  counterpane.' 

102.  The  very  ...  lands,  the  very  title-deed  by  which  Iiis  lands 
were  conveyed  (in  a  legal  sense),  transferred  :  box,  cotfin,  \yith  a 
reference  to  the  boxes  in  which  lawyers  keep  deeds,  etc. 

103.  inheritor,  possessor,  owner;  cp.  L.  L.  L.  ii.  1.  5,  "To 
parley  with  the  sole  inheritor  of  all  perfections"  ;  B.  III.  iv.  3. 
34,  "Meantime,  l)ut  think  how  I  may  do  thee  good.  And  be  in- 
heritor of  thy  desire. " 

103.  and  of...  too,  accurately  speaking,  it  is  vellum  that  is 
made  of  calf  skins,  parchment  of  sheep  or  goat  skins. 

107,  8.  They  are  ..  that,  those  who  trust  to  parchment  are  but 
dolts;  "an  'assurance'  is  the  legal  evidence  of  the  transfer  of 
property  "  (Heard,  Shakespeare  as  a  Lmoyer). 

109.  sirrah,  sir  ;  a  term  used  raoie  generally  to  inferiors,  or 
with  disrespect  or  iinl)ecoming  familiarity  to  superiors  ;  occasion- 
ally applied  to  women. 

113.  liest,  with  a  play  upon  the  word  in  its  two  senses. 

1 1-i.   on  "t,  of  it. 

117.  the  quick,  the  living. 

123.  For  none,  neither,  for  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  either. 

127.   absolute,  precise,  punctilious  about  accuracy. 

127,  8.  by  the  card,  with  precision  ;  according  to  some  the 
reference  is  to  the  mariners'  chart  ;  according  to  others  to  the 
card  on  which  the  points  of  the  compass  were  marked  ;  according 
to  others  again  to  the  card  and  calendar  of  etic^uette,  or  book  of 
manners,  of  which,  says  Staunton,  several  were  published  in 
Shakespeare's  time. 


SCENE  I.]  NOTES.  267 

I'JO.  these  three  years,  i.c  for  a  considerable  time  past. 

130.  picked,  smart,  spruce;  cp.  A'.  J.  i.  1.  l'J3,  "  }*ly  picked 
man  of  countries." 

l.*?].  kibe,  chilblain  ;  a  sore  on  the  hands  or  feet  due  to  great 
cold. 

13.3.  Of  all ...  year,  if  you  wish  me  to  be  precise  as  to  the  exact 
day.  why.  etc.  The  CI.  Pr.  P]dd.  <iuote  R.  J.  i.  3.  16,  "  Even  or 
odd,  of  all  the  days  in  the  year,  Come  Lammas-eve  at  night  shall 
she  be  fourteen,"  where  the  speaker  is  an  illiterate  old  nurse  with 
the  s;ime  passion  for  l)eing  precise. 

141.  it 's  ...  there,  it  does  not  much  matter. 

143,  4.  there  ...he,  here  again  Marston,  7'he  Malcontent,  iii.  I. 
»00,  1,  seems  to  have  followed  .Shakespeare,  "  Your  lordship 
shall  ever  find  ...  amongst  an  hundred  Englishmen,  four-score 
and  ten  madmen." 

149.  Upon  what  ground  ''.  owing  to  what  cause  ?  The  clown  in 
the  next  line  takes  ground  in  its  literal  sense. 

154.  pocky  corses,  bodies  of  those  who  have  died  of  the  small- 
pox. 

l.")4,  ").  will  scarce  in,  will  scarcelj^  keep  from  decomposition 
till  the  funt  ral  :  you,  tlic  colloquial  dative. 

166.  A  pestilence  .  rogue  I  curses  on  him,  as  such  a  mad  rogue 
deserves  1 

167.  Rhenish,  Rhine  wine. 

168.  Yorick,  said  to  be  the  German  and  Danish  Georrj,  J6rg, 
our  Oeorr/f,  the  English  y  representing  the  foreign  y,  and  having 
the  same  sound. 

17'2.  a  fellow  ...  jest,  a  fell<)\\  of  inexhaustible  wit. 

174.  it,  "  used  in  reference  to  the  idea  of  having  been  borne  on 
the  back  of  him  whose  skeleton  remains  are  thus  suddenly 
presented  to  the  speaker's  gaze,  the  idea  of  having  caressed  and 
been  fondled  liy  one  whose  mouldering  tteshless  skidl  is  now  held 
in  tlie  speaker's  hand  "  (Clarke). 

17.^.  my  gorge  rises  at  it,  I  feel  sick  at  the  verj'  idea;  the 
gorge  is  tlio  throat,  and  the  '  rising'  is  that  feeling  in  the  throat 
which  accompanies  the  inclination  to  vomit. 

178.  on  a  roar,  we  .■should  now  say  'm  a  roar.' 

179  quite  chap-fallen,  nttt-rly  downcast,  without  so  much  as 
Ji  smile  on  youi-  face  :  my  lady's,  not  a  particular  lady,  but  any 
one  to  wliDiii  tlic  title  was  ajiplicable. 

IHO.  let  her  paint,  even  if  she  shoidd  lay  on  the  paint. 

isl.   favour,  a))pearance  ;  used  especially  of  the  features. 

185.  i'  the  earth,  when  buried. 


268  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

ISO.  return,  sc.  in  returning  to  the  dust  of  which  we  are  made. 

192.  'Twere  . . .  so,  to  follow  out  the  idea  would  be  but  idle 
speculation,  a  mere  waste  of  ingenuity. 

193,  4.  with  modesty,  without  any  exaggeration. 

196.  loam,  a  mixture  of  clay  and  sand. 

199.  Imperious,  imperial  ;  though  Shakespeare  frequently 
uses  Imperious,  for  imperial,  he  rarely,  if  ever,  uses  '  imperial ' 
for  imperious,  in  its  modern  sense  of  dictatorial. 

202.  flaw,  sudden  gust  of  wind. 

203.  aside,  let  us  stand  aside. 

205.  such  maimed  rites,  such  incomplete  rites. 

207.  Fordo,  destroy  ;  cp.  ii.  1.  103  :  for  it  =  its,  see  note  on  i. 
2.  216  :  estate,  rank,  position. 

208.  Couch  we,  let  us  lie  close  so  as  not  to  be  seen  ;  cp.  A.  W. 
iv.  1.  24,  "But  couch,  ho  !  here  he  comes." 

209.  What  ceremony  else  ?  what  further  ceremonies  have  to  be 
performed?  i.e.  surely  this  does  not  complete  the  usual  rites. 

212,  3.  Her  obsequies  ...  warranty,  we  have  gone  as  far  in  the 
matter  of  ritual  observance  as  we  have  authority  for  doing  :  her 
death,  the  manner  of  her  death. 

214.  but  that  ...  order,  if  it  were  not  that  the  king's  command, 
which  we  dure  not  disobey,  over-rules  us  as  regards  the  proceed- 
ings usual  in  such  a  case. 

216.  for,  in  the  place  of. 

217.  Shards,  potsherds,  pieces  of  broken  crockery. 

218.  crants,  a  coronet,  or  tire  for  the  head  ;  worn  by  maidens 
till  they  were  married  ;  a  singular  noun,  from  Ger.  krantz.  A 
writer  in  the  Eii.  Rer.  for  July,  1869,  has  shown  by  extracts 
from  Weber's  introduction  to  the  ballad  of  Child  Axe  Wold,  that 
"  the  burial  of  a  northeiii  maiden  is  still  appropriately  marked, 
as  in  the  case  of  Ophelia,  by  the  presence  of  her  virgin  crants, 
and  maiden  strewments." 

219.  Her  maiden  strewments,  the  strewing  of  flowers  upon  the 
bier,  such  as  was  common  at  the  funeral  of  a  maid  or  wife,  or  on 
her  grave  after  burial;  cp.  H.  VIII.  iv.  2.  168-70,  ''strew  me 
over  With  maiden  flowers,  that  all  the  woild  may  know  I  was  a 
chaste  wife  to  my  grave"  :   and  Cymh.  iv.  2.  21S-20. 

219,  20.  and  the...  burial,  "In  these  Avords,  reference  is  still 
made  to  the  marriage  rites,  which  in  the  case  of  maidens  are 
sadly  parodied  in  the  funeral  rites.  See  7'.  -/.  iv.  5.  85-90.  As 
the  bride  was  brought  liome  to  her  husband's  house  with  bell 
and  wedding  festivity,  so  the  dead  maiden  is  brought  to  her  last 
heme  with  '  bell  and  burial "  "  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 


scE.NK  1.1  NOTES.  2G9 

221.  Must...  done?  is  it  forbidden  to  perform  any  further 
rites?  In  niudern  En^disli  tlie  words  woidd  mean  'is  it  not 
necesKiry  to,'  etc.  :  No  more  be  done  !  I  have  followed  Staunton 
and  Knight  in  putting  a  note  of  admiration  after  done,  instead  of 
a  semi-colon  'I'he  priest  seems  to  be  indignantly  re])eating 
Laertes'  words,  with  a  special  emphasis  on  more,  not  to  be  con- 
firming them. 

223.  To  sing,  by  singing  ;  if  we  were  to  sing ;  the  indefinite 
infinitive  :  requiem,  a  mass  for  the  repose  of  the  dead,  so  called 
from  beginning  with  the  words  Reqiiinn  cttemam  dona  its, 
JJomine,  grant  etei'iial  peace  to  them,  O  Lord  ;  cp.  dir(j<'  i.  2.  12. 

224.  peace-parted  souls,  souls  which  have  departed  the  body  in 
peace. 

226.  May  violets  spring  !  cp.  Tennyson,  In  Mrmoriam,  .wiii. 
3,  4,  ■'  And  from  his  ashes  may  be  made  The  violet  of  his  native 
land  "  :  churlish,  in  refusing  her  the  full  rites  of  burial. 

228.  howling,  i.e.  in  the  torments  of  hell. 

230.  I  hoped  ...  been  ..."  in  the  Elizabethan,  as  in  early  English 
authors,  after  verbs  of  hoping,  intending,  or  verbs  signifying  that 
something  ought  to  hai'e  been  done,  but  was  not,  the  complete 
present  infinitive  is  used  "  (Abb.  S  360). 

231.  thought,  fondly  expected  :  deck'd,  .sr.  with  flowers. 

2,32.  t'  have,  liiis  is  the  reading  of  the  folios  ;  the  quartos  omit 
the  sign  of  the  infinitive. 

2.34.  thy  most  Ingenious  sense,  thy  sense,  that  most  cunningly- 
devised  creation  of  (iod  :  most  shows,  T  think,  that  ingenious 
here  is  to  be  compared  ratiier  with  its  liteial  sense  in  CymJ),  iv. 
2.  ISC).  "  My  ingenion^  instiiiment  I  "  i.e.  of  curious  construction, 
said  of  his  liai-p.  rather  than  with  Lear,  iv.  6,  287,  "how  stiff  is 
my  vile  sense  That  I  stand  up  and  have  ingenioiis  feeling  Of  my 
huge  sorrows." 

23.J.  Hold      awhile,  do  not  yet  fill  up  the  grave. 

238.  this  flat,  this  level  surface. 

23!).  Pelion.  a  lofty  range  of  mountains  in  Thessaly.  In 
their  \\ar  witli  the  gods,  the  giants  are  said  to  have  attempted 
to  heap  O.ssa  and  Olympus  on  Pelion,  or  Pclioii  and  C)ssa  on 
Olympus,  in  order  to  scale  heaven  :  skyish,  reaching  ahnost  to 
the  sky,  Olympus  lieing  the  loftiest  of  the  mountains  in  Oreece. 

240.  What  1b  he?  \\  hat  manner  of  nuvn  is  he  ? 

241.  Bears  such  an  emphasis,  so  mighty  a  stress  laid  upon  it. 
241.  2.  whose  phrase    .    stand,  whose  utterance  of  sorrow  has 

such  magic  ])ower  over  liie  ])l;inets  as  to  arrest  their  motion  ;  an 
allusion  to  the  chai'ins  of  witches  who  were  su|)j)osed  by  them  to 
be  able  to  arrest  the  course  of  the  moon  and  stars. 


270  HAMLET.  [.\CT\. 

243.  wonder-wounded,  paralysed  ])y  wonder. 

247.  splenitive.  given  to  sadden  anger  ;  the  spleen  was  of  old 
supposed  to  be  tlie  seat  of  anger,  hatred,  malice. 

249.  Which  . . .  fear,  which  it  will  be  prudent  in  you  to  fear. 

252.  theme,  subject. 

253.  wag,  "  the  word  had  not  the  grotesque  signification  which 
it  now  has,  and  might  be  used  without  incongruity  in  the  most 
serious  passages"  ...  (CI.  Pr.  Edd. ). 

255.  forty  thousand,  used  for  an  indefinite  number. 

256,  7,  Could  not  ..  sum,  could  not,  however  great  their  love, 
vie  witli  me  in  loving  her. 

259.  forbear  him,  do  not  attempt  to  touch  him,  for  fear  of  the 
consequences. 

260.  'Swounds,  see  note  on  ii.  2.  549 :  do,  emphatic  ;  by  what 
nrf.i  are  you  prepared  to  show  that  love  which  you  have  professed 
in  such  boastful  words  ? 

2!) I.  Woo  't,  according  to  Singer,  a  common  contraction  in  the 
northern  counties  for  wouldst  thou.;  used,  says  Halliwell,  in  the 
western  counties  for  will  thee. 

262.  eisel,  the  two  most  probable  of  the  many  explanations 
given  of  this  word  are  (1)  vinegar,  (2)  tlie  name  of  some  river  ; 
eisel,  or  fi/sell,  for  vinegar,  occurs  in  Soini.  cxi.  10,  and  was  a 
word  of  no  unconnnon  occurrence  in  Elizabethan  literature  ;  if  it 
be  Shakespeare's  word  here,  drink  up  will  mean  '  greedily  quaff.' 
The  advocates  of  the  name  of  a  river  cite  the  Yssel  in  Flanders, 
the  Oesil  in  Denmark,  and  the  M'e?'.se/  or  Vistula,  or  consider  it 
identical  with  Ousel,  the  diminutive  of  Ouse,  a  common  name  of 
rivers  in  England,  and  signif jang  a  river  or  water :  eat  a  crocodile, 
the  advocates  for  the  name  of  a  river  claim  that  their  view  is 
supported  by  this  expression,  which  looks  as  if  Hainlet  were 
challenging  Laertes  to  impossible  feats. 

264.  To  outface  me,  to  outdare  me  ;  to  put  me  to  shame  by  the 
extra\agant  professions  of  your  love. 

266.  prate,  rant. 

208.   pate,  used  in  a  ridiculous  sense. 

269.  Ossa,  see  note  on  1.  239  :  like  a  wart,  no  bigger  than  a 
wart :  mouth,  talk  big. 

271.  awhile  ..  him,  for  a  time  his  fit  of  madness  will  exercise 
its  power  over  him. 

273.  golden  covxplets,  the  dove  generally  sits  upon  two  eggs, 
and  the  young  birds  when  hatched  are  covered  with  a  yellow 
down  :  disclosed,  by  the  breaking  of  the  eggs  ;  see  note  on  iii.  1 . 
166. 


SCENE  I.]  NOTES.  271 

274.  His  ..  drooping,  lie  will  liaiig  down  his  lieiul  in  aliaslic<l 
siK'iice. 

•277,  S.  Let ...  day,  i.e.  iicature  will  take  her  own  course  what- 
ever mighty  obstacles  we  may  put  in  its  way  ;  it  is  no  use  my 
cavilling  at  tiiis  hehaviour  of  Laertes  ;  'a  dog  hath  his  day'  was 
a  proverliial  phrase  meaning  that  every  dog  will  at  one  time  or 
another  have  its  good  time. 

•27fl.  wait  upon  him,  attend  him  to  see  that  he  does  him.self  no 
injury. 

280.  Strengthen  .  speech,  let  what  we  talked  aliout  last  night 
encourage  you  to  be  patient  awhile  ;  in,  in  the  tlnnight  of ;  see 
A  1)1).  §  1G2. 

281.  We  "ll  put  push,  w-e  will  without  delay  give  the  matter 
a  decisive  imjjulsc,  one  that  will  l)iing  things  to  a  definite  issue. 

2S3.  This  ...  monument,  i.e.  Hamlet's  life  offered  up  by 
Laertes  to  his  si.ster's  memory  shall  be  a  more  lasting  monument 
in  men's  minds  tlian  any  material  one  that  could  be  built. 

285    in  patience  ...  be,  let  us  act  with  patience  and  control. 

Scene  II. 

1.  So  much  ...  other,  enough  of  this  matter  ;  now  I  will  show 
you  liDW  tJK'  otiiei-  turned  out. 

2.  the  circumstance,  all  the  details. 

4.  fighting,  struggle  as  to  whether  I  should  let  matters  take 
their  course  or  should  actively  oppose  it. 

6.  Worse  . . ,  bilboes,  in  a  more  miserable  plight  than  that  of 
the  mutineers  in  chains  :  for  mutines,  see  note  on  iii.  4.  8.3.  Of 
the  bilboes,  Steevens  says,  "Tiiis  is  a  l)ar  of  iron  with  fetters 
annexed  to  it,  by  which  mutinous  or  disorderly  sailors  anciently 
were  linked  together.  The  word  is  dei-ived  from  IJilboa,  a  place 
in  Spain  ...  Tlie  bilboes  are  still  shown  in  the  'J'owcr  of  London 
among  the  other  spoils  of  the  Spanish  Armada."  Rashly, — 
The  sentence  is  continued  in  11.  12,  etc. 

7-9.  And  praised  fail,  and  I  thank  rashness  for  the  impulse, 
— for  it  is  M ell  ue  should  recognize  that  our  sudden  and  appa- 
rently unwise  impulses  often  serve  us  well,  when  our  deep  ])lots 
come  to  nothing.  Malone  defends  /«■<//,  the  reading  of  the  second 
quarto  and  later  folios,  by  (juoting  .1.  C.  ii.  7.  88,  "I'll  never 
follow  thy  iKiird  foi'tunes  more,"  but  thei'e  is  a  great  diflerence 
between  fortunes  ])alling  and  j)lots  ])alling.  Ingleby  would  read 
fall :  the  reading  in  the  text  is  Pope's.  In  1.  7  Tyrwhitt  con- 
jectured, "  And  j)raised  be  rashness,  for  it  makes  us  know," — a 
conjecture  ;aade  indepeixlentlj'  Ijy  myself,  which  I  hesitate  to 
adopt  on'v  becau.«e  it  is  so  easy  a  way  out  of  a  difliculty. 


272  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

11.  Rough-hew  ...  will,  however  clumsily  we  may  begin  to 
fashion  them. 

13.  My  sea-gown  ...  me,  having  hurriedly  wrapped  myself  in 
my  sea-gown.  .Singer  (quotes  Cotgrave,  '' Esc/arine  ..  a  sea- 
gowne,  or  a  coarse,  high-collered,  and  short-sleeved  gowne. 
reaching  down  to  the  mid-leg,  and  vsed  most  by  sea-men  and 
Saylors." 

14.  find  out  them,  for  the  transposition  of  the  pronoun,  see 
Abb.  §  240. 

15.  Finger'd,  got  hold  of ;  put  my  hand  upon  by  lucky 
accident. 

16.  room,  cabin. 

17.  My  fears  ...  manners,  I  in  my  fear  thinking  nothing  as  to 
■whether  1  was  acting  honourably  :  to  unssal,  as  to,  etc. ,  see 
Abb.  §  281. 

IS.  Their  grand  commission,  the  commission  they  were  so 
proud  of  having  entrusted  to  them. 

20.  Larded,  garnished,  tricked  out;  cp.  M.  W.  iv.  6.  14,  "The 
mirth  whereof  so  lardtd  with  my  matter. " 

21.  Importing,  ...  too,  those  reasons  having  to  do  with  the 
well-being  of  botli  the  king  of  Denmark  and  the  king  of 
England  ;  the  former  because  Hamlets  death  was  so  necessary 
to  him,  the  latter  because  of  the  vengeance  the  king  of  England 
would  provoke  by  disobeying  the  commands  sent  him  ;  see  above, 
iv.  3.  57-64. 

22.  With,  ho !  . .  life,  mentioning  the  terrible  dangers  wliich 
threatened  so  long  as  I  was  allowed  to  live  ;  ho  !  seems  to  me  an 
exclamation  of  ridicule,  not  of  horror,  as  Delius  takes  it ;  bugs., 
bugbears,  terrors  ;  as  frequently  in  Shakespeare. 

23.  on  the  supervise,  immediately  upon  his  reading  it :  no 
leisure  bated,  without  uny  abatement  of  haste  in  the  way  of 
leisurely  proceeding  ;  cp.  below,  1.  45. 

24.  not  to  stay  . .  axe,  without  so  much  as  -waiting  till  the  axe 
could  be  sharpened. 

27.   hear  me  how,  for  the  redundant  object,  s(  e  Abb.  §  414. 

30,  1.  Ere  ...  play,  before  I  could  think  the  scheme  out  in  all 
its  completeness,  my  brains  were  already  at  Mork  upon  its 
execution  ;  the  prologue  of  a  play  necessarily  in\olved  a  know- 
ledge of  its  scheme,  and  sometimes  declared  what  that  scheme 
was.  Some  editors  take  They  as  referring  to  Guildenstern  anil 
Rosencrantz. 

32.  wrote  it  fair,  wrote  it  out  in  a  clerkly  hand. 

33.  hold,  consider :  statists,  statesmen  ;  Blackstone  says  that 
most  of  the  great  men  of  Shakespeare's  time  whose  autographs 


sctNE  II.]  NOTES.  273 

have  Keen  preserved,  wrote  very  bml  liands  ;  tlicir  secretaries 
very  iitat  oiu's. 

34.  A  baseness,  a  mark  of  low  birth. 

3G.  yeoman's  service,  right  trusty  service  ;  the  yeomen  of  old 
days  wure  among  the  most  .serviceahle  of  troops. 

37.  effect,  purport.     38.   conjuration,  adjumtion. 

39.  As  England  .  tributary,  calling  upon  the  king  of  England 
as  being  a  faithful,  etc. 

40r  As  lOTe  ...  flourish,  according  as  he  desired  that  their 
mutual  love  should  flourish,  etc.  ;  tlic  palm  being  an  evergreen 
and  a  hiirdy  tree  is  used  as  a  type  of  enduring  freshness. 

41.  As  peace  ...  wear,  according  as  lie  wished  that  peace  should 
abound  botw  een  them ;  wheaten  garland,  wheat  being  symbolical 
of  peace  and  plenty. 

42.  And  stand  ...  amities,  and  continue  to  be  a  connecting  link 
of  friendship  between  the  two  countries.  Johnson  remarks, 
"  The  comma  is  the  note  of  connection  and  continuity  of  .sentences ; 
the  p'  i-iod  is  the  note  of  nhniption  and  disjunction."  Comma  was 
also  used  in  Shakespeare's  day  for  a  clause  in  a  sentence. 

43.  As' es  ...  charge,  weighty  provisos  ;  "a  quibble  is  intended 
between  a.s  the  conditional  particle  and  ass,  the  beast  of  burthen" 
(Johnson).  He  also  quotes  Chapman's  The.  Widoiv'x  Tears,  1612, 
"Thou  must  be  an  ass  chanfil  vitli  crou-ns  to  make  way,"  to  show 
that  rhanir  was  used  for  ho//.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  ([uibble 
was  intended,  nor  does  charge  .seem  to  mean  more  than  '  injunction. ' 

44.  on  the  view  . . .  contents,  as  soon  as  he  shoidd  have  made 
himself  master  of  the  contents. 

45.  Without ...  less,  without  any  hesitation,  consideration,  how- 
ever sliglit. 

47.  Not . . .  allowd,  without  even  allowing  them  to  confess  their 
sins  to  the  priest  and  obtain  absolution  ;  to  shrire  is  from  A.S. 
scrijan,  to  impose  a  penance  or  compensation. 

48.  even  . . .  ordinant,  even  in  that  particular  heaven  had  or- 
dained matters  to  the  same  end  ;  the  fact  that  I  had  my  father's 
signet-ring  in  my  iiuise  shows  it  was  heaven's  will  that  things 
should  go  as  they  have  gone. 

.10.  model,  counter])ait,  copy  ;  that  Danish  seal,  w  ith  \\  Inch 
their  connnission  was  sealed. 

51.  the  writ,  the  mandate. 

U'l.  Subscribed  it,  atHxtul  an  inutation  of  tlu-  king's  signature: 
impression,  v.  of  tiic  seal. 

53.  changeling,  usually  meiining  a  child  that  had  been  substi- 
tuted by  fairies  or  witches  for  one  carried  off  by  them. 

u 


274  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

56.  go  to  t,  ?.r.  tlicif  (U'stined  deatli. 

57.  they  did  ...  employment,  their  employment  (which  involved 
my  death)  was  one  eagerly  sought  by  them,  and  tlierefore  I  need 
not  feel  any  scruples  in  sending  them  to  their  death. 

58.  Tbey  are  ..  conscience,  their  fate  does  not  trouble  my 
conscience. 

58,  9.  their  defeat  ..grow,  their  destruction  is  due  to  their 
having  insinuated  themselves  into  the  project  for  killing  me. 

00.  the  baser  nature,  tlio.se  of  inferior  courage  and  address. 

61,2.  Between ...  opposites,  between  the  weapons  of  two 
mighty  opponents  (such  as  the  king  and  myself)  when  they  are 
thrusting 'at  each  other  M'ith  most  deadly  purpose  :  for  opposites, 
cp.  T.  ]Si .  iii.  2.  68,  "  And  liis  opposite,  the  youtli,  bears  in  his 
visage  no  great  presage  of  cruelty."' 

6.S.  Does  it . . .  upon,  is  it  not  imperative  upon  me  ;  see  Abb.  §  204. 

65,  Poppd  in  ...  hopes,  suddenlj-  thrust  himself  in  between  me 
and  my  election  to  the  throne,  of  which  I  had  good  hopes. 

66,  7.  Thrown  out . . .  cozenage,  so  cunningly  lished  for  my 
<leath  :  angle,  properly  the  tishing-rod  and  line,  tlien  used  figure- 
atively,  as  in  W.  T.  iv.  2.  52,  "The  anijle  that  plucks  our  son 
thither  "  ;  proper,  own,  my  very  life  ;  for  cozenage,  see  note  on 
iii.  4.  77. 

67,  8.  is 't  not  .  .  arm  ?  am  I  not  perfectly  justified  in  paying 
him  out  with  my  own  liaiid  ''. 

68-70.  and  is  't  not ...  evil?  ami  would  it  not  be  a  sin  wortliyof 
<lamnation  to  let  this  plague-spot  upon  human  nature  have  further 
opportunities  for  evil ''.  for  canker,  see  note  on  i.  3.  39  ;  In, 
into  ;  for  other  instances,  see  Abb.  §  159. 

71,  2.  It  must  ..  there,  the  king  is  certain  to  know  very  soon 
what  is  the  result  of  his  commission  (and  tlierefore  there  is  no 
time  to  be  lost  in  doing  whatever  you  have  determined  to  do). 

73.  It  will  ..  mine,  the  time  that  Avill  elapse  before  he  knows 
the  result  will  be  short  :  but  that  short  interval  is  wholly  mine, 
there  is  nothing  to  baulk  my  vengeance. 

74.  And  a  man's  ...  '  One."  and  the  taking  of  a  man's  life  is  as 
easy  as  to  count  one  ;  short  as  the  interval  is,  his  death  is  but 
the  afi'air  of  a  moment. 

76.  forgot  myself,  allowed  myself  to  behave  with  want  of 
courtesy. 

77.  image,  reflection,  semblance:  cp.  A*.  J.  iv.  2.  71,  "The 
imaije  of  a  wicked,  heinous  fault."' 

78.  court  his  favours,  endeavour  to  win  him  to  forgiveness  and. 
friendship. 


scENK  II.]  NOTES.  275 

79.  Bravery,  jxtraviigant  display. 

82.  this  water  fly,  this  i'<iiitoiii])til)le  insect  ;  "  a  water-fly  ski))s 
u])  and  down  iqnm  tlio  snrface  of  the  water  witiiout  any  apparent 
purpose  or  reason,  and  is  thence  tlie  proper  enddem  of  a  busy 
tritier  "  (.lolinson). 

b4.  Thy  state  ..  gracious,  you  are  all  the  better  for  not  know- 
ing; him  ;  '  state  of  grace  '  was  useil  in  theological  language  for 
that  state  of  a  mans  soul  which  had  olitaincd  Iiivine  favoiii-  ;  cp. 
^f.  y.  D.  ii.  2.  S9.  "The  more  my  prayer,  the  lesser  is  my 
i/race";  W.  T.  ii.  1.  122,  "this  action  I  now  go  on  Is  for  my 
better  yrace." 

S,"),  ().  let  a  beast  ...  mess,  if  a  bea.st  (like  this  fellow)  only  has 
plenty  of  proj)erty,  he  shall  eat  at  the  king's  table  ;  crib,  manger, 
tliat  from  which  stalled  beasts  feed  ;  mess,  from  0.  F.  me.s,  a 
dish  of  meat ...  that  which  is  set  or  placed,  viz.,  on  the  ^^able  ; 
pp.  of  metfrr,  to  place.  —  Low  Lat.  mittcre,  to  place  ;  Lat.  mitfcre, 
to  send  "...  (Skeat,  I'Jh/.  Dirt.). 

87.  chough,  it  is  doubtful  whether  here  a  liird  of  the  jackdaw 
genus  is  meant,  Osric  being  compared  to  it  on  account  of  his 
chattering,  or  whether  chough  is  only  anither  sjielling  of  chuff, 
used  in  i.  //.  IV.  ii.  2.  !I4.  foi-  a  wealthy  but  ill-nuinnered  fellow  : 
spacious  . . .  dirt,  possessed  of  many  a  broad  acre. 

SS.  Sweet,  "a  common  mode  of  addi-ess  in  the  Elizabethan 
court  language  "  (Mommsen). 

90.  with  all  .  spirit,  with  the  greatest  readiness  ;  in  imitation 
of  Osric  s  jargon. 

i'O,  I.  Put  ...  head,  put  your  hat  on  >our  head,  for  \\  hich  it  is 
intended  ;  bonnet,  now  used  only  for  the  iicadgear  of  women  and 
f[ighlander.s. 

92.  it  is  very  hot,  i.e..  it  is  on  account  of  the  heat  that  I  cany 
it  in  my  liaud. 

il4.  indifferent  cold,  fairly,  moderately,  cold. 

9o,  6.  hot ...  complexion,  hot,  as  it  seems  to  a  man  of  my 
temperament  ;  complexion,  was  formerly  u.sed  for  both  teni])eia- 
ment  ami  e.xlcmiil  appeai'ance,  as  ^\■ell  as  the  colouring  of  llie 
face,  its  only  modern  sense. 

flO.  on  your  head,  on  you. 

101.  remember —  Handet  was  probably  about  to  add  'your 
courtesy,'  a  phrase  used  in  bidding  a  man  put  ov  his  hat.  not 
put  it  otr.  as  would  be  expected  ;  cp.  L.  L.  I.,  v.  1.  10.3,  "  I  do 
l»eseech  thee,  rememlx  r  thy  roiirtexy  ;  I  beseech  tiiee,  ap])arel  thy 
head."  How  the  jihrase  gf)t  that  meaidng  h;is  not  bi(  u  dis- 
covered ;  possibly  it  was  oi-iginally  used  when  a  man  had  alivady 
i>een    bidilen   to    '  apj)arel    his    head,"    but    out    of    Imniiliiy  hud 


276  HAMLET.  [ACT  V. 

liesitated  to  do  so,  being  thus  gniltj'  of  a  want  of  the  truest 
courtesy. 

102.  for  mine  ease,  I  assure  you  1  do  it  because  I  tind  it  more 
comfortable  ;  the  ]ihrase  was  a  common  one  in  the  ceremonious 
language  of  tiie  period.  Marston,  The  Malcontent,  Ind.  37, 
again  imitates  Shakespeare  ;  "  Vondell.  I  beseech  you,  sir,  be 
covered.     Sly.   No,  in  (jood  faith,  for  mine  ea.<:e." 

10.!.   absolute,  perfect  in  all  gentlemanly  accomplishments. 

lOi.  excellent  differences,  according  to  Delius,  different  excel- 
lences ;  the  CI.  Pr.  p]dd.  explain,  "distinctions marking  him  out 
from  the  rest  of  men,"  which  seems  to  me  more  satisfactory. 

10-1,  5.  of  very  ...  showing,  of  most  refined  manners  and  high- 
Ijred  courtesy  :  feelingly,  with  a  due  appreciation  of  his  merits. 

106.  the  card  ...  gentry,  the  very  guide-book  of  good-breeding  ; 
cp.  ii.  //.  r/.  iii.  1.  203,  "in  tliy  face  I  see  The  map  of  honour, 
truth  and  loyalty." 

106,  7-  you  shall  .  see,  you  shall  find  him  to  contain  in  him- 
self e\'ery  accomplishment  that  one  could  wish  to  see  :  in  con- 
tinent and  part  there  is  a  reference  to  geographical  terms,  you 
shall  find  in  him  t'ne  whole  continent  of  which  a  gentleman  may 
wisli  to  see  a  part  ;  with  an  allusion  to  the  grand  tour  which  in 
8hakespeai"e's  day  it  was  the  custom  for  well-born  young  men  to 
make  on  the  continent 

108.  his  deiinement  .  you,  his  description  suffers  nothing  at 
youi'  hands  ;  you  describe  him  in  full  and  adequate  terms. 

109,  10.  to  divide  ...  memory,  to  specify  one  by  one  the  in- 
numerable particulars  of  his  excellence  would  be  an  effort  of  arith- 
metic which  would  make  memory  giddy. 

110,  1.  and  yet  but  ..  sail,  the  only  explanation  of  this  passage 
that  seems  at  all  satisfactory  is  given  by  Abbott,  ^5 1 28.  Remarking 
tliat  '  neither  '  for  our  '  either  '  is  in  Sliakespeare's  manner,  after 
a  negative  expressed  or  implied,  and  that  the  ellipsis  of  the 
negative  explains  neither  here,  he  paraphrases  but  yaw  neither 
by  "do  nothing  but  lag  clumsily  behind  neither."  To  yair  is 
properly  to  fall  ofi  or  swer\e  from  the  course  laid  ;  and  so  from 
the  vessel  not  being  able  to  go  straight  to  the  point,  we  may  get 
the  sense  of  lagging  behind.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  in  respect 
of  his  quick  sail  refers  to  memory  (his  =  its),  not  to  Laertes,  and  I 
would  explain,  'and  yet  as  regards  its  quick  sailing  (i.e.  however 
quick  memory  might  sail),  it  would  not  be  able  to  keep  its 
course  after  him.'  It  is  the  speed  of  memory  which  is  primarilj- 
referred  to.  and  though  this  infers  the  speed  of  that  which  it  pur- 
sues, the  idea  is  concerned  more  especially  with  the  pursuer. 

111.  in  the  . . .  extolment,  to  praise  him  onl}-  according  to  his 
deserts. 


scKNE  II.]  NOTES.  2 


t  I 


1 1  "2.  a  soul  ,.  article,  "  one  who,  if  virtues  sliould  l)e  sjjecitied 
iuveiitorially.  would  li;i\e  nianj'  items  in  the  list  "  (Sohnii<lt). 

ll'J,  ;].  and  his  ..  rareness,  and  the  qualities  with  which  he 
lias  been  endowed  so  scarce  and  rare  ;  Hamlet  speaks  as  though 
Laertes  were  a  vial  into  which  the  finest  essences  had  been 
jKiured. 

1 1.'{.  4.  his  semblahle  .  mirror,  liis  like  could  V)e  seen  only  in  a 
mirror  of  himself  ;  cj).  Ti/ii.  iv  8.  '2'2.  "  I/is  srmh/ali/e,  yea,  him- 
self, Timon  disdains " ;  and  Theobald,  /  lie  Double  Fa/sehootI, 
"  None  but  himself  couM  be  his  parallel." 

1 14. .").  and  who  ...  more,  and  anj'one  who  should  try  to  follow 
in  his  steps,  imitate  him,  would  be  but  as  the  shadow  to  the 
reality. 

117,  8.  The  concernancy  . .  breath,  what  is  the  objeot  of  all 
this  talk?  ^^'hy  do  we  waste  time  in  so  ineffectually  trying  tft 
describe  him  whom  no  words  can  describe  ?  For  the  double 
comparative,  see  Abb.  §11. 

120,  1.  Is  t  not...  really,  Hoiatio  banters  Osric  about  his 
evident  inability  to  understand  Handet  by  sa3'ing  '  is  it  possible 
to  you  to  talL-  in  a  language  other  than  your  natuial  one,  and  yet 
impossible  for  you  to  iui(lei-M( and  in  that  other  language?  You 
will  be  able  to  do  so,  if  you  make  the  effort.'  'J  his  is  nearlj' 
Mobei-ly's  explanation,  only  that  he  takes  in  another  tongue  as  = 
on  another's  tongue.  Jolinson  would  read  '  in  a  nwlluT  tongue  ' ; 
Staunton,  '  in  'a  mother  tongue.' 

122.  What  imports  .  gentleman.  Mhat  was  the  object  of 
mentioning  that  gfutli'inan. 

124,  5.  His  purse  . .  spent,  his  verbal  exchequer  is  already 
bankrupt  ;  all  his  wealtli  of  line  words  is  e.xhausted ;  cp.  A.  A.  L. 
V.  1.  .39,  40,  "They  have  been  at  a  gi'eat  feast  of  languages,  and 
st<jlen  the  scraps." 

129.  it  would  ...  me,  it  would  not  be  any  great  commendation. 

l.'^l-.3.  I  dare  ...  himself,  "I  daie  not  pretend  to  know  him, 
lest  I  should  pretend  to  an  equ.ality  ;  no  man  can  comidetely 
know  another  but  ))y  knowing  himself,  which  is  the  utmost 
extent  of  human  wisdom  "  (Johnson). 

134.  for  his  weapon,  as  regards  his  skill  in  using  his  weapon. 

134,  .").  in  the  .  unfellowed,  in  the  o])inion  of  j)eople  generally 
his  meiit  has  no  fellow,  (rqiial  ;  meed,  for  mei-it,  as  conversely 
merit  is  used  for  meed  in  A'.  //.  i.  3.  If)!),  "  A  dearer  m<rit,  not  so 
deep  a  maim  ...  Have  I  deserved  at  youi-  highness'  iiands. " 

136.  his  weapon,  the  weapon  he  specially  atlects. 

138.   but,  well,  but  never  mind,  go  on. 


278  HAMI-ET.  [a(;t  v. 

140.  imponed,  staked  ;  Dyce  supposed  this  to  be  Osric's 
affected  proiuuiciatioii  of  '  impawned  '  ;  more  prol)ably  it  is  an 
affected  coinage  from  Lat.  imponere,  to  place  upon. 

141.  assigns,  belongings,  accompaniments. 

14'2.  hangers,  "  under  tliis  term  were  comprehended  four 
graduated  straps  by  which  the  sword  was  attached  to  the  girdle. 
See  Chapman's  Iliad,  xi.  27,  "The  scaberd  was  of  silver-plate, 
with  golden  haiii/eis  grac'd  "  (Steevens)  :  carriag'es,  the  hangers, 
as  he  afterwards  explains. 

143.  dear  to  fancy,  artistic  in  their  character:  very  ...  hilts, 
thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the  hilts. 

144.  liberal  conceit,  "  elaborate  design  "  (CI.  Pr.  Edd.). 

146,  7.  I  knew  ..  done,  I  knew  that  a  commentary  would  be 
necessary  before  the  whole  description  could  be  understood : 
margent,  the  only  form  used  by  Shakespeare.  Furness  points 
out  tliat  in  old  books  explanatory  comments  were  printed  in  tiie 
margin.  Cp.  li.  J.  i.  3.  86,  "And  what  obscured  in  this  fair 
volume  lies  Find  written  in  the  manjent  of  his  eyes." 

149.  german,  akin,  relative  :  Lat.  fjermaniift,  fully  akin,  said 
of  brothei's  and  sisters  having  the  same  parents. 

150,  1.  I  would  ..  then,  till  we  take  to  carrying  cannon  at  our 
sides,  I  should  prefer  the  word  '  hangers. ' 

156,  7.  he  shall ...  nine.  A  'pass,'  in  fencing,  is  usually  a 
single  tlirust ;  here  the  word  seems  equivalent  to  bout,  rally, 
excliange  of  passes,  however  man\',  as  in  T.  X.  iii.  4.  102  (cp. 
below,  1.  254,  "Or  rpiit  in  answer  of  the  third  exchange") ;  and 
while  Laertes  wagers  that  in  the  twelve  exchanges  he  will  hit 
Handet  twelve  times  to  his  nine,  the  king  wagers  that  the  ratio 
will  not  be  more  than  twelve  to  ten,  i.e.  will  not  exceed  Handet's 
hits  by  three. 

157,  8.  and  it  ..  answer,  and  the  matter  might  be  settled  at 
once  if  you  would  condescend  to  meet  him  in  combat  ;  cp.  7'.  C 
1.  3.  332,  "  And  wake  him  to  the  answer,  think  j^ou  ?  " 

163.  the  breathing  .  me.  the  time  at  which  I  usually  take  rny 
exercise. 

164.  the  gentleman  willing,  if  the  gentleman  l)e  willing. 

165.  will  gain,  on  the  use  of  icill  when  we  should  use  .s//a//,  see 
Abb.  §  319. 

167.  re-deliver  you,  return  this  as  your  answer. 

168.  after  ...  will,  so  long  as  you  give  that  as  my  answer  in 
effect,  I  do  not  care  in  what  affected  language  you  give  it. 

170.  I  commend  ...  lordship,  I  hunddy  offer  my  services,  etc.  ; 
a  complimentary  form  of  taking  leave, 


SCENE  II.]  NOTES.  279 

171.  Yours,  yours,  said  impatiently,  your  humble  .'servant  to 
coniiiuuul. 

172,  'A.  there  are  ..  turn,  tlieie  are  no  other  tongues  than  his 
own  that  would  serve  his  turn  in  that  matter,  sc  in  coinuuniling 
him. 

174,  5.  This  lapwing. .  head,  this  fellow  is  off  on  his  errand  to  tell 
tlie  king  of  iiis  success  in  as  great  a  hurry  as  the  lapMing,  \\1ki  when 
liatciied  is  said  to  be  in  such  a  hurry  to  see  the  world  that  it 
runs  off  witii  part  of  its  .shell  adliering  to  it.  Steevens  ((uotes 
(ireene's  Serer  Too  La/r,  1616,  "Are  you  no  sooner  hatched, 
with  the  lapwing,  but  you  will  run  away  with  tlie  shell  on  your 
head  ? " 

176.  He  did...  it,  he  is  such  a  born  courtier  that  we  maybe 
sure  that  he  e.vcused  himself  to  hi.s  mother's  breast  before  he 
sucked  it  for  the  liberty  he  w  as  about  to  take.  Caldecott  com- 
pares Fulwel's  ^rte  of  Flatteric,  lo79,  "Flatterie  hath  taken  such 
habit  in  man's  affections,  that  it  is  in  moste  men  altera  natuia  ; 
yea,  the  very  sucking  babes  hath  a  kind  of  adulation  towards  their 
nur-ses  for  the  dugge. "  For  comply,  be  ceremonious,  foinial,  cp. 
ii.  2.  35 1,  above. 

177.  hevy,  biood,  flock  ;  the  word  was  especially  used  of  larks 
and  quails  ;  and,  aa  (Irant  White  observes,  is  a  more  character- 
istic classilication  of  O.-jiic,  who  has  just  been  called  a  lapwing, 
than  the  (juarto  reading,  breed. 

178.  the  drossy  age,  this  age  which  is  the  mere  scum  of  better 
days. 

17f>,  9.  got  the  tune  ...  encounter,  caught  the  note  of  the 
times  and  leai'iit  that  veneer  of  courtesy  wliich  is  now  so  inuch 
admired. 

179-Sl.  a  kind  ...  opinions,  a  kind  of  frotliy  talk,  gathered  here 
and  there,  which  carries  them  safe  thiough  e\en  the  most  care- 
fully sifted  opinions,  i.e.  which  makes  them  look  like  good  grain 
even  to  those  who  most  carefully  sift  theii'  opinions  before  adopt- 
ing them  ;  fanned  is  \Varl)uitf)n's  emendation  for  fond,  wliich 
manj' editors  retain  with  the  sense  of  'alike  through  the  most 
fofdi.shand  the  wisest  opinions,'  or  'alike  tlii-oiigli  the  most  fondly 
cherished  and  the  mf)st  choice  opinions.'  Nictiolson  conjectures 
tniw.wed,  i.e.  nmsty,  mouldy.  C"p.  7'.  <J.  i.  3.  27,  >S,  "Distinction, 
with  a  broad  and  powerful  fan,  Puffing  at  all,  winnows  the  liglit 
away." 

181,  '2.  and  do  ...  out,  and  yet  you  lia\e  only  to  test  tin  in  by 
blowing,  and  the  bubbles  burst  in  a  moment ;  the  figure  of 
winnowing  seems  to  be  carried  on  in  blow,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  is  mi.xed  up  with  that  of  blowing  soap-bubbles. 

183,  o.  commended    ..  hall,   young  Osric,    by  whom  the  king 


280  HAMLET.  [act  v. 

sent  yo)i  his  inessage.  hrings  hack  word  that  you  are  awaiting 
hiiM  in  tlie  hall :  to  play  with,  to  fence  with  ;  to  ///ay  was  a  tech- 
nical term  in  fentung,  and  to  '  play  a  prize  '  (as  in  7'.  ^-1.  i.  1.  .S90) 
was  to  contend  for  prizes  in  a  competition  in  which  degrees  of 
Master,  Prov'ost,  and  Scholar,  were  conferred  for  proficiency  in 
the  art. 

1S().  will  ..  time,  wish  to  put  oft'  the  meeting  till  you  have  had 
fartiier  time  for  practice. 

1S7,  8.  they  follow  ...  pleasure,  my  inclinations  attend  upon 
tlie  king's  will  in  the  matter. 

188.  if...  ready,  if  the  time  seems  to  him  a  fitting  one,  I  am 
ready. 

189.  so  able,  in  as  good  condition  for  the  contest. 

191.  In  happy  time,  they  come  at  the  right  moment,  i.f.  I  am 
glad  to  see  them  ;  the  French,  a  la  bonne  heure. 

192.  gentle  entertainment,  conciliatory  manner  and  speech. 

197.  at  the  odds,  with  the  odds  that  have  been  allowed  me  ; 
see  11.  1.^,1-7. 

198.  thou  ...  think,  j'ou  can  lla^e  no  idea. 

201.  foolery,  a  mere  silly  feeling  :  gain  giving,  misgiving  ;  this 
gain-  in  compo.sition,  as  in  i/ninsai/,  is  the  A..S.  <je'jii,  against,  and 
thiis  gain-giving  is  something  that  gives  against  (in  the  sense  in 
which  we  speak  of  a  road,  door,  etc.,  giving  in  some  direction), 
goes  against  the  heart. 

203.  ohey  it,  sr.  the  prompting  of  your  heart :  forestal,  anti- 
cipate, and  so  prevent ;  see  note  on  iii.  3.  49. 

204.  repair,  coming  ;  see  note  on  i.  1.  57. 

20.5.  we  defy  augury,  I  pay  no  heed  to  presentiments. 

206-8.  If  it  be  will  come,  if  one's  fate  is  to  come  now,  there 
will  be  nothing  to  fear  in  the  future  ;  if  it  be  not  awaiting  one  in 
the  future,  it  will  come  now  ;  if  it  does  not  come  now,  it  will 
come  sooner  or  later:  the  readiness  is  all,  everything  depends 
upon  being  ready  to  go  when  death  summons;   cp.  Lear,  v.  2.  11. 

208,  9.  since  no  man  ..  betimes,  since  no  man  can  carry  with 
him  to  the  grave  anything  that  is  his.  why  should  we  grieve 
at  leaving  it  when  young?  Cp.  i.  Timothy,  vi.  7,  "For  we 
brouglit  nothing  into  this  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can  carry 
nothing  out,"  which  is  part  of  the  Burial  Service  in  the  Church 
of  England. 

210.  take  ..me,  let  me  make  friends  between  you  by  placing 
his  hand  in  yours. 

212.  as  you  are  a  gentleman,  as  a  gentleman  like  you  should 
do. 


scENK  II.]  NOTE.S.  281 

'2\'A.  This  presence,  all  this  noMe  cDiiipany;  used  in  this  phiase 
of  persons  of  iii;^li  rank. 

214.   punish  d,  aflliotcil. 

21G,  7.  That  might  ...  awake,  that  was  cakiilalcd  to  cxasporatc 
your  iiatitial  fioliiigs,  your  instincts  of  honour,  and  your 
resentment  of  discourtesy  ;  for  exception,  cp.  A.  W.  i.  2.  -JO, 
"his  honour  ...  knew  the  true  minute  when  Exception  bid  iiiiu 
speak.' 

21 '.t.  If  Hamlet,  away,  if  the  real  Hamlet,  the  genuine  nature 
of  the  man,  he  ahsont  from  iiim.self. 

221.  denies  it,  abjures  it  as  his  own  action. 

22.1.  is  of  the  faction,  is  among  tho.se  who  are,  etc. 

22f!-ti.  Let  my  ...  brother,  let  n)y  disavowal  of  having  inten- 
tionally done  you  wrong  so  far  obtain  pardon  of  your  natural 
nobility  of  heart  as  to  make  it  understand  that  in  shooting  my 
arrow  over  the  luuise,  I  have  by  my  carelessness  wounded  one 
as  dear  to  me  as  a  brother  ;  o'er  the  house,  as  a  bfiy  might  do, 
though  nothing  was  farther  from  liis  tlioiiglits  than  that  of 
woinuling  any  one  about  it. 

220.   in  nature,  so  far  as  my  natural  feelings  are  concerned. 
2.30,  1.   Whose  motive  ...  revenge,    though   in   this   case   those 
natm-al  feelings  would  strongly  incite  me  to  demand  revenge. 

2.'?1.  in  my  honour,  in  the  matter  of  my  honour  ;  cy).  ^1/.  I", 
ii.  1.  1.'!,  "In  'i  rms  of  (■iif)ice  I  am  not  solely  led  l^y  nice 
direction  of  a  maiden's  eye,"  in  both  cases  little  moic  than  a 
periphrasis. 

2;V2.  I  stand  aloof,  I  hold  myself  at  a  distance  from  you,  am 
not  ready  to  accept  your  apology  :  will  no  reconcilement,  refuse 
all  reconciliation. 

2.33.  some  elder  masters,  some  '  past  masters  '  in  the  etiquette 
of  such  matteis. 

2.'U.  I  have  ...peace,  I  receive  an  authoritative  opinion  liased 
upon  precedents  in  such  matters,  that  I  may  make  peace  w  ith 
you. 

235.  ungored.  unwounded  by  the  sarcasms  of  those  who  would 
othei'wise  t\\  it  me  with  having  been  glad  to  shirk  the  combat  ; 
cp.   7'.  ('.  iii.  3.  22S,  "  My  fame  is  shrewdly  f/ordl." 

23."),  6.  But  ..  love,  l)ut  for  the  meantime  I  accept  your  proffer 
of  love  as  Vicing  what  it  pi'ofesses  to  be. 

237.  wrong  it,  sr.  by  doubting  it  :  I  embrace  it  freely,  I  readily 
take  you  at  your  word. 

2.3H.  And  will  .  .  play,  and  will  with  all  the  openness  of  friend- 
ship engage  with  yriu  in  this  brotherly  combat. 

240-2.   I'll  be      indeed,   I  11   act  as   your   foil,    my   ignorance 


282  HAiVLET.  [act  v. 

setting  off"  your  skill,  as  the  darkness  of  night  sets  off"the  brilliancy 
of  a  star  ;  Hamlet  t^ikes  up  the  Mord  foil  and  uses  it  in  the  sense 
of  tlie  tinsel  placed  under  gems  in  rings,  etc.,  to  adil  to  their 
brilliancy  ;  in  this  sense  from  Lat.  folium,  a  leaf  ;  Stick  fiery  off, 
stand  out  with  additional  brilliancy  from  the  contrast. 

246.  Your  grace  ..  side,  your  grace  by  wagering  on  the  weaker 
side  has  laid  the  odds.  As  the  odds  are  laid  on  the  better  horse, 
etc.,  the  king  in  backing  the  less  skilful  combatant  may  be  said  to 
have  laid  the  odds,  instead  of  taking  them  (notwithstanding  that 
Laertes  was,  in  order  to  win,  to  hit  Hamlet  twelve  times  to  his 
nine),  if  Hamlet,  who  knew  the  terms  of  the  wager,  means 
that  the  points  to  be  conceded  hy  Laertes  were  not  sufficient  to 
put  tliem  on  an  equality.  But  '  laid  the  odds  '  may  mean  nothing 
more  than  'wagered."  It  is  very  improbable  in  view  of  the 
meaning  in- which  tlie  word  is  used  in  1.  248,  and  throughout, 
that  odds  should  here  refer  to  the  greater  value  of  the  "king's 
stake  ;  and  llitson's  calculation  that  the  value  of  the  six  Barbary 
horses  as  compared  with  the  rapiers,  etc.,  was  as  twenty  to  one, 
must  be  an  imaginarj'  one. 

'2IS.  But  since  ...  odds,  but  since  he  is  your  superior  in  fencing 
we  have  received  odds  as  to  the  numljer  of  hits  in  order  to  make 
the  wager  an  e(iual  one. 

2"0,  have  all  a  length,  are  all  of  one  length  ;  sec  Abb.  §  SI. 

2o4.  or  quit,  ...  exchange,  or,  at  the  tlnrd  exchange  of  passes, 
should  reipiite  him  liy  delivering  a  hit. 

255.  ordnance,  cannon  ;  "  the  same  word  as  ordinance,  Mdiich 
is  the  old  spelling.  ...  It  originally  meant  the  bore  or  aize  of  the 
cannon,  and  was  thence  tran.sferred  to  the  cannon  itself  "  (Skeat, 
Efij.  Diet.). 

256.  drink  ...  breath,  drink  to  him  as  wishing  him  breath  to 
last  out  the  comliat  ;  ep.  1.  272,  below. 

257.  an  union,  "Mr,  King,  Natural  Hi»t.  of  Precious  Stonex, 
says  ;  '  As  no  two  pearls  m  ere  ever  found  exactlj'  alike,  this  cir- 
cumstance gave  origin  to  the  name  "  unio  ""  (unique).  But  in  Lom" 
Lat.  "  Maigarita  (um), "  and  "  perla  "'  became  a  generic  name, 
"unio"  being  restricted  to  tine  spherical  specimens'"  (CI.  Pr. 
Edd.). 

260.  kettle,  kettledrum  ;  see  note  on  i.  4.  11  :  speak,  give  the 
signal. 

262.  the  heavens  to  earth,  i.e.  by  reechoing  the  sound  to  the 
earth. 

264.  wary,  watchful,  so  as  to  make  no  mistake  about  the  hits. 

265.  Judgement,  i.e.  I  call  upon  the  umpire  to  decide. 

267.  this  pearl  is  thine,  "  under  the  pretence  of  throwing  a 


scENKu.l  NOTES.  283 

'  po.irl '  into  the  oiip,  the  kiiijj;  may  he  sup[iose(l  to  drop  some 
poisonous  fliug  into  the  wine  "...  (Steevens). 

271.  A  toucli,  a  tonch,  but  so  slight  as  not  to  count  for  a  liit. 

•27*2.   shall,  is  certain  to. 

•J73.  napkin,  liamlkcrchief  ;  the  ordinarj-  sense  of  the  word  in 
those  days. 

•27S.  by  and  by.  presently  :  dare  not,  i.e.  because  it  would  ex- 
cite him  ton  much. 

2S1 .  And  yet . . .  conscience,  sc  to  do  so  with  my  poisoned  rapier. 

•?S'2.  dally,  are  but  playing  with  me  ;  are  not  in  earnest  in  your 
attempts  to  hit  me. 

284.  afeard  . . .  me,  treat  me  as  something  too  delicate,  tender, 
to  be  made  the  mark  of  your  skill. 

286.  neither,  we  should  now  say  'either.' 

2S7.  Have  at  you  now  1  Laertes,  now  really  irritated  at  being 
foiled,  is  determined  to  use  all  his  skill. 

.St.vgk  Dirkction'.  scufBing,  how  the  exchange  of  rapiers  takes 
place  is  much  disputed. 

287.  they  are  incensed,  their  blood  is  up,  and  they  will  iioy.% 
if  not  stoppe  1.  fight  in  real  earnest. 

288.  come  again,  return  to  the  struggle. 

291.  as  a  ..  springe.  " 'J'liis  bird  [the  woodcock]  is  trained 
to  decoy  other  birds,  and  sometimes,  while  strutting  in- 
cautiou.sly  too  near  the  springe,  it  Ijecomes  itself  entangled  "' 
(F.  J.  v.,  .\ofi:-s  and  Queriea,  8  Aug.  1874);  cp.  Mar.ston,  'J'he 
Malcoiit(:>i(,  ii.  1.1,  "  He  's  caught,  The  woodcock's  head  is  i'  tiie 
noose. " 

292.  with,  by,  as  a  result  of. 

20.3.  She  swounds  .  bleed,  she  swoons,  faints,  at  the  sight  of 
their  Ijlood. 

302.  the  foul  practice,  my  treacherous  plot. 

.so:}.  Hath.,   me,  cp.  iii.  4.  190,  200. 

.311.  thy  union,  the  pearl  you  spoke  of;  perhaps  with  a  ])lay 
upf»u  the  woid  in  it.s  ordinary  sense  in  icfcience  to  Iiis  union 
in  deatli  witli  tiie  (jueeii. 

.312.  He  ...  served,  the  retribution  that  ha.s  fallen  upon  him  is 
a  just  one. 

.31.3.  temper'd,  compounded  ;  cp.  Cymh.  v.  /).  250. 

.31.").  Mine  ..  thee,  may  not  the  guilt  of  my  death  and  my 
father's  rest  upon  you  I 

319.  chance,  mischance. 


284  HAMLET.  [ACT  V. 

320.  That  are  ...  act,  avIio  have  had  no  pnit  in  this  catastrophe, 
l)ut  are  only  as  (hnnb  spectators  at  a  play. 

321,  2.  as  this  ...  a,rrest,  which  I  have  not,  for  this  cruel  Ser- 
jeant, death,  allows  neither  escape  nor  delay  when  he  has  once 
laid  his  hand  upon  your  shoulder  ;  cp.  //.  V.  iv.  1.  178.  "  war  is 
his  beadle"  :  K.  J.  ii.  1.  ISS,  "Her  injury  the  beadle  to  her 
sin  "  ;  and  Sonn.  Ixxii.  1 .  2. 

324,  5.  report . . .  unsatisfied,  explain  to  those  who  shall  blame  my 
action  M'hat  good  cause  I  had  for  it:  it,  sc.  that  I  will  outlive  yon. 

32(5.  an  antique  Roman,  one  who,  like  the  Romans  of  old, 
would  choose  death  rather  than  a  life  which  would  l)e  a  disgrace, 
i.e.  in  survi\'ing  so  noble  a  friend. 

330.  Things  ..me,  unless  the  real  facts  are  made  known,  my 
name  will  live  behind  me  stained  with  guilt.  8taunt(jn  com- 
pares M.  A.  iii.  110,  "  No  glory  lives  behind  the  back  of  such." 

332.  Absent . . .  awhile,  forgo  for  a  time  the  joys  of  heaven. 

33fi,  7.  gives   ..  volley,  fires  this  salute. 

33S.  o'ercrows,  triumphs  over  ;  as  a  cock  crows  over  a  beaten 
antagonist. 

340.  the  election  lights,  the  choice  of  king  will  fall. 

342.  3,  with  the  ...  solicited,  together  with  the  events,  great 
and  small,  which  ha\e  incited  me  to  what  T  have  done  ;  cp. 
R.  II.  i.  2.  2,  "  Alas,  the  part  I  had  in  Woodstock's  blood  Doth 
more  solicit  me  than  your  exclaims." 

345.  And  flights  . . .  rest,  and  may  angels  accompany  your  soul 
in  its  flight  to  heaven,  and,  etc. 

348.  cease  your  search,  i.e.  you  need  not  go  further,  for  woe 
and  subject  of  wonder  are  present  here  in  abundance. 

349.  This  ...  havoc,  ''this  pile  of  corpses  urges  to  merciless 
slaughter  where  no  quarter  is  given  "...  (CI.  Pr.  Edd. ).  For 
cries  on,  cp.  Ofh.  v.  1.  48,  "whose  noise  is  this  that  cries  on 
nnirder?"  R.  III.  v.  3.  231,  'Came  to  my  tent  and  cried  on 
victory." 

350.  is  toward,  is  in  preparation;  cp.  A.  C.  ii.  6.  75,  "four 
feasts  are  toirard." 

351.  at  a  shot,  witli  one  shot. 

353.  our  affairs,  the  narration  of  what  occurred  in  England  in 
our  embassy. 

355.   To  tell,  in  telling. 

357.  Where  ...  thanks  ?  liy  whom  may  we  expect  to  be  thanked 
for  our  trouble  ?  his,  S'-.  the  king's. 

.360.  jump,  so  exactl}'^  at  the  moment;  see  i.  1.  65:  bloody 
question,  bloody  occurrences. 


SCENE  11. 1  NOTES.  285 

362.  give  order,  said  to  one  of  the  attendants. 

3fi.S.  stage,  nii.scd  platform. 

3t)().   carnal,  ivfening  to  tlie  marriage  of  the  king  and  qneen. 

.StiT.   Of  accidental  ...  slaughters,  *c.  Polonius's  deatli. 

3HS.  Of  deaths  ..  cause,  of  (Uatiis  instigated  l)y,  and  so  result- 
ing from  cunning  and  tlie  foix-e  of  cin-unistances  :  the  cunning 
rtiis  that  Nvhich  Rosencrantz  and  (iuiklenstern  ein))h)yed  at  tlie 
king's  bi(hling  to  bring  about  Handefs  death  ;  the  forced  cause, 
the  circumstances  in  which  Hamlet  was  thus  placed,  and  which 
forced  him  to  send  Rosencrantz  and  (Uiildcnstcrn  to  their  death. 

361).  upshot,  conclusion  :  purposes  mistook,  plots  clumsily 
executed,  as  in  the  murder  of  Hamlet. 

370.  Fall'n  ...  heads,  recoiling  upon  tJicir  inventors. 

371.  deliver,  naiiate. 

373.  embrace  my  fortune,  i.t.  accession  to  the  lliiom . 

374.  5.  I  have  ..me,  I  have  some  rights  in  this  kingdom  which 
still  live  in  the  ieineml)rance  of  men,  and  which  the  ciiiuni- 
stiinces  so  favourable  to  my  claim  l)id  me  assert  ;  for  of  memory, 
cp.  Ttm/i.  ii.   1.  233,  "  Who  shall  be  o/rt.s  li'tlr  memory." 

377.  And  from  . . .  more,  and  the  words  I  shall  have  to  speak 
will  come  from  him  (.sr.  Handet)  whose  wish  thus  signified  will 
find  an  echo  in  the  voices  of  others. 

378.  this  same,  i.e.  the  placing  of  the  bodies  on  the  raised  plat- 
form :  presently,  witliout  delay. 

37SI,  80.  Even  ...  happen,  without  waiting  for  men's  minds  to 
grow  calm,  lest  in  the  interval,  while  they  are  still  e.xcited,  other 
calamities,  due  to  intention  or  mistake,  be  added  to  tlie  present 
ones. 

352.  had  he  . . .  on,  had  circumstances  occurred  to  prompt  him 
to  action. 

353.  To  have  .  royally,  to  have  shown  himself  worthy  of  his 
royal  descent. 

384.  rites  of  war,  the  lii-ing  of  cannon,  etc. 

.387.   Becomes  the  field,  is  suitable  to  the  field  of  battle. 

Stack  Diiiection.  .1  dead  march,  music  such  as  accompanies 
the  funeral  of  a  soldier. 

Additional  Note  to  i.  .^.  21,  2. 

"To  blazon,"  .siiys  (inillin,  "is  to  express  what  the  shapes, 
kinds,  and  colours  of  things  liorn  in  Amies  are,  together  with 
their  apt  significations."  To  p(jurtraj'  armorial  hearings  in 
col(jur  is  to  'displaj''  or  to  'limn'  arms:  to  draw  them  with- 
out colour  is  to  '  trick  '  them  (Sir  H.  Max^\ell  in  Kd.  L'l  i\,  .luly, 
19()')).''  So  Addison,  '  to  explain  in  proper  terms  the  figures  on 
ensigns  armorial.' 


INDEX   TO   NOTES. 


Abridgement,  ii.  2.  398. 
Absolute,    V.     1.     127;     v. 

103. 
Abstracts,  ii.  2.  499. 
Absurd,  i.  2.  103. 
Abiused,  i.  5.  38. 
Act,  i.  3.  60. 

Addition,  i    4.  20;  ii.  1.  47- 
Address,  i.  2.  216. 
Admiration,  i.  2.  192. 
Advancement,  iii.  2.  52. 
Aery,  ii.  2.  324. 
Affection,  ii.  2.  420. 
Affront,  iii.  1.  31. 
All  we,  ii.  2.  151. 
Amiss  (sb. ),  iv.  5.  18. 
Anchor,  =  hermit,  iii.  2.  213. 
Angle  (sb.),  v.  2.  66. 
Antic,  i.  5.  172. 
Apoplex'd,  iii.  4.  73. 
Approve,  i.  1.  29. 
Appurtenance,  ii.  2.  350. 
Argal,  V.  1.  12. 
Argument,  iii.  2.  135,  226. 
Arrant,  iii.  1.  128. 
Arras,  ii.  2.  163. 
Artery,  i.  4.  82. 
Article,  v.  2.  112. 
As'es,  v.  2.  43. 
Assay,  iii.  1.  14. 
Assaj's,  ii.  1.  63." 
Assigns,  V.  2.  141. 
Attribute,  i.  4.  22. 
Auspicious,  i.  2.  11. 


B 

Bark'd,  i.  5.  73. 

Batten,  iii.  4.  67. 

Beaver,  i.  2.  228. 

Beautified,  ii.  2.  109. 

Bed-rid,  i.  2.  29. 

Beetles  (vb.),  i.  4.  71. 

Bent  (sb.),  ii.  2.  30. 

Berattle,  ii.  2.  326. 

Bespeak,  ii.  2.  140. 

Beteem,  i.  2.  141. 

Bevy,  V.  2.  177. 

Bias,  ii.  1.  63. 

Bilboes,  v.  2.  6. 

Bisson,  ii.  2.  482. 

Blank  (sb.),  iv.  I.  42. 

Blastments,  i.  3.  42. 

Blazon,  i.  5.  21. 

Bloat,  iii.  4.  177. 

Bodkin,  iii.  1.  76. 

Bodykins,  ii.  2.  503. 

Borne  in  hand,  ii.  2.  67. 

Bourn,  iii.  1.  79. 

Bravery,  v.  2.  79. 

Brooch,  iv.  7.  93. 

Brow  of  woe,  i.  2.  4. 

Bruit,  i.  ■?.  127. 

Bulk,  ii.  1.  93. 

Button,  ii.  2.  22-'). 

Buttons,  i.  3.  39. 

By  'r  lady,  ii.  2.  402 ;  iii.  2.  1 17- 

C 

Canker,  i.  3.  39 
Canon,  i.  2.  132. 


286 


INDFA  TO  NOTES. 


28; 


Canonized,  i.  4.  47. 
Canopy,  ii.  2.  '289. 
Capable,  iii.  4.  124. 
Capa-pe,  i.  2.  200. 
Card,  V.  1.  128. 
Carrion,  ii.  2.  182. 
Carry  it  away,  ii.  2.  'Ml 
Cataplasm,  iv.  7.   M"^. 
Cautel,  i.  3.  15. 
Caviare,  ii.  2.  413. 
Censure,  i.  3.  69. 
Cerements,  i.  4.  48. 
Chalice,  iv.  7.  160. 
Chameleon,  iii.  2.  88. 
Chance,  v.  2.  319. 
Changeling,  v.  2.  a.S. 
Chanson,  ii.  2.  397. 
Chap-fallen,  v.  1.  179. 
Character  (vb.),  1.  3.  59. 
Charge,  v.  2.  43. 
Chariest,  i.  3.  36. 
Checking  at,  iv.  7.  62. 
Cheer,  i.  2.  116. 
Chopine,  ii.  2.  404. 
Chough,  V.  2.  87. 
Cicatrice,  iv.  3.  59. 
Circumstance,  iii.  1. 1 ;  iii 
Clepe,  i.  4.  19. 
Cliniiitures,  i.  1.  125. 
Cockle  hat,  iv.  5.  2.'). 
Coil,  iii.  1.  67. 
CoUeagued,  i.  2.  21. 
Colour,  ii.  2.  272, 
Companies,  ii.  2.  14. 
Compass,  iii.  2.  351. 
Competent,  i.  1.  90. 
Complexion,  v.  2   96. 
Comply,  ii.  2.  351  ;  v.  2    176. 
Compost,  iii.  4.  148. 
Concernancy,  v.  2.  117. 
Condolement,  i.  2.  93. 
Confine,  i.  1.  155;  ii.  2.  2.38. 
Conjunctive,  iv.  7.   14. 
Conse(juence,  ii.  1    4."). 
Consonancy,  ii.  2.  275. 
Contagion,  iii.  2.  .373 ;  iv.  7.  147. 
(Jontagious,  i.  3.  42. 
Continent,  iv.  4.  65  ;  v.  2.  106, 


3.  83. 


Conversation,  iii.  2.  50. 
Contraction,  iii.  4.  46. 
Convoy,  i.  3.  3. 
Coted,  ii.  2.  304. 
Countenance,  i.  3.  113. 
Counter,  iv.  5.  93. 
Counterfeit,  iii.  4.  54. 
Cousin,  i.  2.  64. 
Couplets,  V.  1.  273. 
Cozenage,  v.  2.  67. 
Cozened,  iii.  4.  77. 
Cracked  within  the  ring,  ii.  2. 

405. 
Crants,  v.  1.  218. 
Craven,  iv.  4.  40. 
Credent,  i.  3.  30. 
Creatures,  iii.  1.  144. 
Cried  on  the  toj),  ii.  2.  415. 
Cue,  ii.  2.  532. 
Cuff's,  went  to.  ii.  2.  .338. 
Curb,  iii.  4.  132. 

D 

Damon,  iii.  2.  270. 
Danskers,  ii.  1 .  7. 
Dead  hour,  i.  1.  65. 
Debate,  iv.  4.  26. 
Dej)rive,  i.  4.  73. 
Dexterity,  i.  2.  157. 
Disappointed,  i.  5.  77. 
Disasters,  i.  1.  118. 
Difference,  iv.  5.  162. 
Dirge,  i.  2.  12. 
Disclose  (sb.),  iii.  1.  166. 
Discourse  of  reason,  i.  2.  150. 
Discovei'y,  ii.  2.  2S4. 
Dispatch 'd,  i.  5.  75. 
Distemper,  ii.  2.  55. 
Diwtempered,  iii.  2.  288. 
DistillM.  i.  2.  204. 
Dix'iiment,  iv.  5.  158. 
Dole,  i.  2.  1.3. 
Doomsday,  i.  1.  120. 
Doublet,  ii.  1.  76. 
Dout,  i.  4.  37. 
Down-gyved,  ii.  1    78. 
Dram,  i.  4.  'Mi. 
Drift,  ii.  I.  10:  iii.  1.  1. 


288 


HAMLET. 


E 

Eager,  i.  4.  2 ;  i,  5.  69. 
Ecstasy,  ii.  1.  100. 
Eisel,  V.  1.  262. 
Eacompassmeiit,  ii.  1.  10. 
Encuiiiber'd,  i.  5.  174. 
Entertainment,  ii.  2.  WS. 
Erring,  i.  1.   154. 
Escoted,  ii.  2.  3.30. 
Espials,  iii.  1.  32. 
Even,  =  fellow,  v.  1.  27. 
Excrements,  iii.  4.  118. 
Exercises,  ii.  2.  286. 
Expostulate,  ii.  2.  86. 
Express,  ii.  2.  324. 
Extravagant,  i.   1.   ir)4. 
Eyases,  ii.  2.  324. 

F 

Faded,  i.  1.  157. 

Fain,  ii.  2.  131. 

Falling-off,  i.  5.  47. 

Fanned,  v.  2.  180. 

Fantasy,  i.  1.  23. 

Favour,  v.  1.  181. 

Fay,  ii.  2.  256. 

Feature,  iii.  1.  l,5*l 

Fee,  i.  4.  65. 

Fellies,  ii.  2.  471. 

Fencing,  ii.  1.  25. 

Fetch,  ii.  1.  38. 

Figure,  ii.  2.  98. 

Flats,  iv.  5.  83. 

Flushing,  i.  2.  155. 

Fordoes,  ii.  1.  101. 

Forestall,  iii.  3.  49. 

For  to,  iii.  1.  167  ;  v.  1.  89. 

Flourishes,  ii.  2.  91. 

Frame,  i.  2.  20. 

Fret,  iii.  2.  354. 

Fretted,  ii.  2.  290. 

Friending,  i.  5.  186. 

Fruit,  ii.  2.  52. 

Funeral     baked    meats,     i. 

180. 
Fust,  iv.  4.  39. 


r; 


Gain-giving,  v.  2.  201. 
Gait,  i.  2.  31. 
Gai-bage,  i.  5.  57. 
Gender,  iv.  7.  IS. 
General,  ii.  2.  414. 
Gentry,  ii.  2.  22. 
German,  v.  2.  14!\ 
Gil),  iii.  4.  183. 
(idobe,  =  head,  i.  5.  97. 
(iod-a-mercy,  ii.  2.  172 
Goodman,  v.  1.  13. 
Gorge,  v.  1.  175. 
Grained,  iii.  4.  90. 
Grapple,  i.  3.  60. 
Grating,  iii.  1.  3. 
Greenly,  iv.  5.  66. 
Grizzled,  i.  2.  23S. 
Gross,  i.  1.  69. 
Groundlings,  iii.  2.  10. 
Gules,  ii.  2.  433. 
Gum,  ii.  2.  197. 

H 

Hail,  i.  2.  160. 
Handsaw,  ii.  2.  357. 
Hangers,  v.  2.  142. 
Happily,  i.  1.  134. 
Harbingers,  i.  1.  122. 
Harrows,  i.  1.  44  :  i.  5.  16. 
Harping,  ii.  2.  18(;. 
Hatchment,  iv.  5.  192. 
Hautboys,  iii.  2.  121. 
Havoc,  v.  2.  349. 
Head,  iv.  5.  84. 
Heavy-headed,  i.  4.  17. 
Hebenon,  i.  5.  02. 
Hectic,  iv.  3.  65. 
Hent,  iii.  3.  88. 
Heyday,  iii.  4.  69. 
Holiby-horse,  iii.  2.  119. 
Hoops,  i.  3.  63. 
Hugger-mugger,  iv.  5.  67. 
Husbandry,  i.  3.  77. 
Hyrcanian,  ii.  2.  426. 
Hyperion,  i.  2.  140  :  iii.  4.  56 


INDKX    lO  NOTES. 


289 


Image,  i.  ].  S]. 
Inipait,  i.  2.  ill'. 
Impasted,  ii.  2.  435. 
Imponed,  v.  2.  140. 
Importing,  i.  2.  23. 
Imposthume,  iv.  4.  27. 
Iinptess,  i.  1.  75. 
Incestuous,  i.  2.  157. 
Incorrect,  i.  2.  95. 
Indentures,  v.  1.  101. 
Index,  iii.  4.  52. 
Inditl'erent,  iii.  1.  122. 
Indirections,  ii.  1.  (54. 
Inheritor,  v.  1.  103. 
Inhil)ition,  ii.  2.  317. 
Innovation,  ii.  2.  31S. 
luistrumental,  i.  2.  4S. 
Inurn'd,  i.  4.  49. 
Investments,  i.  3.  128. 
It,  =  its.  i.  2.  21 G. 

J 

.Tephthah,  ii.  2.  .381. 
.lig,  ii.  2.  47G. 
■lulin-a-dreanis,  ii.  2.  540. 
.loint,  out  of,  i.  5.  189. 
.Jointress,  i.  2.  9. 
Journeymen,  iii.  2.  30. 
Jowls,  V.  1.  72. 
Jump,  i.  1.  65  ;  v.  2.  .360. 


Kettle,  V.    1.  131. 
Kettle-drum.  i.  4.  11. 
Kil.e,  V.  2.  200. 


Lapwing,  v.  2.  174. 
r^irded,  iv.  5.  37  ;  v.  1.  20. 
Lenten,  ii.  2.  30:1. 
Lief,  iii.  2.  3. 
Liegemen,  i.  1.  15. 
Liglitneas,  ii.  2.  149. 
Limed,  iii.  3.  6S. 


List  (vl).),  i.  3.  .W  :  i.  5.  177. 
Lists,  i.  2.  .32. 
Loam,  V.  1.  196. 
Lobby,  ii.  2.  161. 
Loggats,  V.  1.  85. 
Luxury,  i.  5.  83. 

M 

Machine,  ii.  2.  123. 
Mallecho,  iii.  2.  1.34. 
Margeut,  v.  2.  147. 
Marry,  i.  3.  90. 
Mass,  ii.  1.  50. 
Matin,  i.  5.  89. 
Mazzard,  v.  1.  83. 
Meditation,  i.  5.  30, 
Merely,  i.  2.  137. 
Mess,  v.  2.  86. 
Mettle,  i.  1.  96. 
M  idling,  iii.  2.  134. 
Milch,  ii.  2.  493. 
Mineral,  iv.  1.  26. 
Mobled,  ii.  2.  478. 
Moiety,  i.  1.  90: 
Moist  star,  i.  1.  118. 
Moment,  i.  3.  133  ;  iii.  1.  80. 
Mope,  iii.  4.  81. 
Mortised,  iii.  3.  20. 
Mote,  i.  1.  112. 
Motion,  i.  2.  216  ;  iii.  4.  72. 
Moult,  ii.  2.  284. 
Mows,  ii.  2.  344. 
Murdering-piece,  iv.  5.  78. 
Mutine,  iii.  4.  83. 

N 

Napkin,  v.  2.  273. 
Native,  i.  2.  47. 
Nave,  ii.  2.  472. 
Necessaries,  i.  3.  1. 
Nemean,  i.  4.  83. 
Nerve,  i.  4.  8.3. 
Nick-name,  iii.  I.  144. 
Niobe,  i.  2.  149. 
Notes,  ii.  1.  1. 
Noyance,  iii.  3.  13. 
Nutshell,  ii.  2.  246. 


290 


HAMLET. 


O 

Obsequious,  i.  2.  92. 
O'er-master,  i.  5.  140. 
O'er-raiight,  iii.  1.  17. 
O'er-sized,  ii.  2.  438. 
O'er-teemed,  ii.  2.  484. 
Oer-took,  ii.  1.  58. 
Offal,  ii.  2.  553. 
Omen,  i.  1.  123. 
Opposites,  V.  2.  62. 
Ordinant,  v.  2.  48. 
Ordnance,  v.  2.  255. 
Ore,  iv.  1.  25. 
Orisons,  iii.  1.  89. 
Over-peering,  iv.  5.  82. 


Packing,  iii.  4.  204. 
Paradox,  iii.  1.  113. 
Paragon,  ii.  2.  295. 
Pardon,  i.  2.  56. 
Parle,  i.  1.  62. 
Partisan,  i.  1.  140. 
Patience,  iii.  2.  100. 
Peak,  ii.  2.  539. 
Peevish,  i.  2.  100. 
Pelican,  iv.  5.  127. 
Periwig-pated,  iii.  2.  8. 
Perpend,  ii.  2.  105. 
Petar,  iii.  4.  200. 
Pick'd,  v.  1.  130. 
Pioner,  i.  5.  163. 
Pitch,  iii.  1.  86. 
Plausive,  i.  4.  30. 
Plurisy,  iv.  7.  117- 
Point,  at,  i.  2.  200. 
Posset,  i.  5.  68. 
Porpentine,  i.  5.  20. 
Practice,  iv.  7.  67. 
Precurse,  i.  1.  121. 
Pregnant,  iii.  2.  56. 
Prescripts,  ii.  2.  142. 
Presently,  ii.  2.  170. 
Pressure,  iii.  2.  22. 
Pressures,  i.  5.  100. 
Primrose  path,  i.  3.  50- 


Primy,  i.  3.  7. 
Private,  i.  3.  92. 
Probation,  i.  1.  156. 
Process,  iv.  3.  62. 
Progress,  iv.  3.  30. 
Prologue,  i.  1.  123. 
Proof,  ii.  2.  466  ;  iv.  7.  154. 
Property,  ii.  1.  101. 
Proportions,  i.  2.  32 
Provincial  roses,  iii.  2.  266. 
Puft'd,  i.  3.  49. 
Puppets,  iii.  2.  240. 
Pursy,  iii.  4.  150. 

Q 

Qualitv,  ii.  2.  :!30. 
Quantity,  holds,  iii.  2.  161. 
Quest,  V.  1.  21. 
Question,  i.  1.  111. 
Questionable,  i.  4.  43. 
Quiddities,  v.  1.  92. 
Quietus,  iii.  1.  75. 
Quillets,  V.  1.  92. 
Quintessence,  ii.  2.  297- 
Quit,  V.  2.  254. 
Qw)ted,  ii.  1.  110. 

R 

Rack,  ii.  2.  460. 
Razed  shoes,  iii.  2.  267. 
Recorders,  iii.  2.  280. 
Recoveries,  v.  1.  98. 
Rede,  i.  3.  51. 
Region,  ii.  2.  463. 
Relative,  ii.  2.  578. 
Remorse,  ii.  2.  467. 
Remove  (sb. ),  iv.  5.  64. 
Removed,  i.  4.  61. 
Repair,  iv.  6.  21. 
Replication,  iv.  2.  12. 
Requiem,  v.  1.  223. 
Resolutes,  i.  1.  98. 
Resolve,  i.  2.  130. 
Retrograde,  i.  2.  114. 
Return'd,  i.  1.  91. 
Rhapsody,  iii.  4.  48, 


TNPEX  TO  XOTEvS. 


291 


l^ivals.  i.  1.  i:^.  _ 
K (linage,  i.  1.  107. 
Rood,  iii.  4.  14. 
Roots,  i.  5.  :«. 
R<.un.l,  ii.  2.  i:«. 
Rouse  (sb.),  i.  -.  1"27. 
RiiU,  iii.  1.  65. 

S 

Sal.le,  i.  2.  240. 
Sallies,  iii.  2.  ll;"i. 
Sallets.  ii.  2.  418. 
Sanetnarize,  iv.  7.  127. 
Saws,  i.  5.  100. 
Scholar,  i.  1.  42. 
.Sconce  (sli.),  V.  1.  !I4. 
Sconce  (vb.),  iii.  4.  4. 
Scope,  i.  1.  69;  i.  2.  ,37. 
Scrimers,  iv.  7.  1(K». 
.Sea  of  trf)ubles,  iii.  1.  .19. 
Sea.son  (vb. ),  i.  2.  192;  i.  .3.  81. 
.Seniblable.  v.  2.  U.S. 
Sensible,  i.  1.  HI. 
Sere(sb.),  ii.  2.  .310. 
Sen'ice,  iv.  ,3.  24. 
Shadows,  ii.  2.  255. 
Shapes,  iv.  7.  89. 
SiiarkM  up,  i.  1.  98. 
Sheeted  dead,  ii.  1.  115. 
Shent,  iii.  2.  .381. 
Shoulder,  i.  3.  56. 
Slirewdly,  i.  4.  1. 
Siege,  iv.  7.  76. 
Sith,  ii.  2.  6,  12. 
Skirts,  i.  1.  97. 
Slander,  i.  3.  133. 
Sledded,  i.  1.  63. 
Slings,  iii.  1.  58. 
Slips,  ii.  1.  22. 
Sliver,  iv.  7.  171. 
Siiiitches,  iv.  7.  175. 
Snufr,  iv.  7.  114. 
Solemn,  i.  2.  78. 
Sort  (vb.),  i.  1.  109. 
Spheres,  i.  5.  17. 
Splenitive,  v.   1 .  247. 
.Sponge,  iv.  2.  12. 
Statists,  V.  2.  33. 


.Statutes,  V.  1.  97. 
Stithy,  iii.  2.  79. 
Strew,  iv.  5.  14. 
Strewments,  v.  1.  219. 
Stuck  (sb.),  iv.  7.  161. 
Succession,  ii.  2.  3.34. 
Sjigar  o'er,  iii.  1.  48. 
Sun,  in  the,  i.  2.  07. 
SMaddling-clouts,  ii.  2.  362. 
Swoopstake,  iv.  5.  123. 
'Swounds,  ii.  2.  549. 


Table-book,  ii.  2.  1.36. 
Tables,  i.  5.  107. 
Take,  i.  4.  35. 
Takes,  i.  1.  163. 
Tarre,  ii.  2.  336. 
Temple,  i.  3.  12. 
Teniper'd,  v.  2.  313. 
Tender  (vb.),  i.  3.  107,  9. 
Tenders  (sb.),  i.  3.  99. 
Tennis,  ii.  1.  .59. 
Tent  (vb.),  ii.  2.  571. 
Termagant,  iii.  2.  12. 
Theft,  iii.  2.  84. 
Thews,  i.  3.  12. 
Thrift,  iii.  2.  57,  177- 
Tickle  (adj.),  ii.  2.  310. 
Top  of  (juestion,  ii.  2.  2.35c 
Topp'd,  iv.  7.  88. 
Touch,  iii.  2.  340. 
Toy,  i.  3.  6. 
Trail,  ii.  2.  47. 
Trappings,  i.  2.  86. 
Trickd,  ii.  2.  433. 
Trippingly,  iii.  2.  2. 
Trophy,  iv.  5.  192. 
Truant,  i.  2.  169. 
True])eniiv.  i.  5.  1.50. 
Trunclu-oii,  i.  2.  204. 
Tiitn  Turk,  iii.  2.  266. 

U 

Unaneled,  i.  5.  77. 
Unbated,  iv.  7.  1.38. 


292  HAMLET. 

Uncharge,  iv.  7.  67. 
Undergo,  i.  4.  34. 
Ungored,  v.  2.  235. 
Ungra,cious,  i.  3.  47. 
Unhousel'd,  i.  5.  77. 
Unimproved,  i.  1.  96. 
Union,  =  pearl,  v.  2.  2.57. 
Unkennel,  iii.  2.  76. 
Unmaster'd,  i.  3.  32. 
Unpregnant,  ii.  2.  540. 
Unpi-evailing,  i.  2.  107. 
Unreclaimed,  ii.  1.  34. 
Unsinew'd,  iv.  7.  10. 
Unyoke,  v.  1.  49. 
Up-spring,  i.  4.  9. 


Vailed,  i.  2.  70. 
Valanced,  ii.  2.  401. 
Vantage,  iii.  3.  32. 
Vast,  i.  2.  198. 
Vice,  a,  of  kings,  iii.  4.  95. 
Visitation,  ii.  2.  25. 


W 

Wake,  i.  4.  S. 
Walk,  i.  1.  13S  :  i.  5.  10 
Warrant,  ii.  1.  38. 
Watch  (sb.),  ii.  2.  148. 
Wassail,  i.  4.  9. 
Ways,  i.  3.  135. 
Weeds,  iv.  7.  81. 


Wheaten, 


41. 


Wheel,  iv.  5.  153. 
Whirling,  i.  p.  133. 
^Vindlasses,  li.  1.  63. 
AVindy,  i.  2.  79. 
Withal,  i.  3.  28. 
Withers  (sb.),  iii.  2.  236. 
Woman,  the,  iv.  7.  187. 
Woodcock,  V.  2.  291. 
Wormwood,  iii.  2.  175. 
Writ,  ii.  2.  379. 


Yaughan,  v.  1.  56. 
YaM',  V.  2.  110. 
Yeoman,  v.  2.  36. 


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