Ham.

Speak the speech I pray you, as I pronounc'd it to you, trippingly on the tongue. But if you mouth it, as many of our Players do, I had as lieve the town-crier had spoke my lines. And do not saw the air too much with your hand thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirl-wind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. Oh, it offends me to the soul, to hear a robustous periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings: who (for the most part) are capable of nothing, but inexplicable dumb shews, and noise: I could have such a fellow whipt for o'er-doing termagant; it out-herods Herod. Pray you avoid it.

Play.

I warrant your honour.

Ham.

Be not too tame neither; but let your own discretion be your tutor. Sute the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'er-step not the modesty of nature; for any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing; whose end both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature; to shew virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time, his form and pressure. Now this over-done, or come tardy off, tho' it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve: the censure of which one, must in your allowance o'er-sway a whole theatre of others. Oh, there be Players that I have seen play, and heard others praise and that highly, (not to speak it prophanely) that neither having the accent of christian, or the gate of christian, pagan, ⁱor man, have so strutted and bellow'd, that I have thought some of nature's journey-men had made men, and not made them well; they imitated humanity so abominably.

Play.

I hope we have reform'd that indifferently with us.

Ham.

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