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Jeffrey R. Wilson

Essays on hamlet.

Written as the author taught Hamlet every semester for a decade, these lightning essays ask big conceptual questions about the play with the urgency of a Shakespeare lover, and answer them with the rigor of a Shakespeare scholar. In doing so, Hamlet becomes a lens for life today, generating insights on everything from xenophobia, American fraternities, and religious fundamentalism to structural misogyny, suicide contagion, and toxic love.

Prioritizing close reading over historical context, these explorations are highly textual and highly theoretical, often philosophical, ethical, social, and political. Readers see King Hamlet as a pre-modern villain, King Claudius as a modern villain, and Prince Hamlet as a post-modern villain. Hamlet’s feigned madness becomes a window into failed insanity defenses in legal trials. He knows he’s being watched in “To be or not to be”: the soliloquy is a satire of philosophy. Horatio emerges as Shakespeare’s authorial avatar for meta-theatrical commentary, Fortinbras as the hero of the play. Fate becomes a viable concept for modern life, and honor a source of tragedy. The metaphor of music in the play makes Ophelia Hamlet’s instrument. Shakespeare, like the modern corporation, stands against sexism, yet perpetuates it unknowingly. We hear his thoughts on single parenting, sending children off to college, and the working class, plus his advice on acting and writing, and his claims to be the next Homer or Virgil. In the context of four centuries of Hamlet hate, we hear how the text draws audiences in, how it became so famous, and why it continues to captivate audiences.

At a time when the humanities are said to be in crisis, these essays are concrete examples of the mind-altering power of literature and literary studies, unravelling the ongoing implications of the English language’s most significant artistic object of the past millennium.

Publications



is a Suicide Text—It’s Time to Teach it Like One	?	: Divine Providence and Social Determinism

Why is Hamlet the most famous English artwork of the past millennium? Is it a sexist text? Why does Hamlet speak in prose? Why must he die? Does Hamlet depict revenge, or justice? How did the death of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, transform into a story about a son dealing with the death of a father? Did Shakespeare know Aristotle’s theory of tragedy? How did our literary icon, Shakespeare, see his literary icons, Homer and Virgil? Why is there so much comedy in Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy? Why is love a force of evil in the play? Did Shakespeare believe there’s a divinity that shapes our ends? How did he define virtue? What did he think about psychology? politics? philosophy? What was Shakespeare’s image of himself as an author? What can he, arguably the greatest writer of all time, teach us about our own writing? What was his theory of literature? Why do people like Hamlet ? How do the Hamlet haters of today compare to those of yesteryears? Is it dangerous for our children to read a play that’s all about suicide?

These are some of the questions asked in this book, a collection of essays on Shakespeare’s Hamlet stemming from my time teaching the play every semester in my Why Shakespeare? course at Harvard University. During this time, I saw a series of bright young minds from wildly diverse backgrounds find their footing in Hamlet, and it taught me a lot about how Shakespeare’s tragedy works, and why it remains with us in the modern world. Beyond ghosts, revenge, and tragedy, Hamlet is a play about being in college, being in love, gender, misogyny, friendship, theater, philosophy, theology, injustice, loss, comedy, depression, death, self-doubt, mental illness, white privilege, overbearing parents, existential angst, international politics, the classics, the afterlife, and the meaning of it all.

These essays grow from the central paradox of the play: it helps us understand the world we live in, yet we don't really understand the text itself very well. For all the attention given to Hamlet , there’s no consensus on the big questions—how it works, why it grips people so fiercely, what it’s about. These essays pose first-order questions about what happens in Hamlet and why, mobilizing answers for reflections on life, making the essays both highly textual and highly theoretical.

Each semester that I taught the play, I would write a new essay about Hamlet . They were meant to be models for students, the sort of essay that undergrads read and write – more rigorous than the puff pieces in the popular press, but riskier than the scholarship in most academic journals. While I later added scholarly outerwear, these pieces all began just like the essays I was assigning to students – as short close readings with a reader and a text and a desire to determine meaning when faced with a puzzling question or problem.

The turn from text to context in recent scholarly books about Hamlet is quizzical since we still don’t have a strong sense of, to quote the title of John Dover Wilson’s 1935 book, What Happens in Hamlet. Is the ghost real? Is Hamlet mad, or just faking? Why does he delay? These are the kinds of questions students love to ask, but they haven’t been – can’t be – answered by reading the play in the context of its sources (recently addressed in Laurie Johnson’s The Tain of Hamlet [2013]), its multiple texts (analyzed by Paul Menzer in The Hamlets [2008] and Zachary Lesser in Hamlet after Q1 [2015]), the Protestant reformation (the focus of Stephen Greenblatt’s Hamlet in Purgatory [2001] and John E. Curran, Jr.’s Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency [2006]), Renaissance humanism (see Rhodri Lewis, Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness [2017]), Elizabethan political theory (see Margreta de Grazia, Hamlet without Hamlet [2007]), the play’s reception history (see David Bevington, Murder Most Foul: Hamlet through the Ages [2011]), its appropriation by modern philosophers (covered in Simon Critchley and Jamieson Webster’s The Hamlet Doctrine [2013] and Andrew Cutrofello’s All for Nothing: Hamlet’s Negativity [2014]), or its recent global travels (addressed, for example, in Margaret Latvian’s Hamlet’s Arab Journey [2011] and Dominic Dromgoole’s Hamlet Globe to Globe [2017]).

Considering the context and afterlives of Hamlet is a worthy pursuit. I certainly consulted the above books for my essays, yet the confidence that comes from introducing context obscures the sharp panic we feel when confronting Shakespeare’s text itself. Even as the excellent recent book from Sonya Freeman Loftis, Allison Kellar, and Lisa Ulevich announces Hamlet has entered “an age of textual exhaustion,” there’s an odd tendency to avoid the text of Hamlet —to grasp for something more firm—when writing about it. There is a need to return to the text in a more immediate way to understand how Hamlet operates as a literary work, and how it can help us understand the world in which we live.

That latter goal, yes, clings nostalgically to the notion that literature can help us understand life. Questions about life send us to literature in search of answers. Those of us who love literature learn to ask and answer questions about it as we become professional literary scholars. But often our answers to the questions scholars ask of literature do not connect back up with the questions about life that sent us to literature in the first place—which are often philosophical, ethical, social, and political. Those first-order questions are diluted and avoided in the minutia of much scholarship, left unanswered. Thus, my goal was to pose questions about Hamlet with the urgency of a Shakespeare lover and to answer them with the rigor of a Shakespeare scholar.

In doing so, these essays challenge the conventional relationship between literature and theory. They pursue a kind of criticism where literature is not merely the recipient of philosophical ideas in the service of exegesis. Instead, the creative risks of literature provide exemplars to be theorized outward to help us understand on-going issues in life today. Beyond an occasion for the demonstration of existing theory, literature is a source for the creation of new theory.

Chapter One How Hamlet Works

Whether you love or hate Hamlet , you can acknowledge its massive popularity. So how does Hamlet work? How does it create audience enjoyment? Why is it so appealing, and to whom? Of all the available options, why Hamlet ? This chapter entertains three possible explanations for why the play is so popular in the modern world: the literary answer (as the English language’s best artwork about death—one of the very few universal human experiences in a modern world increasingly marked by cultural differences— Hamlet is timeless); the theatrical answer (with its mixture of tragedy and comedy, the role of Hamlet requires the best actor of each age, and the play’s popularity derives from the celebrity of its stars); and the philosophical answer (the play invites, encourages, facilitates, and sustains philosophical introspection and conversation from people who do not usually do such things, who find themselves doing those things with Hamlet , who sometimes feel embarrassed about doing those things, but who ultimately find the experience of having done them rewarding).

Chapter Two “It Started Like a Guilty Thing”: The Beginning of Hamlet and the Beginning of Modern Politics

King Hamlet is a tyrant and King Claudius a traitor but, because Shakespeare asked us to experience the events in Hamlet from the perspective of the young Prince Hamlet, we are much more inclined to detect and detest King Claudius’s political failings than King Hamlet’s. If so, then Shakespeare’s play Hamlet , so often seen as the birth of modern psychology, might also tell us a little bit about the beginnings of modern politics as well.

Chapter Three Horatio as Author: Storytelling and Stoic Tragedy

This chapter addresses Horatio’s emotionlessness in light of his role as a narrator, using this discussion to think about Shakespeare’s motives for writing tragedy in the wake of his son’s death. By rationalizing pain and suffering as tragedy, both Horatio and Shakespeare were able to avoid the self-destruction entailed in Hamlet’s emotional response to life’s hardships and injustices. Thus, the stoic Horatio, rather than the passionate Hamlet who repeatedly interrupts ‘The Mousetrap’, is the best authorial avatar for a Shakespeare who strategically wrote himself and his own voice out of his works. This argument then expands into a theory of ‘authorial catharsis’ and the suggestion that we can conceive of Shakespeare as a ‘poet of reason’ in contrast to a ‘poet of emotion’.

Chapter Four “To thine own self be true”: What Shakespeare Says about Sending Our Children Off to College

What does “To thine own self be true” actually mean? Be yourself? Don’t change who you are? Follow your own convictions? Don’t lie to yourself? This chapter argues that, if we understand meaning as intent, then “To thine own self be true” means, paradoxically, that “the self” does not exist. Or, more accurately, Shakespeare’s Hamlet implies that “the self” exists only as a rhetorical, philosophical, and psychological construct that we use to make sense of our experiences and actions in the world, not as anything real. If this is so, then this passage may offer us a way of thinking about Shakespeare as not just a playwright but also a moral philosopher, one who did his ethics in drama.

Chapter Five In Defense of Polonius

Your wife dies. You raise two children by yourself. You build a great career to provide for your family. You send your son off to college in another country, though you know he’s not ready. Now the prince wants to marry your daughter—that’s not easy to navigate. Then—get this—while you’re trying to save the queen’s life, the prince murders you. Your death destroys your kids. They die tragically. And what do you get for your efforts? Centuries of Shakespeare scholars dumping on you. If we see Polonius not through the eyes of his enemy, Prince Hamlet—the point of view Shakespeare’s play asks audiences to adopt—but in analogy to the common challenges of twenty-first-century parenting, Polonius is a single father struggling with work-life balance who sadly choses his career over his daughter’s well-being.

Chapter Six Sigma Alpha Elsinore: The Culture of Drunkenness in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Claudius likes to party—a bit too much. He frequently binge drinks, is arguably an alcoholic, but not an aberration. Hamlet says Denmark is internationally known for heavy drinking. That’s what Shakespeare would have heard in the sixteenth century. By the seventeenth, English writers feared Denmark had taught their nation its drinking habits. Synthesizing criticism on alcoholism as an individual problem in Shakespeare’s texts and times with scholarship on national drinking habits in the early-modern age, this essay asks what the tragedy of alcoholism looks like when located not on the level of the individual, but on the level of a culture, as Shakespeare depicted in Hamlet. One window into these early-modern cultures of drunkenness is sociological studies of American college fraternities, especially the social-learning theories that explain how one person—one culture—teaches another its habits. For Claudius’s alcoholism is both culturally learned and culturally significant. And, as in fraternities, alcoholism in Hamlet is bound up with wealth, privilege, toxic masculinity, and tragedy. Thus, alcohol imagistically reappears in the vial of “cursed hebona,” Ophelia’s liquid death, and the poisoned cup in the final scene—moments that stand out in recent performances and adaptations with alcoholic Claudiuses and Gertrudes.

Chapter Seven Tragic Foundationalism

This chapter puts the modern philosopher Alain Badiou’s theory of foundationalism into dialogue with the early-modern playwright William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet . Doing so allows us to identify a new candidate for Hamlet’s traditionally hard-to-define hamartia – i.e., his “tragic mistake” – but it also allows us to consider the possibility of foundationalism as hamartia. Tragic foundationalism is the notion that fidelity to a single and substantive truth at the expense of an openness to evidence, reason, and change is an acute mistake which can lead to miscalculations of fact and virtue that create conflict and can end up in catastrophic destruction and the downfall of otherwise strong and noble people.

Chapter Eight “As a stranger give it welcome”: Shakespeare’s Advice for First-Year College Students

Encountering a new idea can be like meeting a strange person for the first time. Similarly, we dismiss new ideas before we get to know them. There is an answer to the problem of the human antipathy to strangeness in a somewhat strange place: a single line usually overlooked in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet . If the ghost is “wondrous strange,” Hamlet says, invoking the ancient ethics of hospitality, “Therefore as a stranger give it welcome.” In this word, strange, and the social conventions attached to it, is both the instinctual, animalistic fear and aggression toward what is new and different (the problem) and a cultivated, humane response in hospitality and curiosity (the solution). Intellectual xenia is the answer to intellectual xenophobia.

Chapter Nine Parallels in Hamlet

Hamlet is more parallely than other texts. Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes have their fathers murdered, then seek revenge. Brothers King Hamlet and King Claudius mirror brothers Old Norway and Old Fortinbras. Hamlet and Ophelia both lose their fathers, go mad, but there’s a method in their madness, and become suicidal. King Hamlet and Polonius are both domineering fathers. Hamlet and Polonius are both scholars, actors, verbose, pedantic, detectives using indirection, spying upon others, “by indirections find directions out." King Hamlet and King Claudius are both kings who are killed. Claudius using Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet mirrors Polonius using Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. Reynaldo and Hamlet both pretend to be something other than what they are in order to spy on and detect foes. Young Fortinbras and Prince Hamlet both have their forward momentum “arrest[ed].” Pyrrhus and Hamlet are son seeking revenge but paused a “neutral to his will.” The main plot of Hamlet reappears in the play-within-the-play. The Act I duel between King Hamlet and Old Fortinbras echoes in the Act V duel between Hamlet and Laertes. Claudius and Hamlet are both king killers. Sheesh—why are there so many dang parallels in Hamlet ? Is there some detectable reason why the story of Hamlet would call for the literary device of parallelism?

Chapter Ten Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Why Hamlet Has Two Childhood Friends, Not Just One

Why have two of Hamlet’s childhood friends rather than just one? Do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have individuated personalities? First of all, by increasing the number of friends who visit Hamlet, Shakespeare creates an atmosphere of being outnumbered, of multiple enemies encroaching upon Hamlet, of Hamlet feeling that the world is against him. Second, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not interchangeable, as commonly thought. Shakespeare gave each an individuated personality. Guildenstern is friendlier with Hamlet, and their friendship collapses, while Rosencrantz is more distant and devious—a frenemy.

Chapter Eleven Shakespeare on the Classics, Shakespeare as a Classic: A Reading of Aeneas’s Tale to Dido

Of all the stories Shakespeare might have chosen, why have Hamlet ask the players to recite Aeneas’ tale to Dido of Pyrrhus’s slaughter of Priam? In this story, which comes not from Homer’s Iliad but from Virgil’s Aeneid and had already been adapted for the Elizabethan stage in Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragedy of Dido, Pyrrhus – more commonly known as Neoptolemus, the son of the famous Greek warrior Achilles – savagely slays Priam, the king of the Trojans and the father of Paris, who killed Pyrrhus’s father, Achilles, who killed Paris’s brother, Hector, who killed Achilles’s comrade, Patroclus. Clearly, the theme of revenge at work in this story would have appealed to Shakespeare as he was writing what would become the greatest revenge tragedy of all time. Moreover, Aeneas’s tale to Dido supplied Shakespeare with all of the connections he sought to make at this crucial point in his play and his career – connections between himself and Marlowe, between the start of Hamlet and the end, between Prince Hamlet and King Claudius, between epic poetry and tragic drama, and between the classical literature Shakespeare was still reading hundreds of years later and his own potential as a classic who might (and would) be read hundreds of years into the future.

Chapter Twelve How Theater Works, according to Hamlet

According to Hamlet, people who are guilty of a crime will, when seeing that crime represented on stage, “proclaim [their] malefactions”—but that simply isn’t how theater works. Guilty people sit though shows that depict their crimes all the time without being prompted to public confession. Why did Shakespeare—a remarkably observant student of theater—write this demonstrably false theory of drama into his protagonist? And why did Shakespeare then write the plot of the play to affirm that obviously inaccurate vision of theater? For Claudius is indeed stirred to confession by the play-within-the-play. Perhaps Hamlet’s theory of people proclaiming malefactions upon seeing their crimes represented onstage is not as outlandish as it first appears. Perhaps four centuries of obsession with Hamlet is the English-speaking world proclaiming its malefactions upon seeing them represented dramatically.

Chapter Thirteen “To be, or not to be”: Shakespeare Against Philosophy

This chapter hazards a new reading of the most famous passage in Western literature: “To be, or not to be” from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet . With this line, Hamlet poses his personal struggle, a question of life and death, as a metaphysical problem, as a question of existence and nothingness. However, “To be, or not to be” is not what it seems to be. It seems to be a representation of tragic angst, yet a consideration of the context of the speech reveals that “To be, or not to be” is actually a satire of philosophy and Shakespeare’s representation of the theatricality of everyday life. In this chapter, a close reading of the context and meaning of this passage leads into an attempt to formulate a Shakespearean image of philosophy.

Chapter Fourteen Contagious Suicide in and Around Hamlet

As in society today, suicide is contagious in Hamlet , at least in the example of Ophelia, the only death by suicide in the play, because she only becomes suicidal after hearing Hamlet talk about his own suicidal thoughts in “To be, or not to be.” Just as there are media guidelines for reporting on suicide, there are better and worse ways of handling Hamlet . Careful suicide coverage can change public misperceptions and reduce suicide contagion. Is the same true for careful literary criticism and classroom discussion of suicide texts? How can teachers and literary critics reduce suicide contagion and increase help-seeking behavior?

Chapter Fifteen Is Hamlet a Sexist Text? Overt Misogyny vs. Unconscious Bias

Students and fans of Shakespeare’s Hamlet persistently ask a question scholars and critics of the play have not yet definitively answered: is it a sexist text? The author of this text has been described as everything from a male chauvinist pig to a trailblazing proto-feminist, but recent work on the science behind discrimination and prejudice offers a new, better vocabulary in the notion of unconscious bias. More pervasive and slippery than explicit bigotry, unconscious bias involves the subtle, often unintentional words and actions which indicate the presence of biases we may not be aware of, ones we may even fight against. The Shakespeare who wrote Hamlet exhibited an unconscious bias against women, I argue, even as he sought to critique the mistreatment of women in a patriarchal society. The evidence for this unconscious bias is not to be found in the misogynistic statements made by the characters in the play. It exists, instead, in the demonstrable preference Shakespeare showed for men over women when deciding where to deploy his literary talents. Thus, Shakespeare's Hamlet is a powerful literary example – one which speaks to, say, the modern corporation – showing that deliberate efforts for egalitarianism do not insulate one from the effects of structural inequalities that both stem from and create unconscious bias.

Chapter Sixteen Style and Purpose in Acting and Writing

Purpose and style are connected in academic writing. To answer the question of style ( How should we write academic papers? ) we must first answer the question of purpose ( Why do we write academic papers? ). We can answer these questions, I suggest, by turning to an unexpected style guide that’s more than 400 years old: the famous passage on “the purpose of playing” in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet . In both acting and writing, a high style often accompanies an expressive purpose attempting to impress an elite audience yet actually alienating intellectual people, while a low style and mimetic purpose effectively engage an intellectual audience.

Chapter Seventeen 13 Ways of Looking at a Ghost

Why doesn’t Gertrude see the Ghost of King Hamlet in Act III, even though Horatio, Bernardo, Francisco, Marcellus, and Prince Hamlet all saw it in Act I? It’s a bit embarrassing that Shakespeare scholars don’t have a widely agreed-upon consensus that explains this really basic question that puzzles a lot of people who read or see Hamlet .

Chapter Eighteen The Tragedy of Love in Hamlet

The word “love” appears 84 times in Shakespeare’s Hamlet . “Father” only appears 73 times, “play” 60, “think” 55, “mother” 46, “mad” 44, “soul” 40, “God" 39, “death” 38, “life” 34, “nothing” 28, “son” 26, “honor” 21, “spirit” 19, “kill” 18, “revenge” 14, and “action” 12. Love isn’t the first theme that comes to mind when we think of Hamlet , but is surprisingly prominent. But love is tragic in Hamlet . The bloody catastrophe at the end of that play is principally driven not by hatred or a longing for revenge, but by love.

Chapter Nineteen Ophelia’s Songs: Moral Agency, Manipulation, and the Metaphor of Music in Hamlet

This chapter reads Ophelia’s songs in Act IV of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the context of the meaning of music established elsewhere in the play. While the songs are usually seen as a marker of Ophelia’s madness (as a result of the death of her father) or freedom (from the constraints of patriarchy), they come – when read in light of the metaphor of music as manipulation – to symbolize her role as a pawn in Hamlet’s efforts to deceive his family. Thus, music was Shakespeare’s platform for connecting Ophelia’s story to one of the central questions in Hamlet : Do we have control over our own actions (like the musician), or are we controlled by others (like the instrument)?

Chapter Twenty A Quantitative Study of Prose and Verse in Hamlet

Why does Hamlet have so much prose? Did Shakespeare deliberately shift from verse to prose to signal something to his audiences? How would actors have handled the shifts from verse to prose? Would audiences have detected shifts from verse to prose? Is there an overarching principle that governs Shakespeare’s decision to use prose—a coherent principle that says, “If X, then use prose?”

Chapter Twenty-One The Fortunes of Fate in Hamlet : Divine Providence and Social Determinism

In Hamlet , fate is attacked from both sides: “fortune” presents a world of random happenstance, “will” a theory of efficacious human action. On this backdrop, this essay considers—irrespective of what the characters say and believe—what the structure and imagery Shakespeare wrote into Hamlet say about the possibility that some version of fate is at work in the play. I contend the world of Hamlet is governed by neither fate nor fortune, nor even the Christianized version of fate called “providence.” Yet there is a modern, secular, disenchanted form of fate at work in Hamlet—what is sometimes called “social determinism”—which calls into question the freedom of the individual will. As such, Shakespeare’s Hamlet both commented on the transformation of pagan fate into Christian providence that happened in the centuries leading up to the play, and anticipated the further transformation of fate from a theological to a sociological idea, which occurred in the centuries following Hamlet .

Chapter Twenty-Two The Working Class in Hamlet

There’s a lot for working-class folks to hate about Hamlet —not just because it’s old, dusty, difficult to understand, crammed down our throats in school, and filled with frills, tights, and those weird lace neck thingies that are just socially awkward to think about. Peak Renaissance weirdness. Claustrophobicly cloistered inside the castle of Elsinore, quaintly angsty over royal family problems, Hamlet feels like the literary epitome of elitism. “Lawless resolutes” is how the Wittenberg scholar Horatio describes the soldiers who join Fortinbras’s army in exchange “for food.” The Prince Hamlet who has never worked a day in his life denigrates Polonius as a “fishmonger”: quite the insult for a royal advisor to be called a working man. And King Claudius complains of the simplicity of "the distracted multitude.” But, in Hamlet , Shakespeare juxtaposed the nobles’ denigrations of the working class as readily available metaphors for all-things-awful with the rather valuable behavior of working-class characters themselves. When allowed to represent themselves, the working class in Hamlet are characterized as makers of things—of material goods and services like ships, graves, and plays, but also of ethical and political virtues like security, education, justice, and democracy. Meanwhile, Elsinore has a bad case of affluenza, the make-believe disease invented by an American lawyer who argued that his client's social privilege was so great that it created an obliviousness to law. While social elites rot society through the twin corrosives of political corruption and scholarly detachment, the working class keeps the machine running. They build the ships, plays, and graves society needs to function, and monitor the nuts-and-bolts of the ideals—like education and justice—that we aspire to uphold.

Chapter Twenty-Three The Honor Code at Harvard and in Hamlet

Students at Harvard College are asked, when they first join the school and several times during their years there, to affirm their awareness of and commitment to the school’s honor code. But instead of “the foundation of our community” that it is at Harvard, honor is tragic in Hamlet —a source of anxiety, blunder, and catastrophe. As this chapter shows, looking at Hamlet from our place at Harvard can bring us to see what a tangled knot honor can be, and we can start to theorize the difference between heroic and tragic honor.

Chapter Twenty-Four The Meaning of Death in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

By connecting the ways characters live their lives in Hamlet to the ways they die – on-stage or off, poisoned or stabbed, etc. – Shakespeare symbolized hamartia in catastrophe. In advancing this argument, this chapter develops two supporting ideas. First, the dissemination of tragic necessity: Shakespeare distributed the Aristotelian notion of tragic necessity – a causal relationship between a character’s hamartia (fault or error) and the catastrophe at the end of the play – from the protagonist to the other characters, such that, in Hamlet , those who are guilty must die, and those who die are guilty. Second, the spectacularity of death: there exists in Hamlet a positive correlation between the severity of a character’s hamartia (error or flaw) and the “spectacularity” of his or her death – that is, the extent to which it is presented as a visible and visceral spectacle on-stage.

Chapter Twenty-Five Tragic Excess in Hamlet

In Hamlet , Shakespeare paralleled the situations of Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras (the father of each is killed, and each then seeks revenge) to promote the virtue of moderation: Hamlet moves too slowly, Laertes too swiftly – and they both die at the end of the play – but Fortinbras represents a golden mean which marries the slowness of Hamlet with the swiftness of Laertes. As argued in this essay, Shakespeare endorsed the virtue of balance by allowing Fortinbras to be one of the very few survivors of the play. In other words, excess is tragic in Hamlet .

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Home › Drama Criticism › Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on July 25, 2020 • ( 2 )

With Shakespeare the dramatic resolution conveys us, beyond the man-made sphere of poetic justice, toward the ever-receding horizons of cosmic irony. This is peculiarly the case with Hamlet , for the same reasons that it excites such intensive empathy from actors and readers, critics and writers alike. There may be other Shakespearean characters who are just as memorable, and other plots which are no less impressive; but nowhere else has the outlook of the individual in a dilemma been so profoundly realized; and a dilemma, by definition, is an all but unresolvable choice between evils. Rather than with calculation or casuistry, it should be met with virtue or readiness; sooner or later it will have to be grasped by one or the other of its horns. These, in their broadest terms, have been—for Hamlet, as we interpret him—the problem of what to believe and the problem of how to act.

—Harry Levin, The Question of Hamlet

Hamlet is almost certainly the world’s most famous play, featuring drama’s and literature’s most fascinating and complex character. The many-sided Hamlet—son, lover, intellectual, prince, warrior, and avenger—is the consummate test for each generation’s leading actors, and to be an era’s defining Hamlet is perhaps the greatest accolade one can earn in the theater. The play is no less a proving ground for the critic and scholar, as successive generations have refashioned Hamlet in their own image, while finding in it new resonances and entry points to plumb its depths, perplexities, and possibilities. No other play has been analyzed so extensively, nor has any play had a comparable impact on our culture. The brooding young man in black, skull in hand, has moved out of the theater and into our collective consciousness and cultural myths, joining only a handful of comparable literary archetypes—Oedipus, Faust, and Don Quixote—who embody core aspects of human nature and experience. “It is we ,” the romantic critic William Hazlitt observed, “who are Hamlet.”

Hamlet also commands a crucial, central place in William Shakespeare’s dramatic career. First performed around 1600, the play stands near the midpoint of the playwright’s two-decade career as a culmination and new departure. As the first of his great tragedies, Hamlet signals a decisive shift from the comedies and history plays that launched Shakespeare’s career to the tragedies of his maturity. Although unquestionably linked both to the plays that came before and followed, Hamlet is also markedly exceptional. At nearly 4,000 lines, almost twice the length of Macbeth , Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest and, arguably, his most ambitious play with an enormous range of characters—from royals to gravediggers—and incidents, including court, bedroom, and graveyard scenes and a play within a play. Hamlet also bristles with a seemingly inexhaustible array of ideas and themes, as well as a radically new strategy for presenting them, most notably, in transforming soliloquies from expositional and motivational asides to the audience into the verbalization of consciousness itself. As Shakespearean scholar Stephen Greenblatt has asserted, “In its moral complexity, psychological depth, and philosophical power, Hamlet seems to mark an epochal shift not only in Shakespeare’s own career but in Western drama; it is as if the play were giving birth to a whole new kind of literary subjectivity.” Hamlet, more than any other play that preceded it, turns its action inward to dramatize an isolated, conflicted psyche struggling to cope with a world that has lost all certainty and consolation. Struggling to reconcile two contradictory identities—the heroic man of action and duty and the Christian man of conscience—Prince Hamlet becomes the modern archetype of the self-divided, alienated individual, desperately searching for self-understanding and meaning. Hamlet must contend with crushing doubt without the support of traditional beliefs that dictate and justify his actions. In describing the arrival of the fragmentation and chaos of the modern world, Victorian poet and critic Matthew Arnold declared that “the calm, cheerfulness, the disinterested objectivity have disappeared, the dialogue of the mind with itself has commenced.” Hamlet anticipates that dialogue by more than two centuries.

Like all of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet makes strikingly original uses of borrowed material. The Scandinavian folk tale of Amleth, a prince called upon to avenge his father’s murder by his uncle, was first given literary form by the Danish writer Saxo the Grammarian in his late 12th century Danish History and later adapted in French in François de Belleforest’s Histoires tragiques (1570). This early version of the Hamlet story provided Shakespeare with the basic characters and relationships but without the ghost or the revenger’s uncertainty. In the story of Amleth there is neither doubt about the usurper’s guilt nor any moral qualms in the fulfillment of the avenger’s mission. In preChristian Denmark blood vengeance was a sanctioned filial obligation, not a potentially damnable moral or religious violation, and Amleth successfully accomplishes his duty by setting fire to the royal hall, killing his uncle, and proclaiming himself king of Denmark. Shakespeare’s more immediate source may have been a nowlost English play (c. 1589) that scholars call the Ur – Hamlet. All that has survived concerning this play are a printed reference to a ghost who cried “Hamlet, revenge!” and criticism of the play’s stale bombast. Scholars have attributed the Ur-Hamle t to playwright Thomas Kyd, whose greatest success was The Spanish Tragedy (1592), one of the earliest extant English tragedies. The Spanish Tragedy popularized the genre of the revenge tragedy, derived from Aeschylus’s Oresteia and the Latin plays of Seneca, to which Hamlet belongs. Kyd’s play also features elements that Shakespeare echoes in Hamlet, including a secret crime, an impatient ghost demanding revenge, a protagonist tormented by uncertainty who feigns madness, a woman who actually goes mad, a play within a play, and a final bloodbath that includes the death of the avenger himself. An even more immediate possible source for Hamlet is John Marston’s Antonio’s Revenge (1599), another story of vengeance on a usurper by a sensitive protagonist.

Whether comparing Hamlet to its earliest source or the handling of the revenge plot by Kyd, Marston, or other Elizabethan or Jacobean playwrights, what stands out is the originality and complexity of Shakespeare’s treatment, in his making radically new and profound uses of established stage conventions. Hamlet converts its sensational material—a vengeful ghost, a murder mystery, madness, a heartbroken maiden, a fistfight at her burial, and a climactic duel that results in four deaths—into a daring exploration of mortality, morality, perception, and core existential truths. Shakespeare put mystery, intrigue, and sensation to the service of a complex, profound epistemological drama. The critic Maynard Mack in an influential essay, “The World of Hamlet ,” has usefully identified the play’s “interrogative mode.” From the play’s opening words—“Who’s there?”—to “What is this quintessence of dust?” through drama’s most famous soliloquy—“To be, or not to be, that is the question.”— Hamlet “reverberates with questions, anguished, meditative, alarmed.” The problematic nature of reality and the gap between truth and appearance stand behind the play’s conflicts, complicating Hamlet’s search for answers and his fulfillment of his role as avenger.

Hamlet opens with startling evidence that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” The ghost of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, has been seen in Elsinore, now ruled by his brother, Claudius, who has quickly married his widowed queen, Gertrude. When first seen, Hamlet is aloof and skeptical of Claudius’s justifications for his actions on behalf of restoring order in the state. Hamlet is morbidly and suicidally disillusioned by the realization of mortality and the baseness of human nature prompted by the sudden death of his father and his mother’s hasty, and in Hamlet’s view, incestuous remarriage to her brother-in-law:

O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ’gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on’t! ah, fie! ’Tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this!

A recent student at the University of Wittenberg, whose alumni included Martin Luther and the fictional Doctor Faustus, Hamlet is an intellectual of the Protestant Reformation, who, like Luther and Faustus, tests orthodoxy while struggling to formulate a core philosophy. Brought to encounter the apparent ghost of his father, Hamlet alone hears the ghost’s words that he was murdered by Claudius and is compelled out of his suicidal despair by his pledge of revenge. However, despite the riveting presence of the ghost, Hamlet is tormented by doubts. Is the ghost truly his father’s spirit or a devilish apparition tempting Hamlet to his damnation? Is Claudius truly his father’s murderer? By taking revenge does Hamlet do right or wrong? Despite swearing vengeance, Hamlet delays for two months before taking any action, feigning madness better to learn for himself the truth about Claudius’s guilt. Hamlet’s strange behavior causes Claudius’s counter-investigation to assess Hamlet’s mental state. School friends—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—are summoned to learn what they can; Polonius, convinced that Hamlet’s is a madness of love for his daughter Ophelia, stages an encounter between the lovers that can be observed by Claudius. The court world at Elsinore, is, therefore, ruled by trickery, deception, role playing, and disguise, and the so-called problem of Hamlet, of his delay in acting, is directly related to his uncertainty in knowing the truth. Moreover, the suspicion of his father’s murder and his mother’s sexual betrayal shatter Hamlet’s conception of the world and his responsibility in it. Pushed back to the suicidal despair of the play’s opening, Hamlet is paralyzed by indecision and ambiguity in which even death is problematic, as he explains in the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy in the third act:

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despis’d love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th’ unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would these fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death— The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn No traveller returns—puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action.

The arrival of a traveling theatrical group provides Hamlet with the empirical means to resolve his doubts about the authenticity of the ghost and Claudius’s guilt. By having the troupe perform the Mousetrap play that duplicates Claudius’s crime, Hamlet hopes “to catch the conscience of the King” by observing Claudius’s reaction. The king’s breakdown during the performance seems to confirm the ghost’s accusation, but again Hamlet delays taking action when he accidentally comes upon the guilt-ridden Claudius alone at his prayers. Rationalizing that killing the apparently penitent Claudius will send him to heaven and not to hell, Hamlet decides to await an opportunity “That has no relish of salvation in’t.” He goes instead to his mother’s room where Polonius is hidden in another attempt to learn Hamlet’s mind and intentions. This scene between mother and son, one of the most powerful and intense in all of Shakespeare, has supported the Freudian interpretation of Hamlet’s dilemma in which he is stricken not by moral qualms but by Oedipal guilt. Gertrude’s cries of protest over her son’s accusations cause Polonius to stir, and Hamlet finally, instinctively strikes the figure he assumes is Claudius. In killing the wrong man Hamlet sets in motion the play’s catastrophes, including the madness and suicide of Ophelia, overwhelmed by the realization that her lover has killed her father, and the fatal encounter with Laertes who is now similarly driven to avenge a murdered father. Convinced of her son’s madness, Gertrude informs Claudius of Polonius’s murder, prompting Claudius to alter his order for Hamlet’s exile to England to his execution there.

Hamlet’s mental shift from reluctant to willing avenger takes place offstage during his voyage to England in which he accidentally discovers the execution order and then after a pirate attack on his ship makes his way back to Denmark. He returns to confront the inescapable human condition of mortality in the graveyard scene of act 5 in which he realizes that even Alexander the Great must return to earth that might be used to “stop a beer-barrel” and Julius Caesar’s clay to “stop a hole to keep the wind away.” This sobering realization that levels all earthly distinctions of nobility and acclaim is compounded by the shock of Ophelia’s funeral procession. Hamlet sustains his balance and purpose by confessing to Horatio his acceptance of a providential will revealed to him in the series of accidents on his voyage to England: “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, / Roughhew them how we will.” Finally accepting his inability to control his life, Hamlet resigns himself to accept whatever comes. Agreeing to a duel with Laertes that Claudius has devised to eliminate his nephew, Hamlet asserts that “There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.”

In the carnage of the play’s final scene, Hamlet ironically manages to achieve his revenge while still preserving his nobility and moral stature. It is the murderer Claudius who is directly or indirectly responsible for all the deaths. Armed with a poisonedtip sword, Laertes strikes Hamlet who in turn manages to slay Laertes with the lethal weapon. Meanwhile, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup Claudius intended to insure Hamlet’s death, and, after the remorseful Laertes blames Claudius for the plot, Hamlet, hesitating no longer, fatally stabs the king. Dying in the arms of Horatio, Hamlet orders his friend to “report me and my cause aright / To the unsatisfied” and transfers the reign of Denmark to the last royal left standing, the Norwegian prince Fortinbras. King Hamlet’s death has been avenged but at a cost of eight lives: Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencranz, Guildenstern, Laertes, Gertrude, Claudius, and Prince Hamlet. Order is reestablished but only by Denmark’s sworn enemy. Shakespeare’s point seems unmistakable: Honor and duty that command revenge consume the guilty and the innocent alike. Heroism must face the reality of the graveyard.

Fortinbras closes the play by ordering that Hamlet be carried off “like a soldier” to be given a military funeral underscoring the point that Hamlet has fallen as a warrior on a battlefield of both the duplicitous court at Elsinore and his own mind. The greatness of Hamlet rests in the extraordinary perplexities Shakespeare has discovered both in his title character and in the events of the play. Few other dramas have posed so many or such knotty problems of human existence. Is there a special providence in the fall of a sparrow? What is this quintessence of dust? To be or not to be?

Hamlet Oxford Lecture by Emma Smith

Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Plays

A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

To attempt an analysis of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a single blog post: surely a foolhardy objective if ever there was one. So here we’ll try to focus on some of the key points of Hamlet and analyse their significance, homing in on some of the most interesting as well as some of the most notable aspects of Shakespeare’s play.

Hamlet is a long play, but it’s also a fascinating one, with a ghost, murder, mistaken identity, family drama, poison, pirates, duels, skulls, and even a fight in an open grave. What more could one ask for?

Hamlet is a long play – at just over 30,000 words, the longest Shakespeare wrote – so condensing the plot of this play into a shortish plot summary is going to prove tricky. Still, we’ll do our best. Here, then, is a very brief summary of the plot of Hamlet , perhaps Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy.

The play begins on the battlements at Elsinore Castle in Denmark one night. The ghost of the former king, Hamlet, is seen, but refuses to speak to any of the soldiers on guard duty. At the royal court, Prince Hamlet (the dead king’s son) shows disgust at his uncle, Claudius, who is king, having taken the throne after Hamlet’s father, Claudius’ brother, died.

Hamlet also resents his mother, Gertrude – who, not long after Hamlet Senior’s death, remarried … to Claudius. Claudius gives the young man Laertes, the son of the influential courtier Polonius, leave to return to France to study there. At the same time, Claudius and Gertrude entreat Hamlet not to return to his studies in Germany, at the University of Wittenberg. Hamlet agrees to remain at court.

Laertes leaves Denmark for France, bidding his sister Ophelia farewell. He tells her not to take Hamlet’s expressions of affection too seriously, because – even if Hamlet is keen on her – he is not free to marry whom he wishes, being a prince. Polonius turns up and gives his son some advice before Laertes leaves; Polonius then reiterates Laertes’ advice to Ophelia about Hamlet, commanding his daughter to stay away from Hamlet.

Hamlet’s friend Horatio tells Hamlet about the Ghost, and Hamlet visits the battlements with his friend. The Ghost reappears – and this time, he speaks to Hamlet in private, telling him that he is the prince’s dead father and that he was murdered (with poison in the ear, while he lay asleep in his orchard) by none other than Claudius, his own brother.

He tells his son to avenge his murder by killing Claudius, the man who murdered the king and seized his throne for himself. However, he tells Hamlet not to kill Gertrude but to ‘leave her to heaven’ (i.e. God’s judgment). Hamlet swears Horatio and the guards to secrecy about the Ghost.

Hamlet has vowed to avenge his father’s murder, but he has doubts over the truth of what he’s seen. Was the ghost really his father? Might it not have been some demon, sent to trick him into committing murder? Claudius may disgust Hamlet already, but murdering his uncle just because he married Hamlet’s mum seems a little extreme.

But if Claudius did murder Hamlet’s father, then Hamlet will gladly avenge him. But how can Hamlet ascertain whether the Ghost really was his father, and that the murder story is true? To buy himself some time, Hamlet tells Horatio that he has decided to ‘put an antic disposition on’: i.e., to pretend to be mad, so Claudius won’t question his scheming behaviour because he’ll simply believe the prince is just being eccentric in general.

Polonius sends Reynaldo off to spy on his son, Laertes, in France. His daughter Ophelia approaches him, distressed, to report Hamlet’s strange behaviour in her presence. Polonius is certain that Hamlet’s odd behaviour springs from his love for Ophelia, so he rushes off to tell the King and Queen, Claudius and Gertrude, about it.

Claudius and Gertrude welcome Hamlet’s childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to court and charge them with talking to Hamlet to try to find out what’s the matter with him. Polonius arrives and tells the King and Queen that Hamlet is mad with love for Ophelia, and produces a love letter Hamlet wrote to her as proof.

As Hamlet approaches, Polonius hatches a plan: he will talk to Hamlet while the King and Queen listen in secret from behind an arras (tapestry). Sure enough, Hamlet talks in riddles to Polonius, who then leaves, convinced he is right about the cause of Hamlet’s madness. Hamlet talks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who tell him that the actors are on their way to court.

Hamlet is suspicious that his friends were sent for by Claudius and Gertrude to spy on him (as indeed they were); he confides to his old friends that he is not necessarily really mad; he implies he’s putting it on and still has his wits about him. The actors arrive, and Polonius returns, prompting Hamlet to start answering him with cryptic responses again, to keep up the act of being mad.

To determine Claudius’ guilt, Hamlet turns detective and devises a plan to try to get Claudius to reveal his crime, inadvertently. Hamlet persuades the actors to perform a play, The Murder of Gonzago , including some specially inserted lines he has written – in which a brother murders the king and marries the king’s widow.

Hamlet’s thinking is that, when Claudius witnesses his own crime enacted before him on the stage, he will be so shocked and overcome with guilt that his reaction will reveal that he’s the king’s murderer.

Claudius and Gertrude ask Rosencrantz and Guildenstern what they made of Hamlet’s behaviour, and then the King and Queen, along with Polonius, hide so they can observe Hamlet talking with Ophelia. At one point, in an aside, Claudius talks of his ‘conscience’, providing the audience with the clearest sign that he is indeed guilty of murdering Old Hamlet.

This is significant because one of the main reasons Hamlet is being cautious about exacting revenge is that he’s having doubts about whether the Ghost was really his father or not (and therefore whether it spoke truth to him). But we, the audience, know that Claudius almost certainly is guilty.

After he has meditated aloud about the afterlife, suicide, and the ways in which thinking deeply about things can make one less prompt to act (the famous ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy ), Hamlet speaks with Ophelia. He tells her he never loved her, and orders her to go to a nunnery because women do nothing but breed men who are sinners.

Ophelia is convinced Hamlet is mad for love, but Claudius believes something else is driving Hamlet’s behaviour, and resolves to send Hamlet to England, ostensibly on a diplomatic mission to get the tribute (payment) England owes Denmark.

Sure enough, Claudius responds to the performance of The Murder of Gonzago (or, as Hamlet calls this play-within-a-play, The Mousetrap ) by exclaiming and then walking out, and in doing so he convinces Hamlet that he is indeed guilty and the Ghost is right.

Now Hamlet can proceed with his plan to murder him. However, after the play, he catches Claudius at prayer, and doesn’t want to murder him as he prays because, if Claudius killed while speaking to God, he will be sent straight to heaven, regardless of his sins.

So instead, Hamlet visits Gertrude, his mother, in her chamber, and denounces her for marrying Claudius so soon after Old Hamlet’s death. The Ghost appears (visible only to Hamlet: Gertrude believes her son to be mad and that the Ghost is ‘the very coinage of [his] brain’), and spurs Hamlet on.

Hearing a sound behind the arras or tapestry, Hamlet lashes out with his sword, stabbing the figure behind, believing it to be Claudius. Unbeknownst to Hamlet, it is Polonius, having concealed himself there to spy on the prince. Polonius dies.

Claudius asks Hamlet where Polonius is, and Hamlet jokes about where he’s hid the body. Claudius dispatches Hamlet to England – ostensibly on a diplomatic mission, but in reality the King has arranged to have Hamlet murdered when he arrives in England. However, Hamlet realises this, escapes, has Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed, and returns to Denmark.

Laertes returns from France, thinking Claudius was responsible for Polonius’ death. Claudius puts him right, and arranges for Laertes to fight Hamlet using a poisoned sword, with a chalice full of poisoned wine prepared for Hamlet should the sword fail.

As they are plotting, Gertrude comes in with the news that Polonius’ death has precipitated Ophelia’s slide into madness and, now, her suicide: Ophelia has drowned herself.

Laertes and Hamlet fight in Ophelia’s open grave, and then Hamlet challenges Laertes to a duel at court. Unbeknown to Hamlet, and as agreed with Claudius earlier on, Laertes will fight with a poisoned sword.

However, during the confusion of the duel, Hamlet and Laertes end up switching swords so both men are mortally wounded by the poisoned blade. Gertrude, in making a toast to her son and being unaware that the chalice of wine is poisoned, drinks the deadly wine.

Laertes, as he lies dying, confesses to Hamlet that Claudius hatched the plan involving the poisoned sword and wine, and Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword, forcing him to drink the wine for good measure too – thus finally avenging his father’s murder. Hamlet dies, giving Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, his dying vote as the new ruler of Denmark. Fortinbras arrives to take control of Denmark now the Danish royal family has been wiped out, and Horatio prepares to tell him the whole sorry tale.

Analysis of the play’s sources – and their significance

Although it’s often assumed that there must be some link between Shakespeare’s son Hamnet (who died aged 11, in 1596) and the playwright’s decision to write a play called Hamlet , it may in fact be nothing more than coincidence: Hamnet was a relatively common name at the time (Shakespeare had in fact named his son after a neighbour), he didn’t write Hamlet until a few years later, and there had already been at least one play about a character called Hamlet performed on the London stage some years earlier.

None of this rules out the idea that Shakespeare was transmuting personal grief over the death of Hamnet into universal art through writing (or, more accurately, rewriting) Hamlet , but it does need to be borne in mind when advancing a biographical analysis of Shakespeare’s greatest play.

This earlier play called Hamlet , which is referred to in letters and records from the time, was probably not written by Shakespeare but by one of his great forerunners, Thomas Kyd, master of the English revenge tragedy, whose The Spanish Tragedy had had audiences on the edge of their seats in the late 1580s. Unfortunately, no copy of this proto- Hamlet has survived – and we cannot be sure that Kyd was definitely the author (although he is the most likely candidate).

Most of Shakespeare’s plays are based on earlier stories or historical chronicles, and many are even based on earlier play-texts, which Shakespeare used as the basis for his own work. Indeed, very few of Shakespeare’s plays have no traceable source. But for some, in the case of Hamlet the relationship between Shakespeare’s play and the source-text is a problematic one.

The modernist poet T. S. Eliot argued in an essay of 1919 that Shakespeare’s Hamlet was ‘an artistic failure’ because the Bard was working with someone else’s material but attempting to do something too different with the relationship between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude.

Whether we side with Empson or Eliot or with neither, the fact is that this earlier, sadly lost version of the ‘play about Hamlet’ wasn’t itself the origin of the Hamlet story, which is instead found in a thirteenth-century chronicle written by Saxo Grammaticus. In this chronicle, Hamlet is ‘Amleth’ and is only a little boy – and it’s common knowledge that his uncle has killed his father.

Because Danish tradition expects the son to avenge his father’s death, the uncle starts to keep a close eye on little Amleth, waiting for the boy to strike in revenge. To avert suspicion and make his uncle believe that he, little Amleth, has no plans to seek revenge, Amleth pretends to be mad – the ‘antic disposition’ which Shakespeare’s Hamlet will also put on.

Because the ‘antic disposition’ no longer makes as much sense to the plot in Shakespeare’s version – why would Hamlet’s uncle have to watch his back when he murdered Hamlet’s father in secret and Hamlet surely (at least according to Claudius) has no idea that he’s the murderer? – Hamlet becomes a more complex and interesting character than he had been in the source material.

There is not as clear a reason for Hamlet to ‘put an antic disposition on’ as there had been in the source material, where pretending to be slow-witted or mad could save young Amleth’s life.

The textual variants of Hamlet

There’s more than one Hamlet . The play we read depends very much on the edition we read, since the play has been edited in a number of different ways. The problem is that the play survives in three very different versions: the First Quarto printed in 1603 (the so-called ‘Bad’ Quarto), the Second Quarto from a year later, and the version which appeared in the First Folio in 1623.

Q1 – the First or ‘Bad’ Quarto – is well-named. It was most probably a pirated edition of Shakespeare’s text, perhaps hastily written down from the (rather faulty) memory of a theatregoer or perhaps even one of the actors.

To give you a sense of just how bad the Bad Quarto was, in Q1 the play’s most famous line, ‘To be or not to be: that is the question’, which begins his famous soliloquy in which he muses on the point of life and contemplates suicide, is rendered quite differently – as ‘To be or not to be, I there’s the point’.

It also appears at a different point in the play, just after Polonius (who is called ‘Corambis’) in this version – has hatched the plot to arrange a meeting between Hamlet and Polonius’ (sorry, Corambis’) daughter, Ophelia.

What does Hamlet the play actually mean ?

What is Hamlet telling us – about revenge, about mortality and the afterlife, or about thinking versus taking action about something? The play is ambivalent about all these things: deliberately, thanks to Shakespeare’s deft use of Hamlet’s own soliloquies (which often see him thrashing out two sides of a debate by talking to himself) and the clever use of doubling in the play.

Revenge is supposed to be left to God (‘Vengeance is mine,’ saith the Lord), but both Hamlet the play and Hamlet the character imply that it’s expected in Danish society of the time that the son would take vengeance into his own hands and avenge his murdered father: he is ‘Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell’, as he says in his soliloquy at the end of II.2.

Christopher Ricks, the noted literary critic, has talked about how many great works of literature are about exploring the tension between two competing moral or pragmatic principles. Perhaps the two contradictory principles which we most clearly see in tension in Hamlet are the two axioms ‘look before you leap’ and ‘he who hesitates is lost’.

If Hamlet had been less a thinker and more a man of action, he would have made a snap judgment regarding Claudius’ guilt and then either taken revenge or resolved to leave it up to God.

But if he’d been wrong, he would have condemned an innocent man to death. However, if he’d been right, he would have spared everyone else who gets dragged into his quest for vengeance and destroyed along the way: Polonius (killed in error by Hamlet), Ophelia (killed by her own hand, but in response to her father’s death at Hamlet’s hands), Laertes (killed trying to avenge Polonius’ murder), and even – against the express wishes and commands of the Ghost himself – Hamlet’s own mother, who only drinks the poisoned wine by accident because she wants to wish her son good luck in the duel he’s fighting with Laertes.

This habit of Hamlet’s, his tendency to think things over, is both one of his most appealingly humane qualities, and yet also, in many ways, his undoing – and, ultimately, the end of the whole royal house of Denmark, since Fortinbras can come in and reclaim the land that was taken from his father by Old Hamlet all those years ago.

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Introduction

Hamlet is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare somewhat in 1599. The exact date of publication is unknown, however, many believe that it was published between 1601 and 1603. The play is set in Denmark.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare Summary

All of Hamlet’s doubts and suspicions are confirmed when his father’s ghost visits the Castle and complains that because he is murdered, he is unable to rest in peace. Moreover, the ghost claims that Claudius had poured poison in the ear of King Hamlet when he was sleeping causing his death. The king’s ghost, impotent to confess and find redemption, is now condemned to pass his days in despair and walk on earth at night. He persuades and begs his son Hamlet to take revenge from Claudius, however, he asks to spare Gertrude and let her fate decided by heaven.

Laertes, before he dies, made another confession to Hamlet of his part in the plot and tell him the Claudius is responsible for Gertrude’s death. Enraged Hamlet stabs the poisoned sword into Claudius and pours the remaining poisoned wine into Claudius’ throat.

Themes in Hamlet

Political livelihood, hamlet characters analysis.

She is the Queen of Denmark and also the wife of deceased King Hamlet. She immediately remarries to Claudius, brother of King Hamlet.

She is the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and Hamlet’s beloved. She commits suicide after her father’s death.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

He is King of Norway, who vows to avenge his father’s death who was killed by the Danes’ hands.

Voltimand and Cornelius

Marcellus and barnardo.

They are Danish officers who guard the castle of Elsinore.

Hamlet Literary Analysis

William Shakespeare

Hamlet is a story about a young prince named Hamlet, who is grieving the death of his father, the King. His mother, Queen Gertrude, has married his uncle, Claudius, who has now become the new King. Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This revelation sets Hamlet on a path of revenge and madness.

Throughout the play, Hamlet struggles with his own sanity as he tries to uncover the truth about his father's death and bring justice to his family. He becomes obsessed with the idea of revenge and begins to distrust everyone around him, including his closest friends and family members. Along the way, he puts on an "antic disposition" to throw his enemies off-guard.

As Hamlet's plans for revenge come to fruition, he ends up causing more harm than good. His actions lead to the death of several characters, including his love interest, Ophelia, and his best friend, Polonius. In the end, Hamlet himself is mortally wounded in a duel with Laertes, and he dies just as he finally achieves his revenge on Claudius.

Overall, Hamlet is a complex and powerful story that explores themes of revenge, madness, and the human condition. It is a timeless tale that has been adapted into countless forms, from stage productions to film adaptations, and remains one of Shakespeare's most beloved plays.

Act 1 of Hamlet introduces the characters and sets the tone for the play. The story begins with the appearance of a ghost who appears to be the spirit of the recently deceased King Hamlet. The ghost appears to his son, Prince Hamlet, and tells him that he was murdered by his own brother, Claudius, who has since taken the throne and married Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother.

Hamlet is deeply troubled by this revelation and becomes obsessed with seeking revenge on Claudius. He begins to act erratically and his behavior becomes a cause for concern for those around him. Meanwhile, Claudius and Gertrude attempt to understand and control Hamlet's erratic behavior.

Hamlet's close friend, Horatio, is introduced in this act and is the only person who seems to understand Hamlet's behavior. The character of Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, is also introduced in this act. Polonius is a conniving and manipulative character who seeks to advance his own interests by any means necessary.

The act ends with a plan to stage a play that will reenact the murder of King Hamlet. The hope is that Claudius will react to the play and reveal his guilt. Hamlet is determined to seek revenge and will stop at nothing to achieve it.

SCENE I. Elsinore. A platform before the castle.

A group of guards are standing watch outside the castle of the King of Denmark, when they are joined by a young man named Horatio. They tell him that they have seen a ghost resembling the recently deceased King Hamlet, and Horatio agrees to keep watch with them that night to see if the apparition appears again.

As they wait, the ghost appears before them. Horatio tries to speak to it, but it disappears. The guards then decide to tell Prince Hamlet, the son of the deceased king, about the ghost's appearance.

When Hamlet arrives, the ghost appears again. It beckons to Hamlet, who follows it away from the others. The guards and Horatio are left wondering what has happened to Hamlet.

The scene ends with the guards discussing the recent military preparations of Denmark, including the movement of troops towards Norway.

FRANCISCO at his post. Enter to him BERNARDO

BERNARDO Who's there? Link: 1.1.1

FRANCISCO Nay, answer me: stand, and unfold yourself. Link: 1.1.2

BERNARDO Long live the king! Link: 1.1.3

FRANCISCO Bernardo? Link: 1.1.4

BERNARDO He. Link: 1.1.5

FRANCISCO You come most carefully upon your hour. Link: 1.1.6

BERNARDO 'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco. Link: 1.1.7

FRANCISCO For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold, Link: 1.1.8 And I am sick at heart. Link: 1.1.9

BERNARDO Have you had quiet guard? Link: 1.1.10

FRANCISCO Not a mouse stirring. Link: 1.1.11

BERNARDO Well, good night. Link: 1.1.12 If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, Link: 1.1.13 The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste. Link: 1.1.14

FRANCISCO I think I hear them. Stand, ho! Who's there? Link: 1.1.15

Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS

HORATIO Friends to this ground. Link: 1.1.16

MARCELLUS And liegemen to the Dane. Link: 1.1.17

FRANCISCO Give you good night. Link: 1.1.18

MARCELLUS O, farewell, honest soldier: Link: 1.1.19 Who hath relieved you? Link: 1.1.20

FRANCISCO Bernardo has my place. Link: 1.1.21 Give you good night. Link: 1.1.22

MARCELLUS Holla! Bernardo! Link: 1.1.23

BERNARDO Say, Link: 1.1.24 What, is Horatio there? Link: 1.1.25

HORATIO A piece of him. Link: 1.1.26

BERNARDO Welcome, Horatio: welcome, good Marcellus. Link: 1.1.27

MARCELLUS What, has this thing appear'd again to-night? Link: 1.1.28

BERNARDO I have seen nothing. Link: 1.1.29

MARCELLUS Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy, Link: 1.1.30 And will not let belief take hold of him Link: 1.1.31 Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us: Link: 1.1.32 Therefore I have entreated him along Link: 1.1.33 With us to watch the minutes of this night; Link: 1.1.34 That if again this apparition come, Link: 1.1.35 He may approve our eyes and speak to it. Link: 1.1.36

HORATIO Tush, tush, 'twill not appear. Link: 1.1.37

BERNARDO Sit down awhile; Link: 1.1.38 And let us once again assail your ears, Link: 1.1.39 That are so fortified against our story Link: 1.1.40 What we have two nights seen. Link: 1.1.41

HORATIO Well, sit we down, Link: 1.1.42 And let us hear Bernardo speak of this. Link: 1.1.43

BERNARDO Last night of all, Link: 1.1.44 When yond same star that's westward from the pole Link: 1.1.45 Had made his course to illume that part of heaven Link: 1.1.46 Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself, Link: 1.1.47 The bell then beating one,-- Link: 1.1.48

Enter Ghost

MARCELLUS Peace, break thee off; look, where it comes again! Link: 1.1.49

BERNARDO In the same figure, like the king that's dead. Link: 1.1.50

MARCELLUS Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio. Link: 1.1.51

BERNARDO Looks it not like the king? mark it, Horatio. Link: 1.1.52

HORATIO Most like: it harrows me with fear and wonder. Link: 1.1.53

BERNARDO It would be spoke to. Link: 1.1.54

MARCELLUS Question it, Horatio. Link: 1.1.55

HORATIO What art thou that usurp'st this time of night, Link: 1.1.56 Together with that fair and warlike form Link: 1.1.57 In which the majesty of buried Denmark Link: 1.1.58 Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak! Link: 1.1.59

MARCELLUS It is offended. Link: 1.1.60

BERNARDO See, it stalks away! Link: 1.1.61

HORATIO Stay! speak, speak! I charge thee, speak! Link: 1.1.62

MARCELLUS 'Tis gone, and will not answer. Link: 1.1.63

BERNARDO How now, Horatio! you tremble and look pale: Link: 1.1.64 Is not this something more than fantasy? Link: 1.1.65 What think you on't? Link: 1.1.66

HORATIO Before my God, I might not this believe Link: 1.1.67 Without the sensible and true avouch Link: 1.1.68 Of mine own eyes. Link: 1.1.69

MARCELLUS Is it not like the king? Link: 1.1.70

HORATIO As thou art to thyself: Link: 1.1.71 Such was the very armour he had on Link: 1.1.72 When he the ambitious Norway combated; Link: 1.1.73 So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle, Link: 1.1.74 He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice. Link: 1.1.75 'Tis strange. Link: 1.1.76

MARCELLUS Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour, Link: 1.1.77 With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch. Link: 1.1.78

HORATIO In what particular thought to work I know not; Link: 1.1.79 But in the gross and scope of my opinion, Link: 1.1.80 This bodes some strange eruption to our state. Link: 1.1.81

MARCELLUS Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows, Link: 1.1.82 Why this same strict and most observant watch Link: 1.1.83 So nightly toils the subject of the land, Link: 1.1.84 And why such daily cast of brazen cannon, Link: 1.1.85 And foreign mart for implements of war; Link: 1.1.86 Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task Link: 1.1.87 Does not divide the Sunday from the week; Link: 1.1.88 What might be toward, that this sweaty haste Link: 1.1.89 Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day: Link: 1.1.90 Who is't that can inform me? Link: 1.1.91

HORATIO That can I; Link: 1.1.92 At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king, Link: 1.1.93 Whose image even but now appear'd to us, Link: 1.1.94 Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, Link: 1.1.95 Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride, Link: 1.1.96 Dared to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet-- Link: 1.1.97 For so this side of our known world esteem'd him-- Link: 1.1.98 Did slay this Fortinbras; who by a seal'd compact, Link: 1.1.99 Well ratified by law and heraldry, Link: 1.1.100 Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands Link: 1.1.101 Which he stood seized of, to the conqueror: Link: 1.1.102 Against the which, a moiety competent Link: 1.1.103 Was gaged by our king; which had return'd Link: 1.1.104 To the inheritance of Fortinbras, Link: 1.1.105 Had he been vanquisher; as, by the same covenant, Link: 1.1.106 And carriage of the article design'd, Link: 1.1.107 His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras, Link: 1.1.108 Of unimproved mettle hot and full, Link: 1.1.109 Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there Link: 1.1.110 Shark'd up a list of lawless resolutes, Link: 1.1.111 For food and diet, to some enterprise Link: 1.1.112 That hath a stomach in't; which is no other-- Link: 1.1.113 As it doth well appear unto our state-- Link: 1.1.114 But to recover of us, by strong hand Link: 1.1.115 And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands Link: 1.1.116 So by his father lost: and this, I take it, Link: 1.1.117 Is the main motive of our preparations, Link: 1.1.118 The source of this our watch and the chief head Link: 1.1.119 Of this post-haste and romage in the land. Link: 1.1.120

BERNARDO I think it be no other but e'en so: Link: 1.1.121 Well may it sort that this portentous figure Link: 1.1.122 Comes armed through our watch; so like the king Link: 1.1.123 That was and is the question of these wars. Link: 1.1.124

HORATIO A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye. Link: 1.1.125 In the most high and palmy state of Rome, Link: 1.1.126 A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, Link: 1.1.127 The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead Link: 1.1.128 Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets: Link: 1.1.129 As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood, Link: 1.1.130 Disasters in the sun; and the moist star Link: 1.1.131 Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands Link: 1.1.132 Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse: Link: 1.1.133 And even the like precurse of fierce events, Link: 1.1.134 As harbingers preceding still the fates Link: 1.1.135 And prologue to the omen coming on, Link: 1.1.136 Have heaven and earth together demonstrated Link: 1.1.137 Unto our climatures and countrymen.-- Link: 1.1.138 But soft, behold! lo, where it comes again! Link: 1.1.139 I'll cross it, though it blast me. Stay, illusion! Link: 1.1.140 If thou hast any sound, or use of voice, Link: 1.1.141 Speak to me: Link: 1.1.142 If there be any good thing to be done, Link: 1.1.143 That may to thee do ease and grace to me, Link: 1.1.144 Speak to me: Link: 1.1.145 If thou art privy to thy country's fate, Link: 1.1.146 Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid, O, speak! Link: 1.1.147 Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life Link: 1.1.148 Extorted treasure in the womb of earth, Link: 1.1.149 For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, Link: 1.1.150 Speak of it: stay, and speak! Stop it, Marcellus. Link: 1.1.151

MARCELLUS Shall I strike at it with my partisan? Link: 1.1.152

HORATIO Do, if it will not stand. Link: 1.1.153

BERNARDO 'Tis here! Link: 1.1.154

HORATIO 'Tis here! Link: 1.1.155

MARCELLUS 'Tis gone! Link: 1.1.156 We do it wrong, being so majestical, Link: 1.1.157 To offer it the show of violence; Link: 1.1.158 For it is, as the air, invulnerable, Link: 1.1.159 And our vain blows malicious mockery. Link: 1.1.160

BERNARDO It was about to speak, when the cock crew. Link: 1.1.161

HORATIO And then it started like a guilty thing Link: 1.1.162 Upon a fearful summons. I have heard, Link: 1.1.163 The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, Link: 1.1.164 Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat Link: 1.1.165 Awake the god of day; and, at his warning, Link: 1.1.166 Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, Link: 1.1.167 The extravagant and erring spirit hies Link: 1.1.168 To his confine: and of the truth herein Link: 1.1.169 This present object made probation. Link: 1.1.170

MARCELLUS It faded on the crowing of the cock. Link: 1.1.171 Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Link: 1.1.172 Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, Link: 1.1.173 The bird of dawning singeth all night long: Link: 1.1.174 And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad; Link: 1.1.175 The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, Link: 1.1.176 No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, Link: 1.1.177 So hallow'd and so gracious is the time. Link: 1.1.178

HORATIO So have I heard and do in part believe it. Link: 1.1.179 But, look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, Link: 1.1.180 Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward hill: Link: 1.1.181 Break we our watch up; and by my advice, Link: 1.1.182 Let us impart what we have seen to-night Link: 1.1.183 Unto young Hamlet; for, upon my life, Link: 1.1.184 This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. Link: 1.1.185 Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it, Link: 1.1.186 As needful in our loves, fitting our duty? Link: 1.1.187

MARCELLUS Let's do't, I pray; and I this morning know Link: 1.1.188 Where we shall find him most conveniently. Link: 1.1.189

SCENE II. A room of state in the castle.

Scene 2 of Act 1 of this play takes place in the court of Denmark where the new king, Claudius, addresses the courtiers and his wife, Gertrude. He speaks of the recent death of his brother, the previous king, and his own hasty marriage to Gertrude. He then turns to his nephew, Hamlet, who is mourning his father's death, and asks him why he is still in mourning attire. Claudius urges Hamlet to stay in Denmark instead of returning to university in Germany.

Hamlet is clearly unhappy with his uncle's speech and seems to be in a state of deep melancholy. He makes a sarcastic comment about how quickly his mother remarried after his father's death and says he will put on an "antic disposition" to hide his true feelings. Gertrude tries to comfort and advise him, but he remains distant.

The courtiers, including Polonius and his children, Laertes and Ophelia, enter and greet the king and queen. Polonius offers some long-winded advice to his son Laertes, who is leaving for France, and then leaves. Ophelia and Hamlet exchange some tense words about his behavior towards her.

Finally, Hamlet is left alone on stage and delivers his famous soliloquy, in which he expresses his despair and disgust with the world around him. He speaks of suicide and the futility of life. The scene ends with Hamlet's resolve to put on his "antic disposition" and plot his revenge against his uncle for his father's murder.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, HAMLET, POLONIUS, LAERTES, VOLTIMAND, CORNELIUS, Lords, and Attendants

KING CLAUDIUS Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death Link: 1.2.1 The memory be green, and that it us befitted Link: 1.2.2 To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom Link: 1.2.3 To be contracted in one brow of woe, Link: 1.2.4 Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature Link: 1.2.5 That we with wisest sorrow think on him, Link: 1.2.6 Together with remembrance of ourselves. Link: 1.2.7 Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, Link: 1.2.8 The imperial jointress to this warlike state, Link: 1.2.9 Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy,-- Link: 1.2.10 With an auspicious and a dropping eye, Link: 1.2.11 With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, Link: 1.2.12 In equal scale weighing delight and dole,-- Link: 1.2.13 Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr'd Link: 1.2.14 Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone Link: 1.2.15 With this affair along. For all, our thanks. Link: 1.2.16 Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras, Link: 1.2.17 Holding a weak supposal of our worth, Link: 1.2.18 Or thinking by our late dear brother's death Link: 1.2.19 Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, Link: 1.2.20 Colleagued with the dream of his advantage, Link: 1.2.21 He hath not fail'd to pester us with message, Link: 1.2.22 Importing the surrender of those lands Link: 1.2.23 Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, Link: 1.2.24 To our most valiant brother. So much for him. Link: 1.2.25 Now for ourself and for this time of meeting: Link: 1.2.26 Thus much the business is: we have here writ Link: 1.2.27 To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras,-- Link: 1.2.28 Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears Link: 1.2.29 Of this his nephew's purpose,--to suppress Link: 1.2.30 His further gait herein; in that the levies, Link: 1.2.31 The lists and full proportions, are all made Link: 1.2.32 Out of his subject: and we here dispatch Link: 1.2.33 You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltimand, Link: 1.2.34 For bearers of this greeting to old Norway; Link: 1.2.35 Giving to you no further personal power Link: 1.2.36 To business with the king, more than the scope Link: 1.2.37 Of these delated articles allow. Link: 1.2.38 Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty. Link: 1.2.39

CORNELIUS In that and all things will we show our duty. Link: 1.2.40

KING CLAUDIUS We doubt it nothing: heartily farewell. Link: 1.2.41 And now, Laertes, what's the news with you? Link: 1.2.42 You told us of some suit; what is't, Laertes? Link: 1.2.43 You cannot speak of reason to the Dane, Link: 1.2.44 And loose your voice: what wouldst thou beg, Laertes, Link: 1.2.45 That shall not be my offer, not thy asking? Link: 1.2.46 The head is not more native to the heart, Link: 1.2.47 The hand more instrumental to the mouth, Link: 1.2.48 Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. Link: 1.2.49 What wouldst thou have, Laertes? Link: 1.2.50

LAERTES My dread lord, Link: 1.2.51 Your leave and favour to return to France; Link: 1.2.52 From whence though willingly I came to Denmark, Link: 1.2.53 To show my duty in your coronation, Link: 1.2.54 Yet now, I must confess, that duty done, Link: 1.2.55 My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France Link: 1.2.56 And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon. Link: 1.2.57

KING CLAUDIUS Have you your father's leave? What says Polonius? Link: 1.2.58

LORD POLONIUS He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave Link: 1.2.59 By laboursome petition, and at last Link: 1.2.60 Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent: Link: 1.2.61 I do beseech you, give him leave to go. Link: 1.2.62

KING CLAUDIUS Take thy fair hour, Laertes; time be thine, Link: 1.2.63 And thy best graces spend it at thy will! Link: 1.2.64 But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son,-- Link: 1.2.65

HAMLET (Aside) A little more than kin, and less than kind. Link: 1.2.66

KING CLAUDIUS How is it that the clouds still hang on you? Link: 1.2.67

HAMLET Not so, my lord; I am too much i' the sun. Link: 1.2.68

QUEEN GERTRUDE Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, Link: 1.2.69 And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Link: 1.2.70 Do not for ever with thy vailed lids Link: 1.2.71 Seek for thy noble father in the dust: Link: 1.2.72 Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die, Link: 1.2.73 Passing through nature to eternity. Link: 1.2.74

HAMLET Ay, madam, it is common. Link: 1.2.75

QUEEN GERTRUDE If it be, Link: 1.2.76 Why seems it so particular with thee? Link: 1.2.77

HAMLET Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not 'seems.' Link: 1.2.78 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Link: 1.2.79 Nor customary suits of solemn black, Link: 1.2.80 Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, Link: 1.2.81 No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Link: 1.2.82 Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage, Link: 1.2.83 Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, Link: 1.2.84 That can denote me truly: these indeed seem, Link: 1.2.85 For they are actions that a man might play: Link: 1.2.86 But I have that within which passeth show; Link: 1.2.87 These but the trappings and the suits of woe. Link: 1.2.88

KING CLAUDIUS 'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, Link: 1.2.89 To give these mourning duties to your father: Link: 1.2.90 But, you must know, your father lost a father; Link: 1.2.91 That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound Link: 1.2.92 In filial obligation for some term Link: 1.2.93 To do obsequious sorrow: but to persever Link: 1.2.94 In obstinate condolement is a course Link: 1.2.95 Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief; Link: 1.2.96 It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, Link: 1.2.97 A heart unfortified, a mind impatient, Link: 1.2.98 An understanding simple and unschool'd: Link: 1.2.99 For what we know must be and is as common Link: 1.2.100 As any the most vulgar thing to sense, Link: 1.2.101 Why should we in our peevish opposition Link: 1.2.102 Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven, Link: 1.2.103 A fault against the dead, a fault to nature, Link: 1.2.104 To reason most absurd: whose common theme Link: 1.2.105 Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried, Link: 1.2.106 From the first corse till he that died to-day, Link: 1.2.107 'This must be so.' We pray you, throw to earth Link: 1.2.108 This unprevailing woe, and think of us Link: 1.2.109 As of a father: for let the world take note, Link: 1.2.110 You are the most immediate to our throne; Link: 1.2.111 And with no less nobility of love Link: 1.2.112 Than that which dearest father bears his son, Link: 1.2.113 Do I impart toward you. For your intent Link: 1.2.114 In going back to school in Wittenberg, Link: 1.2.115 It is most retrograde to our desire: Link: 1.2.116 And we beseech you, bend you to remain Link: 1.2.117 Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye, Link: 1.2.118 Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son. Link: 1.2.119

QUEEN GERTRUDE Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet: Link: 1.2.120 I pray thee, stay with us; go not to Wittenberg. Link: 1.2.121

HAMLET I shall in all my best obey you, madam. Link: 1.2.122

KING CLAUDIUS Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply: Link: 1.2.123 Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam, come; Link: 1.2.124 This gentle and unforced accord of Hamlet Link: 1.2.125 Sits smiling to my heart: in grace whereof, Link: 1.2.126 No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day, Link: 1.2.127 But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell, Link: 1.2.128 And the king's rouse the heavens all bruit again, Link: 1.2.129 Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away. Link: 1.2.130

Exeunt all but HAMLET

HAMLET O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Link: 1.2.131 Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Link: 1.2.132 Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd Link: 1.2.133 His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! Link: 1.2.134 How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Link: 1.2.135 Seem to me all the uses of this world! Link: 1.2.136 Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden, Link: 1.2.137 That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Link: 1.2.138 Possess it merely. That it should come to this! Link: 1.2.139 But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: Link: 1.2.140 So excellent a king; that was, to this, Link: 1.2.141 Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother Link: 1.2.142 That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Link: 1.2.143 Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth! Link: 1.2.144 Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, Link: 1.2.145 As if increase of appetite had grown Link: 1.2.146 By what it fed on: and yet, within a month-- Link: 1.2.147 Let me not think on't--Frailty, thy name is woman!-- Link: 1.2.148 A little month, or ere those shoes were old Link: 1.2.149 With which she follow'd my poor father's body, Link: 1.2.150 Like Niobe, all tears:--why she, even she-- Link: 1.2.151 O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Link: 1.2.152 Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle, Link: 1.2.153 My father's brother, but no more like my father Link: 1.2.154 Than I to Hercules: within a month: Link: 1.2.155 Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Link: 1.2.156 Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, Link: 1.2.157 She married. O, most wicked speed, to post Link: 1.2.158 With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! Link: 1.2.159 It is not nor it cannot come to good: Link: 1.2.160 But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue. Link: 1.2.161

Enter HORATIO, MARCELLUS, and BERNARDO

HORATIO Hail to your lordship! Link: 1.2.162

HAMLET I am glad to see you well: Link: 1.2.163 Horatio,--or I do forget myself. Link: 1.2.164

HORATIO The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever. Link: 1.2.165

HAMLET Sir, my good friend; I'll change that name with you: Link: 1.2.166 And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio? Marcellus? Link: 1.2.167

MARCELLUS My good lord-- Link: 1.2.168

HAMLET I am very glad to see you. Good even, sir. Link: 1.2.169 But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg? Link: 1.2.170

HORATIO A truant disposition, good my lord. Link: 1.2.171

HAMLET I would not hear your enemy say so, Link: 1.2.172 Nor shall you do mine ear that violence, Link: 1.2.173 To make it truster of your own report Link: 1.2.174 Against yourself: I know you are no truant. Link: 1.2.175 But what is your affair in Elsinore? Link: 1.2.176 We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart. Link: 1.2.177

HORATIO My lord, I came to see your father's funeral. Link: 1.2.178

HAMLET I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student; Link: 1.2.179 I think it was to see my mother's wedding. Link: 1.2.180

HORATIO Indeed, my lord, it follow'd hard upon. Link: 1.2.181

HAMLET Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral baked meats Link: 1.2.182 Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. Link: 1.2.183 Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven Link: 1.2.184 Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio! Link: 1.2.185 My father!--methinks I see my father. Link: 1.2.186

HORATIO Where, my lord? Link: 1.2.187

HAMLET In my mind's eye, Horatio. Link: 1.2.188

HORATIO I saw him once; he was a goodly king. Link: 1.2.189

HAMLET He was a man, take him for all in all, Link: 1.2.190 I shall not look upon his like again. Link: 1.2.191

HORATIO My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. Link: 1.2.192

HAMLET Saw? who? Link: 1.2.193

HORATIO My lord, the king your father. Link: 1.2.194

HAMLET The king my father! Link: 1.2.195

HORATIO Season your admiration for awhile Link: 1.2.196 With an attent ear, till I may deliver, Link: 1.2.197 Upon the witness of these gentlemen, Link: 1.2.198 This marvel to you. Link: 1.2.199

HAMLET For God's love, let me hear. Link: 1.2.200

HORATIO Two nights together had these gentlemen, Link: 1.2.201 Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch, Link: 1.2.202 In the dead vast and middle of the night, Link: 1.2.203 Been thus encounter'd. A figure like your father, Link: 1.2.204 Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe, Link: 1.2.205 Appears before them, and with solemn march Link: 1.2.206 Goes slow and stately by them: thrice he walk'd Link: 1.2.207 By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes, Link: 1.2.208 Within his truncheon's length; whilst they, distilled Link: 1.2.209 Almost to jelly with the act of fear, Link: 1.2.210 Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me Link: 1.2.211 In dreadful secrecy impart they did; Link: 1.2.212 And I with them the third night kept the watch; Link: 1.2.213 Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time, Link: 1.2.214 Form of the thing, each word made true and good, Link: 1.2.215 The apparition comes: I knew your father; Link: 1.2.216 These hands are not more like. Link: 1.2.217

HAMLET But where was this? Link: 1.2.218

MARCELLUS My lord, upon the platform where we watch'd. Link: 1.2.219

HAMLET Did you not speak to it? Link: 1.2.220

HORATIO My lord, I did; Link: 1.2.221 But answer made it none: yet once methought Link: 1.2.222 It lifted up its head and did address Link: 1.2.223 Itself to motion, like as it would speak; Link: 1.2.224 But even then the morning cock crew loud, Link: 1.2.225 And at the sound it shrunk in haste away, Link: 1.2.226 And vanish'd from our sight. Link: 1.2.227

HAMLET 'Tis very strange. Link: 1.2.228

HORATIO As I do live, my honour'd lord, 'tis true; Link: 1.2.229 And we did think it writ down in our duty Link: 1.2.230 To let you know of it. Link: 1.2.231

HAMLET Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me. Link: 1.2.232 Hold you the watch to-night? Link: 1.2.233

MARCELLUS We do, my lord. Link: 1.2.234

HAMLET Arm'd, say you? Link: 1.2.235

MARCELLUS Arm'd, my lord. Link: 1.2.236

HAMLET From top to toe? Link: 1.2.237

MARCELLUS My lord, from head to foot. Link: 1.2.238

HAMLET Then saw you not his face? Link: 1.2.239

HORATIO O, yes, my lord; he wore his beaver up. Link: 1.2.240

HAMLET What, look'd he frowningly? Link: 1.2.241

HORATIO A countenance more in sorrow than in anger. Link: 1.2.242

HAMLET Pale or red? Link: 1.2.243

HORATIO Nay, very pale. Link: 1.2.244

HAMLET And fix'd his eyes upon you? Link: 1.2.245

HORATIO Most constantly. Link: 1.2.246

HAMLET I would I had been there. Link: 1.2.247

HORATIO It would have much amazed you. Link: 1.2.248

HAMLET Very like, very like. Stay'd it long? Link: 1.2.249

HORATIO While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred. Link: 1.2.250

MARCELLUS Longer, longer. Link: 1.2.251

HORATIO Not when I saw't. Link: 1.2.252

HAMLET His beard was grizzled--no? Link: 1.2.253

HORATIO It was, as I have seen it in his life, Link: 1.2.254 A sable silver'd. Link: 1.2.255

HAMLET I will watch to-night; Link: 1.2.256 Perchance 'twill walk again. Link: 1.2.257

HORATIO I warrant it will. Link: 1.2.258

HAMLET If it assume my noble father's person, Link: 1.2.259 I'll speak to it, though hell itself should gape Link: 1.2.260 And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all, Link: 1.2.261 If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight, Link: 1.2.262 Let it be tenable in your silence still; Link: 1.2.263 And whatsoever else shall hap to-night, Link: 1.2.264 Give it an understanding, but no tongue: Link: 1.2.265 I will requite your loves. So, fare you well: Link: 1.2.266 Upon the platform, 'twixt eleven and twelve, Link: 1.2.267 I'll visit you. Link: 1.2.268

All Our duty to your honour. Link: 1.2.269

HAMLET Your loves, as mine to you: farewell. Link: 1.2.270 My father's spirit in arms! all is not well; Link: 1.2.271 I doubt some foul play: would the night were come! Link: 1.2.272 Till then sit still, my soul: foul deeds will rise, Link: 1.2.273 Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. Link: 1.2.274

SCENE III. A room in Polonius' house.

Scene 3 of Act 1 of the play takes place in Polonius's house. Polonius is the chief counselor of the king, and he is talking to his son, Laertes, who is about to leave for France to study. Polonius gives Laertes some fatherly advice, telling him to be true to himself, to speak less, listen more, and to avoid getting into fights unnecessarily.

Polonius then gives Laertes a long list of instructions on how to behave in France, including not borrowing or lending money, not gambling, dressing modestly, and avoiding prostitutes. He also warns Laertes to be careful of his friends, as they may not have his best interests in mind.

After Polonius finishes his lecture, Ophelia, his daughter, enters the room. Polonius tells Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, whom she has been seeing. Polonius believes that Hamlet's love for Ophelia is not genuine and that he may harm her. He orders Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet and to keep her distance from him.

Ophelia agrees to obey her father's wishes, but she is clearly upset. She tells her father that Hamlet has been acting strangely and that he came to her room looking disheveled and behaving erratically. Polonius dismisses Ophelia's concerns, telling her that Hamlet is just playing with her and that she should not take him seriously.

The scene ends with Polonius giving Ophelia a book to read, telling her that it will help her forget about Hamlet. Laertes says goodbye to his father and sister and leaves for France.

Enter LAERTES and OPHELIA

LAERTES My necessaries are embark'd: farewell: Link: 1.3.1 And, sister, as the winds give benefit Link: 1.3.2 And convoy is assistant, do not sleep, Link: 1.3.3 But let me hear from you. Link: 1.3.4

OPHELIA Do you doubt that? Link: 1.3.5

LAERTES For Hamlet and the trifling of his favour, Link: 1.3.6 Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, Link: 1.3.7 A violet in the youth of primy nature, Link: 1.3.8 Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, Link: 1.3.9 The perfume and suppliance of a minute; No more. Link: 1.3.10

OPHELIA No more but so? Link: 1.3.11

LAERTES Think it no more; Link: 1.3.12 For nature, crescent, does not grow alone Link: 1.3.13 In thews and bulk, but, as this temple waxes, Link: 1.3.14 The inward service of the mind and soul Link: 1.3.15 Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now, Link: 1.3.16 And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch Link: 1.3.17 The virtue of his will: but you must fear, Link: 1.3.18 His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own; Link: 1.3.19 For he himself is subject to his birth: Link: 1.3.20 He may not, as unvalued persons do, Link: 1.3.21 Carve for himself; for on his choice depends Link: 1.3.22 The safety and health of this whole state; Link: 1.3.23 And therefore must his choice be circumscribed Link: 1.3.24 Unto the voice and yielding of that body Link: 1.3.25 Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he loves you, Link: 1.3.26 It fits your wisdom so far to believe it Link: 1.3.27 As he in his particular act and place Link: 1.3.28 May give his saying deed; which is no further Link: 1.3.29 Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal. Link: 1.3.30 Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain, Link: 1.3.31 If with too credent ear you list his songs, Link: 1.3.32 Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open Link: 1.3.33 To his unmaster'd importunity. Link: 1.3.34 Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister, Link: 1.3.35 And keep you in the rear of your affection, Link: 1.3.36 Out of the shot and danger of desire. Link: 1.3.37 The chariest maid is prodigal enough, Link: 1.3.38 If she unmask her beauty to the moon: Link: 1.3.39 Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes: Link: 1.3.40 The canker galls the infants of the spring, Link: 1.3.41 Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, Link: 1.3.42 And in the morn and liquid dew of youth Link: 1.3.43 Contagious blastments are most imminent. Link: 1.3.44 Be wary then; best safety lies in fear: Link: 1.3.45 Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. Link: 1.3.46

OPHELIA I shall the effect of this good lesson keep, Link: 1.3.47 As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother, Link: 1.3.48 Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Link: 1.3.49 Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven; Link: 1.3.50 Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine, Link: 1.3.51 Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, Link: 1.3.52 And recks not his own rede. Link: 1.3.53

LAERTES O, fear me not. Link: 1.3.54 I stay too long: but here my father comes. Link: 1.3.55 A double blessing is a double grace, Link: 1.3.56 Occasion smiles upon a second leave. Link: 1.3.57

LORD POLONIUS Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame! Link: 1.3.58 The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail, Link: 1.3.59 And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with thee! Link: 1.3.60 And these few precepts in thy memory Link: 1.3.61 See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Link: 1.3.62 Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Link: 1.3.63 Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Link: 1.3.64 Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Link: 1.3.65 Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; Link: 1.3.66 But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Link: 1.3.67 Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware Link: 1.3.68 Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Link: 1.3.69 Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. Link: 1.3.70 Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; Link: 1.3.71 Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. Link: 1.3.72 Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, Link: 1.3.73 But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy; Link: 1.3.74 For the apparel oft proclaims the man, Link: 1.3.75 And they in France of the best rank and station Link: 1.3.76 Are of a most select and generous chief in that. Link: 1.3.77 Neither a borrower nor a lender be; Link: 1.3.78 For loan oft loses both itself and friend, Link: 1.3.79 And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. Link: 1.3.80 This above all: to thine ownself be true, Link: 1.3.81 And it must follow, as the night the day, Link: 1.3.82 Thou canst not then be false to any man. Link: 1.3.83 Farewell: my blessing season this in thee! Link: 1.3.84

LAERTES Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord. Link: 1.3.85

LORD POLONIUS The time invites you; go; your servants tend. Link: 1.3.86

LAERTES Farewell, Ophelia; and remember well Link: 1.3.87 What I have said to you. Link: 1.3.88

OPHELIA 'Tis in my memory lock'd, Link: 1.3.89 And you yourself shall keep the key of it. Link: 1.3.90

LAERTES Farewell. Link: 1.3.91

LORD POLONIUS What is't, Ophelia, be hath said to you? Link: 1.3.92

OPHELIA So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet. Link: 1.3.93

LORD POLONIUS Marry, well bethought: Link: 1.3.94 'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late Link: 1.3.95 Given private time to you; and you yourself Link: 1.3.96 Have of your audience been most free and bounteous: Link: 1.3.97 If it be so, as so 'tis put on me, Link: 1.3.98 And that in way of caution, I must tell you, Link: 1.3.99 You do not understand yourself so clearly Link: 1.3.100 As it behoves my daughter and your honour. Link: 1.3.101 What is between you? give me up the truth. Link: 1.3.102

OPHELIA He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders Link: 1.3.103 Of his affection to me. Link: 1.3.104

LORD POLONIUS Affection! pooh! you speak like a green girl, Link: 1.3.105 Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. Link: 1.3.106 Do you believe his tenders, as you call them? Link: 1.3.107

OPHELIA I do not know, my lord, what I should think. Link: 1.3.108

LORD POLONIUS Marry, I'll teach you: think yourself a baby; Link: 1.3.109 That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay, Link: 1.3.110 Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly; Link: 1.3.111 Or--not to crack the wind of the poor phrase, Link: 1.3.112 Running it thus--you'll tender me a fool. Link: 1.3.113

OPHELIA My lord, he hath importuned me with love Link: 1.3.114 In honourable fashion. Link: 1.3.115

LORD POLONIUS Ay, fashion you may call it; go to, go to. Link: 1.3.116

OPHELIA And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord, Link: 1.3.117 With almost all the holy vows of heaven. Link: 1.3.118

LORD POLONIUS Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, Link: 1.3.119 When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Link: 1.3.120 Lends the tongue vows: these blazes, daughter, Link: 1.3.121 Giving more light than heat, extinct in both, Link: 1.3.122 Even in their promise, as it is a-making, Link: 1.3.123 You must not take for fire. From this time Link: 1.3.124 Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence; Link: 1.3.125 Set your entreatments at a higher rate Link: 1.3.126 Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet, Link: 1.3.127 Believe so much in him, that he is young Link: 1.3.128 And with a larger tether may he walk Link: 1.3.129 Than may be given you: in few, Ophelia, Link: 1.3.130 Do not believe his vows; for they are brokers, Link: 1.3.131 Not of that dye which their investments show, Link: 1.3.132 But mere implorators of unholy suits, Link: 1.3.133 Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds, Link: 1.3.134 The better to beguile. This is for all: Link: 1.3.135 I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, Link: 1.3.136 Have you so slander any moment leisure, Link: 1.3.137 As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Link: 1.3.138 Look to't, I charge you: come your ways. Link: 1.3.139

OPHELIA I shall obey, my lord. Link: 1.3.140

SCENE IV. The platform.

In Scene 4 of Act 1, two guards and Hamlet's friend Horatio are standing watch outside of the castle at midnight. They have seen a ghostly figure that resembles the deceased King of Denmark, and they are waiting to see if it will appear again. Hamlet's father has recently died, and his uncle Claudius has taken the throne and married Hamlet's mother.

As they wait, the ghost appears again and Horatio decides to speak to it. The ghost looks like the dead king, and it beckons Horatio to follow it. Horatio is afraid, but the ghost disappears before he can do anything.

Hamlet arrives on the scene and the guards tell him what they have seen. He decides to wait with them to see if the ghost appears again. When the ghost appears, Hamlet tries to speak to it, but it doesn't respond. The ghost disappears again and Hamlet is left shaken and confused.

Hamlet is determined to learn more about the ghost and why it has appeared. He decides to keep watch with the guards and Horatio, hoping to see the ghost again and get some answers. The scene ends with Hamlet being left alone on stage, contemplating what he has seen and what it might mean for the future.

Enter HAMLET, HORATIO, and MARCELLUS

HAMLET The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold. Link: 1.4.1

HORATIO It is a nipping and an eager air. Link: 1.4.2

HAMLET What hour now? Link: 1.4.3

HORATIO I think it lacks of twelve. Link: 1.4.4

HAMLET No, it is struck. Link: 1.4.5

HORATIO Indeed? I heard it not: then it draws near the season Link: 1.4.6 Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk. Link: 1.4.7 What does this mean, my lord? Link: 1.4.8

HAMLET The king doth wake to-night and takes his rouse, Link: 1.4.9 Keeps wassail, and the swaggering up-spring reels; Link: 1.4.10 And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down, Link: 1.4.11 The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out Link: 1.4.12 The triumph of his pledge. Link: 1.4.13

HORATIO Is it a custom? Link: 1.4.14

HAMLET Ay, marry, is't: Link: 1.4.15 But to my mind, though I am native here Link: 1.4.16 And to the manner born, it is a custom Link: 1.4.17 More honour'd in the breach than the observance. Link: 1.4.18 This heavy-headed revel east and west Link: 1.4.19 Makes us traduced and tax'd of other nations: Link: 1.4.20 They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase Link: 1.4.21 Soil our addition; and indeed it takes Link: 1.4.22 From our achievements, though perform'd at height, Link: 1.4.23 The pith and marrow of our attribute. Link: 1.4.24 So, oft it chances in particular men, Link: 1.4.25 That for some vicious mole of nature in them, Link: 1.4.26 As, in their birth--wherein they are not guilty, Link: 1.4.27 Since nature cannot choose his origin-- Link: 1.4.28 By the o'ergrowth of some complexion, Link: 1.4.29 Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason, Link: 1.4.30 Or by some habit that too much o'er-leavens Link: 1.4.31 The form of plausive manners, that these men, Link: 1.4.32 Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, Link: 1.4.33 Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,-- Link: 1.4.34 Their virtues else--be they as pure as grace, Link: 1.4.35 As infinite as man may undergo-- Link: 1.4.36 Shall in the general censure take corruption Link: 1.4.37 From that particular fault: the dram of eale Link: 1.4.38 Doth all the noble substance of a doubt Link: 1.4.39 To his own scandal. Link: 1.4.40

HORATIO Look, my lord, it comes! Link: 1.4.41

HAMLET Angels and ministers of grace defend us! Link: 1.4.42 Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, Link: 1.4.43 Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, Link: 1.4.44 Be thy intents wicked or charitable, Link: 1.4.45 Thou comest in such a questionable shape Link: 1.4.46 That I will speak to thee: I'll call thee Hamlet, Link: 1.4.47 King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me! Link: 1.4.48 Let me not burst in ignorance; but tell Link: 1.4.49 Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death, Link: 1.4.50 Have burst their cerements; why the sepulchre, Link: 1.4.51 Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn'd, Link: 1.4.52 Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws, Link: 1.4.53 To cast thee up again. What may this mean, Link: 1.4.54 That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel Link: 1.4.55 Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon, Link: 1.4.56 Making night hideous; and we fools of nature Link: 1.4.57 So horridly to shake our disposition Link: 1.4.58 With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? Link: 1.4.59 Say, why is this? wherefore? what should we do? Link: 1.4.60

Ghost beckons HAMLET

HORATIO It beckons you to go away with it, Link: 1.4.61 As if it some impartment did desire Link: 1.4.62 To you alone. Link: 1.4.63

MARCELLUS Look, with what courteous action Link: 1.4.64 It waves you to a more removed ground: Link: 1.4.65 But do not go with it. Link: 1.4.66

HORATIO No, by no means. Link: 1.4.67

HAMLET It will not speak; then I will follow it. Link: 1.4.68

HORATIO Do not, my lord. Link: 1.4.69

HAMLET Why, what should be the fear? Link: 1.4.70 I do not set my life in a pin's fee; Link: 1.4.71 And for my soul, what can it do to that, Link: 1.4.72 Being a thing immortal as itself? Link: 1.4.73 It waves me forth again: I'll follow it. Link: 1.4.74

HORATIO What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Link: 1.4.75 Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff Link: 1.4.76 That beetles o'er his base into the sea, Link: 1.4.77 And there assume some other horrible form, Link: 1.4.78 Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason Link: 1.4.79 And draw you into madness? think of it: Link: 1.4.80 The very place puts toys of desperation, Link: 1.4.81 Without more motive, into every brain Link: 1.4.82 That looks so many fathoms to the sea Link: 1.4.83 And hears it roar beneath. Link: 1.4.84

HAMLET It waves me still. Link: 1.4.85 Go on; I'll follow thee. Link: 1.4.86

MARCELLUS You shall not go, my lord. Link: 1.4.87

HAMLET Hold off your hands. Link: 1.4.88

HORATIO Be ruled; you shall not go. Link: 1.4.89

HAMLET My fate cries out, Link: 1.4.90 And makes each petty artery in this body Link: 1.4.91 As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve. Link: 1.4.92 Still am I call'd. Unhand me, gentlemen. Link: 1.4.93 By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me! Link: 1.4.94 I say, away! Go on; I'll follow thee. Link: 1.4.95

Exeunt Ghost and HAMLET

HORATIO He waxes desperate with imagination. Link: 1.4.96

MARCELLUS Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him. Link: 1.4.97

HORATIO Have after. To what issue will this come? Link: 1.4.98

MARCELLUS Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Link: 1.4.99

HORATIO Heaven will direct it. Link: 1.4.100

MARCELLUS Nay, let's follow him. Link: 1.4.101

SCENE V. Another part of the platform.

Scene 5 of Act 1 begins in the castle of Elsinore, where a group of soldiers are discussing the appearance of a ghostly figure that has been spotted on the ramparts. The soldiers decide to inform Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, about the ghostly apparition, hoping that he can help them make sense of this strange occurrence.

Hamlet arrives and the soldiers recount their sighting of the ghost. They describe the ghost as resembling the recently deceased King Hamlet and wearing the same armor he wore during his battles. Hamlet is intrigued by the description of the ghost and decides to follow the soldiers to the ramparts in the hopes of seeing the ghost for himself.

As Hamlet and the soldiers wait for the ghost to appear, Hamlet reflects on the recent events of his life, including the death of his father and his mother's hasty remarriage to his uncle. Hamlet is deeply troubled by his mother's marriage and is suspicious of his uncle's intentions.

Finally, the ghost appears before Hamlet and beckons him to follow. Hamlet is hesitant at first, but eventually agrees to follow the ghost into the darkness.

The scene ends with the soldiers expressing their concern for Hamlet's safety, as they fear that the ghost may be leading him into danger. However, Hamlet is determined to follow the ghost and find out what it wants from him.

Enter GHOST and HAMLET

HAMLET Where wilt thou lead me? speak; I'll go no further. Link: 1.5.1

Ghost Mark me. Link: 1.5.2

HAMLET I will. Link: 1.5.3

Ghost My hour is almost come, Link: 1.5.4 When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames Link: 1.5.5 Must render up myself. Link: 1.5.6

HAMLET Alas, poor ghost! Link: 1.5.7

Ghost Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing Link: 1.5.8 To what I shall unfold. Link: 1.5.9

HAMLET Speak; I am bound to hear. Link: 1.5.10

Ghost So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear. Link: 1.5.11

HAMLET What? Link: 1.5.12

Ghost I am thy father's spirit, Link: 1.5.13 Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, Link: 1.5.14 And for the day confined to fast in fires, Link: 1.5.15 Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Link: 1.5.16 Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid Link: 1.5.17 To tell the secrets of my prison-house, Link: 1.5.18 I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Link: 1.5.19 Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, Link: 1.5.20 Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, Link: 1.5.21 Thy knotted and combined locks to part Link: 1.5.22 And each particular hair to stand on end, Link: 1.5.23 Like quills upon the fretful porpentine: Link: 1.5.24 But this eternal blazon must not be Link: 1.5.25 To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list! Link: 1.5.26 If thou didst ever thy dear father love-- Link: 1.5.27

HAMLET O God! Link: 1.5.28

Ghost Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. Link: 1.5.29

HAMLET Murder! Link: 1.5.30

Ghost Murder most foul, as in the best it is; Link: 1.5.31 But this most foul, strange and unnatural. Link: 1.5.32

HAMLET Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift Link: 1.5.33 As meditation or the thoughts of love, Link: 1.5.34 May sweep to my revenge. Link: 1.5.35

Ghost I find thee apt; Link: 1.5.36 And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed Link: 1.5.37 That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, Link: 1.5.38 Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear: Link: 1.5.39 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, Link: 1.5.40 A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Link: 1.5.41 Is by a forged process of my death Link: 1.5.42 Rankly abused: but know, thou noble youth, Link: 1.5.43 The serpent that did sting thy father's life Link: 1.5.44 Now wears his crown. Link: 1.5.45

HAMLET O my prophetic soul! My uncle! Link: 1.5.46

Ghost Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, Link: 1.5.47 With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,-- Link: 1.5.48 O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power Link: 1.5.49 So to seduce!--won to his shameful lust Link: 1.5.50 The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen: Link: 1.5.51 O Hamlet, what a falling-off was there! Link: 1.5.52 From me, whose love was of that dignity Link: 1.5.53 That it went hand in hand even with the vow Link: 1.5.54 I made to her in marriage, and to decline Link: 1.5.55 Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor Link: 1.5.56 To those of mine! Link: 1.5.57 But virtue, as it never will be moved, Link: 1.5.58 Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven, Link: 1.5.59 So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd, Link: 1.5.60 Will sate itself in a celestial bed, Link: 1.5.61 And prey on garbage. Link: 1.5.62 But, soft! methinks I scent the morning air; Link: 1.5.63 Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard, Link: 1.5.64 My custom always of the afternoon, Link: 1.5.65 Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, Link: 1.5.66 With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, Link: 1.5.67 And in the porches of my ears did pour Link: 1.5.68 The leperous distilment; whose effect Link: 1.5.69 Holds such an enmity with blood of man Link: 1.5.70 That swift as quicksilver it courses through Link: 1.5.71 The natural gates and alleys of the body, Link: 1.5.72 And with a sudden vigour doth posset Link: 1.5.73 And curd, like eager droppings into milk, Link: 1.5.74 The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine; Link: 1.5.75 And a most instant tetter bark'd about, Link: 1.5.76 Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust, Link: 1.5.77 All my smooth body. Link: 1.5.78 Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand Link: 1.5.79 Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd: Link: 1.5.80 Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, Link: 1.5.81 Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd, Link: 1.5.82 No reckoning made, but sent to my account Link: 1.5.83 With all my imperfections on my head: Link: 1.5.84 O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible! Link: 1.5.85 If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not; Link: 1.5.86 Let not the royal bed of Denmark be Link: 1.5.87 A couch for luxury and damned incest. Link: 1.5.88 But, howsoever thou pursuest this act, Link: 1.5.89 Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Link: 1.5.90 Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven Link: 1.5.91 And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge, Link: 1.5.92 To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once! Link: 1.5.93 The glow-worm shows the matin to be near, Link: 1.5.94 And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire: Link: 1.5.95 Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me. Link: 1.5.96

HAMLET O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else? Link: 1.5.97 And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart; Link: 1.5.98 And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, Link: 1.5.99 But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee! Link: 1.5.100 Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat Link: 1.5.101 In this distracted globe. Remember thee! Link: 1.5.102 Yea, from the table of my memory Link: 1.5.103 I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, Link: 1.5.104 All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, Link: 1.5.105 That youth and observation copied there; Link: 1.5.106 And thy commandment all alone shall live Link: 1.5.107 Within the book and volume of my brain, Link: 1.5.108 Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven! Link: 1.5.109 O most pernicious woman! Link: 1.5.110 O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! Link: 1.5.111 My tables,--meet it is I set it down, Link: 1.5.112 That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain; Link: 1.5.113 At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark: Link: 1.5.114 So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word; Link: 1.5.115 It is 'Adieu, adieu! remember me.' Link: 1.5.116 I have sworn 't. Link: 1.5.117

MARCELLUS (Within) My lord, my lord,-- Link: 1.5.118

MARCELLUS (Within) Lord Hamlet,-- Link: 1.5.119

HORATIO (Within) Heaven secure him! Link: 1.5.120

HAMLET So be it! Link: 1.5.121

HORATIO (Within) Hillo, ho, ho, my lord! Link: 1.5.122

HAMLET Hillo, ho, ho, boy! come, bird, come. Link: 1.5.123

MARCELLUS How is't, my noble lord? Link: 1.5.124

HORATIO What news, my lord? Link: 1.5.125

HAMLET O, wonderful! Link: 1.5.126

HORATIO Good my lord, tell it. Link: 1.5.127

HAMLET No; you'll reveal it. Link: 1.5.128

HORATIO Not I, my lord, by heaven. Link: 1.5.129

MARCELLUS Nor I, my lord. Link: 1.5.130

HAMLET How say you, then; would heart of man once think it? Link: 1.5.131 But you'll be secret? Link: 1.5.132

HORATIO Ay, by heaven, my lord. Link: 1.5.133

HAMLET There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Denmark Link: 1.5.134 But he's an arrant knave. Link: 1.5.135

HORATIO There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave Link: 1.5.136 To tell us this. Link: 1.5.137

HAMLET Why, right; you are i' the right; Link: 1.5.138 And so, without more circumstance at all, Link: 1.5.139 I hold it fit that we shake hands and part: Link: 1.5.140 You, as your business and desire shall point you; Link: 1.5.141 For every man has business and desire, Link: 1.5.142 Such as it is; and for mine own poor part, Link: 1.5.143 Look you, I'll go pray. Link: 1.5.144

HORATIO These are but wild and whirling words, my lord. Link: 1.5.145

HAMLET I'm sorry they offend you, heartily; Link: 1.5.146 Yes, 'faith heartily. Link: 1.5.147

HORATIO There's no offence, my lord. Link: 1.5.148

HAMLET Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio, Link: 1.5.149 And much offence too. Touching this vision here, Link: 1.5.150 It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you: Link: 1.5.151 For your desire to know what is between us, Link: 1.5.152 O'ermaster 't as you may. And now, good friends, Link: 1.5.153 As you are friends, scholars and soldiers, Link: 1.5.154 Give me one poor request. Link: 1.5.155

HORATIO What is't, my lord? we will. Link: 1.5.156

HAMLET Never make known what you have seen to-night. Link: 1.5.157

HORATIO My lord, we will not. Link: 1.5.158

HAMLET Nay, but swear't. Link: 1.5.159

HORATIO In faith, Link: 1.5.160 My lord, not I. Link: 1.5.161

MARCELLUS Nor I, my lord, in faith. Link: 1.5.162

HAMLET Upon my sword. Link: 1.5.163

MARCELLUS We have sworn, my lord, already. Link: 1.5.164

HAMLET Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. Link: 1.5.165

Ghost (Beneath) Swear. Link: 1.5.166

HAMLET Ah, ha, boy! say'st thou so? art thou there, Link: 1.5.167 truepenny? Link: 1.5.168 Come on--you hear this fellow in the cellarage-- Link: 1.5.169 Consent to swear. Link: 1.5.170

HORATIO Propose the oath, my lord. Link: 1.5.171

HAMLET Never to speak of this that you have seen, Link: 1.5.172 Swear by my sword. Link: 1.5.173

Ghost (Beneath) Swear. Link: 1.5.174

HAMLET Hic et ubique? then we'll shift our ground. Link: 1.5.175 Come hither, gentlemen, Link: 1.5.176 And lay your hands again upon my sword: Link: 1.5.177 Never to speak of this that you have heard, Link: 1.5.178 Swear by my sword. Link: 1.5.179

Ghost (Beneath) Swear. Link: 1.5.180

HAMLET Well said, old mole! canst work i' the earth so fast? Link: 1.5.181 A worthy pioner! Once more remove, good friends. Link: 1.5.182

HORATIO O day and night, but this is wondrous strange! Link: 1.5.183

HAMLET And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. Link: 1.5.184 There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Link: 1.5.185 Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. But come; Link: 1.5.186 Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, Link: 1.5.187 How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, Link: 1.5.188 As I perchance hereafter shall think meet Link: 1.5.189 To put an antic disposition on, Link: 1.5.190 That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, Link: 1.5.191 With arms encumber'd thus, or this headshake, Link: 1.5.192 Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase, Link: 1.5.193 As 'Well, well, we know,' or 'We could, an if we would,' Link: 1.5.194 Or 'If we list to speak,' or 'There be, an if they might,' Link: 1.5.195 Or such ambiguous giving out, to note Link: 1.5.196 That you know aught of me: this not to do, Link: 1.5.197 So grace and mercy at your most need help you, Swear. Link: 1.5.198

Ghost (Beneath) Swear. Link: 1.5.199

HAMLET Rest, rest, perturbed spirit! Link: 1.5.200 So, gentlemen, Link: 1.5.201 With all my love I do commend me to you: Link: 1.5.202 And what so poor a man as Hamlet is Link: 1.5.203 May do, to express his love and friending to you, Link: 1.5.204 God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together; Link: 1.5.205 And still your fingers on your lips, I pray. Link: 1.5.206 The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, Link: 1.5.207 That ever I was born to set it right! Link: 1.5.208 Nay, come, let's go together. Link: 1.5.209

Act 2 of Hamlet follows the prince as he continues to grieve for his father and to seek answers about his death. He is approached by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of his childhood friends who have been sent by his uncle, now the king, to spy on him. Hamlet is initially happy to see them but quickly realizes their true intentions and becomes suspicious of everyone around him.

He then meets with a group of actors who have come to town to perform. He becomes fixated on the idea of using the play to catch his uncle in his guilt over his father's death. Hamlet devises a plan to have the actors perform a play that mirrors the circumstances of his father's murder, hoping to see his uncle's reaction.

In the meantime, Polonius, the lord chamberlain, is convinced that Hamlet's madness is due to his love for his daughter Ophelia. Polonius decides to use her as bait to see if Hamlet will reveal anything about his mental state. Ophelia agrees to the plan, but Hamlet's behavior towards her is erratic and confusing.

The act ends with the performance of the play. As Hamlet watches his uncle's reaction to the murder scene, he becomes convinced of his guilt and decides to take action. He is interrupted by the appearance of his mother, who is upset by his behavior and demands that he explain himself. Hamlet becomes increasingly agitated, and the act ends with him warning his mother to repent her sins and not to reveal his plans to anyone.

SCENE I. A room in POLONIUS' house.

Scene 1 of Act 2 begins with Polonius sending his servant Reynaldo to France to spy on Laertes, Polonius' son. He instructs Reynaldo to spread rumors and lies about Laertes' behavior to see if anyone will confirm them. Polonius hopes to determine if his son is engaging in any immoral or inappropriate behavior while he is away.

After Reynaldo leaves, Polonius speaks with Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest. He believes that Hamlet's recent behavior towards Ophelia is due to his love for her. Polonius suggests that Ophelia should reject Hamlet's advances and not spend any more time with him. He believes that Hamlet's love for Ophelia is not genuine and that he is only using her for his own purposes.

Hamlet enters the scene and begins a conversation with Polonius. He speaks in riddles and makes sarcastic remarks, which Polonius does not understand. Polonius eventually leaves, and Hamlet is left alone on stage.

Hamlet begins a soliloquy, expressing his frustration with his own inaction and inability to take revenge for his father's murder. He criticizes himself for not being more like the actor he recently saw perform, who was able to express emotion and passion. Hamlet believes that he is weak and unable to act, and he questions whether he is truly capable of avenging his father's death.

The scene ends with Hamlet declaring that he will put on an "antic disposition" or a fake madness in order to conceal his true intentions and confuse those around him. He believes that this will allow him to investigate the circumstances of his father's death without arousing suspicion.

Enter POLONIUS and REYNALDO

LORD POLONIUS Give him this money and these notes, Reynaldo. Link: 2.1.1

REYNALDO I will, my lord. Link: 2.1.2

LORD POLONIUS You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo, Link: 2.1.3 Before you visit him, to make inquire Link: 2.1.4 Of his behavior. Link: 2.1.5

REYNALDO My lord, I did intend it. Link: 2.1.6

LORD POLONIUS Marry, well said; very well said. Look you, sir, Link: 2.1.7 Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris; Link: 2.1.8 And how, and who, what means, and where they keep, Link: 2.1.9 What company, at what expense; and finding Link: 2.1.10 By this encompassment and drift of question Link: 2.1.11 That they do know my son, come you more nearer Link: 2.1.12 Than your particular demands will touch it: Link: 2.1.13 Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him; Link: 2.1.14 As thus, 'I know his father and his friends, Link: 2.1.15 And in part him: ' do you mark this, Reynaldo? Link: 2.1.16

REYNALDO Ay, very well, my lord. Link: 2.1.17

LORD POLONIUS 'And in part him; but' you may say 'not well: Link: 2.1.18 But, if't be he I mean, he's very wild; Link: 2.1.19 Addicted so and so:' and there put on him Link: 2.1.20 What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank Link: 2.1.21 As may dishonour him; take heed of that; Link: 2.1.22 But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips Link: 2.1.23 As are companions noted and most known Link: 2.1.24 To youth and liberty. Link: 2.1.25

REYNALDO As gaming, my lord. Link: 2.1.26

LORD POLONIUS Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling, Link: 2.1.27 Drabbing: you may go so far. Link: 2.1.28

REYNALDO My lord, that would dishonour him. Link: 2.1.29

LORD POLONIUS 'Faith, no; as you may season it in the charge Link: 2.1.30 You must not put another scandal on him, Link: 2.1.31 That he is open to incontinency; Link: 2.1.32 That's not my meaning: but breathe his faults so quaintly Link: 2.1.33 That they may seem the taints of liberty, Link: 2.1.34 The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind, Link: 2.1.35 A savageness in unreclaimed blood, Link: 2.1.36 Of general assault. Link: 2.1.37

REYNALDO But, my good lord,-- Link: 2.1.38

LORD POLONIUS Wherefore should you do this? Link: 2.1.39

REYNALDO Ay, my lord, Link: 2.1.40 I would know that. Link: 2.1.41

LORD POLONIUS Marry, sir, here's my drift; Link: 2.1.42 And I believe, it is a fetch of wit: Link: 2.1.43 You laying these slight sullies on my son, Link: 2.1.44 As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i' the working, Mark you, Link: 2.1.45 Your party in converse, him you would sound, Link: 2.1.46 Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes Link: 2.1.47 The youth you breathe of guilty, be assured Link: 2.1.48 He closes with you in this consequence; Link: 2.1.49 'Good sir,' or so, or 'friend,' or 'gentleman,' Link: 2.1.50 According to the phrase or the addition Link: 2.1.51 Of man and country. Link: 2.1.52

REYNALDO Very good, my lord. Link: 2.1.53

LORD POLONIUS And then, sir, does he this--he does--what was I Link: 2.1.54 about to say? By the mass, I was about to say Link: 2.1.55 something: where did I leave? Link: 2.1.56

REYNALDO At 'closes in the consequence,' at 'friend or so,' Link: 2.1.57 and 'gentleman.' Link: 2.1.58

LORD POLONIUS At 'closes in the consequence,' ay, marry; Link: 2.1.59 He closes thus: 'I know the gentleman; Link: 2.1.60 I saw him yesterday, or t' other day, Link: 2.1.61 Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you say, Link: 2.1.62 There was a' gaming; there o'ertook in's rouse; Link: 2.1.63 There falling out at tennis:' or perchance, Link: 2.1.64 'I saw him enter such a house of sale,' Link: 2.1.65 Videlicet, a brothel, or so forth. Link: 2.1.66 See you now; Link: 2.1.67 Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth: Link: 2.1.68 And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, Link: 2.1.69 With windlasses and with assays of bias, Link: 2.1.70 By indirections find directions out: Link: 2.1.71 So by my former lecture and advice, Link: 2.1.72 Shall you my son. You have me, have you not? Link: 2.1.73

REYNALDO My lord, I have. Link: 2.1.74

LORD POLONIUS God be wi' you; fare you well. Link: 2.1.75

REYNALDO Good my lord! Link: 2.1.76

LORD POLONIUS Observe his inclination in yourself. Link: 2.1.77

REYNALDO I shall, my lord. Link: 2.1.78

LORD POLONIUS And let him ply his music. Link: 2.1.79

REYNALDO Well, my lord. Link: 2.1.80

LORD POLONIUS Farewell! Link: 2.1.81 How now, Ophelia! what's the matter? Link: 2.1.82

OPHELIA O, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted! Link: 2.1.83

LORD POLONIUS With what, i' the name of God? Link: 2.1.84

OPHELIA My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Link: 2.1.85 Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced; Link: 2.1.86 No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd, Link: 2.1.87 Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle; Link: 2.1.88 Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; Link: 2.1.89 And with a look so piteous in purport Link: 2.1.90 As if he had been loosed out of hell Link: 2.1.91 To speak of horrors,--he comes before me. Link: 2.1.92

LORD POLONIUS Mad for thy love? Link: 2.1.93

OPHELIA My lord, I do not know; Link: 2.1.94 But truly, I do fear it. Link: 2.1.95

LORD POLONIUS What said he? Link: 2.1.96

OPHELIA He took me by the wrist and held me hard; Link: 2.1.97 Then goes he to the length of all his arm; Link: 2.1.98 And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, Link: 2.1.99 He falls to such perusal of my face Link: 2.1.100 As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so; Link: 2.1.101 At last, a little shaking of mine arm Link: 2.1.102 And thrice his head thus waving up and down, Link: 2.1.103 He raised a sigh so piteous and profound Link: 2.1.104 As it did seem to shatter all his bulk Link: 2.1.105 And end his being: that done, he lets me go: Link: 2.1.106 And, with his head over his shoulder turn'd, Link: 2.1.107 He seem'd to find his way without his eyes; Link: 2.1.108 For out o' doors he went without their helps, Link: 2.1.109 And, to the last, bended their light on me. Link: 2.1.110

LORD POLONIUS Come, go with me: I will go seek the king. Link: 2.1.111 This is the very ecstasy of love, Link: 2.1.112 Whose violent property fordoes itself Link: 2.1.113 And leads the will to desperate undertakings Link: 2.1.114 As oft as any passion under heaven Link: 2.1.115 That does afflict our natures. I am sorry. Link: 2.1.116 What, have you given him any hard words of late? Link: 2.1.117

OPHELIA No, my good lord, but, as you did command, Link: 2.1.118 I did repel his fetters and denied Link: 2.1.119 His access to me. Link: 2.1.120

LORD POLONIUS That hath made him mad. Link: 2.1.121 I am sorry that with better heed and judgment Link: 2.1.122 I had not quoted him: I fear'd he did but trifle, Link: 2.1.123 And meant to wreck thee; but, beshrew my jealousy! Link: 2.1.124 By heaven, it is as proper to our age Link: 2.1.125 To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions Link: 2.1.126 As it is common for the younger sort Link: 2.1.127 To lack discretion. Come, go we to the king: Link: 2.1.128 This must be known; which, being kept close, might Link: 2.1.129 move Link: 2.1.130 More grief to hide than hate to utter love. Link: 2.1.131

SCENE II. A room in the castle.

Scene 2 of Act 2 begins with Polonius sending his servant Reynaldo to France with a mission to spy on Laertes, Polonius' son. Polonius tells Reynaldo to spread rumors about Laertes to his acquaintances in France so that he can get information about Laertes' behavior.

After Reynaldo leaves, Ophelia enters and tells Polonius that Hamlet, who she used to have a romantic relationship with, came to her room looking disheveled and behaving strangely. Polonius believes that Hamlet's odd behavior is due to his love for Ophelia, but he decides to test his theory by setting up a meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet while Polonius and Claudius spy on them.

When Hamlet enters, he begins a conversation with Ophelia that quickly turns into insults and accusations. Hamlet tells Ophelia that he never loved her and accuses her of being dishonest and unfaithful. Ophelia is hurt by Hamlet's words and tells him that she hopes he will one day see the error of his ways. After Hamlet leaves, Polonius decides that Hamlet's behavior is not due to his love for Ophelia, but rather due to his madness.

The scene ends with Polonius telling Claudius that they should send Hamlet to England for his own safety and to prevent any further disruption in the court.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and Attendants

KING CLAUDIUS Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern! Link: 2.2.1 Moreover that we much did long to see you, Link: 2.2.2 The need we have to use you did provoke Link: 2.2.3 Our hasty sending. Something have you heard Link: 2.2.4 Of Hamlet's transformation; so call it, Link: 2.2.5 Sith nor the exterior nor the inward man Link: 2.2.6 Resembles that it was. What it should be, Link: 2.2.7 More than his father's death, that thus hath put him Link: 2.2.8 So much from the understanding of himself, Link: 2.2.9 I cannot dream of: I entreat you both, Link: 2.2.10 That, being of so young days brought up with him, Link: 2.2.11 And sith so neighbour'd to his youth and havior, Link: 2.2.12 That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court Link: 2.2.13 Some little time: so by your companies Link: 2.2.14 To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather, Link: 2.2.15 So much as from occasion you may glean, Link: 2.2.16 Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus, Link: 2.2.17 That, open'd, lies within our remedy. Link: 2.2.18

QUEEN GERTRUDE Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of you; Link: 2.2.19 And sure I am two men there are not living Link: 2.2.20 To whom he more adheres. If it will please you Link: 2.2.21 To show us so much gentry and good will Link: 2.2.22 As to expend your time with us awhile, Link: 2.2.23 For the supply and profit of our hope, Link: 2.2.24 Your visitation shall receive such thanks Link: 2.2.25 As fits a king's remembrance. Link: 2.2.26

ROSENCRANTZ Both your majesties Link: 2.2.27 Might, by the sovereign power you have of us, Link: 2.2.28 Put your dread pleasures more into command Link: 2.2.29 Than to entreaty. Link: 2.2.30

GUILDENSTERN But we both obey, Link: 2.2.31 And here give up ourselves, in the full bent Link: 2.2.32 To lay our service freely at your feet, Link: 2.2.33 To be commanded. Link: 2.2.34

KING CLAUDIUS Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern. Link: 2.2.35

QUEEN GERTRUDE Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz: Link: 2.2.36 And I beseech you instantly to visit Link: 2.2.37 My too much changed son. Go, some of you, Link: 2.2.38 And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is. Link: 2.2.39

GUILDENSTERN Heavens make our presence and our practises Link: 2.2.40 Pleasant and helpful to him! Link: 2.2.41

QUEEN GERTRUDE Ay, amen! Link: 2.2.42

Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and some Attendants

Enter POLONIUS

LORD POLONIUS The ambassadors from Norway, my good lord, Link: 2.2.43 Are joyfully return'd. Link: 2.2.44

KING CLAUDIUS Thou still hast been the father of good news. Link: 2.2.45

LORD POLONIUS Have I, my lord? I assure my good liege, Link: 2.2.46 I hold my duty, as I hold my soul, Link: 2.2.47 Both to my God and to my gracious king: Link: 2.2.48 And I do think, or else this brain of mine Link: 2.2.49 Hunts not the trail of policy so sure Link: 2.2.50 As it hath used to do, that I have found Link: 2.2.51 The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy. Link: 2.2.52

KING CLAUDIUS O, speak of that; that do I long to hear. Link: 2.2.53

LORD POLONIUS Give first admittance to the ambassadors; Link: 2.2.54 My news shall be the fruit to that great feast. Link: 2.2.55

KING CLAUDIUS Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in. Link: 2.2.56 He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found Link: 2.2.57 The head and source of all your son's distemper. Link: 2.2.58

QUEEN GERTRUDE I doubt it is no other but the main; Link: 2.2.59 His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage. Link: 2.2.60

KING CLAUDIUS Well, we shall sift him. Link: 2.2.61 Welcome, my good friends! Link: 2.2.62 Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway? Link: 2.2.63

VOLTIMAND Most fair return of greetings and desires. Link: 2.2.64 Upon our first, he sent out to suppress Link: 2.2.65 His nephew's levies; which to him appear'd Link: 2.2.66 To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack; Link: 2.2.67 But, better look'd into, he truly found Link: 2.2.68 It was against your highness: whereat grieved, Link: 2.2.69 That so his sickness, age and impotence Link: 2.2.70 Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrests Link: 2.2.71 On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys; Link: 2.2.72 Receives rebuke from Norway, and in fine Link: 2.2.73 Makes vow before his uncle never more Link: 2.2.74 To give the assay of arms against your majesty. Link: 2.2.75 Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy, Link: 2.2.76 Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee, Link: 2.2.77 And his commission to employ those soldiers, Link: 2.2.78 So levied as before, against the Polack: Link: 2.2.79 With an entreaty, herein further shown, Link: 2.2.80 That it might please you to give quiet pass Link: 2.2.81 Through your dominions for this enterprise, Link: 2.2.82 On such regards of safety and allowance Link: 2.2.83 As therein are set down. Link: 2.2.84

KING CLAUDIUS It likes us well; Link: 2.2.85 And at our more consider'd time well read, Link: 2.2.86 Answer, and think upon this business. Link: 2.2.87 Meantime we thank you for your well-took labour: Link: 2.2.88 Go to your rest; at night we'll feast together: Link: 2.2.89 Most welcome home! Link: 2.2.90

Exeunt VOLTIMAND and CORNELIUS

LORD POLONIUS This business is well ended. Link: 2.2.91 My liege, and madam, to expostulate Link: 2.2.92 What majesty should be, what duty is, Link: 2.2.93 Why day is day, night night, and time is time, Link: 2.2.94 Were nothing but to waste night, day and time. Link: 2.2.95 Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, Link: 2.2.96 And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, Link: 2.2.97 I will be brief: your noble son is mad: Link: 2.2.98 Mad call I it; for, to define true madness, Link: 2.2.99 What is't but to be nothing else but mad? Link: 2.2.100 But let that go. Link: 2.2.101

QUEEN GERTRUDE More matter, with less art. Link: 2.2.102

LORD POLONIUS Madam, I swear I use no art at all. Link: 2.2.103 That he is mad, 'tis true: 'tis true 'tis pity; Link: 2.2.104 And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure; Link: 2.2.105 But farewell it, for I will use no art. Link: 2.2.106 Mad let us grant him, then: and now remains Link: 2.2.107 That we find out the cause of this effect, Link: 2.2.108 Or rather say, the cause of this defect, Link: 2.2.109 For this effect defective comes by cause: Link: 2.2.110 Thus it remains, and the remainder thus. Perpend. Link: 2.2.111 I have a daughter--have while she is mine-- Link: 2.2.112 Who, in her duty and obedience, mark, Link: 2.2.113 Hath given me this: now gather, and surmise. Link: 2.2.114 'To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most Link: 2.2.115 beautified Ophelia,'-- Link: 2.2.116 That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; 'beautified' is Link: 2.2.117 a vile phrase: but you shall hear. Thus: Link: 2.2.118 'In her excellent white bosom, these, c.' Link: 2.2.119

QUEEN GERTRUDE Came this from Hamlet to her? Link: 2.2.120

LORD POLONIUS Good madam, stay awhile; I will be faithful. Link: 2.2.121 'Doubt thou the stars are fire; Link: 2.2.122 Doubt that the sun doth move; Link: 2.2.123 Doubt truth to be a liar; Link: 2.2.124 But never doubt I love. Link: 2.2.125 'O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; Link: 2.2.126 I have not art to reckon my groans: but that Link: 2.2.127 I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu. Link: 2.2.128 'Thine evermore most dear lady, whilst Link: 2.2.129 this machine is to him, HAMLET.' Link: 2.2.130 This, in obedience, hath my daughter shown me, Link: 2.2.131 And more above, hath his solicitings, Link: 2.2.132 As they fell out by time, by means and place, Link: 2.2.133 All given to mine ear. Link: 2.2.134

KING CLAUDIUS But how hath she Link: 2.2.135 Received his love? Link: 2.2.136

LORD POLONIUS What do you think of me? Link: 2.2.137

KING CLAUDIUS As of a man faithful and honourable. Link: 2.2.138

LORD POLONIUS I would fain prove so. But what might you think, Link: 2.2.139 When I had seen this hot love on the wing-- Link: 2.2.140 As I perceived it, I must tell you that, Link: 2.2.141 Before my daughter told me--what might you, Link: 2.2.142 Or my dear majesty your queen here, think, Link: 2.2.143 If I had play'd the desk or table-book, Link: 2.2.144 Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb, Link: 2.2.145 Or look'd upon this love with idle sight; Link: 2.2.146 What might you think? No, I went round to work, Link: 2.2.147 And my young mistress thus I did bespeak: Link: 2.2.148 'Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star; Link: 2.2.149 This must not be:' and then I precepts gave her, Link: 2.2.150 That she should lock herself from his resort, Link: 2.2.151 Admit no messengers, receive no tokens. Link: 2.2.152 Which done, she took the fruits of my advice; Link: 2.2.153 And he, repulsed--a short tale to make-- Link: 2.2.154 Fell into a sadness, then into a fast, Link: 2.2.155 Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness, Link: 2.2.156 Thence to a lightness, and, by this declension, Link: 2.2.157 Into the madness wherein now he raves, Link: 2.2.158 And all we mourn for. Link: 2.2.159

KING CLAUDIUS Do you think 'tis this? Link: 2.2.160

QUEEN GERTRUDE It may be, very likely. Link: 2.2.161

LORD POLONIUS Hath there been such a time--I'd fain know that-- Link: 2.2.162 That I have positively said 'Tis so,' Link: 2.2.163 When it proved otherwise? Link: 2.2.164

KING CLAUDIUS Not that I know. Link: 2.2.165

LORD POLONIUS (Pointing to his head and shoulder) Link: 2.2.166 Take this from this, if this be otherwise: Link: 2.2.167 If circumstances lead me, I will find Link: 2.2.168 Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed Link: 2.2.169 Within the centre. Link: 2.2.170

KING CLAUDIUS How may we try it further? Link: 2.2.171

LORD POLONIUS You know, sometimes he walks four hours together Link: 2.2.172 Here in the lobby. Link: 2.2.173

QUEEN GERTRUDE So he does indeed. Link: 2.2.174

LORD POLONIUS At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him: Link: 2.2.175 Be you and I behind an arras then; Link: 2.2.176 Mark the encounter: if he love her not Link: 2.2.177 And be not from his reason fall'n thereon, Link: 2.2.178 Let me be no assistant for a state, Link: 2.2.179 But keep a farm and carters. Link: 2.2.180

KING CLAUDIUS We will try it. Link: 2.2.181

QUEEN GERTRUDE But, look, where sadly the poor wretch comes reading. Link: 2.2.182

LORD POLONIUS Away, I do beseech you, both away: Link: 2.2.183 I'll board him presently. Link: 2.2.184 O, give me leave: Link: 2.2.185 How does my good Lord Hamlet? Link: 2.2.186

HAMLET Well, God-a-mercy. Link: 2.2.187

LORD POLONIUS Do you know me, my lord? Link: 2.2.188

HAMLET Excellent well; you are a fishmonger. Link: 2.2.189

LORD POLONIUS Not I, my lord. Link: 2.2.190

HAMLET Then I would you were so honest a man. Link: 2.2.191

LORD POLONIUS Honest, my lord! Link: 2.2.192

HAMLET Ay, sir; to be honest, as this world goes, is to be Link: 2.2.193 one man picked out of ten thousand. Link: 2.2.194

LORD POLONIUS That's very true, my lord. Link: 2.2.195

HAMLET For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a Link: 2.2.196 god kissing carrion,--Have you a daughter? Link: 2.2.197

LORD POLONIUS I have, my lord. Link: 2.2.198

HAMLET Let her not walk i' the sun: conception is a Link: 2.2.199 blessing: but not as your daughter may conceive. Link: 2.2.200 Friend, look to 't. Link: 2.2.201

LORD POLONIUS (Aside) How say you by that? Still harping on my Link: 2.2.202 daughter: yet he knew me not at first; he said I Link: 2.2.203 was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and Link: 2.2.204 truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for Link: 2.2.205 love; very near this. I'll speak to him again. Link: 2.2.206 What do you read, my lord? Link: 2.2.207

HAMLET Words, words, words. Link: 2.2.208

LORD POLONIUS What is the matter, my lord? Link: 2.2.209

HAMLET Between who? Link: 2.2.210

LORD POLONIUS I mean, the matter that you read, my lord. Link: 2.2.211

HAMLET Slanders, sir: for the satirical rogue says here Link: 2.2.212 that old men have grey beards, that their faces are Link: 2.2.213 wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and Link: 2.2.214 plum-tree gum and that they have a plentiful lack of Link: 2.2.215 wit, together with most weak hams: all which, sir, Link: 2.2.216 though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet Link: 2.2.217 I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down, for Link: 2.2.218 yourself, sir, should be old as I am, if like a crab Link: 2.2.219 you could go backward. Link: 2.2.220

LORD POLONIUS (Aside) Though this be madness, yet there is method Link: 2.2.221 in 't. Will you walk out of the air, my lord? Link: 2.2.222

HAMLET Into my grave. Link: 2.2.223

LORD POLONIUS Indeed, that is out o' the air. Link: 2.2.224 How pregnant sometimes his replies are! a happiness Link: 2.2.225 that often madness hits on, which reason and sanity Link: 2.2.226 could not so prosperously be delivered of. I will Link: 2.2.227 leave him, and suddenly contrive the means of Link: 2.2.228 meeting between him and my daughter.--My honourable Link: 2.2.229 lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you. Link: 2.2.230

HAMLET You cannot, sir, take from me any thing that I will Link: 2.2.231 more willingly part withal: except my life, except Link: 2.2.232 my life, except my life. Link: 2.2.233

LORD POLONIUS Fare you well, my lord. Link: 2.2.234

HAMLET These tedious old fools! Link: 2.2.235

Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN

LORD POLONIUS You go to seek the Lord Hamlet; there he is. Link: 2.2.236

ROSENCRANTZ (To POLONIUS) God save you, sir! Link: 2.2.237

Exit POLONIUS

GUILDENSTERN My honoured lord! Link: 2.2.238

ROSENCRANTZ My most dear lord! Link: 2.2.239

HAMLET My excellent good friends! How dost thou, Link: 2.2.240 Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do ye both? Link: 2.2.241

ROSENCRANTZ As the indifferent children of the earth. Link: 2.2.242

GUILDENSTERN Happy, in that we are not over-happy; Link: 2.2.243 On fortune's cap we are not the very button. Link: 2.2.244

HAMLET Nor the soles of her shoe? Link: 2.2.245

ROSENCRANTZ Neither, my lord. Link: 2.2.246

HAMLET Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of Link: 2.2.247 her favours? Link: 2.2.248

GUILDENSTERN 'Faith, her privates we. Link: 2.2.249

HAMLET In the secret parts of fortune? O, most true; she Link: 2.2.250 is a strumpet. What's the news? Link: 2.2.251

ROSENCRANTZ None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest. Link: 2.2.252

HAMLET Then is doomsday near: but your news is not true. Link: 2.2.253 Let me question more in particular: what have you, Link: 2.2.254 my good friends, deserved at the hands of fortune, Link: 2.2.255 that she sends you to prison hither? Link: 2.2.256

GUILDENSTERN Prison, my lord! Link: 2.2.257

HAMLET Denmark's a prison. Link: 2.2.258

ROSENCRANTZ Then is the world one. Link: 2.2.259

HAMLET A goodly one; in which there are many confines, Link: 2.2.260 wards and dungeons, Denmark being one o' the worst. Link: 2.2.261

ROSENCRANTZ We think not so, my lord. Link: 2.2.262

HAMLET Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing Link: 2.2.263 either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me Link: 2.2.264 it is a prison. Link: 2.2.265

ROSENCRANTZ Why then, your ambition makes it one; 'tis too Link: 2.2.266 narrow for your mind. Link: 2.2.267

HAMLET O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count Link: 2.2.268 myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I Link: 2.2.269 have bad dreams. Link: 2.2.270

GUILDENSTERN Which dreams indeed are ambition, for the very Link: 2.2.271 substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. Link: 2.2.272

HAMLET A dream itself is but a shadow. Link: 2.2.273

ROSENCRANTZ Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a Link: 2.2.274 quality that it is but a shadow's shadow. Link: 2.2.275

HAMLET Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs and Link: 2.2.276 outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. Shall we Link: 2.2.277 to the court? for, by my fay, I cannot reason. Link: 2.2.278

ROSENCRANTZ We'll wait upon you. Link: 2.2.279

HAMLET No such matter: I will not sort you with the rest Link: 2.2.280 of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest Link: 2.2.281 man, I am most dreadfully attended. But, in the Link: 2.2.282 beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinore? Link: 2.2.283

ROSENCRANTZ To visit you, my lord; no other occasion. Link: 2.2.284

HAMLET Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I Link: 2.2.285 thank you: and sure, dear friends, my thanks are Link: 2.2.286 too dear a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it Link: 2.2.287 your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come, Link: 2.2.288 deal justly with me: come, come; nay, speak. Link: 2.2.289

GUILDENSTERN What should we say, my lord? Link: 2.2.290

HAMLET Why, any thing, but to the purpose. You were sent Link: 2.2.291 for; and there is a kind of confession in your looks Link: 2.2.292 which your modesties have not craft enough to colour: Link: 2.2.293 I know the good king and queen have sent for you. Link: 2.2.294

ROSENCRANTZ To what end, my lord? Link: 2.2.295

HAMLET That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, by Link: 2.2.296 the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy of Link: 2.2.297 our youth, by the obligation of our ever-preserved Link: 2.2.298 love, and by what more dear a better proposer could Link: 2.2.299 charge you withal, be even and direct with me, Link: 2.2.300 whether you were sent for, or no? Link: 2.2.301

ROSENCRANTZ (Aside to GUILDENSTERN) What say you? Link: 2.2.302

HAMLET (Aside) Nay, then, I have an eye of you.--If you Link: 2.2.303 love me, hold not off. Link: 2.2.304

GUILDENSTERN My lord, we were sent for. Link: 2.2.305

HAMLET I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation Link: 2.2.306 prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king Link: 2.2.307 and queen moult no feather. I have of late--but Link: 2.2.308 wherefore I know not--lost all my mirth, forgone all Link: 2.2.309 custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily Link: 2.2.310 with my disposition that this goodly frame, the Link: 2.2.311 earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most Link: 2.2.312 excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave Link: 2.2.313 o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted Link: 2.2.314 with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to Link: 2.2.315 me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours. Link: 2.2.316 What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! Link: 2.2.317 how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how Link: 2.2.318 express and admirable! in action how like an angel! Link: 2.2.319 in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the Link: 2.2.320 world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, Link: 2.2.321 what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not Link: 2.2.322 me: no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling Link: 2.2.323 you seem to say so. Link: 2.2.324

ROSENCRANTZ My lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts. Link: 2.2.325

HAMLET Why did you laugh then, when I said 'man delights not me'? Link: 2.2.326

ROSENCRANTZ To think, my lord, if you delight not in man, what Link: 2.2.327 lenten entertainment the players shall receive from Link: 2.2.328 you: we coted them on the way; and hither are they Link: 2.2.329 coming, to offer you service. Link: 2.2.330

HAMLET He that plays the king shall be welcome; his majesty Link: 2.2.331 shall have tribute of me; the adventurous knight Link: 2.2.332 shall use his foil and target; the lover shall not Link: 2.2.333 sigh gratis; the humourous man shall end his part Link: 2.2.334 in peace; the clown shall make those laugh whose Link: 2.2.335 lungs are tickled o' the sere; and the lady shall Link: 2.2.336 say her mind freely, or the blank verse shall halt Link: 2.2.337 for't. What players are they? Link: 2.2.338

ROSENCRANTZ Even those you were wont to take delight in, the Link: 2.2.339 tragedians of the city. Link: 2.2.340

HAMLET How chances it they travel? their residence, both Link: 2.2.341 in reputation and profit, was better both ways. Link: 2.2.342

ROSENCRANTZ I think their inhibition comes by the means of the Link: 2.2.343 late innovation. Link: 2.2.344

HAMLET Do they hold the same estimation they did when I was Link: 2.2.345 in the city? are they so followed? Link: 2.2.346

ROSENCRANTZ No, indeed, are they not. Link: 2.2.347

HAMLET How comes it? do they grow rusty? Link: 2.2.348

ROSENCRANTZ Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace: but Link: 2.2.349 there is, sir, an aery of children, little eyases, Link: 2.2.350 that cry out on the top of question, and are most Link: 2.2.351 tyrannically clapped for't: these are now the Link: 2.2.352 fashion, and so berattle the common stages--so they Link: 2.2.353 call them--that many wearing rapiers are afraid of Link: 2.2.354 goose-quills and dare scarce come thither. Link: 2.2.355

HAMLET What, are they children? who maintains 'em? how are Link: 2.2.356 they escoted? Will they pursue the quality no Link: 2.2.357 longer than they can sing? will they not say Link: 2.2.358 afterwards, if they should grow themselves to common Link: 2.2.359 players--as it is most like, if their means are no Link: 2.2.360 better--their writers do them wrong, to make them Link: 2.2.361 exclaim against their own succession? Link: 2.2.362

ROSENCRANTZ 'Faith, there has been much to do on both sides; and Link: 2.2.363 the nation holds it no sin to tarre them to Link: 2.2.364 controversy: there was, for a while, no money bid Link: 2.2.365 for argument, unless the poet and the player went to Link: 2.2.366 cuffs in the question. Link: 2.2.367

HAMLET Is't possible? Link: 2.2.368

GUILDENSTERN O, there has been much throwing about of brains. Link: 2.2.369

HAMLET Do the boys carry it away? Link: 2.2.370

ROSENCRANTZ Ay, that they do, my lord; Hercules and his load too. Link: 2.2.371

HAMLET It is not very strange; for mine uncle is king of Link: 2.2.372 Denmark, and those that would make mows at him while Link: 2.2.373 my father lived, give twenty, forty, fifty, an Link: 2.2.374 hundred ducats a-piece for his picture in little. Link: 2.2.375 'Sblood, there is something in this more than Link: 2.2.376 natural, if philosophy could find it out. Link: 2.2.377

Flourish of trumpets within

GUILDENSTERN There are the players. Link: 2.2.378

HAMLET Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. Your hands, Link: 2.2.379 come then: the appurtenance of welcome is fashion Link: 2.2.380 and ceremony: let me comply with you in this garb, Link: 2.2.381 lest my extent to the players, which, I tell you, Link: 2.2.382 must show fairly outward, should more appear like Link: 2.2.383 entertainment than yours. You are welcome: but my Link: 2.2.384 uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived. Link: 2.2.385

GUILDENSTERN In what, my dear lord? Link: 2.2.386

HAMLET I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is Link: 2.2.387 southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw. Link: 2.2.388

LORD POLONIUS Well be with you, gentlemen! Link: 2.2.389

HAMLET Hark you, Guildenstern; and you too: at each ear a Link: 2.2.390 hearer: that great baby you see there is not yet Link: 2.2.391 out of his swaddling-clouts. Link: 2.2.392

ROSENCRANTZ Happily he's the second time come to them; for they Link: 2.2.393 say an old man is twice a child. Link: 2.2.394

HAMLET I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the players; Link: 2.2.395 mark it. You say right, sir: o' Monday morning; Link: 2.2.396 'twas so indeed. Link: 2.2.397

LORD POLONIUS My lord, I have news to tell you. Link: 2.2.398

HAMLET My lord, I have news to tell you. Link: 2.2.399 When Roscius was an actor in Rome,-- Link: 2.2.400

LORD POLONIUS The actors are come hither, my lord. Link: 2.2.401

HAMLET Buz, buz! Link: 2.2.402

LORD POLONIUS Upon mine honour,-- Link: 2.2.403

HAMLET Then came each actor on his ass,-- Link: 2.2.404

LORD POLONIUS The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, Link: 2.2.405 comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, Link: 2.2.406 historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical- Link: 2.2.407 comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or Link: 2.2.408 poem unlimited: Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Link: 2.2.409 Plautus too light. For the law of writ and the Link: 2.2.410 liberty, these are the only men. Link: 2.2.411

HAMLET O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure hadst thou! Link: 2.2.412

LORD POLONIUS What a treasure had he, my lord? Link: 2.2.413

HAMLET Why, Link: 2.2.414 'One fair daughter and no more, Link: 2.2.415 The which he loved passing well.' Link: 2.2.416

LORD POLONIUS (Aside) Still on my daughter. Link: 2.2.417

HAMLET Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah? Link: 2.2.418

LORD POLONIUS If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a daughter Link: 2.2.419 that I love passing well. Link: 2.2.420

HAMLET Nay, that follows not. Link: 2.2.421

LORD POLONIUS What follows, then, my lord? Link: 2.2.422

HAMLET Why, Link: 2.2.423 'As by lot, God wot,' Link: 2.2.424 and then, you know, Link: 2.2.425 'It came to pass, as most like it was,'-- Link: 2.2.426 the first row of the pious chanson will show you Link: 2.2.427 more; for look, where my abridgement comes. Link: 2.2.428 You are welcome, masters; welcome, all. I am glad Link: 2.2.429 to see thee well. Welcome, good friends. O, my old Link: 2.2.430 friend! thy face is valenced since I saw thee last: Link: 2.2.431 comest thou to beard me in Denmark? What, my young Link: 2.2.432 lady and mistress! By'r lady, your ladyship is Link: 2.2.433 nearer to heaven than when I saw you last, by the Link: 2.2.434 altitude of a chopine. Pray God, your voice, like Link: 2.2.435 apiece of uncurrent gold, be not cracked within the Link: 2.2.436 ring. Masters, you are all welcome. We'll e'en Link: 2.2.437 to't like French falconers, fly at any thing we see: Link: 2.2.438 we'll have a speech straight: come, give us a taste Link: 2.2.439 of your quality; come, a passionate speech. Link: 2.2.440

First Player What speech, my lord? Link: 2.2.441

HAMLET I heard thee speak me a speech once, but it was Link: 2.2.442 never acted; or, if it was, not above once; for the Link: 2.2.443 play, I remember, pleased not the million; 'twas Link: 2.2.444 caviare to the general: but it was--as I received Link: 2.2.445 it, and others, whose judgments in such matters Link: 2.2.446 cried in the top of mine--an excellent play, well Link: 2.2.447 digested in the scenes, set down with as much Link: 2.2.448 modesty as cunning. I remember, one said there Link: 2.2.449 were no sallets in the lines to make the matter Link: 2.2.450 savoury, nor no matter in the phrase that might Link: 2.2.451 indict the author of affectation; but called it an Link: 2.2.452 honest method, as wholesome as sweet, and by very Link: 2.2.453 much more handsome than fine. One speech in it I Link: 2.2.454 chiefly loved: 'twas Aeneas' tale to Dido; and Link: 2.2.455 thereabout of it especially, where he speaks of Link: 2.2.456 Priam's slaughter: if it live in your memory, begin Link: 2.2.457 at this line: let me see, let me see-- Link: 2.2.458 'The rugged Pyrrhus, like the Hyrcanian beast,'-- Link: 2.2.459 it is not so:--it begins with Pyrrhus:-- Link: 2.2.460 'The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms, Link: 2.2.461 Black as his purpose, did the night resemble Link: 2.2.462 When he lay couched in the ominous horse, Link: 2.2.463 Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd Link: 2.2.464 With heraldry more dismal; head to foot Link: 2.2.465 Now is he total gules; horridly trick'd Link: 2.2.466 With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, Link: 2.2.467 Baked and impasted with the parching streets, Link: 2.2.468 That lend a tyrannous and damned light Link: 2.2.469 To their lord's murder: roasted in wrath and fire, Link: 2.2.470 And thus o'er-sized with coagulate gore, Link: 2.2.471 With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus Link: 2.2.472 Old grandsire Priam seeks.' Link: 2.2.473 So, proceed you. Link: 2.2.474

LORD POLONIUS 'Fore God, my lord, well spoken, with good accent and Link: 2.2.475 good discretion. Link: 2.2.476

First Player 'Anon he finds him Link: 2.2.477 Striking too short at Greeks; his antique sword, Link: 2.2.478 Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls, Link: 2.2.479 Repugnant to command: unequal match'd, Link: 2.2.480 Pyrrhus at Priam drives; in rage strikes wide; Link: 2.2.481 But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword Link: 2.2.482 The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium, Link: 2.2.483 Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top Link: 2.2.484 Stoops to his base, and with a hideous crash Link: 2.2.485 Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear: for, lo! his sword, Link: 2.2.486 Which was declining on the milky head Link: 2.2.487 Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick: Link: 2.2.488 So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood, Link: 2.2.489 And like a neutral to his will and matter, Link: 2.2.490 Did nothing. Link: 2.2.491 But, as we often see, against some storm, Link: 2.2.492 A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still, Link: 2.2.493 The bold winds speechless and the orb below Link: 2.2.494 As hush as death, anon the dreadful thunder Link: 2.2.495 Doth rend the region, so, after Pyrrhus' pause, Link: 2.2.496 Aroused vengeance sets him new a-work; Link: 2.2.497 And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall Link: 2.2.498 On Mars's armour forged for proof eterne Link: 2.2.499 With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword Link: 2.2.500 Now falls on Priam. Link: 2.2.501 Out, out, thou strumpet, Fortune! All you gods, Link: 2.2.502 In general synod 'take away her power; Link: 2.2.503 Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, Link: 2.2.504 And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven, Link: 2.2.505 As low as to the fiends!' Link: 2.2.506

LORD POLONIUS This is too long. Link: 2.2.507

HAMLET It shall to the barber's, with your beard. Prithee, Link: 2.2.508 say on: he's for a jig or a tale of bawdry, or he Link: 2.2.509 sleeps: say on: come to Hecuba. Link: 2.2.510

First Player 'But who, O, who had seen the mobled queen--' Link: 2.2.511

HAMLET 'The mobled queen?' Link: 2.2.512

LORD POLONIUS That's good; 'mobled queen' is good. Link: 2.2.513

First Player 'Run barefoot up and down, threatening the flames Link: 2.2.514 With bisson rheum; a clout upon that head Link: 2.2.515 Where late the diadem stood, and for a robe, Link: 2.2.516 About her lank and all o'er-teemed loins, Link: 2.2.517 A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up; Link: 2.2.518 Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd, Link: 2.2.519 'Gainst Fortune's state would treason have Link: 2.2.520 pronounced: Link: 2.2.521 But if the gods themselves did see her then Link: 2.2.522 When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport Link: 2.2.523 In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs, Link: 2.2.524 The instant burst of clamour that she made, Link: 2.2.525 Unless things mortal move them not at all, Link: 2.2.526 Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven, Link: 2.2.527 And passion in the gods.' Link: 2.2.528

LORD POLONIUS Look, whether he has not turned his colour and has Link: 2.2.529 tears in's eyes. Pray you, no more. Link: 2.2.530

HAMLET 'Tis well: I'll have thee speak out the rest soon. Link: 2.2.531 Good my lord, will you see the players well Link: 2.2.532 bestowed? Do you hear, let them be well used; for Link: 2.2.533 they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the Link: 2.2.534 time: after your death you were better have a bad Link: 2.2.535 epitaph than their ill report while you live. Link: 2.2.536

LORD POLONIUS My lord, I will use them according to their desert. Link: 2.2.537

HAMLET God's bodykins, man, much better: use every man Link: 2.2.538 after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping? Link: 2.2.539 Use them after your own honour and dignity: the less Link: 2.2.540 they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty. Link: 2.2.541 Take them in. Link: 2.2.542

LORD POLONIUS Come, sirs. Link: 2.2.543

HAMLET Follow him, friends: we'll hear a play to-morrow. Link: 2.2.544 Dost thou hear me, old friend; can you play the Link: 2.2.545 Murder of Gonzago? Link: 2.2.546

First Player Ay, my lord. Link: 2.2.547

HAMLET We'll ha't to-morrow night. You could, for a need, Link: 2.2.548 study a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines, which Link: 2.2.549 I would set down and insert in't, could you not? Link: 2.2.550

First Player Ay, my lord. Link: 2.2.551

HAMLET Very well. Follow that lord; and look you mock him Link: 2.2.552 not. Link: 2.2.553 My good friends, I'll leave you till night: you are Link: 2.2.554 welcome to Elsinore. Link: 2.2.555

ROSENCRANTZ Good my lord! Link: 2.2.556

HAMLET Ay, so, God be wi' ye; Link: 2.2.557 Now I am alone. Link: 2.2.558 O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Link: 2.2.559 Is it not monstrous that this player here, Link: 2.2.560 But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Link: 2.2.561 Could force his soul so to his own conceit Link: 2.2.562 That from her working all his visage wann'd, Link: 2.2.563 Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, Link: 2.2.564 A broken voice, and his whole function suiting Link: 2.2.565 With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing! Link: 2.2.566 For Hecuba! Link: 2.2.567 What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, Link: 2.2.568 That he should weep for her? What would he do, Link: 2.2.569 Had he the motive and the cue for passion Link: 2.2.570 That I have? He would drown the stage with tears Link: 2.2.571 And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, Link: 2.2.572 Make mad the guilty and appal the free, Link: 2.2.573 Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed Link: 2.2.574 The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I, Link: 2.2.575 A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, Link: 2.2.576 Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, Link: 2.2.577 And can say nothing; no, not for a king, Link: 2.2.578 Upon whose property and most dear life Link: 2.2.579 A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward? Link: 2.2.580 Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across? Link: 2.2.581 Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face? Link: 2.2.582 Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat, Link: 2.2.583 As deep as to the lungs? who does me this? Link: 2.2.584 Ha! Link: 2.2.585 'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be Link: 2.2.586 But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall Link: 2.2.587 To make oppression bitter, or ere this Link: 2.2.588 I should have fatted all the region kites Link: 2.2.589 With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain! Link: 2.2.590 Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain! Link: 2.2.591 O, vengeance! Link: 2.2.592 Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, Link: 2.2.593 That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, Link: 2.2.594 Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Link: 2.2.595 Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words, Link: 2.2.596 And fall a-cursing, like a very drab, Link: 2.2.597 A scullion! Link: 2.2.598 Fie upon't! foh! About, my brain! I have heard Link: 2.2.599 That guilty creatures sitting at a play Link: 2.2.600 Have by the very cunning of the scene Link: 2.2.601 Been struck so to the soul that presently Link: 2.2.602 They have proclaim'd their malefactions; Link: 2.2.603 For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak Link: 2.2.604 With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players Link: 2.2.605 Play something like the murder of my father Link: 2.2.606 Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks; Link: 2.2.607 I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench, Link: 2.2.608 I know my course. The spirit that I have seen Link: 2.2.609 May be the devil: and the devil hath power Link: 2.2.610 To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Link: 2.2.611 Out of my weakness and my melancholy, Link: 2.2.612 As he is very potent with such spirits, Link: 2.2.613 Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds Link: 2.2.614 More relative than this: the play 's the thing Link: 2.2.615 Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Link: 2.2.616

Act 3 of Hamlet is an important turning point in the play, as it features several key events that drive the plot forward and set the stage for the rest of the story.

The act opens with Claudius and Gertrude attempting to figure out what is troubling Hamlet, as they are worried that he may pose a threat to the stability of the kingdom. Meanwhile, Hamlet is plotting his revenge against Claudius for the murder of his father.

The famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy occurs in this act, as Hamlet contemplates the nature of life and death. He ultimately decides to continue his plan for revenge, despite the risks involved.

Hamlet's interactions with Ophelia also take center stage in Act 3. He is cruel to her, telling her to go to a nunnery and accusing her of being dishonest. This is a significant moment in their relationship and foreshadows the tragic events that will unfold later in the play.

The act concludes with Hamlet staging a play that reenacts the murder of his father in order to see if Claudius will react. When Claudius does react, Hamlet knows that he has confirmed his guilt and is now even more determined to carry out his revenge.

Overall, Act 3 of Hamlet is a pivotal moment in the play, as it sets the stage for the final acts and reveals the true nature of the characters' motivations and desires.

SCENE I. A room in the castle.

In Scene 1 of Act 3, the King and Queen arrange for Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him and find out what is causing his strange behavior. They hope to learn if he is truly mad or simply pretending.

When Hamlet enters, he immediately realizes that they are there to spy on him. He mocks them and refuses to give them any information about his state of mind. Instead, he asks them questions about their loyalty to the King and suggests that they are betraying him by working against him.

Polonius enters and announces that a group of actors has arrived at the castle. Hamlet is delighted and asks them to perform a specific play that he has chosen. The play's plot involves a king who is murdered by his brother and whose wife then marries the murderer. Hamlet tells his friends that he believes the play will reveal the guilt of his uncle, the current king, who he suspects of murdering his own brother to take the throne.

As the scene ends, Hamlet is left alone on stage, contemplating his plan to use the play to expose his uncle's guilt. He delivers one of the most famous soliloquies in literature, beginning with the words "To be, or not to be." In this speech, he questions the value of life and considers suicide as an option to escape his troubles.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, POLONIUS, OPHELIA, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERN

KING CLAUDIUS And can you, by no drift of circumstance, Link: 3.1.1 Get from him why he puts on this confusion, Link: 3.1.2 Grating so harshly all his days of quiet Link: 3.1.3 With turbulent and dangerous lunacy? Link: 3.1.4

ROSENCRANTZ He does confess he feels himself distracted; Link: 3.1.5 But from what cause he will by no means speak. Link: 3.1.6

GUILDENSTERN Nor do we find him forward to be sounded, Link: 3.1.7 But, with a crafty madness, keeps aloof, Link: 3.1.8 When we would bring him on to some confession Link: 3.1.9 Of his true state. Link: 3.1.10

QUEEN GERTRUDE Did he receive you well? Link: 3.1.11

ROSENCRANTZ Most like a gentleman. Link: 3.1.12

GUILDENSTERN But with much forcing of his disposition. Link: 3.1.13

ROSENCRANTZ Niggard of question; but, of our demands, Link: 3.1.14 Most free in his reply. Link: 3.1.15

QUEEN GERTRUDE Did you assay him? Link: 3.1.16 To any pastime? Link: 3.1.17

ROSENCRANTZ Madam, it so fell out, that certain players Link: 3.1.18 We o'er-raught on the way: of these we told him; Link: 3.1.19 And there did seem in him a kind of joy Link: 3.1.20 To hear of it: they are about the court, Link: 3.1.21 And, as I think, they have already order Link: 3.1.22 This night to play before him. Link: 3.1.23

LORD POLONIUS 'Tis most true: Link: 3.1.24 And he beseech'd me to entreat your majesties Link: 3.1.25 To hear and see the matter. Link: 3.1.26

KING CLAUDIUS With all my heart; and it doth much content me Link: 3.1.27 To hear him so inclined. Link: 3.1.28 Good gentlemen, give him a further edge, Link: 3.1.29 And drive his purpose on to these delights. Link: 3.1.30

ROSENCRANTZ We shall, my lord. Link: 3.1.31

Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN

KING CLAUDIUS Sweet Gertrude, leave us too; Link: 3.1.32 For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither, Link: 3.1.33 That he, as 'twere by accident, may here Link: 3.1.34 Affront Ophelia: Link: 3.1.35 Her father and myself, lawful espials, Link: 3.1.36 Will so bestow ourselves that, seeing, unseen, Link: 3.1.37 We may of their encounter frankly judge, Link: 3.1.38 And gather by him, as he is behaved, Link: 3.1.39 If 't be the affliction of his love or no Link: 3.1.40 That thus he suffers for. Link: 3.1.41

QUEEN GERTRUDE I shall obey you. Link: 3.1.42 And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish Link: 3.1.43 That your good beauties be the happy cause Link: 3.1.44 Of Hamlet's wildness: so shall I hope your virtues Link: 3.1.45 Will bring him to his wonted way again, Link: 3.1.46 To both your honours. Link: 3.1.47

OPHELIA Madam, I wish it may. Link: 3.1.48

Exit QUEEN GERTRUDE

LORD POLONIUS Ophelia, walk you here. Gracious, so please you, Link: 3.1.49 We will bestow ourselves. Link: 3.1.50 Read on this book; Link: 3.1.51 That show of such an exercise may colour Link: 3.1.52 Your loneliness. We are oft to blame in this,-- Link: 3.1.53 'Tis too much proved--that with devotion's visage Link: 3.1.54 And pious action we do sugar o'er Link: 3.1.55 The devil himself. Link: 3.1.56

KING CLAUDIUS (Aside) O, 'tis too true! Link: 3.1.57 How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience! Link: 3.1.58 The harlot's cheek, beautied with plastering art, Link: 3.1.59 Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it Link: 3.1.60 Than is my deed to my most painted word: Link: 3.1.61 O heavy burthen! Link: 3.1.62

LORD POLONIUS I hear him coming: let's withdraw, my lord. Link: 3.1.63

Exeunt KING CLAUDIUS and POLONIUS

Enter HAMLET

HAMLET To be, or not to be: that is the question: Link: 3.1.64 Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer Link: 3.1.65 The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Link: 3.1.66 Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, Link: 3.1.67 And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; Link: 3.1.68 No more; and by a sleep to say we end Link: 3.1.69 The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks Link: 3.1.70 That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Link: 3.1.71 Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; Link: 3.1.72 To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; Link: 3.1.73 For in that sleep of death what dreams may come Link: 3.1.74 When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Link: 3.1.75 Must give us pause: there's the respect Link: 3.1.76 That makes calamity of so long life; Link: 3.1.77 For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Link: 3.1.78 The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, Link: 3.1.79 The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, Link: 3.1.80 The insolence of office and the spurns Link: 3.1.81 That patient merit of the unworthy takes, Link: 3.1.82 When he himself might his quietus make Link: 3.1.83 With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, Link: 3.1.84 To grunt and sweat under a weary life, Link: 3.1.85 But that the dread of something after death, Link: 3.1.86 The undiscover'd country from whose bourn Link: 3.1.87 No traveller returns, puzzles the will Link: 3.1.88 And makes us rather bear those ills we have Link: 3.1.89 Than fly to others that we know not of? Link: 3.1.90 Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; Link: 3.1.91 And thus the native hue of resolution Link: 3.1.92 Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, Link: 3.1.93 And enterprises of great pith and moment Link: 3.1.94 With this regard their currents turn awry, Link: 3.1.95 And lose the name of action.--Soft you now! Link: 3.1.96 The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Link: 3.1.97 Be all my sins remember'd. Link: 3.1.98

OPHELIA Good my lord, Link: 3.1.99 How does your honour for this many a day? Link: 3.1.100

HAMLET I humbly thank you; well, well, well. Link: 3.1.101

OPHELIA My lord, I have remembrances of yours, Link: 3.1.102 That I have longed long to re-deliver; Link: 3.1.103 I pray you, now receive them. Link: 3.1.104

HAMLET No, not I; Link: 3.1.105 I never gave you aught. Link: 3.1.106

OPHELIA My honour'd lord, you know right well you did; Link: 3.1.107 And, with them, words of so sweet breath composed Link: 3.1.108 As made the things more rich: their perfume lost, Link: 3.1.109 Take these again; for to the noble mind Link: 3.1.110 Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. Link: 3.1.111 There, my lord. Link: 3.1.112

HAMLET Ha, ha! are you honest? Link: 3.1.113

OPHELIA My lord? Link: 3.1.114

HAMLET Are you fair? Link: 3.1.115

OPHELIA What means your lordship? Link: 3.1.116

HAMLET That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should Link: 3.1.117 admit no discourse to your beauty. Link: 3.1.118

OPHELIA Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce than Link: 3.1.119 with honesty? Link: 3.1.120

HAMLET Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner Link: 3.1.121 transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the Link: 3.1.122 force of honesty can translate beauty into his Link: 3.1.123 likeness: this was sometime a paradox, but now the Link: 3.1.124 time gives it proof. I did love you once. Link: 3.1.125

OPHELIA Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so. Link: 3.1.126

HAMLET You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot Link: 3.1.127 so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of Link: 3.1.128 it: I loved you not. Link: 3.1.129

OPHELIA I was the more deceived. Link: 3.1.130

HAMLET Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a Link: 3.1.131 breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest; Link: 3.1.132 but yet I could accuse me of such things that it Link: 3.1.133 were better my mother had not borne me: I am very Link: 3.1.134 proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at Link: 3.1.135 my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, Link: 3.1.136 imagination to give them shape, or time to act them Link: 3.1.137 in. What should such fellows as I do crawling Link: 3.1.138 between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves, Link: 3.1.139 all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. Link: 3.1.140 Where's your father? Link: 3.1.141

OPHELIA At home, my lord. Link: 3.1.142

HAMLET Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the Link: 3.1.143 fool no where but in's own house. Farewell. Link: 3.1.144

OPHELIA O, help him, you sweet heavens! Link: 3.1.145

HAMLET If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for Link: 3.1.146 thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as Link: 3.1.147 snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a Link: 3.1.148 nunnery, go: farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs Link: 3.1.149 marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough Link: 3.1.150 what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, Link: 3.1.151 and quickly too. Farewell. Link: 3.1.152

OPHELIA O heavenly powers, restore him! Link: 3.1.153

HAMLET I have heard of your paintings too, well enough; God Link: 3.1.154 has given you one face, and you make yourselves Link: 3.1.155 another: you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and Link: 3.1.156 nick-name God's creatures, and make your wantonness Link: 3.1.157 your ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on't; it hath Link: 3.1.158 made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages: Link: 3.1.159 those that are married already, all but one, shall Link: 3.1.160 live; the rest shall keep as they are. To a Link: 3.1.161 nunnery, go. Link: 3.1.162

OPHELIA O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! Link: 3.1.163 The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword; Link: 3.1.164 The expectancy and rose of the fair state, Link: 3.1.165 The glass of fashion and the mould of form, Link: 3.1.166 The observed of all observers, quite, quite down! Link: 3.1.167 And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, Link: 3.1.168 That suck'd the honey of his music vows, Link: 3.1.169 Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, Link: 3.1.170 Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; Link: 3.1.171 That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth Link: 3.1.172 Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me, Link: 3.1.173 To have seen what I have seen, see what I see! Link: 3.1.174

Re-enter KING CLAUDIUS and POLONIUS

KING CLAUDIUS Love! his affections do not that way tend; Link: 3.1.175 Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little, Link: 3.1.176 Was not like madness. There's something in his soul, Link: 3.1.177 O'er which his melancholy sits on brood; Link: 3.1.178 And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose Link: 3.1.179 Will be some danger: which for to prevent, Link: 3.1.180 I have in quick determination Link: 3.1.181 Thus set it down: he shall with speed to England, Link: 3.1.182 For the demand of our neglected tribute Link: 3.1.183 Haply the seas and countries different Link: 3.1.184 With variable objects shall expel Link: 3.1.185 This something-settled matter in his heart, Link: 3.1.186 Whereon his brains still beating puts him thus Link: 3.1.187 From fashion of himself. What think you on't? Link: 3.1.188

LORD POLONIUS It shall do well: but yet do I believe Link: 3.1.189 The origin and commencement of his grief Link: 3.1.190 Sprung from neglected love. How now, Ophelia! Link: 3.1.191 You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said; Link: 3.1.192 We heard it all. My lord, do as you please; Link: 3.1.193 But, if you hold it fit, after the play Link: 3.1.194 Let his queen mother all alone entreat him Link: 3.1.195 To show his grief: let her be round with him; Link: 3.1.196 And I'll be placed, so please you, in the ear Link: 3.1.197 Of all their conference. If she find him not, Link: 3.1.198 To England send him, or confine him where Link: 3.1.199 Your wisdom best shall think. Link: 3.1.200

KING CLAUDIUS It shall be so: Link: 3.1.201 Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go. Link: 3.1.202

SCENE II. A hall in the castle.

In Scene 2 of Act 3, the main character meets with a group of actors and asks them to perform a play for him that he has written himself. He explains that the play is based on the murder of his father and that he hopes it will help him to determine if his uncle, who is now king, is guilty of the crime.

The actors agree to perform the play and Hamlet gives them instructions on how to act out the murder scene. He wants it to be as realistic as possible so that he can gauge his uncle's reaction. After the actors leave, Hamlet is left alone to reflect on his plan and his own sanity.

He questions whether or not he is crazy for wanting revenge on his uncle and for the way he has been acting lately. He also expresses his love for Ophelia, but at the same time, he insults her and tells her to go to a nunnery.

Overall, Scene 2 of Act 3 is a pivotal moment in the play as it sets up the plot for the rest of the story. Hamlet's plan to use the play to trap his uncle is the beginning of the end for both characters and leads to the tragic ending of the play.

Enter HAMLET and Players

HAMLET Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to Link: 3.2.1 you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you mouth it, Link: 3.2.2 as many of your players do, I had as lief the Link: 3.2.3 town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air Link: 3.2.4 too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; Link: 3.2.5 for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, Link: 3.2.6 the whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget Link: 3.2.7 a temperance that may give it smoothness. O, it Link: 3.2.8 offends me to the soul to hear a robustious Link: 3.2.9 periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to Link: 3.2.10 very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who Link: 3.2.11 for the most part are capable of nothing but Link: 3.2.12 inexplicable dumbshows and noise: I would have such Link: 3.2.13 a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant; it Link: 3.2.14 out-herods Herod: pray you, avoid it. Link: 3.2.15

First Player I warrant your honour. Link: 3.2.16

HAMLET Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion Link: 3.2.17 be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the Link: 3.2.18 word to the action; with this special o'erstep not Link: 3.2.19 the modesty of nature: for any thing so overdone is Link: 3.2.20 from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the Link: 3.2.21 first and now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere, the Link: 3.2.22 mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, Link: 3.2.23 scorn her own image, and the very age and body of Link: 3.2.24 the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone, Link: 3.2.25 or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful Link: 3.2.26 laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the Link: 3.2.27 censure of the which one must in your allowance Link: 3.2.28 o'erweigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be Link: 3.2.29 players that I have seen play, and heard others Link: 3.2.30 praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, Link: 3.2.31 that, neither having the accent of Christians nor Link: 3.2.32 the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so Link: 3.2.33 strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of Link: 3.2.34 nature's journeymen had made men and not made them Link: 3.2.35 well, they imitated humanity so abominably. Link: 3.2.36

First Player I hope we have reformed that indifferently with us, Link: 3.2.37 sir. Link: 3.2.38

HAMLET O, reform it altogether. And let those that play Link: 3.2.39 your clowns speak no more than is set down for them; Link: 3.2.40 for there be of them that will themselves laugh, to Link: 3.2.41 set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh Link: 3.2.42 too; though, in the mean time, some necessary Link: 3.2.43 question of the play be then to be considered: Link: 3.2.44 that's villanous, and shows a most pitiful ambition Link: 3.2.45 in the fool that uses it. Go, make you ready. Link: 3.2.46 How now, my lord! I will the king hear this piece of work? Link: 3.2.47

LORD POLONIUS And the queen too, and that presently. Link: 3.2.48

HAMLET Bid the players make haste. Link: 3.2.49 Will you two help to hasten them? Link: 3.2.50

ROSENCRANTZ We will, my lord. Link: 3.2.51

HAMLET What ho! Horatio! Link: 3.2.52

Enter HORATIO

HORATIO Here, sweet lord, at your service. Link: 3.2.53

HAMLET Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man Link: 3.2.54 As e'er my conversation coped withal. Link: 3.2.55

HORATIO O, my dear lord,-- Link: 3.2.56

HAMLET Nay, do not think I flatter; Link: 3.2.57 For what advancement may I hope from thee Link: 3.2.58 That no revenue hast but thy good spirits, Link: 3.2.59 To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flatter'd? Link: 3.2.60 No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, Link: 3.2.61 And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee Link: 3.2.62 Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear? Link: 3.2.63 Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice Link: 3.2.64 And could of men distinguish, her election Link: 3.2.65 Hath seal'd thee for herself; for thou hast been Link: 3.2.66 As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing, Link: 3.2.67 A man that fortune's buffets and rewards Link: 3.2.68 Hast ta'en with equal thanks: and blest are those Link: 3.2.69 Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled, Link: 3.2.70 That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger Link: 3.2.71 To sound what stop she please. Give me that man Link: 3.2.72 That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him Link: 3.2.73 In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart, Link: 3.2.74 As I do thee.--Something too much of this.-- Link: 3.2.75 There is a play to-night before the king; Link: 3.2.76 One scene of it comes near the circumstance Link: 3.2.77 Which I have told thee of my father's death: Link: 3.2.78 I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, Link: 3.2.79 Even with the very comment of thy soul Link: 3.2.80 Observe mine uncle: if his occulted guilt Link: 3.2.81 Do not itself unkennel in one speech, Link: 3.2.82 It is a damned ghost that we have seen, Link: 3.2.83 And my imaginations are as foul Link: 3.2.84 As Vulcan's stithy. Give him heedful note; Link: 3.2.85 For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, Link: 3.2.86 And after we will both our judgments join Link: 3.2.87 In censure of his seeming. Link: 3.2.88

HORATIO Well, my lord: Link: 3.2.89 If he steal aught the whilst this play is playing, Link: 3.2.90 And 'scape detecting, I will pay the theft. Link: 3.2.91

HAMLET They are coming to the play; I must be idle: Link: 3.2.92 Get you a place. Link: 3.2.93

Danish march. A flourish. Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, POLONIUS, OPHELIA, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and others

KING CLAUDIUS How fares our cousin Hamlet? Link: 3.2.94

HAMLET Excellent, i' faith; of the chameleon's dish: I eat Link: 3.2.95 the air, promise-crammed: you cannot feed capons so. Link: 3.2.96

KING CLAUDIUS I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet; these words Link: 3.2.97 are not mine. Link: 3.2.98

HAMLET No, nor mine now. Link: 3.2.99 My lord, you played once i' the university, you say? Link: 3.2.100

LORD POLONIUS That did I, my lord; and was accounted a good actor. Link: 3.2.101

HAMLET What did you enact? Link: 3.2.102

LORD POLONIUS I did enact Julius Caesar: I was killed i' the Link: 3.2.103 Capitol; Brutus killed me. Link: 3.2.104

HAMLET It was a brute part of him to kill so capital a calf Link: 3.2.105 there. Be the players ready? Link: 3.2.106

ROSENCRANTZ Ay, my lord; they stay upon your patience. Link: 3.2.107

QUEEN GERTRUDE Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me. Link: 3.2.108

HAMLET No, good mother, here's metal more attractive. Link: 3.2.109

LORD POLONIUS (To KING CLAUDIUS) O, ho! do you mark that? Link: 3.2.110

HAMLET Lady, shall I lie in your lap? Link: 3.2.111

Lying down at OPHELIA's feet

OPHELIA No, my lord. Link: 3.2.112

HAMLET I mean, my head upon your lap? Link: 3.2.113

OPHELIA Ay, my lord. Link: 3.2.114

HAMLET Do you think I meant country matters? Link: 3.2.115

OPHELIA I think nothing, my lord. Link: 3.2.116

HAMLET That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs. Link: 3.2.117

OPHELIA What is, my lord? Link: 3.2.118

HAMLET Nothing. Link: 3.2.119

OPHELIA You are merry, my lord. Link: 3.2.120

HAMLET Who, I? Link: 3.2.121

OPHELIA Ay, my lord. Link: 3.2.122

HAMLET O God, your only jig-maker. What should a man do Link: 3.2.123 but be merry? for, look you, how cheerfully my Link: 3.2.124 mother looks, and my father died within these two hours. Link: 3.2.125

OPHELIA Nay, 'tis twice two months, my lord. Link: 3.2.126

HAMLET So long? Nay then, let the devil wear black, for Link: 3.2.127 I'll have a suit of sables. O heavens! die two Link: 3.2.128 months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there's Link: 3.2.129 hope a great man's memory may outlive his life half Link: 3.2.130 a year: but, by'r lady, he must build churches, Link: 3.2.131 then; or else shall he suffer not thinking on, with Link: 3.2.132 the hobby-horse, whose epitaph is 'For, O, for, O, Link: 3.2.133 the hobby-horse is forgot.' Link: 3.2.134

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

OPHELIA What means this, my lord? Link: 3.2.135

HAMLET Marry, this is miching mallecho; it means mischief. Link: 3.2.136

OPHELIA Belike this show imports the argument of the play. Link: 3.2.137

Enter Prologue

HAMLET We shall know by this fellow: the players cannot Link: 3.2.138 keep counsel; they'll tell all. Link: 3.2.139

OPHELIA Will he tell us what this show meant? Link: 3.2.140

HAMLET Ay, or any show that you'll show him: be not you Link: 3.2.141 ashamed to show, he'll not shame to tell you what it means. Link: 3.2.142

OPHELIA You are naught, you are naught: I'll mark the play. Link: 3.2.143

Prologue For us, and for our tragedy, Link: 3.2.144 Here stooping to your clemency, Link: 3.2.145 We beg your hearing patiently. Link: 3.2.146

HAMLET Is this a prologue, or the posy of a ring? Link: 3.2.147

OPHELIA 'Tis brief, my lord. Link: 3.2.148

HAMLET As woman's love. Link: 3.2.149

Enter two Players, King and Queen

Player King Full thirty times hath Phoebus' cart gone round Link: 3.2.150 Neptune's salt wash and Tellus' orbed ground, Link: 3.2.151 And thirty dozen moons with borrow'd sheen Link: 3.2.152 About the world have times twelve thirties been, Link: 3.2.153 Since love our hearts and Hymen did our hands Link: 3.2.154 Unite commutual in most sacred bands. Link: 3.2.155

Player Queen So many journeys may the sun and moon Link: 3.2.156 Make us again count o'er ere love be done! Link: 3.2.157 But, woe is me, you are so sick of late, Link: 3.2.158 So far from cheer and from your former state, Link: 3.2.159 That I distrust you. Yet, though I distrust, Link: 3.2.160 Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must: Link: 3.2.161 For women's fear and love holds quantity; Link: 3.2.162 In neither aught, or in extremity. Link: 3.2.163 Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know; Link: 3.2.164 And as my love is sized, my fear is so: Link: 3.2.165 Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear; Link: 3.2.166 Where little fears grow great, great love grows there. Link: 3.2.167

Player King 'Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly too; Link: 3.2.168 My operant powers their functions leave to do: Link: 3.2.169 And thou shalt live in this fair world behind, Link: 3.2.170 Honour'd, beloved; and haply one as kind Link: 3.2.171 For husband shalt thou-- Link: 3.2.172

Player Queen O, confound the rest! Link: 3.2.173 Such love must needs be treason in my breast: Link: 3.2.174 In second husband let me be accurst! Link: 3.2.175 None wed the second but who kill'd the first. Link: 3.2.176

HAMLET (Aside) Wormwood, wormwood. Link: 3.2.177

Player Queen The instances that second marriage move Link: 3.2.178 Are base respects of thrift, but none of love: Link: 3.2.179 A second time I kill my husband dead, Link: 3.2.180 When second husband kisses me in bed. Link: 3.2.181

Player King I do believe you think what now you speak; Link: 3.2.182 But what we do determine oft we break. Link: 3.2.183 Purpose is but the slave to memory, Link: 3.2.184 Of violent birth, but poor validity; Link: 3.2.185 Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree; Link: 3.2.186 But fall, unshaken, when they mellow be. Link: 3.2.187 Most necessary 'tis that we forget Link: 3.2.188 To pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt: Link: 3.2.189 What to ourselves in passion we propose, Link: 3.2.190 The passion ending, doth the purpose lose. Link: 3.2.191 The violence of either grief or joy Link: 3.2.192 Their own enactures with themselves destroy: Link: 3.2.193 Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament; Link: 3.2.194 Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident. Link: 3.2.195 This world is not for aye, nor 'tis not strange Link: 3.2.196 That even our loves should with our fortunes change; Link: 3.2.197 For 'tis a question left us yet to prove, Link: 3.2.198 Whether love lead fortune, or else fortune love. Link: 3.2.199 The great man down, you mark his favourite flies; Link: 3.2.200 The poor advanced makes friends of enemies. Link: 3.2.201 And hitherto doth love on fortune tend; Link: 3.2.202 For who not needs shall never lack a friend, Link: 3.2.203 And who in want a hollow friend doth try, Link: 3.2.204 Directly seasons him his enemy. Link: 3.2.205 But, orderly to end where I begun, Link: 3.2.206 Our wills and fates do so contrary run Link: 3.2.207 That our devices still are overthrown; Link: 3.2.208 Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own: Link: 3.2.209 So think thou wilt no second husband wed; Link: 3.2.210 But die thy thoughts when thy first lord is dead. Link: 3.2.211

Player Queen Nor earth to me give food, nor heaven light! Link: 3.2.212 Sport and repose lock from me day and night! Link: 3.2.213 To desperation turn my trust and hope! Link: 3.2.214 An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope! Link: 3.2.215 Each opposite that blanks the face of joy Link: 3.2.216 Meet what I would have well and it destroy! Link: 3.2.217 Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife, Link: 3.2.218 If, once a widow, ever I be wife! Link: 3.2.219

HAMLET If she should break it now! Link: 3.2.220

Player King 'Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here awhile; Link: 3.2.221 My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile Link: 3.2.222 The tedious day with sleep. Link: 3.2.223

Player Queen Sleep rock thy brain, Link: 3.2.224 And never come mischance between us twain! Link: 3.2.225

HAMLET Madam, how like you this play? Link: 3.2.226

QUEEN GERTRUDE The lady protests too much, methinks. Link: 3.2.227

HAMLET O, but she'll keep her word. Link: 3.2.228

KING CLAUDIUS Have you heard the argument? Is there no offence in 't? Link: 3.2.229

HAMLET No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest; no offence Link: 3.2.230 i' the world. Link: 3.2.231

KING CLAUDIUS What do you call the play? Link: 3.2.232

HAMLET The Mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropically. This play Link: 3.2.233 is the image of a murder done in Vienna: Gonzago is Link: 3.2.234 the duke's name; his wife, Baptista: you shall see Link: 3.2.235 anon; 'tis a knavish piece of work: but what o' Link: 3.2.236 that? your majesty and we that have free souls, it Link: 3.2.237 touches us not: let the galled jade wince, our Link: 3.2.238 withers are unwrung. Link: 3.2.239 This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king. Link: 3.2.240

OPHELIA You are as good as a chorus, my lord. Link: 3.2.241

HAMLET I could interpret between you and your love, if I Link: 3.2.242 could see the puppets dallying. Link: 3.2.243

OPHELIA You are keen, my lord, you are keen. Link: 3.2.244

HAMLET It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge. Link: 3.2.245

OPHELIA Still better, and worse. Link: 3.2.246

HAMLET So you must take your husbands. Begin, murderer; Link: 3.2.247 pox, leave thy damnable faces, and begin. Come: Link: 3.2.248 'the croaking raven doth bellow for revenge.' Link: 3.2.249

LUCIANUS Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time agreeing; Link: 3.2.250 Confederate season, else no creature seeing; Link: 3.2.251 Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected, Link: 3.2.252 With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected, Link: 3.2.253 Thy natural magic and dire property, Link: 3.2.254 On wholesome life usurp immediately. Link: 3.2.255

Pours the poison into the sleeper's ears

HAMLET He poisons him i' the garden for's estate. His Link: 3.2.256 name's Gonzago: the story is extant, and writ in Link: 3.2.257 choice Italian: you shall see anon how the murderer Link: 3.2.258 gets the love of Gonzago's wife. Link: 3.2.259

OPHELIA The king rises. Link: 3.2.260

HAMLET What, frighted with false fire! Link: 3.2.261

QUEEN GERTRUDE How fares my lord? Link: 3.2.262

LORD POLONIUS Give o'er the play. Link: 3.2.263

KING CLAUDIUS Give me some light: away! Link: 3.2.264

All Lights, lights, lights! Link: 3.2.265

Exeunt all but HAMLET and HORATIO

HAMLET Why, let the stricken deer go weep, Link: 3.2.266 The hart ungalled play; Link: 3.2.267 For some must watch, while some must sleep: Link: 3.2.268 So runs the world away. Link: 3.2.269 Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers-- if Link: 3.2.270 the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me--with two Link: 3.2.271 Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a Link: 3.2.272 fellowship in a cry of players, sir? Link: 3.2.273

HORATIO Half a share. Link: 3.2.274

HAMLET A whole one, I. Link: 3.2.275 For thou dost know, O Damon dear, Link: 3.2.276 This realm dismantled was Link: 3.2.277 Of Jove himself; and now reigns here Link: 3.2.278 A very, very--pajock. Link: 3.2.279

HORATIO You might have rhymed. Link: 3.2.280

HAMLET O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a Link: 3.2.281 thousand pound. Didst perceive? Link: 3.2.282

HORATIO Very well, my lord. Link: 3.2.283

HAMLET Upon the talk of the poisoning? Link: 3.2.284

HORATIO I did very well note him. Link: 3.2.285

HAMLET Ah, ha! Come, some music! come, the recorders! Link: 3.2.286 For if the king like not the comedy, Link: 3.2.287 Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdy. Link: 3.2.288 Come, some music! Link: 3.2.289

Re-enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN

GUILDENSTERN Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you. Link: 3.2.290

HAMLET Sir, a whole history. Link: 3.2.291

GUILDENSTERN The king, sir,-- Link: 3.2.292

HAMLET Ay, sir, what of him? Link: 3.2.293

GUILDENSTERN Is in his retirement marvellous distempered. Link: 3.2.294

HAMLET With drink, sir? Link: 3.2.295

GUILDENSTERN No, my lord, rather with choler. Link: 3.2.296

HAMLET Your wisdom should show itself more richer to Link: 3.2.297 signify this to his doctor; for, for me to put him Link: 3.2.298 to his purgation would perhaps plunge him into far Link: 3.2.299 more choler. Link: 3.2.300

GUILDENSTERN Good my lord, put your discourse into some frame and Link: 3.2.301 start not so wildly from my affair. Link: 3.2.302

HAMLET I am tame, sir: pronounce. Link: 3.2.303

GUILDENSTERN The queen, your mother, in most great affliction of Link: 3.2.304 spirit, hath sent me to you. Link: 3.2.305

HAMLET You are welcome. Link: 3.2.306

GUILDENSTERN Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of the right Link: 3.2.307 breed. If it shall please you to make me a Link: 3.2.308 wholesome answer, I will do your mother's Link: 3.2.309 commandment: if not, your pardon and my return Link: 3.2.310 shall be the end of my business. Link: 3.2.311

HAMLET Sir, I cannot. Link: 3.2.312

GUILDENSTERN What, my lord? Link: 3.2.313

HAMLET Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseased: but, Link: 3.2.314 sir, such answer as I can make, you shall command; Link: 3.2.315 or, rather, as you say, my mother: therefore no Link: 3.2.316 more, but to the matter: my mother, you say,-- Link: 3.2.317

ROSENCRANTZ Then thus she says; your behavior hath struck her Link: 3.2.318 into amazement and admiration. Link: 3.2.319

HAMLET O wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother! But Link: 3.2.320 is there no sequel at the heels of this mother's Link: 3.2.321 admiration? Impart. Link: 3.2.322

ROSENCRANTZ She desires to speak with you in her closet, ere you Link: 3.2.323 go to bed. Link: 3.2.324

HAMLET We shall obey, were she ten times our mother. Have Link: 3.2.325 you any further trade with us? Link: 3.2.326

ROSENCRANTZ My lord, you once did love me. Link: 3.2.327

HAMLET So I do still, by these pickers and stealers. Link: 3.2.328

ROSENCRANTZ Good my lord, what is your cause of distemper? you Link: 3.2.329 do, surely, bar the door upon your own liberty, if Link: 3.2.330 you deny your griefs to your friend. Link: 3.2.331

HAMLET Sir, I lack advancement. Link: 3.2.332

ROSENCRANTZ How can that be, when you have the voice of the king Link: 3.2.333 himself for your succession in Denmark? Link: 3.2.334

HAMLET Ay, but sir, 'While the grass grows,'--the proverb Link: 3.2.335 is something musty. Link: 3.2.336 O, the recorders! let me see one. To withdraw with Link: 3.2.337 you:--why do you go about to recover the wind of me, Link: 3.2.338 as if you would drive me into a toil? Link: 3.2.339

GUILDENSTERN O, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my love is too Link: 3.2.340 unmannerly. Link: 3.2.341

HAMLET I do not well understand that. Will you play upon Link: 3.2.342 this pipe? Link: 3.2.343

GUILDENSTERN My lord, I cannot. Link: 3.2.344

HAMLET I pray you. Link: 3.2.345

GUILDENSTERN Believe me, I cannot. Link: 3.2.346

HAMLET I do beseech you. Link: 3.2.347

GUILDENSTERN I know no touch of it, my lord. Link: 3.2.348

HAMLET 'Tis as easy as lying: govern these ventages with Link: 3.2.349 your lingers and thumb, give it breath with your Link: 3.2.350 mouth, and it will discourse most eloquent music. Link: 3.2.351 Look you, these are the stops. Link: 3.2.352

GUILDENSTERN But these cannot I command to any utterance of Link: 3.2.353 harmony; I have not the skill. Link: 3.2.354

HAMLET Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of Link: 3.2.355 me! You would play upon me; you would seem to know Link: 3.2.356 my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my Link: 3.2.357 mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to Link: 3.2.358 the top of my compass: and there is much music, Link: 3.2.359 excellent voice, in this little organ; yet cannot Link: 3.2.360 you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am Link: 3.2.361 easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what Link: 3.2.362 instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you Link: 3.2.363 cannot play upon me. Link: 3.2.364 God bless you, sir! Link: 3.2.365

LORD POLONIUS My lord, the queen would speak with you, and Link: 3.2.366 presently. Link: 3.2.367

HAMLET Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel? Link: 3.2.368

LORD POLONIUS By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed. Link: 3.2.369

HAMLET Methinks it is like a weasel. Link: 3.2.370

LORD POLONIUS It is backed like a weasel. Link: 3.2.371

HAMLET Or like a whale? Link: 3.2.372

LORD POLONIUS Very like a whale. Link: 3.2.373

HAMLET Then I will come to my mother by and by. They fool Link: 3.2.374 me to the top of my bent. I will come by and by. Link: 3.2.375

LORD POLONIUS I will say so. Link: 3.2.376

HAMLET By and by is easily said. Link: 3.2.377 Leave me, friends. Link: 3.2.378 Tis now the very witching time of night, Link: 3.2.379 When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Link: 3.2.380 Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood, Link: 3.2.381 And do such bitter business as the day Link: 3.2.382 Would quake to look on. Soft! now to my mother. Link: 3.2.383 O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever Link: 3.2.384 The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom: Link: 3.2.385 Let me be cruel, not unnatural: Link: 3.2.386 I will speak daggers to her, but use none; Link: 3.2.387 My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites; Link: 3.2.388 How in my words soever she be shent, Link: 3.2.389 To give them seals never, my soul, consent! Link: 3.2.390

SCENE III. A room in the castle.

Scene 3 of Act 3 of this play opens with King Claudius, Polonius, Gertrude, and Hamlet in the throne room. Claudius is speaking to Hamlet, asking him why he is still upset about his father's death. Hamlet responds with a long and sarcastic speech, mocking Claudius and his own grief. Polonius interrupts to inform Claudius that he has arranged for Hamlet to meet with Ophelia, hoping to observe their interaction and determine whether Hamlet's madness is caused by love.

After Polonius leaves, Hamlet continues his conversation with Claudius, revealing that he knows Claudius murdered his father and demanding that he confess. Claudius denies the accusation and orders Hamlet to be sent away to England. As Hamlet is leaving, he sees Ophelia and launches into a bitter tirade against her, accusing her of being complicit in her father's plan to spy on him. Ophelia is left confused and distraught as Hamlet exits the scene.

This scene is significant in the play as it reveals the extent of Hamlet's anger and disillusionment with the people around him. His conversation with Claudius shows that he is aware of the truth about his father's death and is willing to confront the killer. However, his interactions with Ophelia demonstrate how his grief and anger have driven him to lash out at those closest to him, including the woman he claims to love. The scene also sets the stage for the tragic events to come, as Hamlet's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and dangerous.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERN

KING CLAUDIUS I like him not, nor stands it safe with us Link: 3.3.1 To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you; Link: 3.3.2 I your commission will forthwith dispatch, Link: 3.3.3 And he to England shall along with you: Link: 3.3.4 The terms of our estate may not endure Link: 3.3.5 Hazard so dangerous as doth hourly grow Link: 3.3.6 Out of his lunacies. Link: 3.3.7

GUILDENSTERN We will ourselves provide: Link: 3.3.8 Most holy and religious fear it is Link: 3.3.9 To keep those many many bodies safe Link: 3.3.10 That live and feed upon your majesty. Link: 3.3.11

ROSENCRANTZ The single and peculiar life is bound, Link: 3.3.12 With all the strength and armour of the mind, Link: 3.3.13 To keep itself from noyance; but much more Link: 3.3.14 That spirit upon whose weal depend and rest Link: 3.3.15 The lives of many. The cease of majesty Link: 3.3.16 Dies not alone; but, like a gulf, doth draw Link: 3.3.17 What's near it with it: it is a massy wheel, Link: 3.3.18 Fix'd on the summit of the highest mount, Link: 3.3.19 To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things Link: 3.3.20 Are mortised and adjoin'd; which, when it falls, Link: 3.3.21 Each small annexment, petty consequence, Link: 3.3.22 Attends the boisterous ruin. Never alone Link: 3.3.23 Did the king sigh, but with a general groan. Link: 3.3.24

KING CLAUDIUS Arm you, I pray you, to this speedy voyage; Link: 3.3.25 For we will fetters put upon this fear, Link: 3.3.26 Which now goes too free-footed. Link: 3.3.27

ROSENCRANTZ We will haste us. Link: 3.3.28

LORD POLONIUS My lord, he's going to his mother's closet: Link: 3.3.29 Behind the arras I'll convey myself, Link: 3.3.30 To hear the process; and warrant she'll tax him home: Link: 3.3.31 And, as you said, and wisely was it said, Link: 3.3.32 'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother, Link: 3.3.33 Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear Link: 3.3.34 The speech, of vantage. Fare you well, my liege: Link: 3.3.35 I'll call upon you ere you go to bed, Link: 3.3.36 And tell you what I know. Link: 3.3.37

KING CLAUDIUS Thanks, dear my lord. Link: 3.3.38 O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; Link: 3.3.39 It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, Link: 3.3.40 A brother's murder. Pray can I not, Link: 3.3.41 Though inclination be as sharp as will: Link: 3.3.42 My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent; Link: 3.3.43 And, like a man to double business bound, Link: 3.3.44 I stand in pause where I shall first begin, Link: 3.3.45 And both neglect. What if this cursed hand Link: 3.3.46 Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, Link: 3.3.47 Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens Link: 3.3.48 To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy Link: 3.3.49 But to confront the visage of offence? Link: 3.3.50 And what's in prayer but this two-fold force, Link: 3.3.51 To be forestalled ere we come to fall, Link: 3.3.52 Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up; Link: 3.3.53 My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer Link: 3.3.54 Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'? Link: 3.3.55 That cannot be; since I am still possess'd Link: 3.3.56 Of those effects for which I did the murder, Link: 3.3.57 My crown, mine own ambition and my queen. Link: 3.3.58 May one be pardon'd and retain the offence? Link: 3.3.59 In the corrupted currents of this world Link: 3.3.60 Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice, Link: 3.3.61 And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself Link: 3.3.62 Buys out the law: but 'tis not so above; Link: 3.3.63 There is no shuffling, there the action lies Link: 3.3.64 In his true nature; and we ourselves compell'd, Link: 3.3.65 Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults, Link: 3.3.66 To give in evidence. What then? what rests? Link: 3.3.67 Try what repentance can: what can it not? Link: 3.3.68 Yet what can it when one can not repent? Link: 3.3.69 O wretched state! O bosom black as death! Link: 3.3.70 O limed soul, that, struggling to be free, Link: 3.3.71 Art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay! Link: 3.3.72 Bow, stubborn knees; and, heart with strings of steel, Link: 3.3.73 Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe! Link: 3.3.74 All may be well. Link: 3.3.75

Retires and kneels

HAMLET Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; Link: 3.3.76 And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven; Link: 3.3.77 And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd: Link: 3.3.78 A villain kills my father; and for that, Link: 3.3.79 I, his sole son, do this same villain send Link: 3.3.80 To heaven. Link: 3.3.81 O, this is hire and salary, not revenge. Link: 3.3.82 He took my father grossly, full of bread; Link: 3.3.83 With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May; Link: 3.3.84 And how his audit stands who knows save heaven? Link: 3.3.85 But in our circumstance and course of thought, Link: 3.3.86 'Tis heavy with him: and am I then revenged, Link: 3.3.87 To take him in the purging of his soul, Link: 3.3.88 When he is fit and season'd for his passage? Link: 3.3.89 No! Link: 3.3.90 Up, sword; and know thou a more horrid hent: Link: 3.3.91 When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, Link: 3.3.92 Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed; Link: 3.3.93 At gaming, swearing, or about some act Link: 3.3.94 That has no relish of salvation in't; Link: 3.3.95 Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, Link: 3.3.96 And that his soul may be as damn'd and black Link: 3.3.97 As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays: Link: 3.3.98 This physic but prolongs thy sickly days. Link: 3.3.99

KING CLAUDIUS (Rising) My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Link: 3.3.100 Words without thoughts never to heaven go. Link: 3.3.101

SCENE IV. The Queen's closet.

In Scene 4 of Act 3, a group of people are discussing the recent behavior of Hamlet. They are concerned about his mental state after he had a strange encounter with his mother, Queen Gertrude. Polonius suggests that they should hide and observe Hamlet's behavior when he meets with Ophelia.

Hamlet enters, and he is initially rude and insulting to Ophelia. He accuses her of being dishonest and tells her to go to a nunnery. Ophelia is confused and hurt by his behavior.

Polonius believes that Hamlet's behavior is a result of his love for Ophelia and that he is acting out of madness. He decides to tell the King and Queen about his suspicions.

Before leaving, Hamlet delivers a soliloquy in which he reflects on his own state of mind. He questions his own existence and contemplates suicide. He also reveals his distrust of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of his childhood friends who have been sent by the King to spy on him.

The scene ends with Polonius leaving to inform the King and Queen about Hamlet's behavior, and Hamlet continuing to contemplate his own despair and anguish.

Enter QUEEN MARGARET and POLONIUS

LORD POLONIUS He will come straight. Look you lay home to him: Link: 3.4.1 Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with, Link: 3.4.2 And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between Link: 3.4.3 Much heat and him. I'll sconce me even here. Link: 3.4.4 Pray you, be round with him. Link: 3.4.5

HAMLET (Within) Mother, mother, mother! Link: 3.4.6

QUEEN GERTRUDE I'll warrant you, Link: 3.4.7 Fear me not: withdraw, I hear him coming. Link: 3.4.8

POLONIUS hides behind the arras

HAMLET Now, mother, what's the matter? Link: 3.4.9

QUEEN GERTRUDE Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. Link: 3.4.10

HAMLET Mother, you have my father much offended. Link: 3.4.11

QUEEN GERTRUDE Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue. Link: 3.4.12

HAMLET Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue. Link: 3.4.13

QUEEN GERTRUDE Why, how now, Hamlet! Link: 3.4.14

HAMLET What's the matter now? Link: 3.4.15

QUEEN GERTRUDE Have you forgot me? Link: 3.4.16

HAMLET No, by the rood, not so: Link: 3.4.17 You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife; Link: 3.4.18 And--would it were not so!--you are my mother. Link: 3.4.19

QUEEN GERTRUDE Nay, then, I'll set those to you that can speak. Link: 3.4.20

HAMLET Come, come, and sit you down; you shall not budge; Link: 3.4.21 You go not till I set you up a glass Link: 3.4.22 Where you may see the inmost part of you. Link: 3.4.23

QUEEN GERTRUDE What wilt thou do? thou wilt not murder me? Link: 3.4.24 Help, help, ho! Link: 3.4.25

LORD POLONIUS (Behind) What, ho! help, help, help! Link: 3.4.26

HAMLET (Drawing) How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead! Link: 3.4.27

Makes a pass through the arras

LORD POLONIUS (Behind) O, I am slain! Link: 3.4.28

Falls and dies

QUEEN GERTRUDE O me, what hast thou done? Link: 3.4.29

HAMLET Nay, I know not: Link: 3.4.30 Is it the king? Link: 3.4.31

QUEEN GERTRUDE O, what a rash and bloody deed is this! Link: 3.4.32

HAMLET A bloody deed! almost as bad, good mother, Link: 3.4.33 As kill a king, and marry with his brother. Link: 3.4.34

QUEEN GERTRUDE As kill a king! Link: 3.4.35

HAMLET Ay, lady, 'twas my word. Link: 3.4.36 Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! Link: 3.4.37 I took thee for thy better: take thy fortune; Link: 3.4.38 Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger. Link: 3.4.39 Leave wringing of your hands: peace! sit you down, Link: 3.4.40 And let me wring your heart; for so I shall, Link: 3.4.41 If it be made of penetrable stuff, Link: 3.4.42 If damned custom have not brass'd it so Link: 3.4.43 That it is proof and bulwark against sense. Link: 3.4.44

QUEEN GERTRUDE What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue Link: 3.4.45 In noise so rude against me? Link: 3.4.46

HAMLET Such an act Link: 3.4.47 That blurs the grace and blush of modesty, Link: 3.4.48 Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose Link: 3.4.49 From the fair forehead of an innocent love Link: 3.4.50 And sets a blister there, makes marriage-vows Link: 3.4.51 As false as dicers' oaths: O, such a deed Link: 3.4.52 As from the body of contraction plucks Link: 3.4.53 The very soul, and sweet religion makes Link: 3.4.54 A rhapsody of words: heaven's face doth glow: Link: 3.4.55 Yea, this solidity and compound mass, Link: 3.4.56 With tristful visage, as against the doom, Link: 3.4.57 Is thought-sick at the act. Link: 3.4.58

QUEEN GERTRUDE Ay me, what act, Link: 3.4.59 That roars so loud, and thunders in the index? Link: 3.4.60

HAMLET Look here, upon this picture, and on this, Link: 3.4.61 The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. Link: 3.4.62 See, what a grace was seated on this brow; Link: 3.4.63 Hyperion's curls; the front of Jove himself; Link: 3.4.64 An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; Link: 3.4.65 A station like the herald Mercury Link: 3.4.66 New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill; Link: 3.4.67 A combination and a form indeed, Link: 3.4.68 Where every god did seem to set his seal, Link: 3.4.69 To give the world assurance of a man: Link: 3.4.70 This was your husband. Look you now, what follows: Link: 3.4.71 Here is your husband; like a mildew'd ear, Link: 3.4.72 Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes? Link: 3.4.73 Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, Link: 3.4.74 And batten on this moor? Ha! have you eyes? Link: 3.4.75 You cannot call it love; for at your age Link: 3.4.76 The hey-day in the blood is tame, it's humble, Link: 3.4.77 And waits upon the judgment: and what judgment Link: 3.4.78 Would step from this to this? Sense, sure, you have, Link: 3.4.79 Else could you not have motion; but sure, that sense Link: 3.4.80 Is apoplex'd; for madness would not err, Link: 3.4.81 Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd Link: 3.4.82 But it reserved some quantity of choice, Link: 3.4.83 To serve in such a difference. What devil was't Link: 3.4.84 That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind? Link: 3.4.85 Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight, Link: 3.4.86 Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all, Link: 3.4.87 Or but a sickly part of one true sense Link: 3.4.88 Could not so mope. Link: 3.4.89 O shame! where is thy blush? Rebellious hell, Link: 3.4.90 If thou canst mutine in a matron's bones, Link: 3.4.91 To flaming youth let virtue be as wax, Link: 3.4.92 And melt in her own fire: proclaim no shame Link: 3.4.93 When the compulsive ardour gives the charge, Link: 3.4.94 Since frost itself as actively doth burn Link: 3.4.95 And reason panders will. Link: 3.4.96

QUEEN GERTRUDE O Hamlet, speak no more: Link: 3.4.97 Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; Link: 3.4.98 And there I see such black and grained spots Link: 3.4.99 As will not leave their tinct. Link: 3.4.100

HAMLET Nay, but to live Link: 3.4.101 In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Link: 3.4.102 Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love Link: 3.4.103 Over the nasty sty,-- Link: 3.4.104

QUEEN GERTRUDE O, speak to me no more; Link: 3.4.105 These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears; Link: 3.4.106 No more, sweet Hamlet! Link: 3.4.107

HAMLET A murderer and a villain; Link: 3.4.108 A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe Link: 3.4.109 Of your precedent lord; a vice of kings; Link: 3.4.110 A cutpurse of the empire and the rule, Link: 3.4.111 That from a shelf the precious diadem stole, Link: 3.4.112 And put it in his pocket! Link: 3.4.113

QUEEN GERTRUDE No more! Link: 3.4.114

HAMLET A king of shreds and patches,-- Link: 3.4.115 Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings, Link: 3.4.116 You heavenly guards! What would your gracious figure? Link: 3.4.117

QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, he's mad! Link: 3.4.118

HAMLET Do you not come your tardy son to chide, Link: 3.4.119 That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go by Link: 3.4.120 The important acting of your dread command? O, say! Link: 3.4.121

Ghost Do not forget: this visitation Link: 3.4.122 Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. Link: 3.4.123 But, look, amazement on thy mother sits: Link: 3.4.124 O, step between her and her fighting soul: Link: 3.4.125 Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works: Link: 3.4.126 Speak to her, Hamlet. Link: 3.4.127

HAMLET How is it with you, lady? Link: 3.4.128

QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, how is't with you, Link: 3.4.129 That you do bend your eye on vacancy Link: 3.4.130 And with the incorporal air do hold discourse? Link: 3.4.131 Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep; Link: 3.4.132 And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, Link: 3.4.133 Your bedded hair, like life in excrements, Link: 3.4.134 Starts up, and stands on end. O gentle son, Link: 3.4.135 Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper Link: 3.4.136 Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look? Link: 3.4.137

HAMLET On him, on him! Look you, how pale he glares! Link: 3.4.138 His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones, Link: 3.4.139 Would make them capable. Do not look upon me; Link: 3.4.140 Lest with this piteous action you convert Link: 3.4.141 My stern effects: then what I have to do Link: 3.4.142 Will want true colour; tears perchance for blood. Link: 3.4.143

QUEEN GERTRUDE To whom do you speak this? Link: 3.4.144

HAMLET Do you see nothing there? Link: 3.4.145

QUEEN GERTRUDE Nothing at all; yet all that is I see. Link: 3.4.146

HAMLET Nor did you nothing hear? Link: 3.4.147

QUEEN GERTRUDE No, nothing but ourselves. Link: 3.4.148

HAMLET Why, look you there! look, how it steals away! Link: 3.4.149 My father, in his habit as he lived! Link: 3.4.150 Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal! Link: 3.4.151

QUEEN GERTRUDE This the very coinage of your brain: Link: 3.4.152 This bodiless creation ecstasy Link: 3.4.153 Is very cunning in. Link: 3.4.154

HAMLET Ecstasy! Link: 3.4.155 My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time, Link: 3.4.156 And makes as healthful music: it is not madness Link: 3.4.157 That I have utter'd: bring me to the test, Link: 3.4.158 And I the matter will re-word; which madness Link: 3.4.159 Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace, Link: 3.4.160 Lay not that mattering unction to your soul, Link: 3.4.161 That not your trespass, but my madness speaks: Link: 3.4.162 It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, Link: 3.4.163 Whilst rank corruption, mining all within, Link: 3.4.164 Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven; Link: 3.4.165 Repent what's past; avoid what is to come; Link: 3.4.166 And do not spread the compost on the weeds, Link: 3.4.167 To make them ranker. Forgive me this my virtue; Link: 3.4.168 For in the fatness of these pursy times Link: 3.4.169 Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, Link: 3.4.170 Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good. Link: 3.4.171

QUEEN GERTRUDE O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Link: 3.4.172

HAMLET O, throw away the worser part of it, Link: 3.4.173 And live the purer with the other half. Link: 3.4.174 Good night: but go not to mine uncle's bed; Link: 3.4.175 Assume a virtue, if you have it not. Link: 3.4.176 That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, Link: 3.4.177 Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, Link: 3.4.178 That to the use of actions fair and good Link: 3.4.179 He likewise gives a frock or livery, Link: 3.4.180 That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night, Link: 3.4.181 And that shall lend a kind of easiness Link: 3.4.182 To the next abstinence: the next more easy; Link: 3.4.183 For use almost can change the stamp of nature, Link: 3.4.184 And either ... the devil, or throw him out Link: 3.4.185 With wondrous potency. Once more, good night: Link: 3.4.186 And when you are desirous to be bless'd, Link: 3.4.187 I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord, Link: 3.4.188 I do repent: but heaven hath pleased it so, Link: 3.4.189 To punish me with this and this with me, Link: 3.4.190 That I must be their scourge and minister. Link: 3.4.191 I will bestow him, and will answer well Link: 3.4.192 The death I gave him. So, again, good night. Link: 3.4.193 I must be cruel, only to be kind: Link: 3.4.194 Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. Link: 3.4.195 One word more, good lady. Link: 3.4.196

QUEEN GERTRUDE What shall I do? Link: 3.4.197

HAMLET Not this, by no means, that I bid you do: Link: 3.4.198 Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed; Link: 3.4.199 Pinch wanton on your cheek; call you his mouse; Link: 3.4.200 And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses, Link: 3.4.201 Or paddling in your neck with his damn'd fingers, Link: 3.4.202 Make you to ravel all this matter out, Link: 3.4.203 That I essentially am not in madness, Link: 3.4.204 But mad in craft. 'Twere good you let him know; Link: 3.4.205 For who, that's but a queen, fair, sober, wise, Link: 3.4.206 Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib, Link: 3.4.207 Such dear concernings hide? who would do so? Link: 3.4.208 No, in despite of sense and secrecy, Link: 3.4.209 Unpeg the basket on the house's top. Link: 3.4.210 Let the birds fly, and, like the famous ape, Link: 3.4.211 To try conclusions, in the basket creep, Link: 3.4.212 And break your own neck down. Link: 3.4.213

QUEEN GERTRUDE Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, Link: 3.4.214 And breath of life, I have no life to breathe Link: 3.4.215 What thou hast said to me. Link: 3.4.216

HAMLET I must to England; you know that? Link: 3.4.217

QUEEN GERTRUDE Alack, Link: 3.4.218 I had forgot: 'tis so concluded on. Link: 3.4.219

HAMLET There's letters seal'd: and my two schoolfellows, Link: 3.4.220 Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd, Link: 3.4.221 They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way, Link: 3.4.222 And marshal me to knavery. Let it work; Link: 3.4.223 For 'tis the sport to have the engineer Link: 3.4.224 Hoist with his own petard: and 't shall go hard Link: 3.4.225 But I will delve one yard below their mines, Link: 3.4.226 And blow them at the moon: O, 'tis most sweet, Link: 3.4.227 When in one line two crafts directly meet. Link: 3.4.228 This man shall set me packing: Link: 3.4.229 I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room. Link: 3.4.230 Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor Link: 3.4.231 Is now most still, most secret and most grave, Link: 3.4.232 Who was in life a foolish prating knave. Link: 3.4.233 Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you. Link: 3.4.234 Good night, mother. Link: 3.4.235

Exeunt severally; HAMLET dragging in POLONIUS

In Act 4 of Hamlet, the audience sees a dramatic shift in the story as Hamlet becomes more focused on seeking revenge against his uncle Claudius for killing his father. Hamlet's behavior becomes more erratic and unpredictable, causing concern among those around him.

Early in the act, Hamlet confronts his mother Gertrude about her role in his father's death. He becomes increasingly agitated and accuses her of being complicit in the murder. His behavior becomes so erratic that Gertrude becomes frightened and cries out for help. Polonius, who is hiding behind a tapestry, also cries out for help, and Hamlet stabs him through the fabric, killing him.

Later in the act, Hamlet is sent away to England by Claudius, who fears for his safety. Hamlet manages to escape and returns to Denmark, where he learns of Ophelia's death. He is grief-stricken and confronts her brother Laertes, who blames Hamlet for her death. Hamlet and Laertes engage in a heated argument that ultimately leads to a duel.

The act ends with Hamlet's famous soliloquy, in which he reflects on the nature of life and death. He expresses his desire for revenge against Claudius and his frustration with his own lack of action. The audience is left wondering what will happen in the final act of the play.

Scene 1 of Act 4 begins with Gertrude informing Claudius that Hamlet has killed Polonius. Claudius is angry and concerned about the potential consequences of this action. He orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet and bring him to him.

Meanwhile, Hamlet is in possession of Polonius' body and is taunting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as they attempt to get information from him. He eventually agrees to see Claudius, but not before delivering a soliloquy about the nature of life and death.

When Hamlet finally sees Claudius, he is confrontational and accusatory. He refuses to reveal where he has hidden Polonius' body and instead turns the conversation to his own grievances against Claudius. In the end, Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England, hoping to rid himself of the problem.

The scene is full of tension and conflict, with each character trying to assert their own power and protect their own interests. It sets the stage for the rest of the play, which will see Hamlet seeking revenge for his father's murder and struggling with his own sense of identity and purpose.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERN

KING CLAUDIUS There's matter in these sighs, these profound heaves: Link: 4.1.1 You must translate: 'tis fit we understand them. Link: 4.1.2 Where is your son? Link: 4.1.3

QUEEN GERTRUDE Bestow this place on us a little while. Link: 4.1.4 Ah, my good lord, what have I seen to-night! Link: 4.1.5

KING CLAUDIUS What, Gertrude? How does Hamlet? Link: 4.1.6

QUEEN GERTRUDE Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend Link: 4.1.7 Which is the mightier: in his lawless fit, Link: 4.1.8 Behind the arras hearing something stir, Link: 4.1.9 Whips out his rapier, cries, 'A rat, a rat!' Link: 4.1.10 And, in this brainish apprehension, kills Link: 4.1.11 The unseen good old man. Link: 4.1.12

KING CLAUDIUS O heavy deed! Link: 4.1.13 It had been so with us, had we been there: Link: 4.1.14 His liberty is full of threats to all; Link: 4.1.15 To you yourself, to us, to every one. Link: 4.1.16 Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answer'd? Link: 4.1.17 It will be laid to us, whose providence Link: 4.1.18 Should have kept short, restrain'd and out of haunt, Link: 4.1.19 This mad young man: but so much was our love, Link: 4.1.20 We would not understand what was most fit; Link: 4.1.21 But, like the owner of a foul disease, Link: 4.1.22 To keep it from divulging, let it feed Link: 4.1.23 Even on the pith of Life. Where is he gone? Link: 4.1.24

QUEEN GERTRUDE To draw apart the body he hath kill'd: Link: 4.1.25 O'er whom his very madness, like some ore Link: 4.1.26 Among a mineral of metals base, Link: 4.1.27 Shows itself pure; he weeps for what is done. Link: 4.1.28

KING CLAUDIUS O Gertrude, come away! Link: 4.1.29 The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, Link: 4.1.30 But we will ship him hence: and this vile deed Link: 4.1.31 We must, with all our majesty and skill, Link: 4.1.32 Both countenance and excuse. Ho, Guildenstern! Link: 4.1.33 Friends both, go join you with some further aid: Link: 4.1.34 Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain, Link: 4.1.35 And from his mother's closet hath he dragg'd him: Link: 4.1.36 Go seek him out; speak fair, and bring the body Link: 4.1.37 Into the chapel. I pray you, haste in this. Link: 4.1.38 Come, Gertrude, we'll call up our wisest friends; Link: 4.1.39 And let them know, both what we mean to do, Link: 4.1.40 And what's untimely done... Link: 4.1.41 Whose whisper o'er the world's diameter, Link: 4.1.42 As level as the cannon to his blank, Link: 4.1.43 Transports his poison'd shot, may miss our name, Link: 4.1.44 And hit the woundless air. O, come away! Link: 4.1.45 My soul is full of discord and dismay. Link: 4.1.46

SCENE II. Another room in the castle.

Scene 2 of Act 4 takes place in the palace of Elsinore where Hamlet has just returned from his journey to England. He is met by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who inform him that his mother wishes to see him. Hamlet is now convinced of his uncle's guilt and decides to confront him.

As he enters the palace, he sees Claudius praying. Hamlet draws his sword and contemplates killing him then and there, but decides against it because he fears that Claudius would go straight to heaven if killed while praying. He decides to wait for a better opportunity to avenge his father's murder.

Meanwhile, Polonius enters and Hamlet mistakes him for Claudius. He stabs him through the arras, killing him. When he realizes his mistake, he shows no remorse and continues to mock Polonius. He then turns his attention to his mother, who is shocked and confused by his behavior. Hamlet accuses her of being complicit in his father's murder and demands that she confess and repent.

During their conversation, Hamlet hears a noise behind the arras and, thinking it is Claudius, stabs through it. He discovers that it is actually Polonius's body and again shows no remorse. He then continues to berate his mother, telling her that she must renounce her marriage to Claudius and that he will make her see the error of her ways.

The scene ends with Hamlet dragging Polonius's body out of the room and his mother crying out in despair.

HAMLET Safely stowed. Link: 4.2.1

ROSENCRANTZ (Within) Hamlet! Lord Hamlet! Link: 4.2.2

HAMLET What noise? who calls on Hamlet? Link: 4.2.3 O, here they come. Link: 4.2.4

ROSENCRANTZ What have you done, my lord, with the dead body? Link: 4.2.5

HAMLET Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis kin. Link: 4.2.6

ROSENCRANTZ Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it thence Link: 4.2.7 And bear it to the chapel. Link: 4.2.8

HAMLET Do not believe it. Link: 4.2.9

ROSENCRANTZ Believe what? Link: 4.2.10

HAMLET That I can keep your counsel and not mine own. Link: 4.2.11 Besides, to be demanded of a sponge! what Link: 4.2.12 replication should be made by the son of a king? Link: 4.2.13

ROSENCRANTZ Take you me for a sponge, my lord? Link: 4.2.14

HAMLET Ay, sir, that soaks up the king's countenance, his Link: 4.2.15 rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the Link: 4.2.16 king best service in the end: he keeps them, like Link: 4.2.17 an ape, in the corner of his jaw; first mouthed, to Link: 4.2.18 be last swallowed: when he needs what you have Link: 4.2.19 gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you Link: 4.2.20 shall be dry again. Link: 4.2.21

ROSENCRANTZ I understand you not, my lord. Link: 4.2.22

HAMLET I am glad of it: a knavish speech sleeps in a Link: 4.2.23 foolish ear. Link: 4.2.24

ROSENCRANTZ My lord, you must tell us where the body is, and go Link: 4.2.25 with us to the king. Link: 4.2.26

HAMLET The body is with the king, but the king is not with Link: 4.2.27 the body. The king is a thing-- Link: 4.2.28

GUILDENSTERN A thing, my lord! Link: 4.2.29

HAMLET Of nothing: bring me to him. Hide fox, and all after. Link: 4.2.30

SCENE III. Another room in the castle.

In Scene 3 of Act 4, two characters are discussing a grave being dug in the churchyard. One of the characters is a clown, who is tasked with digging the grave. The other character is a fellow gravedigger who is trying to engage the clown in conversation.

As they work, they discuss death and suicide, and the gravedigger tells the clown about the various types of people who end up in the graves he digs. Eventually, they come across the skull of a court jester, which the gravedigger recognizes. The two men discuss the irony of the jester's fate, and the gravedigger sings a song about death and the inevitability of dying.

The scene is darkly humorous and serves as a counterpoint to the more serious and dramatic events of the play. It also highlights the themes of mortality and the fleeting nature of life that run throughout the play.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, attended

KING CLAUDIUS I have sent to seek him, and to find the body. Link: 4.3.1 How dangerous is it that this man goes loose! Link: 4.3.2 Yet must not we put the strong law on him: Link: 4.3.3 He's loved of the distracted multitude, Link: 4.3.4 Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes; Link: 4.3.5 And where tis so, the offender's scourge is weigh'd, Link: 4.3.6 But never the offence. To bear all smooth and even, Link: 4.3.7 This sudden sending him away must seem Link: 4.3.8 Deliberate pause: diseases desperate grown Link: 4.3.9 By desperate appliance are relieved, Link: 4.3.10 Or not at all. Link: 4.3.11 How now! what hath befall'n? Link: 4.3.12

ROSENCRANTZ Where the dead body is bestow'd, my lord, Link: 4.3.13 We cannot get from him. Link: 4.3.14

KING CLAUDIUS But where is he? Link: 4.3.15

ROSENCRANTZ Without, my lord; guarded, to know your pleasure. Link: 4.3.16

KING CLAUDIUS Bring him before us. Link: 4.3.17

ROSENCRANTZ Ho, Guildenstern! bring in my lord. Link: 4.3.18

Enter HAMLET and GUILDENSTERN

KING CLAUDIUS Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius? Link: 4.3.19

HAMLET At supper. Link: 4.3.20

KING CLAUDIUS At supper! where? Link: 4.3.21

HAMLET Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain Link: 4.3.22 convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your Link: 4.3.23 worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all Link: 4.3.24 creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for Link: 4.3.25 maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but Link: 4.3.26 variable service, two dishes, but to one table: Link: 4.3.27 that's the end. Link: 4.3.28

KING CLAUDIUS Alas, alas! Link: 4.3.29

HAMLET A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a Link: 4.3.30 king, and cat of the fish that hath fed of that worm. Link: 4.3.31

KING CLAUDIUS What dost you mean by this? Link: 4.3.32

HAMLET Nothing but to show you how a king may go a Link: 4.3.33 progress through the guts of a beggar. Link: 4.3.34

KING CLAUDIUS Where is Polonius? Link: 4.3.35

HAMLET In heaven; send hither to see: if your messenger Link: 4.3.36 find him not there, seek him i' the other place Link: 4.3.37 yourself. But indeed, if you find him not within Link: 4.3.38 this month, you shall nose him as you go up the Link: 4.3.39 stairs into the lobby. Link: 4.3.40

KING CLAUDIUS Go seek him there. Link: 4.3.41

To some Attendants

HAMLET He will stay till ye come. Link: 4.3.42

Exeunt Attendants

KING CLAUDIUS Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety,-- Link: 4.3.43 Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve Link: 4.3.44 For that which thou hast done,--must send thee hence Link: 4.3.45 With fiery quickness: therefore prepare thyself; Link: 4.3.46 The bark is ready, and the wind at help, Link: 4.3.47 The associates tend, and every thing is bent Link: 4.3.48 For England. Link: 4.3.49

HAMLET For England! Link: 4.3.50

KING CLAUDIUS Ay, Hamlet. Link: 4.3.51

HAMLET Good. Link: 4.3.52

KING CLAUDIUS So is it, if thou knew'st our purposes. Link: 4.3.53

HAMLET I see a cherub that sees them. But, come; for Link: 4.3.54 England! Farewell, dear mother. Link: 4.3.55

KING CLAUDIUS Thy loving father, Hamlet. Link: 4.3.56

HAMLET My mother: father and mother is man and wife; man Link: 4.3.57 and wife is one flesh; and so, my mother. Come, for England! Link: 4.3.58

KING CLAUDIUS Follow him at foot; tempt him with speed aboard; Link: 4.3.59 Delay it not; I'll have him hence to-night: Link: 4.3.60 Away! for every thing is seal'd and done Link: 4.3.61 That else leans on the affair: pray you, make haste. Link: 4.3.62 And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught-- Link: 4.3.63 As my great power thereof may give thee sense, Link: 4.3.64 Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red Link: 4.3.65 After the Danish sword, and thy free awe Link: 4.3.66 Pays homage to us--thou mayst not coldly set Link: 4.3.67 Our sovereign process; which imports at full, Link: 4.3.68 By letters congruing to that effect, Link: 4.3.69 The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England; Link: 4.3.70 For like the hectic in my blood he rages, Link: 4.3.71 And thou must cure me: till I know 'tis done, Link: 4.3.72 Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun. Link: 4.3.73

SCENE IV. A plain in Denmark.

In Scene 4 of Act 4, the audience witnesses a conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude, his mother.

Hamlet confronts Gertrude about her role in the death of his father and her hasty remarriage to his uncle, the current king. He accuses her of being complicit in the murder and urges her to repent for her actions.

Gertrude is initially defensive but eventually succumbs to Hamlet's accusations and agrees to help him seek revenge against his uncle. Hamlet tells her to stop sleeping with her husband and to keep his secret.

Their conversation is interrupted by the ghost of Hamlet's father, who reminds Hamlet of his mission to avenge his death. Hamlet becomes agitated and begins to speak in riddles, confusing Gertrude.

The scene ends with Hamlet dragging Polonius's body out of the room, mistaking him for the king. Gertrude is left alone, frightened and confused by the events that have just transpired.

Enter FORTINBRAS, a Captain, and Soldiers, marching

PRINCE FORTINBRAS Go, captain, from me greet the Danish king; Link: 4.4.1 Tell him that, by his licence, Fortinbras Link: 4.4.2 Craves the conveyance of a promised march Link: 4.4.3 Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous. Link: 4.4.4 If that his majesty would aught with us, Link: 4.4.5 We shall express our duty in his eye; Link: 4.4.6 And let him know so. Link: 4.4.7

Captain I will do't, my lord. Link: 4.4.8

PRINCE FORTINBRAS Go softly on. Link: 4.4.9

Exeunt FORTINBRAS and Soldiers

Enter HAMLET, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and others

HAMLET Good sir, whose powers are these? Link: 4.4.10

Captain They are of Norway, sir. Link: 4.4.11

HAMLET How purposed, sir, I pray you? Link: 4.4.12

Captain Against some part of Poland. Link: 4.4.13

HAMLET Who commands them, sir? Link: 4.4.14

Captain The nephews to old Norway, Fortinbras. Link: 4.4.15

HAMLET Goes it against the main of Poland, sir, Link: 4.4.16 Or for some frontier? Link: 4.4.17

Captain Truly to speak, and with no addition, Link: 4.4.18 We go to gain a little patch of ground Link: 4.4.19 That hath in it no profit but the name. Link: 4.4.20 To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it; Link: 4.4.21 Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole Link: 4.4.22 A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee. Link: 4.4.23

HAMLET Why, then the Polack never will defend it. Link: 4.4.24

Captain Yes, it is already garrison'd. Link: 4.4.25

HAMLET Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats Link: 4.4.26 Will not debate the question of this straw: Link: 4.4.27 This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace, Link: 4.4.28 That inward breaks, and shows no cause without Link: 4.4.29 Why the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir. Link: 4.4.30

Captain God be wi' you, sir. Link: 4.4.31

ROSENCRANTZ Wilt please you go, my lord? Link: 4.4.32

HAMLET I'll be with you straight go a little before. Link: 4.4.33 How all occasions do inform against me, Link: 4.4.34 And spur my dull revenge! What is a man, Link: 4.4.35 If his chief good and market of his time Link: 4.4.36 Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. Link: 4.4.37 Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, Link: 4.4.38 Looking before and after, gave us not Link: 4.4.39 That capability and god-like reason Link: 4.4.40 To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be Link: 4.4.41 Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple Link: 4.4.42 Of thinking too precisely on the event, Link: 4.4.43 A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom Link: 4.4.44 And ever three parts coward, I do not know Link: 4.4.45 Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do;' Link: 4.4.46 Sith I have cause and will and strength and means Link: 4.4.47 To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me: Link: 4.4.48 Witness this army of such mass and charge Link: 4.4.49 Led by a delicate and tender prince, Link: 4.4.50 Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd Link: 4.4.51 Makes mouths at the invisible event, Link: 4.4.52 Exposing what is mortal and unsure Link: 4.4.53 To all that fortune, death and danger dare, Link: 4.4.54 Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great Link: 4.4.55 Is not to stir without great argument, Link: 4.4.56 But greatly to find quarrel in a straw Link: 4.4.57 When honour's at the stake. How stand I then, Link: 4.4.58 That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd, Link: 4.4.59 Excitements of my reason and my blood, Link: 4.4.60 And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see Link: 4.4.61 The imminent death of twenty thousand men, Link: 4.4.62 That, for a fantasy and trick of fame, Link: 4.4.63 Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot Link: 4.4.64 Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, Link: 4.4.65 Which is not tomb enough and continent Link: 4.4.66 To hide the slain? O, from this time forth, Link: 4.4.67 My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! Link: 4.4.68

SCENE V. Elsinore. A room in the castle.

Scene 5 of Act 4 of this play takes place in a room within a castle. A queen, a king, and several other attendants are present. The queen is upset and afraid because her son, Hamlet, has killed Polonius, the lord chamberlain. She thinks that Hamlet is crazy and dangerous. Suddenly, a messenger arrives and tells the group that Hamlet is coming. The king decides to hide Polonius' body and pretends that he is still alive. He orders the queen to talk to Hamlet and try to calm him down.

Hamlet enters the room and starts to speak with the queen. He is angry and accuses her of being part of the reason for his madness. He also tells her that he knows that the king is behind his father's death. The queen tries to defend herself and tells Hamlet that he is wrong. She begs him to stop being crazy and to behave like a normal person. Hamlet continues to be angry and rants about how unfair life is.

Finally, the ghost of Hamlet's father appears and speaks to him. The ghost reminds Hamlet of his duty to avenge his father's death. He tells him that he must not harm his mother and that he should be strong and brave. Hamlet agrees to follow his father's orders and promises to be a good son.

The scene ends with Hamlet leaving the room, determined to seek revenge against his father's murderer. The queen is left behind, feeling confused and frightened, unsure of what will happen next.

Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE, HORATIO, and a Gentleman

QUEEN GERTRUDE I will not speak with her. Link: 4.5.1

Gentleman She is importunate, indeed distract: Link: 4.5.2 Her mood will needs be pitied. Link: 4.5.3

QUEEN GERTRUDE What would she have? Link: 4.5.4

Gentleman She speaks much of her father; says she hears Link: 4.5.5 There's tricks i' the world; and hems, and beats her heart; Link: 4.5.6 Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt, Link: 4.5.7 That carry but half sense: her speech is nothing, Link: 4.5.8 Yet the unshaped use of it doth move Link: 4.5.9 The hearers to collection; they aim at it, Link: 4.5.10 And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts; Link: 4.5.11 Which, as her winks, and nods, and gestures Link: 4.5.12 yield them, Link: 4.5.13 Indeed would make one think there might be thought, Link: 4.5.14 Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily. Link: 4.5.15

HORATIO 'Twere good she were spoken with; for she may strew Link: 4.5.16 Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds. Link: 4.5.17

QUEEN GERTRUDE Let her come in. Link: 4.5.18 To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is, Link: 4.5.19 Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss: Link: 4.5.20 So full of artless jealousy is guilt, Link: 4.5.21 It spills itself in fearing to be spilt. Link: 4.5.22

Re-enter HORATIO, with OPHELIA

OPHELIA Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark? Link: 4.5.23

QUEEN GERTRUDE How now, Ophelia! Link: 4.5.24

OPHELIA (Sings) Link: 4.5.25 How should I your true love know Link: 4.5.26 From another one? Link: 4.5.27 By his cockle hat and staff, Link: 4.5.28 And his sandal shoon. Link: 4.5.29

QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song? Link: 4.5.30

OPHELIA Say you? nay, pray you, mark. Link: 4.5.31 He is dead and gone, lady, Link: 4.5.32 He is dead and gone; Link: 4.5.33 At his head a grass-green turf, Link: 4.5.34 At his heels a stone. Link: 4.5.35

QUEEN GERTRUDE Nay, but, Ophelia,-- Link: 4.5.36

OPHELIA Pray you, mark. Link: 4.5.37 White his shroud as the mountain snow,-- Link: 4.5.38

Enter KING CLAUDIUS

QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, look here, my lord. Link: 4.5.39

OPHELIA (Sings) Link: 4.5.40 Larded with sweet flowers Link: 4.5.41 Which bewept to the grave did go Link: 4.5.42 With true-love showers. Link: 4.5.43

KING CLAUDIUS How do you, pretty lady? Link: 4.5.44

OPHELIA Well, God 'ild you! They say the owl was a baker's Link: 4.5.45 daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but know not Link: 4.5.46 what we may be. God be at your table! Link: 4.5.47

KING CLAUDIUS Conceit upon her father. Link: 4.5.48

OPHELIA Pray you, let's have no words of this; but when they Link: 4.5.49 ask you what it means, say you this: Link: 4.5.50 To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day, Link: 4.5.51 All in the morning betime, Link: 4.5.52 And I a maid at your window, Link: 4.5.53 To be your Valentine. Link: 4.5.54 Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes, Link: 4.5.55 And dupp'd the chamber-door; Link: 4.5.56 Let in the maid, that out a maid Link: 4.5.57 Never departed more. Link: 4.5.58

KING CLAUDIUS Pretty Ophelia! Link: 4.5.59

OPHELIA Indeed, la, without an oath, I'll make an end on't: Link: 4.5.60 By Gis and by Saint Charity, Link: 4.5.61 Alack, and fie for shame! Link: 4.5.62 Young men will do't, if they come to't; Link: 4.5.63 By cock, they are to blame. Link: 4.5.64 Quoth she, before you tumbled me, Link: 4.5.65 You promised me to wed. Link: 4.5.66 So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, Link: 4.5.67 An thou hadst not come to my bed. Link: 4.5.68

KING CLAUDIUS How long hath she been thus? Link: 4.5.69

OPHELIA I hope all will be well. We must be patient: but I Link: 4.5.70 cannot choose but weep, to think they should lay him Link: 4.5.71 i' the cold ground. My brother shall know of it: Link: 4.5.72 and so I thank you for your good counsel. Come, my Link: 4.5.73 coach! Good night, ladies; good night, sweet ladies; Link: 4.5.74 good night, good night. Link: 4.5.75

KING CLAUDIUS Follow her close; give her good watch, Link: 4.5.76 I pray you. Link: 4.5.77 O, this is the poison of deep grief; it springs Link: 4.5.78 All from her father's death. O Gertrude, Gertrude, Link: 4.5.79 When sorrows come, they come not single spies Link: 4.5.80 But in battalions. First, her father slain: Link: 4.5.81 Next, your son gone; and he most violent author Link: 4.5.82 Of his own just remove: the people muddied, Link: 4.5.83 Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers, Link: 4.5.84 For good Polonius' death; and we have done but greenly, Link: 4.5.85 In hugger-mugger to inter him: poor Ophelia Link: 4.5.86 Divided from herself and her fair judgment, Link: 4.5.87 Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts: Link: 4.5.88 Last, and as much containing as all these, Link: 4.5.89 Her brother is in secret come from France; Link: 4.5.90 Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds, Link: 4.5.91 And wants not buzzers to infect his ear Link: 4.5.92 With pestilent speeches of his father's death; Link: 4.5.93 Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd, Link: 4.5.94 Will nothing stick our person to arraign Link: 4.5.95 In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude, this, Link: 4.5.96 Like to a murdering-piece, in many places Link: 4.5.97 Gives me superfluous death. Link: 4.5.98

A noise within

QUEEN GERTRUDE Alack, what noise is this? Link: 4.5.99

KING CLAUDIUS Where are my Switzers? Let them guard the door. Link: 4.5.100 What is the matter? Link: 4.5.101

Gentleman Save yourself, my lord: Link: 4.5.102 The ocean, overpeering of his list, Link: 4.5.103 Eats not the flats with more impetuous haste Link: 4.5.104 Than young Laertes, in a riotous head, Link: 4.5.105 O'erbears your officers. The rabble call him lord; Link: 4.5.106 And, as the world were now but to begin, Link: 4.5.107 Antiquity forgot, custom not known, Link: 4.5.108 The ratifiers and props of every word, Link: 4.5.109 They cry 'Choose we: Laertes shall be king:' Link: 4.5.110 Caps, hands, and tongues, applaud it to the clouds: Link: 4.5.111 'Laertes shall be king, Laertes king!' Link: 4.5.112

QUEEN GERTRUDE How cheerfully on the false trail they cry! Link: 4.5.113 O, this is counter, you false Danish dogs! Link: 4.5.114

KING CLAUDIUS The doors are broke. Link: 4.5.115

Noise within

Enter LAERTES, armed; Danes following

LAERTES Where is this king? Sirs, stand you all without. Link: 4.5.116

Danes No, let's come in. Link: 4.5.117

LAERTES I pray you, give me leave. Link: 4.5.118

Danes We will, we will. Link: 4.5.119

They retire without the door

LAERTES I thank you: keep the door. O thou vile king, Link: 4.5.120 Give me my father! Link: 4.5.121

QUEEN GERTRUDE Calmly, good Laertes. Link: 4.5.122

LAERTES That drop of blood that's calm proclaims me bastard, Link: 4.5.123 Cries cuckold to my father, brands the harlot Link: 4.5.124 Even here, between the chaste unsmirched brow Link: 4.5.125 Of my true mother. Link: 4.5.126

KING CLAUDIUS What is the cause, Laertes, Link: 4.5.127 That thy rebellion looks so giant-like? Link: 4.5.128 Let him go, Gertrude; do not fear our person: Link: 4.5.129 There's such divinity doth hedge a king, Link: 4.5.130 That treason can but peep to what it would, Link: 4.5.131 Acts little of his will. Tell me, Laertes, Link: 4.5.132 Why thou art thus incensed. Let him go, Gertrude. Link: 4.5.133 Speak, man. Link: 4.5.134

LAERTES Where is my father? Link: 4.5.135

KING CLAUDIUS Dead. Link: 4.5.136

QUEEN GERTRUDE But not by him. Link: 4.5.137

KING CLAUDIUS Let him demand his fill. Link: 4.5.138

LAERTES How came he dead? I'll not be juggled with: Link: 4.5.139 To hell, allegiance! vows, to the blackest devil! Link: 4.5.140 Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! Link: 4.5.141 I dare damnation. To this point I stand, Link: 4.5.142 That both the worlds I give to negligence, Link: 4.5.143 Let come what comes; only I'll be revenged Link: 4.5.144 Most thoroughly for my father. Link: 4.5.145

KING CLAUDIUS Who shall stay you? Link: 4.5.146

LAERTES My will, not all the world: Link: 4.5.147 And for my means, I'll husband them so well, Link: 4.5.148 They shall go far with little. Link: 4.5.149

KING CLAUDIUS Good Laertes, Link: 4.5.150 If you desire to know the certainty Link: 4.5.151 Of your dear father's death, is't writ in your revenge, Link: 4.5.152 That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe, Link: 4.5.153 Winner and loser? Link: 4.5.154

LAERTES None but his enemies. Link: 4.5.155

KING CLAUDIUS Will you know them then? Link: 4.5.156

LAERTES To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my arms; Link: 4.5.157 And like the kind life-rendering pelican, Link: 4.5.158 Repast them with my blood. Link: 4.5.159

KING CLAUDIUS Why, now you speak Link: 4.5.160 Like a good child and a true gentleman. Link: 4.5.161 That I am guiltless of your father's death, Link: 4.5.162 And am most sensible in grief for it, Link: 4.5.163 It shall as level to your judgment pierce Link: 4.5.164 As day does to your eye. Link: 4.5.165

Danes (Within) Let her come in. Link: 4.5.166

LAERTES How now! what noise is that? Link: 4.5.167 O heat, dry up my brains! tears seven times salt, Link: 4.5.168 Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye! Link: 4.5.169 By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight, Link: 4.5.170 Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May! Link: 4.5.171 Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia! Link: 4.5.172 O heavens! is't possible, a young maid's wits Link: 4.5.173 Should be as moral as an old man's life? Link: 4.5.174 Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine, Link: 4.5.175 It sends some precious instance of itself Link: 4.5.176 After the thing it loves. Link: 4.5.177

OPHELIA (Sings) Link: 4.5.178 They bore him barefaced on the bier; Link: 4.5.179 Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny; Link: 4.5.180 And in his grave rain'd many a tear:-- Link: 4.5.181 Fare you well, my dove! Link: 4.5.182

LAERTES Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge, Link: 4.5.183 It could not move thus. Link: 4.5.184

OPHELIA (Sings) Link: 4.5.185 You must sing a-down a-down, Link: 4.5.186 An you call him a-down-a. Link: 4.5.187 O, how the wheel becomes it! It is the false Link: 4.5.188 steward, that stole his master's daughter. Link: 4.5.189

LAERTES This nothing's more than matter. Link: 4.5.190

OPHELIA There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, Link: 4.5.191 love, remember: and there is pansies. that's for thoughts. Link: 4.5.192

LAERTES A document in madness, thoughts and remembrance fitted. Link: 4.5.193

OPHELIA There's fennel for you, and columbines: there's rue Link: 4.5.194 for you; and here's some for me: we may call it Link: 4.5.195 herb-grace o' Sundays: O you must wear your rue with Link: 4.5.196 a difference. There's a daisy: I would give you Link: 4.5.197 some violets, but they withered all when my father Link: 4.5.198 died: they say he made a good end,-- Link: 4.5.199 For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy. Link: 4.5.200

LAERTES Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself, Link: 4.5.201 She turns to favour and to prettiness. Link: 4.5.202

OPHELIA (Sings) Link: 4.5.203 And will he not come again? Link: 4.5.204 And will he not come again? Link: 4.5.205 No, no, he is dead: Link: 4.5.206 Go to thy death-bed: Link: 4.5.207 He never will come again. Link: 4.5.208 His beard was as white as snow, Link: 4.5.209 All flaxen was his poll: Link: 4.5.210 He is gone, he is gone, Link: 4.5.211 And we cast away moan: Link: 4.5.212 God ha' mercy on his soul! Link: 4.5.213 And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God be wi' ye. Link: 4.5.214

LAERTES Do you see this, O God? Link: 4.5.215

KING CLAUDIUS Laertes, I must commune with your grief, Link: 4.5.216 Or you deny me right. Go but apart, Link: 4.5.217 Make choice of whom your wisest friends you will. Link: 4.5.218 And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and me: Link: 4.5.219 If by direct or by collateral hand Link: 4.5.220 They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give, Link: 4.5.221 Our crown, our life, and all that we can ours, Link: 4.5.222 To you in satisfaction; but if not, Link: 4.5.223 Be you content to lend your patience to us, Link: 4.5.224 And we shall jointly labour with your soul Link: 4.5.225 To give it due content. Link: 4.5.226

LAERTES Let this be so; Link: 4.5.227 His means of death, his obscure funeral-- Link: 4.5.228 No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones, Link: 4.5.229 No noble rite nor formal ostentation-- Link: 4.5.230 Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heaven to earth, Link: 4.5.231 That I must call't in question. Link: 4.5.232

KING CLAUDIUS So you shall; Link: 4.5.233 And where the offence is let the great axe fall. Link: 4.5.234 I pray you, go with me. Link: 4.5.235

SCENE VI. Another room in the castle.

Scene 6 of Act 4 of this play involves a conversation between two gravediggers as they dig a grave. They discuss the recent death of Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius. One of the gravediggers wonders whether Ophelia deserves a Christian burial, given that she may have committed suicide. The other gravedigger argues that Ophelia deserves a Christian burial regardless of how she died.

Hamlet and Horatio then enter the scene. Hamlet is shocked to find that the gravediggers are joking about death and asks them whose grave they are digging. The gravediggers respond that the grave is for someone who was a "woman" and a "great one." Hamlet then realizes that the grave is for Ophelia and becomes emotional.

He jumps into the grave and starts to hold the skull of Yorick, a jester Hamlet knew as a child. Hamlet then reflects on the inevitability of death and the fact that even great people like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar have died and been forgotten. He also reflects on the fact that death is the great equalizer and that everyone, regardless of their station in life, will eventually die.

After Hamlet exits the grave, he sees Laertes, Ophelia's brother, who is angry with him for causing Ophelia's death. They fight, but are separated by Horatio. The scene ends with Hamlet and Horatio leaving the graveyard.

Enter HORATIO and a Servant

HORATIO What are they that would speak with me? Link: 4.6.1

Servant Sailors, sir: they say they have letters for you. Link: 4.6.2

HORATIO Let them come in. Link: 4.6.3 I do not know from what part of the world Link: 4.6.4 I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet. Link: 4.6.5

Enter Sailors

First Sailor God bless you, sir. Link: 4.6.6

HORATIO Let him bless thee too. Link: 4.6.7

First Sailor He shall, sir, an't please him. There's a letter for Link: 4.6.8 you, sir; it comes from the ambassador that was Link: 4.6.9 bound for England; if your name be Horatio, as I am Link: 4.6.10 let to know it is. Link: 4.6.11

HORATIO (Reads) 'Horatio, when thou shalt have overlooked Link: 4.6.12 this, give these fellows some means to the king: Link: 4.6.13 they have letters for him. Ere we were two days old Link: 4.6.14 at sea, a pirate of very warlike appointment gave us Link: 4.6.15 chase. Finding ourselves too slow of sail, we put on Link: 4.6.16 a compelled valour, and in the grapple I boarded Link: 4.6.17 them: on the instant they got clear of our ship; so Link: 4.6.18 I alone became their prisoner. They have dealt with Link: 4.6.19 me like thieves of mercy: but they knew what they Link: 4.6.20 did; I am to do a good turn for them. Let the king Link: 4.6.21 have the letters I have sent; and repair thou to me Link: 4.6.22 with as much speed as thou wouldst fly death. I Link: 4.6.23 have words to speak in thine ear will make thee Link: 4.6.24 dumb; yet are they much too light for the bore of Link: 4.6.25 the matter. These good fellows will bring thee Link: 4.6.26 where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hold their Link: 4.6.27 course for England: of them I have much to tell Link: 4.6.28 thee. Farewell. Link: 4.6.29 'He that thou knowest thine, HAMLET.' Link: 4.6.30 Come, I will make you way for these your letters; Link: 4.6.31 And do't the speedier, that you may direct me Link: 4.6.32 To him from whom you brought them. Link: 4.6.33

SCENE VII. Another room in the castle.

Scene 7 of Act 4 of this play begins with King Claudius expressing his fear and guilt over his actions. He confesses to having killed his own brother, the previous king, in order to take the throne and marry his sister-in-law, Queen Gertrude.

As he ponders his own damnation, he also worries about Hamlet's growing hostility towards him. He decides to send the prince to England under the guise of a diplomatic mission, but with secret instructions for his execution upon arrival.

Meanwhile, Hamlet is being held captive by his old schoolmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who have been tasked by the king with spying on him. Hamlet sees through their deceit and tricks them into revealing their orders to deliver him to the English court.

He then decides to turn the tables on them and drafts a letter to the English authorities, instructing them to execute Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead. He seals the letter and returns to the Danish court with his captors in tow.

As the scene ends, Hamlet and his companions are met by a group of soldiers who are marching towards the court. Hamlet recognizes them as a Norwegian army led by Prince Fortinbras, who seeks to reclaim the lands his father lost to the previous king of Denmark. Hamlet realizes that he must now confront his destiny and prepare for the inevitable battle to come.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS and LAERTES

KING CLAUDIUS Now must your conscience my acquaintance seal, Link: 4.7.1 And you must put me in your heart for friend, Link: 4.7.2 Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear, Link: 4.7.3 That he which hath your noble father slain Link: 4.7.4 Pursued my life. Link: 4.7.5

LAERTES It well appears: but tell me Link: 4.7.6 Why you proceeded not against these feats, Link: 4.7.7 So crimeful and so capital in nature, Link: 4.7.8 As by your safety, wisdom, all things else, Link: 4.7.9 You mainly were stirr'd up. Link: 4.7.10

KING CLAUDIUS O, for two special reasons; Link: 4.7.11 Which may to you, perhaps, seem much unsinew'd, Link: 4.7.12 But yet to me they are strong. The queen his mother Link: 4.7.13 Lives almost by his looks; and for myself-- Link: 4.7.14 My virtue or my plague, be it either which-- Link: 4.7.15 She's so conjunctive to my life and soul, Link: 4.7.16 That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, Link: 4.7.17 I could not but by her. The other motive, Link: 4.7.18 Why to a public count I might not go, Link: 4.7.19 Is the great love the general gender bear him; Link: 4.7.20 Who, dipping all his faults in their affection, Link: 4.7.21 Would, like the spring that turneth wood to stone, Link: 4.7.22 Convert his gyves to graces; so that my arrows, Link: 4.7.23 Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind, Link: 4.7.24 Would have reverted to my bow again, Link: 4.7.25 And not where I had aim'd them. Link: 4.7.26

LAERTES And so have I a noble father lost; Link: 4.7.27 A sister driven into desperate terms, Link: 4.7.28 Whose worth, if praises may go back again, Link: 4.7.29 Stood challenger on mount of all the age Link: 4.7.30 For her perfections: but my revenge will come. Link: 4.7.31

KING CLAUDIUS Break not your sleeps for that: you must not think Link: 4.7.32 That we are made of stuff so flat and dull Link: 4.7.33 That we can let our beard be shook with danger Link: 4.7.34 And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more: Link: 4.7.35 I loved your father, and we love ourself; Link: 4.7.36 And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine-- Link: 4.7.37 How now! what news? Link: 4.7.38

Messenger Letters, my lord, from Hamlet: Link: 4.7.39 This to your majesty; this to the queen. Link: 4.7.40

KING CLAUDIUS From Hamlet! who brought them? Link: 4.7.41

Messenger Sailors, my lord, they say; I saw them not: Link: 4.7.42 They were given me by Claudio; he received them Link: 4.7.43 Of him that brought them. Link: 4.7.44

KING CLAUDIUS Laertes, you shall hear them. Leave us. Link: 4.7.45 'High and mighty, You shall know I am set naked on Link: 4.7.46 your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see Link: 4.7.47 your kingly eyes: when I shall, first asking your Link: 4.7.48 pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden Link: 4.7.49 and more strange return. 'HAMLET.' Link: 4.7.50 What should this mean? Are all the rest come back? Link: 4.7.51 Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? Link: 4.7.52

LAERTES Know you the hand? Link: 4.7.53

KING CLAUDIUS 'Tis Hamlets character. 'Naked! Link: 4.7.54 And in a postscript here, he says 'alone.' Link: 4.7.55 Can you advise me? Link: 4.7.56

LAERTES I'm lost in it, my lord. But let him come; Link: 4.7.57 It warms the very sickness in my heart, Link: 4.7.58 That I shall live and tell him to his teeth, Link: 4.7.59 'Thus didest thou.' Link: 4.7.60

KING CLAUDIUS If it be so, Laertes-- Link: 4.7.61 As how should it be so? how otherwise?-- Link: 4.7.62 Will you be ruled by me? Link: 4.7.63

LAERTES Ay, my lord; Link: 4.7.64 So you will not o'errule me to a peace. Link: 4.7.65

KING CLAUDIUS To thine own peace. If he be now return'd, Link: 4.7.66 As checking at his voyage, and that he means Link: 4.7.67 No more to undertake it, I will work him Link: 4.7.68 To an exploit, now ripe in my device, Link: 4.7.69 Under the which he shall not choose but fall: Link: 4.7.70 And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe, Link: 4.7.71 But even his mother shall uncharge the practise Link: 4.7.72 And call it accident. Link: 4.7.73

LAERTES My lord, I will be ruled; Link: 4.7.74 The rather, if you could devise it so Link: 4.7.75 That I might be the organ. Link: 4.7.76

KING CLAUDIUS It falls right. Link: 4.7.77 You have been talk'd of since your travel much, Link: 4.7.78 And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality Link: 4.7.79 Wherein, they say, you shine: your sum of parts Link: 4.7.80 Did not together pluck such envy from him Link: 4.7.81 As did that one, and that, in my regard, Link: 4.7.82 Of the unworthiest siege. Link: 4.7.83

LAERTES What part is that, my lord? Link: 4.7.84

KING CLAUDIUS A very riband in the cap of youth, Link: 4.7.85 Yet needful too; for youth no less becomes Link: 4.7.86 The light and careless livery that it wears Link: 4.7.87 Than settled age his sables and his weeds, Link: 4.7.88 Importing health and graveness. Two months since, Link: 4.7.89 Here was a gentleman of Normandy:-- Link: 4.7.90 I've seen myself, and served against, the French, Link: 4.7.91 And they can well on horseback: but this gallant Link: 4.7.92 Had witchcraft in't; he grew unto his seat; Link: 4.7.93 And to such wondrous doing brought his horse, Link: 4.7.94 As he had been incorpsed and demi-natured Link: 4.7.95 With the brave beast: so far he topp'd my thought, Link: 4.7.96 That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks, Link: 4.7.97 Come short of what he did. Link: 4.7.98

LAERTES A Norman was't? Link: 4.7.99

KING CLAUDIUS A Norman. Link: 4.7.100

LAERTES Upon my life, Lamond. Link: 4.7.101

KING CLAUDIUS The very same. Link: 4.7.102

LAERTES I know him well: he is the brooch indeed Link: 4.7.103 And gem of all the nation. Link: 4.7.104

KING CLAUDIUS He made confession of you, Link: 4.7.105 And gave you such a masterly report Link: 4.7.106 For art and exercise in your defence Link: 4.7.107 And for your rapier most especially, Link: 4.7.108 That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed, Link: 4.7.109 If one could match you: the scrimers of their nation, Link: 4.7.110 He swore, had had neither motion, guard, nor eye, Link: 4.7.111 If you opposed them. Sir, this report of his Link: 4.7.112 Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy Link: 4.7.113 That he could nothing do but wish and beg Link: 4.7.114 Your sudden coming o'er, to play with him. Link: 4.7.115 Now, out of this,-- Link: 4.7.116

LAERTES What out of this, my lord? Link: 4.7.117

KING CLAUDIUS Laertes, was your father dear to you? Link: 4.7.118 Or are you like the painting of a sorrow, Link: 4.7.119 A face without a heart? Link: 4.7.120

LAERTES Why ask you this? Link: 4.7.121

KING CLAUDIUS Not that I think you did not love your father; Link: 4.7.122 But that I know love is begun by time; Link: 4.7.123 And that I see, in passages of proof, Link: 4.7.124 Time qualifies the spark and fire of it. Link: 4.7.125 There lives within the very flame of love Link: 4.7.126 A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it; Link: 4.7.127 And nothing is at a like goodness still; Link: 4.7.128 For goodness, growing to a plurisy, Link: 4.7.129 Dies in his own too much: that we would do Link: 4.7.130 We should do when we would; for this 'would' changes Link: 4.7.131 And hath abatements and delays as many Link: 4.7.132 As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents; Link: 4.7.133 And then this 'should' is like a spendthrift sigh, Link: 4.7.134 That hurts by easing. But, to the quick o' the ulcer:-- Link: 4.7.135 Hamlet comes back: what would you undertake, Link: 4.7.136 To show yourself your father's son in deed Link: 4.7.137 More than in words? Link: 4.7.138

LAERTES To cut his throat i' the church. Link: 4.7.139

KING CLAUDIUS No place, indeed, should murder sanctuarize; Link: 4.7.140 Revenge should have no bounds. But, good Laertes, Link: 4.7.141 Will you do this, keep close within your chamber. Link: 4.7.142 Hamlet return'd shall know you are come home: Link: 4.7.143 We'll put on those shall praise your excellence Link: 4.7.144 And set a double varnish on the fame Link: 4.7.145 The Frenchman gave you, bring you in fine together Link: 4.7.146 And wager on your heads: he, being remiss, Link: 4.7.147 Most generous and free from all contriving, Link: 4.7.148 Will not peruse the foils; so that, with ease, Link: 4.7.149 Or with a little shuffling, you may choose Link: 4.7.150 A sword unbated, and in a pass of practise Link: 4.7.151 Requite him for your father. Link: 4.7.152

LAERTES I will do't: Link: 4.7.153 And, for that purpose, I'll anoint my sword. Link: 4.7.154 I bought an unction of a mountebank, Link: 4.7.155 So mortal that, but dip a knife in it, Link: 4.7.156 Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, Link: 4.7.157 Collected from all simples that have virtue Link: 4.7.158 Under the moon, can save the thing from death Link: 4.7.159 That is but scratch'd withal: I'll touch my point Link: 4.7.160 With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly, Link: 4.7.161 It may be death. Link: 4.7.162

KING CLAUDIUS Let's further think of this; Link: 4.7.163 Weigh what convenience both of time and means Link: 4.7.164 May fit us to our shape: if this should fail, Link: 4.7.165 And that our drift look through our bad performance, Link: 4.7.166 'Twere better not assay'd: therefore this project Link: 4.7.167 Should have a back or second, that might hold, Link: 4.7.168 If this should blast in proof. Soft! let me see: Link: 4.7.169 We'll make a solemn wager on your cunnings: I ha't. Link: 4.7.170 When in your motion you are hot and dry-- Link: 4.7.171 As make your bouts more violent to that end-- Link: 4.7.172 And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepared him Link: 4.7.173 A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, Link: 4.7.174 If he by chance escape your venom'd stuck, Link: 4.7.175 Our purpose may hold there. Link: 4.7.176 How now, sweet queen! Link: 4.7.177

QUEEN GERTRUDE One woe doth tread upon another's heel, Link: 4.7.178 So fast they follow; your sister's drown'd, Laertes. Link: 4.7.179

LAERTES Drown'd! O, where? Link: 4.7.180

QUEEN GERTRUDE There is a willow grows aslant a brook, Link: 4.7.181 That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream; Link: 4.7.182 There with fantastic garlands did she come Link: 4.7.183 Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples Link: 4.7.184 That liberal shepherds give a grosser name, Link: 4.7.185 But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them: Link: 4.7.186 There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds Link: 4.7.187 Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke; Link: 4.7.188 When down her weedy trophies and herself Link: 4.7.189 Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide; Link: 4.7.190 And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up: Link: 4.7.191 Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes; Link: 4.7.192 As one incapable of her own distress, Link: 4.7.193 Or like a creature native and indued Link: 4.7.194 Unto that element: but long it could not be Link: 4.7.195 Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Link: 4.7.196 Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay Link: 4.7.197 To muddy death. Link: 4.7.198

LAERTES Alas, then, she is drown'd? Link: 4.7.199

QUEEN GERTRUDE Drown'd, drown'd. Link: 4.7.200

LAERTES Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, Link: 4.7.201 And therefore I forbid my tears: but yet Link: 4.7.202 It is our trick; nature her custom holds, Link: 4.7.203 Let shame say what it will: when these are gone, Link: 4.7.204 The woman will be out. Adieu, my lord: Link: 4.7.205 I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze, Link: 4.7.206 But that this folly douts it. Link: 4.7.207

KING CLAUDIUS Let's follow, Gertrude: Link: 4.7.208 How much I had to do to calm his rage! Link: 4.7.209 Now fear I this will give it start again; Link: 4.7.210 Therefore let's follow. Link: 4.7.211

Act 5 of Hamlet begins with two gravediggers discussing the recent death of Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius and the former love interest of Hamlet. Hamlet and Horatio then enter the scene, and Hamlet engages in a witty and philosophical conversation with the gravediggers.

As the funeral procession for Ophelia approaches, Hamlet and Laertes, Ophelia's brother, engage in a heated argument. This leads to a physical altercation, which is broken up by the King and Queen.

The final scene takes place during a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. The match is a trap set by the King, who has poisoned Laertes' sword and prepared a poisoned cup for Hamlet to drink from. During the match, both men are wounded by the poisoned sword. In the chaos, the Queen drinks from the poisoned cup and dies.

Laertes confesses to his involvement in the plot and asks for Hamlet's forgiveness before dying. Hamlet then stabs and kills the King before dying from his own wounds. The play ends with Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, arriving to take control of Denmark in the aftermath of the tragic events.

SCENE I. A churchyard.

Scene 1 of Act 5 begins in a churchyard where two gravediggers are digging a grave. Hamlet and Horatio arrive and observe the gravediggers. Hamlet engages in a witty and philosophical conversation with one of the gravediggers, who is digging the grave for Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest who has recently died.

As the gravediggers throw skulls out of the grave, Hamlet picks up one of them and begins a soliloquy on the inevitability of death and the futility of human existence. He reflects on the fact that even the greatest men in history, such as Julius Caesar, have ended up as mere dust and bones.

As the funeral procession arrives, Hamlet realizes that the person being buried is Ophelia. He becomes emotional and jumps into the grave, embracing Ophelia's corpse. Laertes, Ophelia's brother, arrives and confronts Hamlet, blaming him for Ophelia's death.

Hamlet denies any wrongdoing and the two engage in a physical fight. Eventually, they are separated and the funeral continues. Hamlet and Horatio leave, with Hamlet reflecting on the inevitability of death and his own impending fate.

Enter two Clowns, with spades, c

First Clown Is she to be buried in Christian burial that Link: 5.1.1 wilfully seeks her own salvation? Link: 5.1.2

Second Clown I tell thee she is: and therefore make her grave Link: 5.1.3 straight: the crowner hath sat on her, and finds it Link: 5.1.4 Christian burial. Link: 5.1.5

First Clown How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her Link: 5.1.6 own defence? Link: 5.1.7

Second Clown Why, 'tis found so. Link: 5.1.8

First Clown It must be 'se offendendo;' it cannot be else. For Link: 5.1.9 here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, Link: 5.1.10 it argues an act: and an act hath three branches: it Link: 5.1.11 is, to act, to do, to perform: argal, she drowned Link: 5.1.12 herself wittingly. Link: 5.1.13

Second Clown Nay, but hear you, goodman delver,-- Link: 5.1.14

First Clown Give me leave. Here lies the water; good: here Link: 5.1.15 stands the man; good; if the man go to this water, Link: 5.1.16 and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he, he Link: 5.1.17 goes,--mark you that; but if the water come to him Link: 5.1.18 and drown him, he drowns not himself: argal, he Link: 5.1.19 that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life. Link: 5.1.20

Second Clown But is this law? Link: 5.1.21

First Clown Ay, marry, is't; crowner's quest law. Link: 5.1.22

Second Clown Will you ha' the truth on't? If this had not been Link: 5.1.23 a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Link: 5.1.24 Christian burial. Link: 5.1.25

First Clown Why, there thou say'st: and the more pity that Link: 5.1.26 great folk should have countenance in this world to Link: 5.1.27 drown or hang themselves, more than their even Link: 5.1.28 Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient Link: 5.1.29 gentleman but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers: Link: 5.1.30 they hold up Adam's profession. Link: 5.1.31

Second Clown Was he a gentleman? Link: 5.1.32

First Clown He was the first that ever bore arms. Link: 5.1.33

Second Clown Why, he had none. Link: 5.1.34

First Clown What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Link: 5.1.35 Scripture? The Scripture says 'Adam digged:' Link: 5.1.36 could he dig without arms? I'll put another Link: 5.1.37 question to thee: if thou answerest me not to the Link: 5.1.38 purpose, confess thyself-- Link: 5.1.39

Second Clown Go to. Link: 5.1.40

First Clown What is he that builds stronger than either the Link: 5.1.41 mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter? Link: 5.1.42

Second Clown The gallows-maker; for that frame outlives a Link: 5.1.43 thousand tenants. Link: 5.1.44

First Clown I like thy wit well, in good faith: the gallows Link: 5.1.45 does well; but how does it well? it does well to Link: 5.1.46 those that do in: now thou dost ill to say the Link: 5.1.47 gallows is built stronger than the church: argal, Link: 5.1.48 the gallows may do well to thee. To't again, come. Link: 5.1.49

Second Clown 'Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or Link: 5.1.50 a carpenter?' Link: 5.1.51

First Clown Ay, tell me that, and unyoke. Link: 5.1.52

Second Clown Marry, now I can tell. Link: 5.1.53

First Clown To't. Link: 5.1.54

Second Clown Mass, I cannot tell. Link: 5.1.55

Enter HAMLET and HORATIO, at a distance

First Clown Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull Link: 5.1.56 ass will not mend his pace with beating; and, when Link: 5.1.57 you are asked this question next, say 'a Link: 5.1.58 grave-maker: 'the houses that he makes last till Link: 5.1.59 doomsday. Go, get thee to Yaughan: fetch me a Link: 5.1.60 stoup of liquor. Link: 5.1.61 In youth, when I did love, did love, Link: 5.1.62 Methought it was very sweet, Link: 5.1.63 To contract, O, the time, for, ah, my behove, Link: 5.1.64 O, methought, there was nothing meet. Link: 5.1.65

HAMLET Has this fellow no feeling of his business, that he Link: 5.1.66 sings at grave-making? Link: 5.1.67

HORATIO Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness. Link: 5.1.68

HAMLET 'Tis e'en so: the hand of little employment hath Link: 5.1.69 the daintier sense. Link: 5.1.70

First Clown (Sings) Link: 5.1.71 But age, with his stealing steps, Link: 5.1.72 Hath claw'd me in his clutch, Link: 5.1.73 And hath shipped me intil the land, Link: 5.1.74 As if I had never been such. Link: 5.1.75

Throws up a skull

HAMLET That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once: Link: 5.1.76 how the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Link: 5.1.77 Cain's jaw-bone, that did the first murder! It Link: 5.1.78 might be the pate of a politician, which this ass Link: 5.1.79 now o'er-reaches; one that would circumvent God, Link: 5.1.80 might it not? Link: 5.1.81

HORATIO It might, my lord. Link: 5.1.82

HAMLET Or of a courtier; which could say 'Good morrow, Link: 5.1.83 sweet lord! How dost thou, good lord?' This might Link: 5.1.84 be my lord such-a-one, that praised my lord Link: 5.1.85 such-a-one's horse, when he meant to beg it; might it not? Link: 5.1.86

HORATIO Ay, my lord. Link: 5.1.87

HAMLET Why, e'en so: and now my Lady Worm's; chapless, and Link: 5.1.88 knocked about the mazzard with a sexton's spade: Link: 5.1.89 here's fine revolution, an we had the trick to Link: 5.1.90 see't. Did these bones cost no more the breeding, Link: 5.1.91 but to play at loggats with 'em? mine ache to think on't. Link: 5.1.92

First Clown A pick-axe, and a spade, a spade, Link: 5.1.93 For and a shrouding sheet: Link: 5.1.94 O, a pit of clay for to be made Link: 5.1.95 For such a guest is meet. Link: 5.1.96

Throws up another skull

HAMLET There's another: why may not that be the skull of a Link: 5.1.97 lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, Link: 5.1.98 his cases, his tenures, and his tricks? why does he Link: 5.1.99 suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the Link: 5.1.100 sconce with a dirty shovel, and will not tell him of Link: 5.1.101 his action of battery? Hum! This fellow might be Link: 5.1.102 in's time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, Link: 5.1.103 his recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers, Link: 5.1.104 his recoveries: is this the fine of his fines, and Link: 5.1.105 the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine Link: 5.1.106 pate full of fine dirt? will his vouchers vouch him Link: 5.1.107 no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than Link: 5.1.108 the length and breadth of a pair of indentures? The Link: 5.1.109 very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in Link: 5.1.110 this box; and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha? Link: 5.1.111

HORATIO Not a jot more, my lord. Link: 5.1.112

HAMLET Is not parchment made of sheepskins? Link: 5.1.113

HORATIO Ay, my lord, and of calf-skins too. Link: 5.1.114

HAMLET They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance Link: 5.1.115 in that. I will speak to this fellow. Whose Link: 5.1.116 grave's this, sirrah? Link: 5.1.117

First Clown Mine, sir. Link: 5.1.118 O, a pit of clay for to be made Link: 5.1.119 For such a guest is meet. Link: 5.1.120

HAMLET I think it be thine, indeed; for thou liest in't. Link: 5.1.121

First Clown You lie out on't, sir, and therefore it is not Link: 5.1.122 yours: for my part, I do not lie in't, and yet it is mine. Link: 5.1.123

HAMLET 'Thou dost lie in't, to be in't and say it is thine: Link: 5.1.124 'tis for the dead, not for the quick; therefore thou liest. Link: 5.1.125

First Clown 'Tis a quick lie, sir; 'twill away gain, from me to Link: 5.1.126 you. Link: 5.1.127

HAMLET What man dost thou dig it for? Link: 5.1.128

First Clown For no man, sir. Link: 5.1.129

HAMLET What woman, then? Link: 5.1.130

First Clown For none, neither. Link: 5.1.131

HAMLET Who is to be buried in't? Link: 5.1.132

First Clown One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead. Link: 5.1.133

HAMLET How absolute the knave is! we must speak by the Link: 5.1.134 card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Link: 5.1.135 Horatio, these three years I have taken a note of Link: 5.1.136 it; the age is grown so picked that the toe of the Link: 5.1.137 peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier, he Link: 5.1.138 gaffs his kibe. How long hast thou been a Link: 5.1.139 grave-maker? Link: 5.1.140

First Clown Of all the days i' the year, I came to't that day Link: 5.1.141 that our last king Hamlet overcame Fortinbras. Link: 5.1.142

HAMLET How long is that since? Link: 5.1.143

First Clown Cannot you tell that? every fool can tell that: it Link: 5.1.144 was the very day that young Hamlet was born; he that Link: 5.1.145 is mad, and sent into England. Link: 5.1.146

HAMLET Ay, marry, why was he sent into England? Link: 5.1.147

First Clown Why, because he was mad: he shall recover his wits Link: 5.1.148 there; or, if he do not, it's no great matter there. Link: 5.1.149

HAMLET Why? Link: 5.1.150

First Clown 'Twill, a not be seen in him there; there the men Link: 5.1.151 are as mad as he. Link: 5.1.152

HAMLET How came he mad? Link: 5.1.153

First Clown Very strangely, they say. Link: 5.1.154

HAMLET How strangely? Link: 5.1.155

First Clown Faith, e'en with losing his wits. Link: 5.1.156

HAMLET Upon what ground? Link: 5.1.157

First Clown Why, here in Denmark: I have been sexton here, man Link: 5.1.158 and boy, thirty years. Link: 5.1.159

HAMLET How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot? Link: 5.1.160

First Clown I' faith, if he be not rotten before he die--as we Link: 5.1.161 have many pocky corses now-a-days, that will scarce Link: 5.1.162 hold the laying in--he will last you some eight year Link: 5.1.163 or nine year: a tanner will last you nine year. Link: 5.1.164

HAMLET Why he more than another? Link: 5.1.165

First Clown Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade, that Link: 5.1.166 he will keep out water a great while; and your water Link: 5.1.167 is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. Link: 5.1.168 Here's a skull now; this skull has lain in the earth Link: 5.1.169 three and twenty years. Link: 5.1.170

HAMLET Whose was it? Link: 5.1.171

First Clown A whoreson mad fellow's it was: whose do you think it was? Link: 5.1.172

HAMLET Nay, I know not. Link: 5.1.173

First Clown A pestilence on him for a mad rogue! a' poured a Link: 5.1.174 flagon of Rhenish on my head once. This same skull, Link: 5.1.175 sir, was Yorick's skull, the king's jester. Link: 5.1.176

HAMLET This? Link: 5.1.177

First Clown E'en that. Link: 5.1.178

HAMLET Let me see. Link: 5.1.179 Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow Link: 5.1.180 of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath Link: 5.1.181 borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how Link: 5.1.182 abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at Link: 5.1.183 it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know Link: 5.1.184 not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your Link: 5.1.185 gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, Link: 5.1.186 that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one Link: 5.1.187 now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen? Link: 5.1.188 Now get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let Link: 5.1.189 her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must Link: 5.1.190 come; make her laugh at that. Prithee, Horatio, tell Link: 5.1.191 me one thing. Link: 5.1.192

HORATIO What's that, my lord? Link: 5.1.193

HAMLET Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' Link: 5.1.194 the earth? Link: 5.1.195

HORATIO E'en so. Link: 5.1.196

HAMLET And smelt so? pah! Link: 5.1.197

Puts down the skull

HORATIO E'en so, my lord. Link: 5.1.198

HAMLET To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may Link: 5.1.199 not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, Link: 5.1.200 till he find it stopping a bung-hole? Link: 5.1.201

HORATIO 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so. Link: 5.1.202

HAMLET No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with Link: 5.1.203 modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it: as Link: 5.1.204 thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Link: 5.1.205 Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of Link: 5.1.206 earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he Link: 5.1.207 was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel? Link: 5.1.208 Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay, Link: 5.1.209 Might stop a hole to keep the wind away: Link: 5.1.210 O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe, Link: 5.1.211 Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw! Link: 5.1.212 But soft! but soft! aside: here comes the king. Link: 5.1.213 The queen, the courtiers: who is this they follow? Link: 5.1.214 And with such maimed rites? This doth betoken Link: 5.1.215 The corse they follow did with desperate hand Link: 5.1.216 Fordo its own life: 'twas of some estate. Link: 5.1.217 Couch we awhile, and mark. Link: 5.1.218

Retiring with HORATIO

LAERTES What ceremony else? Link: 5.1.219

HAMLET That is Laertes, Link: 5.1.220 A very noble youth: mark. Link: 5.1.221

LAERTES What ceremony else? Link: 5.1.222

First Priest Her obsequies have been as far enlarged Link: 5.1.223 As we have warrantise: her death was doubtful; Link: 5.1.224 And, but that great command o'ersways the order, Link: 5.1.225 She should in ground unsanctified have lodged Link: 5.1.226 Till the last trumpet: for charitable prayers, Link: 5.1.227 Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her; Link: 5.1.228 Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants, Link: 5.1.229 Her maiden strewments and the bringing home Link: 5.1.230 Of bell and burial. Link: 5.1.231

LAERTES Must there no more be done? Link: 5.1.232

First Priest No more be done: Link: 5.1.233 We should profane the service of the dead Link: 5.1.234 To sing a requiem and such rest to her Link: 5.1.235 As to peace-parted souls. Link: 5.1.236

LAERTES Lay her i' the earth: Link: 5.1.237 And from her fair and unpolluted flesh Link: 5.1.238 May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest, Link: 5.1.239 A ministering angel shall my sister be, Link: 5.1.240 When thou liest howling. Link: 5.1.241

HAMLET What, the fair Ophelia! Link: 5.1.242

QUEEN GERTRUDE Sweets to the sweet: farewell! Link: 5.1.243 I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife; Link: 5.1.244 I thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid, Link: 5.1.245 And not have strew'd thy grave. Link: 5.1.246

LAERTES O, treble woe Link: 5.1.247 Fall ten times treble on that cursed head, Link: 5.1.248 Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense Link: 5.1.249 Deprived thee of! Hold off the earth awhile, Link: 5.1.250 Till I have caught her once more in mine arms: Link: 5.1.251 Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead, Link: 5.1.252 Till of this flat a mountain you have made, Link: 5.1.253 To o'ertop old Pelion, or the skyish head Link: 5.1.254 Of blue Olympus. Link: 5.1.255

HAMLET (Advancing) What is he whose grief Link: 5.1.256 Bears such an emphasis? whose phrase of sorrow Link: 5.1.257 Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand Link: 5.1.258 Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I, Link: 5.1.259 Hamlet the Dane. Link: 5.1.260

Leaps into the grave

LAERTES The devil take thy soul! Link: 5.1.261

Grappling with him

HAMLET Thou pray'st not well. Link: 5.1.262 I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat; Link: 5.1.263 For, though I am not splenitive and rash, Link: 5.1.264 Yet have I something in me dangerous, Link: 5.1.265 Which let thy wiseness fear: hold off thy hand. Link: 5.1.266

KING CLAUDIUS Pluck them asunder. Link: 5.1.267

QUEEN GERTRUDE Hamlet, Hamlet! Link: 5.1.268

All Gentlemen,-- Link: 5.1.269

HORATIO Good my lord, be quiet. Link: 5.1.270

The Attendants part them, and they come out of the grave

HAMLET Why I will fight with him upon this theme Link: 5.1.271 Until my eyelids will no longer wag. Link: 5.1.272

QUEEN GERTRUDE O my son, what theme? Link: 5.1.273

HAMLET I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Link: 5.1.274 Could not, with all their quantity of love, Link: 5.1.275 Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her? Link: 5.1.276

KING CLAUDIUS O, he is mad, Laertes. Link: 5.1.277

QUEEN GERTRUDE For love of God, forbear him. Link: 5.1.278

HAMLET 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do: Link: 5.1.279 Woo't weep? woo't fight? woo't fast? woo't tear thyself? Link: 5.1.280 Woo't drink up eisel? eat a crocodile? Link: 5.1.281 I'll do't. Dost thou come here to whine? Link: 5.1.282 To outface me with leaping in her grave? Link: 5.1.283 Be buried quick with her, and so will I: Link: 5.1.284 And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw Link: 5.1.285 Millions of acres on us, till our ground, Link: 5.1.286 Singeing his pate against the burning zone, Link: 5.1.287 Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou'lt mouth, Link: 5.1.288 I'll rant as well as thou. Link: 5.1.289

QUEEN GERTRUDE This is mere madness: Link: 5.1.290 And thus awhile the fit will work on him; Link: 5.1.291 Anon, as patient as the female dove, Link: 5.1.292 When that her golden couplets are disclosed, Link: 5.1.293 His silence will sit drooping. Link: 5.1.294

HAMLET Hear you, sir; Link: 5.1.295 What is the reason that you use me thus? Link: 5.1.296 I loved you ever: but it is no matter; Link: 5.1.297 Let Hercules himself do what he may, Link: 5.1.298 The cat will mew and dog will have his day. Link: 5.1.299

KING CLAUDIUS I pray you, good Horatio, wait upon him. Link: 5.1.300 Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech; Link: 5.1.301 We'll put the matter to the present push. Link: 5.1.302 Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son. Link: 5.1.303 This grave shall have a living monument: Link: 5.1.304 An hour of quiet shortly shall we see; Link: 5.1.305 Till then, in patience our proceeding be. Link: 5.1.306

Scene 2 of Act 5 begins with Hamlet and Horatio in the graveyard, where they witness the gravedigger digging a grave for Ophelia. Hamlet engages in a witty conversation with the gravedigger, questioning him on the nature of death and the decay of the body. As they continue to talk, Hamlet discovers that the grave is for Ophelia and becomes overcome with grief.

Laertes and a group of attendants enter the graveyard, and he jumps into Ophelia's grave, expressing his love for her and his desire to be buried with her. Hamlet and Laertes engage in a heated argument, which leads to a physical fight. They are eventually separated, and Hamlet apologizes for his behavior, stating that he loved Ophelia as well.

The funeral procession for Ophelia enters the graveyard, and Hamlet hides to watch. Laertes jumps into the grave once again, expressing his grief and anger towards Hamlet. The two men fight once more, and during the scuffle, the coffin is knocked over, revealing Ophelia's body.

Hamlet and Laertes are once again separated, and the funeral procession continues. Hamlet and Horatio exit the graveyard, with Hamlet expressing his sadness and regret over the deaths of Ophelia, Polonius, and himself. The scene ends as Hamlet receives a letter from the king, summoning him to a fencing match with Laertes.

Enter HAMLET and HORATIO

HAMLET So much for this, sir: now shall you see the other; Link: 5.2.1 You do remember all the circumstance? Link: 5.2.2

HORATIO Remember it, my lord? Link: 5.2.3

HAMLET Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting, Link: 5.2.4 That would not let me sleep: methought I lay Link: 5.2.5 Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly, Link: 5.2.6 And praised be rashness for it, let us know, Link: 5.2.7 Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, Link: 5.2.8 When our deep plots do pall: and that should teach us Link: 5.2.9 There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Link: 5.2.10 Rough-hew them how we will,-- Link: 5.2.11

HORATIO That is most certain. Link: 5.2.12

HAMLET Up from my cabin, Link: 5.2.13 My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark Link: 5.2.14 Groped I to find out them; had my desire. Link: 5.2.15 Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew Link: 5.2.16 To mine own room again; making so bold, Link: 5.2.17 My fears forgetting manners, to unseal Link: 5.2.18 Their grand commission; where I found, Horatio,-- Link: 5.2.19 O royal knavery!--an exact command, Link: 5.2.20 Larded with many several sorts of reasons Link: 5.2.21 Importing Denmark's health and England's too, Link: 5.2.22 With, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life, Link: 5.2.23 That, on the supervise, no leisure bated, Link: 5.2.24 No, not to stay the grinding of the axe, Link: 5.2.25 My head should be struck off. Link: 5.2.26

HORATIO Is't possible? Link: 5.2.27

HAMLET Here's the commission: read it at more leisure. Link: 5.2.28 But wilt thou hear me how I did proceed? Link: 5.2.29

HORATIO I beseech you. Link: 5.2.30

HAMLET Being thus be-netted round with villanies,-- Link: 5.2.31 Ere I could make a prologue to my brains, Link: 5.2.32 They had begun the play--I sat me down, Link: 5.2.33 Devised a new commission, wrote it fair: Link: 5.2.34 I once did hold it, as our statists do, Link: 5.2.35 A baseness to write fair and labour'd much Link: 5.2.36 How to forget that learning, but, sir, now Link: 5.2.37 It did me yeoman's service: wilt thou know Link: 5.2.38 The effect of what I wrote? Link: 5.2.39

HORATIO Ay, good my lord. Link: 5.2.40

HAMLET An earnest conjuration from the king, Link: 5.2.41 As England was his faithful tributary, Link: 5.2.42 As love between them like the palm might flourish, Link: 5.2.43 As peace should stiff her wheaten garland wear Link: 5.2.44 And stand a comma 'tween their amities, Link: 5.2.45 And many such-like 'As'es of great charge, Link: 5.2.46 That, on the view and knowing of these contents, Link: 5.2.47 Without debatement further, more or less, Link: 5.2.48 He should the bearers put to sudden death, Link: 5.2.49 Not shriving-time allow'd. Link: 5.2.50

HORATIO How was this seal'd? Link: 5.2.51

HAMLET Why, even in that was heaven ordinant. Link: 5.2.52 I had my father's signet in my purse, Link: 5.2.53 Which was the model of that Danish seal; Link: 5.2.54 Folded the writ up in form of the other, Link: 5.2.55 Subscribed it, gave't the impression, placed it safely, Link: 5.2.56 The changeling never known. Now, the next day Link: 5.2.57 Was our sea-fight; and what to this was sequent Link: 5.2.58 Thou know'st already. Link: 5.2.59

HORATIO So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't. Link: 5.2.60

HAMLET Why, man, they did make love to this employment; Link: 5.2.61 They are not near my conscience; their defeat Link: 5.2.62 Does by their own insinuation grow: Link: 5.2.63 'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes Link: 5.2.64 Between the pass and fell incensed points Link: 5.2.65 Of mighty opposites. Link: 5.2.66

HORATIO Why, what a king is this! Link: 5.2.67

HAMLET Does it not, think'st thee, stand me now upon-- Link: 5.2.68 He that hath kill'd my king and whored my mother, Link: 5.2.69 Popp'd in between the election and my hopes, Link: 5.2.70 Thrown out his angle for my proper life, Link: 5.2.71 And with such cozenage--is't not perfect conscience, Link: 5.2.72 To quit him with this arm? and is't not to be damn'd, Link: 5.2.73 To let this canker of our nature come Link: 5.2.74 In further evil? Link: 5.2.75

HORATIO It must be shortly known to him from England Link: 5.2.76 What is the issue of the business there. Link: 5.2.77

HAMLET It will be short: the interim is mine; Link: 5.2.78 And a man's life's no more than to say 'One.' Link: 5.2.79 But I am very sorry, good Horatio, Link: 5.2.80 That to Laertes I forgot myself; Link: 5.2.81 For, by the image of my cause, I see Link: 5.2.82 The portraiture of his: I'll court his favours. Link: 5.2.83 But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me Link: 5.2.84 Into a towering passion. Link: 5.2.85

HORATIO Peace! who comes here? Link: 5.2.86

Enter OSRIC

OSRIC Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark. Link: 5.2.87

HAMLET I humbly thank you, sir. Dost know this water-fly? Link: 5.2.88

HORATIO No, my good lord. Link: 5.2.89

HAMLET Thy state is the more gracious; for 'tis a vice to Link: 5.2.90 know him. He hath much land, and fertile: let a Link: 5.2.91 beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand at Link: 5.2.92 the king's mess: 'tis a chough; but, as I say, Link: 5.2.93 spacious in the possession of dirt. Link: 5.2.94

OSRIC Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure, I Link: 5.2.95 should impart a thing to you from his majesty. Link: 5.2.96

HAMLET I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of Link: 5.2.97 spirit. Put your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the head. Link: 5.2.98

OSRIC I thank your lordship, it is very hot. Link: 5.2.99

HAMLET No, believe me, 'tis very cold; the wind is Link: 5.2.100 northerly. Link: 5.2.101

OSRIC It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. Link: 5.2.102

HAMLET But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my Link: 5.2.103 complexion. Link: 5.2.104

OSRIC Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry,--as Link: 5.2.105 'twere,--I cannot tell how. But, my lord, his Link: 5.2.106 majesty bade me signify to you that he has laid a Link: 5.2.107 great wager on your head: sir, this is the matter,-- Link: 5.2.108

HAMLET I beseech you, remember-- Link: 5.2.109

HAMLET moves him to put on his hat

OSRIC Nay, good my lord; for mine ease, in good faith. Link: 5.2.110 Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes; believe Link: 5.2.111 me, an absolute gentleman, full of most excellent Link: 5.2.112 differences, of very soft society and great showing: Link: 5.2.113 indeed, to speak feelingly of him, he is the card or Link: 5.2.114 calendar of gentry, for you shall find in him the Link: 5.2.115 continent of what part a gentleman would see. Link: 5.2.116

HAMLET Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you; Link: 5.2.117 though, I know, to divide him inventorially would Link: 5.2.118 dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw Link: 5.2.119 neither, in respect of his quick sail. But, in the Link: 5.2.120 verity of extolment, I take him to be a soul of Link: 5.2.121 great article; and his infusion of such dearth and Link: 5.2.122 rareness, as, to make true diction of him, his Link: 5.2.123 semblable is his mirror; and who else would trace Link: 5.2.124 him, his umbrage, nothing more. Link: 5.2.125

OSRIC Your lordship speaks most infallibly of him. Link: 5.2.126

HAMLET The concernancy, sir? why do we wrap the gentleman Link: 5.2.127 in our more rawer breath? Link: 5.2.128

OSRIC Sir? Link: 5.2.129

HORATIO Is't not possible to understand in another tongue? Link: 5.2.130 You will do't, sir, really. Link: 5.2.131

HAMLET What imports the nomination of this gentleman? Link: 5.2.132

OSRIC Of Laertes? Link: 5.2.133

HORATIO His purse is empty already; all's golden words are spent. Link: 5.2.134

HAMLET Of him, sir. Link: 5.2.135

OSRIC I know you are not ignorant-- Link: 5.2.136

HAMLET I would you did, sir; yet, in faith, if you did, Link: 5.2.137 it would not much approve me. Well, sir? Link: 5.2.138

OSRIC You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is-- Link: 5.2.139

HAMLET I dare not confess that, lest I should compare with Link: 5.2.140 him in excellence; but, to know a man well, were to Link: 5.2.141 know himself. Link: 5.2.142

OSRIC I mean, sir, for his weapon; but in the imputation Link: 5.2.143 laid on him by them, in his meed he's unfellowed. Link: 5.2.144

HAMLET What's his weapon? Link: 5.2.145

OSRIC Rapier and dagger. Link: 5.2.146

HAMLET That's two of his weapons: but, well. Link: 5.2.147

OSRIC The king, sir, hath wagered with him six Barbary Link: 5.2.148 horses: against the which he has imponed, as I take Link: 5.2.149 it, six French rapiers and poniards, with their Link: 5.2.150 assigns, as girdle, hangers, and so: three of the Link: 5.2.151 carriages, in faith, are very dear to fancy, very Link: 5.2.152 responsive to the hilts, most delicate carriages, Link: 5.2.153 and of very liberal conceit. Link: 5.2.154

HAMLET What call you the carriages? Link: 5.2.155

HORATIO I knew you must be edified by the margent ere you had done. Link: 5.2.156

OSRIC The carriages, sir, are the hangers. Link: 5.2.157

HAMLET The phrase would be more german to the matter, if we Link: 5.2.158 could carry cannon by our sides: I would it might Link: 5.2.159 be hangers till then. But, on: six Barbary horses Link: 5.2.160 against six French swords, their assigns, and three Link: 5.2.161 liberal-conceited carriages; that's the French bet Link: 5.2.162 against the Danish. Why is this 'imponed,' as you call it? Link: 5.2.163

OSRIC The king, sir, hath laid, that in a dozen passes Link: 5.2.164 between yourself and him, he shall not exceed you Link: 5.2.165 three hits: he hath laid on twelve for nine; and it Link: 5.2.166 would come to immediate trial, if your lordship Link: 5.2.167 would vouchsafe the answer. Link: 5.2.168

HAMLET How if I answer 'no'? Link: 5.2.169

OSRIC I mean, my lord, the opposition of your person in trial. Link: 5.2.170

HAMLET Sir, I will walk here in the hall: if it please his Link: 5.2.171 majesty, 'tis the breathing time of day with me; let Link: 5.2.172 the foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and the Link: 5.2.173 king hold his purpose, I will win for him an I can; Link: 5.2.174 if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits. Link: 5.2.175

OSRIC Shall I re-deliver you e'en so? Link: 5.2.176

HAMLET To this effect, sir; after what flourish your nature will. Link: 5.2.177

OSRIC I commend my duty to your lordship. Link: 5.2.178

HAMLET Yours, yours. Link: 5.2.179 He does well to commend it himself; there are no Link: 5.2.180 tongues else for's turn. Link: 5.2.181

HORATIO This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head. Link: 5.2.182

HAMLET He did comply with his dug, before he sucked it. Link: 5.2.183 Thus has he--and many more of the same bevy that I Link: 5.2.184 know the dressy age dotes on--only got the tune of Link: 5.2.185 the time and outward habit of encounter; a kind of Link: 5.2.186 yesty collection, which carries them through and Link: 5.2.187 through the most fond and winnowed opinions; and do Link: 5.2.188 but blow them to their trial, the bubbles are out. Link: 5.2.189

Enter a Lord

Lord My lord, his majesty commended him to you by young Link: 5.2.190 Osric, who brings back to him that you attend him in Link: 5.2.191 the hall: he sends to know if your pleasure hold to Link: 5.2.192 play with Laertes, or that you will take longer time. Link: 5.2.193

HAMLET I am constant to my purpose; they follow the king's Link: 5.2.194 pleasure: if his fitness speaks, mine is ready; now Link: 5.2.195 or whensoever, provided I be so able as now. Link: 5.2.196

Lord The king and queen and all are coming down. Link: 5.2.197

HAMLET In happy time. Link: 5.2.198

Lord The queen desires you to use some gentle Link: 5.2.199 entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play. Link: 5.2.200

HAMLET She well instructs me. Link: 5.2.201

HORATIO You will lose this wager, my lord. Link: 5.2.202

HAMLET I do not think so: since he went into France, I Link: 5.2.203 have been in continual practise: I shall win at the Link: 5.2.204 odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here Link: 5.2.205 about my heart: but it is no matter. Link: 5.2.206

HORATIO Nay, good my lord,-- Link: 5.2.207

HAMLET It is but foolery; but it is such a kind of Link: 5.2.208 gain-giving, as would perhaps trouble a woman. Link: 5.2.209

HORATIO If your mind dislike any thing, obey it: I will Link: 5.2.210 forestall their repair hither, and say you are not Link: 5.2.211 fit. Link: 5.2.212

HAMLET Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special Link: 5.2.213 providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, Link: 5.2.214 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be Link: 5.2.215 now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the Link: 5.2.216 readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he Link: 5.2.217 leaves, what is't to leave betimes? Link: 5.2.218

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, LAERTES, Lords, OSRIC, and Attendants with foils, c

KING CLAUDIUS Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me. Link: 5.2.219

KING CLAUDIUS puts LAERTES' hand into HAMLET's

HAMLET Give me your pardon, sir: I've done you wrong; Link: 5.2.220 But pardon't, as you are a gentleman. Link: 5.2.221 This presence knows, Link: 5.2.222 And you must needs have heard, how I am punish'd Link: 5.2.223 With sore distraction. What I have done, Link: 5.2.224 That might your nature, honour and exception Link: 5.2.225 Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. Link: 5.2.226 Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes? Never Hamlet: Link: 5.2.227 If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, Link: 5.2.228 And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, Link: 5.2.229 Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. Link: 5.2.230 Who does it, then? His madness: if't be so, Link: 5.2.231 Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd; Link: 5.2.232 His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy. Link: 5.2.233 Sir, in this audience, Link: 5.2.234 Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil Link: 5.2.235 Free me so far in your most generous thoughts, Link: 5.2.236 That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house, Link: 5.2.237 And hurt my brother. Link: 5.2.238

LAERTES I am satisfied in nature, Link: 5.2.239 Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most Link: 5.2.240 To my revenge: but in my terms of honour Link: 5.2.241 I stand aloof; and will no reconcilement, Link: 5.2.242 Till by some elder masters, of known honour, Link: 5.2.243 I have a voice and precedent of peace, Link: 5.2.244 To keep my name ungored. But till that time, Link: 5.2.245 I do receive your offer'd love like love, Link: 5.2.246 And will not wrong it. Link: 5.2.247

HAMLET I embrace it freely; Link: 5.2.248 And will this brother's wager frankly play. Link: 5.2.249 Give us the foils. Come on. Link: 5.2.250

LAERTES Come, one for me. Link: 5.2.251

HAMLET I'll be your foil, Laertes: in mine ignorance Link: 5.2.252 Your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest night, Link: 5.2.253 Stick fiery off indeed. Link: 5.2.254

LAERTES You mock me, sir. Link: 5.2.255

HAMLET No, by this hand. Link: 5.2.256

KING CLAUDIUS Give them the foils, young Osric. Cousin Hamlet, Link: 5.2.257 You know the wager? Link: 5.2.258

HAMLET Very well, my lord Link: 5.2.259 Your grace hath laid the odds o' the weaker side. Link: 5.2.260

KING CLAUDIUS I do not fear it; I have seen you both: Link: 5.2.261 But since he is better'd, we have therefore odds. Link: 5.2.262

LAERTES This is too heavy, let me see another. Link: 5.2.263

HAMLET This likes me well. These foils have all a length? Link: 5.2.264

They prepare to play

OSRIC Ay, my good lord. Link: 5.2.265

KING CLAUDIUS Set me the stoops of wine upon that table. Link: 5.2.266 If Hamlet give the first or second hit, Link: 5.2.267 Or quit in answer of the third exchange, Link: 5.2.268 Let all the battlements their ordnance fire: Link: 5.2.269 The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath; Link: 5.2.270 And in the cup an union shall he throw, Link: 5.2.271 Richer than that which four successive kings Link: 5.2.272 In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups; Link: 5.2.273 And let the kettle to the trumpet speak, Link: 5.2.274 The trumpet to the cannoneer without, Link: 5.2.275 The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to earth, Link: 5.2.276 'Now the king dunks to Hamlet.' Come, begin: Link: 5.2.277 And you, the judges, bear a wary eye. Link: 5.2.278

HAMLET Come on, sir. Link: 5.2.279

LAERTES Come, my lord. Link: 5.2.280

HAMLET One. Link: 5.2.281

LAERTES No. Link: 5.2.282

HAMLET Judgment. Link: 5.2.283

OSRIC A hit, a very palpable hit. Link: 5.2.284

LAERTES Well; again. Link: 5.2.285

KING CLAUDIUS Stay; give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine; Link: 5.2.286 Here's to thy health. Link: 5.2.287 Give him the cup. Link: 5.2.288

HAMLET I'll play this bout first; set it by awhile. Come. Link: 5.2.289 Another hit; what say you? Link: 5.2.290

LAERTES A touch, a touch, I do confess. Link: 5.2.291

KING CLAUDIUS Our son shall win. Link: 5.2.292

QUEEN GERTRUDE He's fat, and scant of breath. Link: 5.2.293 Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows; Link: 5.2.294 The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. Link: 5.2.295

HAMLET Good madam! Link: 5.2.296

KING CLAUDIUS Gertrude, do not drink. Link: 5.2.297

QUEEN GERTRUDE I will, my lord; I pray you, pardon me. Link: 5.2.298

KING CLAUDIUS (Aside) It is the poison'd cup: it is too late. Link: 5.2.299

HAMLET I dare not drink yet, madam; by and by. Link: 5.2.300

QUEEN GERTRUDE Come, let me wipe thy face. Link: 5.2.301

LAERTES My lord, I'll hit him now. Link: 5.2.302

KING CLAUDIUS I do not think't. Link: 5.2.303

LAERTES (Aside) And yet 'tis almost 'gainst my conscience. Link: 5.2.304

HAMLET Come, for the third, Laertes: you but dally; Link: 5.2.305 I pray you, pass with your best violence; Link: 5.2.306 I am afeard you make a wanton of me. Link: 5.2.307

LAERTES Say you so? come on. Link: 5.2.308

OSRIC Nothing, neither way. Link: 5.2.309

LAERTES Have at you now! Link: 5.2.310

LAERTES wounds HAMLET; then in scuffling, they change rapiers, and HAMLET wounds LAERTES

KING CLAUDIUS Part them; they are incensed. Link: 5.2.311

HAMLET Nay, come, again. Link: 5.2.312

QUEEN GERTRUDE falls

OSRIC Look to the queen there, ho! Link: 5.2.313

HORATIO They bleed on both sides. How is it, my lord? Link: 5.2.314

OSRIC How is't, Laertes? Link: 5.2.315

LAERTES Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric; Link: 5.2.316 I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery. Link: 5.2.317

HAMLET How does the queen? Link: 5.2.318

KING CLAUDIUS She swounds to see them bleed. Link: 5.2.319

QUEEN GERTRUDE No, no, the drink, the drink,--O my dear Hamlet,-- Link: 5.2.320 The drink, the drink! I am poison'd. Link: 5.2.321

HAMLET O villany! Ho! let the door be lock'd: Link: 5.2.322 Treachery! Seek it out. Link: 5.2.323

LAERTES It is here, Hamlet: Hamlet, thou art slain; Link: 5.2.324 No medicine in the world can do thee good; Link: 5.2.325 In thee there is not half an hour of life; Link: 5.2.326 The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, Link: 5.2.327 Unbated and envenom'd: the foul practise Link: 5.2.328 Hath turn'd itself on me lo, here I lie, Link: 5.2.329 Never to rise again: thy mother's poison'd: Link: 5.2.330 I can no more: the king, the king's to blame. Link: 5.2.331

HAMLET The point!--envenom'd too! Link: 5.2.332 Then, venom, to thy work. Link: 5.2.333

Stabs KING CLAUDIUS

All Treason! treason! Link: 5.2.334

KING CLAUDIUS O, yet defend me, friends; I am but hurt. Link: 5.2.335

HAMLET Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, Link: 5.2.336 Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? Link: 5.2.337 Follow my mother. Link: 5.2.338

KING CLAUDIUS dies

LAERTES He is justly served; Link: 5.2.339 It is a poison temper'd by himself. Link: 5.2.340 Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet: Link: 5.2.341 Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, Link: 5.2.342 Nor thine on me. Link: 5.2.343

HAMLET Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee. Link: 5.2.344 I am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen, adieu! Link: 5.2.345 You that look pale and tremble at this chance, Link: 5.2.346 That are but mutes or audience to this act, Link: 5.2.347 Had I but time--as this fell sergeant, death, Link: 5.2.348 Is strict in his arrest--O, I could tell you-- Link: 5.2.349 But let it be. Horatio, I am dead; Link: 5.2.350 Thou livest; report me and my cause aright Link: 5.2.351 To the unsatisfied. Link: 5.2.352

HORATIO Never believe it: Link: 5.2.353 I am more an antique Roman than a Dane: Link: 5.2.354 Here's yet some liquor left. Link: 5.2.355

HAMLET As thou'rt a man, Link: 5.2.356 Give me the cup: let go; by heaven, I'll have't. Link: 5.2.357 O good Horatio, what a wounded name, Link: 5.2.358 Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me! Link: 5.2.359 If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart Link: 5.2.360 Absent thee from felicity awhile, Link: 5.2.361 And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, Link: 5.2.362 To tell my story. Link: 5.2.363 What warlike noise is this? Link: 5.2.364

OSRIC Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland, Link: 5.2.365 To the ambassadors of England gives Link: 5.2.366 This warlike volley. Link: 5.2.367

HAMLET O, I die, Horatio; Link: 5.2.368 The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit: Link: 5.2.369 I cannot live to hear the news from England; Link: 5.2.370 But I do prophesy the election lights Link: 5.2.371 On Fortinbras: he has my dying voice; Link: 5.2.372 So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Link: 5.2.373 Which have solicited. The rest is silence. Link: 5.2.374

HORATIO Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: Link: 5.2.375 And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! Link: 5.2.376 Why does the drum come hither? Link: 5.2.377

March within

Enter FORTINBRAS, the English Ambassadors, and others

PRINCE FORTINBRAS Where is this sight? Link: 5.2.378

HORATIO What is it ye would see? Link: 5.2.379 If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search. Link: 5.2.380

PRINCE FORTINBRAS This quarry cries on havoc. O proud death, Link: 5.2.381 What feast is toward in thine eternal cell, Link: 5.2.382 That thou so many princes at a shot Link: 5.2.383 So bloodily hast struck? Link: 5.2.384

First Ambassador The sight is dismal; Link: 5.2.385 And our affairs from England come too late: Link: 5.2.386 The ears are senseless that should give us hearing, Link: 5.2.387 To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd, Link: 5.2.388 That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead: Link: 5.2.389 Where should we have our thanks? Link: 5.2.390

HORATIO Not from his mouth, Link: 5.2.391 Had it the ability of life to thank you: Link: 5.2.392 He never gave commandment for their death. Link: 5.2.393 But since, so jump upon this bloody question, Link: 5.2.394 You from the Polack wars, and you from England, Link: 5.2.395 Are here arrived give order that these bodies Link: 5.2.396 High on a stage be placed to the view; Link: 5.2.397 And let me speak to the yet unknowing world Link: 5.2.398 How these things came about: so shall you hear Link: 5.2.399 Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, Link: 5.2.400 Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters, Link: 5.2.401 Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause, Link: 5.2.402 And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Link: 5.2.403 Fall'n on the inventors' reads: all this can I Link: 5.2.404 Truly deliver. Link: 5.2.405

PRINCE FORTINBRAS Let us haste to hear it, Link: 5.2.406 And call the noblest to the audience. Link: 5.2.407 For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune: Link: 5.2.408 I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, Link: 5.2.409 Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me. Link: 5.2.410

HORATIO Of that I shall have also cause to speak, Link: 5.2.411 And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more; Link: 5.2.412 But let this same be presently perform'd, Link: 5.2.413 Even while men's minds are wild; lest more mischance Link: 5.2.414 On plots and errors, happen. Link: 5.2.415

PRINCE FORTINBRAS Let four captains Link: 5.2.416 Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage; Link: 5.2.417 For he was likely, had he been put on, Link: 5.2.418 To have proved most royally: and, for his passage, Link: 5.2.419 The soldiers' music and the rites of war Link: 5.2.420 Speak loudly for him. Link: 5.2.421 Take up the bodies: such a sight as this Link: 5.2.422 Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. Link: 5.2.423 Go, bid the soldiers shoot. Link: 5.2.424

A dead march. Exeunt, bearing off the dead bodies; after which a peal of ordnance is shot off

Shakespeare: Hamlet Essay

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Introduction

Works cited.

The play Hamlet depicts a tragedy written by the author in the period between 1599 and 1601 (Shmoop 1). The story of the play is about the prince Hamlet whose father was the king of Denmark. The king was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius who also married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. The play is centered on Hamlet’s anxiety and indecision on how to avenge his father’s death.

Following his father’s death news emerges of a ghost that roams the castles battlements that looks a lot like the dead king. Hamlet hurries to meet the ghost and receives news that his father was murdered by Claudius who poisoned him while he was sleeping (Shmoop 3). The ghost orders young Hamlet to remember him through seeking revenge for his untimely death. In response to this, Hamlet devises a plan to act like a madman while scheming to avenge his father’s death.

With the intention of ascertaining whether the ghost is telling the truth, Hamlet decides to make a play in which a king is murdered in the exact fashion his father was killed. As he continues with the preparations he often plays the madman throwing wild accusations to all women. He even suggests committing suicide in a speech to further convince his audience of his insanity (Shmoop 3). Upon watching the play his uncle admits guilt for the crime and Hamlet decides to kill him to avenge his father’s death (Shmoop 5).

The scene that is the subject of this report refers to a scene in the play that takes place at the graveyard following the death of Ophelia (Shmoop 23). In this scene the author depicts Hamlet’s observations on life from the perspective of the grave. In light of the events that unfold at the graveyard Hamlet encounters the skull of a childhood accomplice and is forced to stare death in the face as he reminisces on his childhood.

It may even be argued that events that surround the scene play a significant role in the actions that preceded it and those that will follow. In this report an analysis will be presented of this scene and how it was affected by previous actions and how it affects scenes that follow in the play.

As it has been mentioned the scene in the graveyard is the result of the death of Ophelia. In earlier scenes of the play we are introduced to Ophelia who is a sister to a young lord known as Laertes (Shmoop 7). The images in this scene indicate a strong relationship to what preceded due to the fact that the young lady’s death was the result of an accident that resulting from hamlet’s plot in the play. It has been established that the murder of her father that prompted her suicide was an accident as hamlet intended to murder King Claudius.

It appears that Ophelia’s adamant position following her brother’s censure and father’s advice may have prompted her hasty decision to take her own life (Shmoop 7). This point is based on evidence of her father’s address following his intervention on a discussion between Ophelia and her brother.

It is therefore possible to assume that her disappointment overwhelmed her given that both her loved ones had warned her about hamlet. Her eventual suicide that leads to the scene at the grave suggests she possibly held herself responsible for the death of her father and was tormented by guilt.

This supposed guilt appears to emanate from the scene when Hamlet begins his plan to act mad and bursts into Ophelia’s room startling her in his disheveled state (Shmoop 9). In the confusion Hamlet grabs Ophelia by the wrist and appears to express frustration over love for her. In this scene it is suggested that the young lady was taken by feelings of love suggested by hamlet.

It is evident given that both the father and daughter are both convinced by this display and appear to reconsider their judgment (Shmoop 9). The graveyard scene further draws reminders to the bond between Ophelia and her father given her repeated assurances of her fidelity. The eventual suicide draws us to conclude on the bond between the two that the death of her father so seriously affected.

At this point it is wise to note the accident that leads to the scene in the grave is the result of a failed murder attempt as hamlet finds the King deep in prayer. (Miller & Shakespeare 8). Hamlet is then forced to reconsider his plan and makes a hasty decision to hold on a while before completing his mission.

Following the reconsideration the King instructs his wife to meet hamlet. It was during the meeting that accidentally hamlet stabs Polonius and prompts Ophelia’s death (Miller & Shakespeare 8). Based on the events in this scene it is clear to see the significant role they play in the drama as a series of events unfold soon after. Without the events depicted in this accident scene it is unlikely the graveyard scene would have been included in the play.

The graveyard scene also has a major impact on the events that follow in the play as is seen in the delivery of the news of Polonius death by Gertrude. In the events immediately after receiving news of her father’s death and Hamlets departure Ophelia goes insane and commits suicide. The news of Ophelia’s death is presented to Laertes by Gertrude as an accident but it later emerges that it appears to have been a suicide (Shmoop 23).

It may be suggested that these attempts to shroud the news further aggravate the situation. Already angry her brother promises to revenge the murder and a match to facilitate the murder of hamlet is arranged (Miller & Shakespeare 8). This anger and plans for revenge are all made to appear useless in the graveyard scene which depicts how valueless life becomes after death. Hamlet is shown a head of an old acquaintance and realizes how little value life has after death.

The question of life after death becomes evident as Hamlets sees the gravediggers throw up two skulls as they dig and ponders on the lives of these men. He is astounded by the fact that a man’s life and work come to the exact same thing upon conclusion, nothing (Shmoop 23). It would appear that Hamlet in fact questions the purpose behind his quest given the nature of treatment the dead receive. However, the anger that precedes this scene has already set in motion events that hamlet can no longer avoid.

It would appear the author is throwing a question to the viewer and the scene acts as evidence of the futility of life pursuits. This appears to be depicted when hamlet collects a skull handed to him by the grave digger and is informed the skull belonged to a childhood friend of his father. He remembers the good times he had with him as a child and is astounded by the events that surround death (Shmoop 23).

As already mentioned the anger that precedes the scene plays a major role in the events that follow as Hamlet and Horatio happen upon the grief stricken Laertes and a fight almost ensues (Miller & Shakespeare 8). With Laertes seeking revenge hamlet is left in a position where he must fight to save his own life and avenge his father’s death (Miller & Shakespeare 8).

This is a position that occurs only as a result of the events just before the graveyard scene. In this duel that now must follow both Hamlet and Laertes are mortally wounded. In the process, Hamlet’s mother also dies after mistakenly drinking from a poisoned cup meant for Hamlet (Miller & Shakespeare 8). These deaths all appear the result of events that precede the graveyard scene. In addition to that Hamlet manages to murder King Claudius and avenge his father’s death.

The grave yard scene for this reason appears to play a pivotal role in the play. This is based on the fact that the entire beginning of the play has scenes that direct us toward the scene at the grave and the death of Ophelia.

At the same time the entire play after the graveyard scene is the result of the events that must come to be based on the anger and betrayal that are caused prior to Ophelia’s death. However, it is worth noting that despite these events Hamlet manages to name a successor and is buried with dignity. This can also be related to the grave yard scene given that a decent burial was among the things Hamlet sought when he began to plot revenge.

Miller, Joanne K. and William Shakespeare. Hamlet . Printed in the USA, Research & Education Association, 2002. Print.

Shmoop. Hamlet . Printed in the USA, Shmoop University Inc., 2010. Print.

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Events before the start of Hamlet set the stage for tragedy. When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet’s father, suddenly dies, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king.

A spirit who claims to be the ghost of Hamlet’s father describes his murder at the hands of Claudius and demands that Hamlet avenge the killing. When the councilor Polonius learns from his daughter, Ophelia, that Hamlet has visited her in an apparently distracted state, Polonius attributes the prince’s condition to lovesickness, and he sets a trap for Hamlet using Ophelia as bait.

To confirm Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet arranges for a play that mimics the murder; Claudius’s reaction is that of a guilty man. Hamlet, now free to act, mistakenly kills Polonius, thinking he is Claudius. Claudius sends Hamlet away as part of a deadly plot.

After Polonius’s death, Ophelia goes mad and later drowns. Hamlet, who has returned safely to confront the king, agrees to a fencing match with Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, who secretly poisons his own rapier. At the match, Claudius prepares poisoned wine for Hamlet, which Gertrude unknowingly drinks; as she dies, she accuses Claudius, whom Hamlet kills. Then first Laertes and then Hamlet die, both victims of Laertes’ rapier.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Hamlet — Analyzing the Complex Character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s Play

Analyzing The Complex Character of Hamlet in Shakespeare's Play

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Published: Feb 7, 2024

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Appearance vs. reality, relationships, indecisiveness, tragic flaw.

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A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

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Introduction

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SCENE I. Elsinore. A platform before the castle.

SCENE II. A room of state in the castle.

SCENE III. A room in Polonius' house.

SCENE IV. The platform.

SCENE V. Another part of the platform.

SCENE I. A room in POLONIUS' house.

SCENE II. A room in the castle.

SCENE I. A room in the castle.

SCENE II. A hall in the castle.

SCENE III. A room in the castle.

SCENE IV. The Queen's closet.

SCENE II. Another room in the castle.

SCENE III. Another room in the castle.

SCENE IV. A plain in Denmark.

SCENE V. Elsinore. A room in the castle.

SCENE VI. Another room in the castle.

SCENE VII. Another room in the castle.

SCENE I. A churchyard.

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