Guildenstern.
Pol.
You go to seek the lord note Hamlet; there he is.
Ros.
God save you, sir!
[Exit Polonius.
Gui.
My honour'd note lord,—
Ros.
My most dear lord,—
Ham.
My excellent note good friends! How dost thou,
Guildenstern? Ah, Rosincrantz note! Good lads, how do you
both?
Ros.
As the indifferent children of the earth.14Q1436
Gui.
Happy, in that we are not over note-happy;
On fortune's cap note we are not the very button.
Ham.
Nor the soals of her shoe?
Ros.
Neither, my lord.
Ham.
Then you live about her waste, or in the middle
of her favours?
Gui.
'Faith, her privates we.
Ham.
In the secret parts of fortune? o, most true; she
is a strumpet. What news?
Ros.
None, my lord; but that the world's grown
honest.
Ham.
Then is dooms-day near: But your news is not
true. Let me question more in particular: What have note
you, my good friends, deserved at the hands of fortune,
that she sends you to prison hither?
-- 46 --
Gui.
Prison, my lord!
Ham.
Denmark's's a prison.
Ros.
Then is the world one.
Ham.
A goodly one; in which there are many confines,
wards, and dungeons; Denmark being one of the
worst.
Ros.
We think not so, my lord.
Ham.
Why, then 'tis none to you; for there is nothing
either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to
me it is a prison.
Ros.
Why, then your ambition makes it one; 'tis too
narrow for your mind.
Ham.
O God, I could be bounded in a nut-shell, and
count myself a king of infinite space; were it not that I
have bad dreams.
Gui.
Which dreams, indeed, are ambition: for the
very substance of the ambitious is meerly the shadow of
a dream.
Ham.
A dream itself is but a shadow.
Ros.
Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light
a quality, that it is but a shadow's shadow.
Ham.
Then are our beggars, bodies; and our monarchs,
and out-stretch'd heroes, the beggars' shadows:
Shall we to the court? for, by my fey, I cannot reason.
Ros. Gui.
We'll wait upon you.
Ham.
No such matter: I will not sort you with the
rest of my servants; for, to speak to you like an honest
man, I am most dreadfully attended. But, in the beaten
way of friendship, what make you at Elsinour?
Ros.
To visit you, my lord; no other occasion.
Ham.
Beggar that I am; I am even poor note in thanks:
but I thank you: and, sure, dear friends, my thanks are
-- 47 --
too dear at a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it
your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come note, deal
justly with me: come, come; nay, speak.
Gui.
What should we say, my lord?
Ham.
Any note thing; but to the purpose. You were sent
for; and there is a kind of note confession in your looks,
which your modesties have not craft enough to colour:
I know, the good king and queen have sent for you.
Ros.
To what end, my lord?
Ham.
That you must teach me. But let me conjure
you, by the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy
of our youth, by the obligation of our ever-preserved
love, and by what more dear a better proposer could
charge note you withal, be even and direct with me, whether
you were sent for, or no?
Ros.
What say you?
[to Gui.
Ham.
Nay, then I have an eye of you;—if you love
me, hold not off.
Gui.
My lord, we were sent for.
Ham.
I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation
prevent your discovery, and your note secrecy to the king and
queen moult no feather. I have of late, (but, wherefore,
I know not) lost all my mirth, foregone all custom of exercises: note note
and, indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition,
that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a
steril promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air,
look you, this brave o'er-hanging note firmament note, this majestical
roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no
other thing to me, than a note foul and pestilent congregation
of vapours. What a piece note of work is a man! How
noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! note in form, and
moving, how express and admirable! in action, how like
-- 48 --
an angel! in apprehension, how like a god! the beauty
of the world, the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me,
nor note woman note neither; though, by your smiling, you seem
to say so.
Ros.
My lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts.
Ham.
Why did you laugh note then note, when I said, Man delights
not me?
Ros.
To think, my lord, if you delight not in man,
what lenten note entertainment the players shall receive from
you: we 'costed note note them on the way; and hither are they
coming, to offer you service.
Ham.
He, that plays the king, shall be welcome; his
majesty shall have tribute of me: note the advent'rous knight
shall use his foyl, and target: the lover shall not sigh
gratis; note the humorous man shall end his part in peace:
the clown note shall make those laugh, whose lungs are
tickl'd o' the sere; and the lady shall say her mind freely,
or the blank verse note shall halt for't. What players are
they?
Ros.
Even those you were wont to take delight note in,
the tragedians of the city.
Ham.
How chances it, they travel? their residence,
both in reputation and profit, was better both ways.
Ros.
I think, their inhibition comes by the means
of the late innovation.
Ham.
Do they hold the same estimation, they did
when I was in the city? Are they so follow'd?
Ros.
No, indeed, are they note not.
Ham.
How comes it?14Q1437 Do they grow rusty? note
Ros.
Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace:
But there is, sir, an aiery of children, little eyases, that
-- 49 --
cry out on the top of the question, and are most tyrannically
clap'd for't: these are now the fashion; and so
berattle note the common stages, (so they call them) that many,
wearing rapiers, are afraid of goose-quills, and dare
scarce come thither.
Ham.
What, are they children? Who maintains them?
how are they escoted? Will they pursue the quality no
longer than they can sing? will they not say afterwards,
if they should grow themselves to common players, (as
it is like, most, if their means are not better) their writers
do them wrong, to make them exclaim against their
own succession?
Ros.
'Faith, there has been much to do on both sides;
and the nation holds it no sin, to tarre them to note controversy:
There was, for a while, no money bid for argument,
unless the poet and the player went to cuffs in
the question.
Ham.
Is't possible?
Gui.
O, there has been much throwing about of
brains.
Ham.
Do the boys carry it away?
Ros.
Ay, that they do, my lord; Hercules, and his
load too.
Ham.
It is not very strange: for my note uncle is king of
Denmark; and those, that would make mouths at note him
while my father liv'd, give twenty, forty, note fifty, a hundred
ducats a-piece, for his picture in little. 'Sblood, note
there is something in this more than natural, if philosophy
could find it out.
[Flourish of Trumpets within.
Gui.
There are the players.
Ham.
Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinour. Your
hands, come: The note appurtenance of welcome is fashion
-- 50 --
and ceremony: let me comply14Q1438 with you in the garb; lest note
my extent note to the players, which, I tell you, must shew
fairly outward, note should more appear like entertainment
than yours. You are welcome: but my uncle-father, and
aunt-mother, are deceiv'd.
Gui.
In what, my dear lord?
Ham.
I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind
is southerly, I know a hawk from a hernshaw.
Enter Polonius.
Pol.
Well be with you, gentlemen!
Ham.
Hark you, Guildenstern;—and you too;—at each note
ear a hearer: That great baby, you see there, is note not yet
out of his swadling note clouts.
Ros.
Hapily note, he is the second time come to them:
for, they say, an old man is twice a child.
Ham.
I will prophesy: he note comes to tell me of the
players; mark it:—You say right, sir: note o' monday morning;
'twas then, indeed. note
Pol.
My lord, I have news to tell you.
Ham.
My lord, I have news to tell you. When Roscius note
was note an actor in Rome,—
Pol.
The actors are come hither, my lord.
Ham.
Buz, buz!
Pol.
Upon my honour. note
Ham.
Then came each note actor on his ass,—
Pol.
The best actors in the world, either for tragedy,14Q1439
comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical note, historical-pastoral,
scene undividable, note or poem unlimited. Seneca
cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light: For the
law of writ, and the liberty, these are the only men.
Ham.
O Jephtha, judge of Israel,—what a treasure
hadst thou!
-- 51 --
Pol.
What a treasure had he, my lord?
Ham.
Why,—One fair daughter, and no more,
The which he loved passing well.
&clquo;Pol.
&clquo;Still on my daughter.&crquo;
Ham.
Am I not i' the right, old Jephtha?
Pol.
If you call me Jephtha, my lord, I have a daughter, note
that I love passing well.
Ham.
Nay, that follows not.
Pol.
What follows then, my lord?
Ham.
Why, as By lot, God wot,—and then, you know,
It came to pass, As most like it was,—The first row of the
pont-chansons note will show you more; for, look, where my
abridgement comes. note—
Enter certain Players, usher'd.
You are welcome, masters; welcome, all:—I am glad
to see thee well:—welcome, good friends.—O, old friend!
Why, thy face is valanc'd note since I saw thee last; Com'st
thou to beard me in Denmark?—What, my young lady
and mistress! By-'r-lady note, your ladiship is nearer to heaven note,
than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine.
Pray God, your voice, like a piece of uncurrent
gold, be not crack'd note within the ring.—Masters, you are
all welcome. We'll e'en to't like French falconers, note14Q1440 fly at
any thing we see: We'll have a speech straight: come,
give us a taste of your quality; come, a passionate speech.
1. P.
What speech, my good lord? note
Ham.
I heard thee14Q1441 speak me a speech once,—but it
was never acted; or, if it was, not above once: for the
play, I remember, pleas'd not the million; 'twas caviare
to note the general: but it was (as I receiv'd it, and others,
whose judgments note, in such matters, cried in the top of
mine) an excellent play; well digested in the scenes, set
-- 52 --
down with as much modesty as cunning. I remember,
one said, there were no note salts in note the lines, to make the
matter savoury; nor no matter in the phrase, that might
indite the author of affection: note but call'd it, an honest
method; as wholesome as sweet, and by very much more
handsome than fine. note One speech note in it I chiefly lov'd:
'twas Æneas' talk to note Dido; and thereabout of it especially,
where he note speaks of Priam's slaughter: If it live in
your memory, begin at this line; Let me see, let me see;
The rugged Pyrrhus, like the Hyrcanian beast,—
'tis note not so; it begins with Pyrrhus:
The rugged Pyrrhus,—he, whose sable arms,
Black as his purpose note, did the night resemble
When he lay note couched in the ominous horse,—
Hath now this dread note and black complexion smear'd
With heraldry more dismal; head to foot
Now is he total gules; note horridly trick'd
With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons;
Bak'd and impasted note with the parching streets,
That lend a tyrannous and a damned note light
To their lords' murther: note Roasted in wrath, and fire,
And thus o'er-sized with coagulate gore,
With eyes like carbuncles, note the hellish Pyrrhus
Old grand-sire Priam seeks:—So, proceed you. note
Pol.
'Fore God, my lord, well spoken; with good
accent, and good discretion.
1. P.
Anon he finds him,
Striking too short at Greeks; his antique sword,
Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls,
Repugnant to command: Unequal match'd, note
Pyrrhus at Priam drives; in rage, strikes wide;
But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword
-- 53 --
The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium, note
Seeming to feel this note blow, with flaming top
Stoops to his base; and with a hideous crash
Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear: for, lo, his sword,
Which was declining on the milky head
Of reverend note Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick:
So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood;
And note, like a note neutral to his will and matter,
Did nothing.
But, as we often see, against some storm,
A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still,
The bold winds note speechless, and the orb below
As hush as death: anon, the dreadful thunder
Doth rend the region: So, after Pyrrhus' pause,
A roused vengeance sets him new a' work:
And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall
On Mars's armour note, forg'd for proof eterne,
With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword
Now falls on Priam.—
Out, out, thou strumpet, fortune!—All you gods,
In general synod, take away her power;
Break all the spokes and fellies note from her wheel,
And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven,
As low as to the fiends!
Pol.
This is too long.
Ham.
It shall to the barber's, with your beard.—Pr'ythee,
say on;—He's for a jig, or a tale of bawdry, or he
sleeps:—say on; come to Hecuba.
1. P.
But who, a woe14Q1442 had note seen the ennobl'd queen note,
Ham.
The ennobl'd queen note!
Pol.
That's good; ennobl'd queen note is good. note
1. P.
Run barefoot up and down, threat'ning the flames note
-- 54 --
With bisson rheum; a clout upon that note head
Where late the diadem stood; and, for a robe,
About her lank and all o'er-teemed loins
A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up;
Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd,
'Gainst fortune's state would treason have pronounc'd:
But if the gods themselves did see her then,
When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport
In mincing with his sword her husband's note limbs;
The instant burst of clamour that she made,
(Unless things mortal move them not at all)
Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven,
And passioned the note gods.
Pol.
Look, whe'r he has not turn'd his colour, and
has tears in's eyes.—Pr'ythee note, no more.
Ham.
'Tis well; I'll have thee speak out the rest of
this note soon.—Good my lord, will you see the players well
bestow'd? Do you hear, note let them be well used; for they
are the abstract note, and brief chronicles, of the time: After
your death you were better have a bad epitaph, than
their ill report while you live. note
Pol.
My lord, I will use them according to their
desert.
Ham.
God's-bodikin, man, much better: note Use every
man after his desert, and who shall 'scape note whipping?
Use them after your own honour and dignity: the less
they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty. Take
them in.
Pol.
Come, sirs.
Ham.
Follow him, friends: we'll hear a play to-morrow.
—Dost thou hear me, old friend; can you play the
murther of Gonzago?
-- 55 --
1. P.
Ay, my lord.
Ham.
We'll ha't note to-morrow night. You could, for a
need note, study a speech of some dozen lines, or note sixteen
lines, which I would set down, and insert in't? could
you not? note
1. P.
Ay, my lord.
Ham.
Very well. Follow that lord; and look you mock
him not.—[Exeunt Polonius, and Players.] My good
friends, I'll leave you 'till night: you are welcome to
Elsinour.
Ros.
Good, my lord.
[Exeunt Ros. and Gui.
Ham.
Ay, so, God be wi'you: note—Now I am alone.
O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous, that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit, note
That, from her working, all his visage note wan'd; note
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, note
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, note
That he should weep for her? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for note passion,
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears,
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech;
Make mad the guilty, and appal the note free,
Confound the ignorant; and amaze, indeed,
The very faculties note of eyes and ears.
Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettl'd rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, note unpregnant of my cause,
-- 56 --
And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property, and most dear life,
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this?
Ha! Why, I note should take it: for it cannot be,
But I am pigeon-liver'd, and lack gall
To make oppression bitter; or, ere this,
I should have fatted note all the region kites
With this slave's offal: Bloody, bawdy note villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless note villain!
Why, what note an ass am I? This note is most brave;
That I, the son of a dear note father note murther'd,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven, and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a cursing, like a very drab,
A scullion! note
Fie upon't! foh! About, my brains. note Hum! I have heard,
That guilty creatures, sitting at a play,
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been strook so to the soul, that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions:
For murther, though it have no tongue, will speak
With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players
Play something like the murther of my father,
Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;
I'll tent note him to the quick; if he do blench note,
I know my course. The spirit, that I have seen,
May be a devil: and the devil note hath power
To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and, perhaps,
-- 57 --
Out of my weakness, and my melancholy,
(As he is very potent with such spirits)
Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds
More relative than this; The play's the thing,
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
[Exit.
Edward Capell [1767], Mr William Shakespeare his comedies, histories, and tragedies, set out by himself in quarto, or by the Players his Fellows in folio, and now faithfully republish'd from those Editions in ten Volumes octavo; with an introduction: Whereunto will be added, in some other Volumes, notes, critical and explanatory, and a Body of Various Readings entire (Printed by Dryden Leach, for J. and R. Tonson [etc.], London) [word count] [S10601].
