Introductory matter ^note

INTRODUCTION.

The story upon which, there is reason to believe, Shakespeare founded his tragedy of “Hamlet,” has recently been reprinted, from the only known perfect copy^{1 note}, as part of a work called “Shakespeare's Library;” and there is, perhaps, nothing more remarkable than the manner in which our great dramatist wrought these barbarous, uncouth, and scanty materials into the magnificent structure he left behind him. A comparison of “The Historie of Hamblet,” as it was translated at an early date from the French of Belleforest^{2 note}, with “The Tragedy of Hamlet,” is calculated to give us the most exalted notion of, and profound reverence for, the genius of Shakespeare: his vast superiority to Greene and Lodge was obvious in “The Winter's Tale,” and “As You Like It;” but the novels of “Pandosto” and “Rosalynde,” as narratives, were perhaps as far above “The Historie of Hamblet,” as “The Winter's Tale” and “As You Like It” were above the originals from which their main incidents were derived. Nothing, in point of fact, can be much more worthless, in story and style, than the production to which it is supposed Shakespeare was indebted for the foundation of his “Hamlet.”

There is, however, some ground for thinking, that a lost play upon similar incidents preceded the work of Shakespeare: how far that lost play might be an improvement upon the old translated “Historie” we have no means of deciding, nor to what extent Shakespeare availed himself of such improvement. A drama, of which Hamlet was the hero, was certainly in being prior to the year 1587, (in all probability too early a date for Shakespeare to have been the writer of it) for we find it thus alluded to by Thomas Nash, in his preliminary epistle to the “Menaphon” of Robert Greene, published in that year:^{3 note}:—“Yet English Seneca, read by candlelight,

yeelds many good sentences, as blood is a beggar, and so forth; and if you entreat him fair in a frosty morning, he will afford you whole Hamlets, I should say handfuls, of tragical speeches.” The writer is referring to play-poets and their productions at that period, and he seems to have gone out of his way, in order to introduce the very name of the performance against which he was directing ridicule. Another piece of evidence, to the same effect, but of a more questionable kind, is to be found in Henslowe's Diary, under the date of June 9th, 1594, when a “Hamlet” was represented at the theatre at Newington Butts: that it was then an old play is ascertained from the absence of the mark, which the old manager usually prefixed to first performances, and from the fact that his share of the receipts was only nine shillings. At that date, however, the company to which Shakespeare belonged was in joint occupation of the same theatre, and it is certainly possible, though improbable, that the drama represented on June 9th, 1594, was Shakespeare's “Hamlet.”

We feel confident, however, that the “Hamlet” which has come down to us in at least six quarto impressions, in the folio of 1623, and in the later impressions in that form, was not written until the winter of 1601, or the spring of 1602.

Malone, Steevens, and the other commentators, were acquainted with no edition of the tragedy anterior to the quarto of 1604, which professes to be “enlarged to almost as much again as it was:” they, therefore, reasonably suspected that it had been printed before; and within the last twenty years a single copy of an edition in 1603 has been discovered. This, in fact, seems to have been the abbreviated and imperfect edition, consisting of only about half as much as the impression of 1604. It belongs to the Duke of Devonshire, and, by the favour of his Grace, is now before us. From whose press it came we have no information, but it professed to be “printed for N. L. and Iohn Trundell.” The edition of the following year was printed by I. R. for N. L. only; and why Trundell ceased to have any interest in the publication we know not. N. L. was Nicholas Ling; and I. R., the printer of the edition of 1604, was, no doubt, James Roberts, who, two years before, had made the following entry in the Registers of the Stationers' Company:—

“26 July 1602.
James Roberts] A booke, The Revenge of Hamlett prince of Denmarke, as yt was latelie acted by the Lord Chamberlayn his servantes.”

The words, “as it was lately acted,” are important upon the

question of date, and the entry farther proves, that the tragedy had been performed by the company to which Shakespeare belonged. In the spring of 1603 “the Lord Chamberlain's servants” became the King's players; and on the title-page of the quarto of 1603 it is asserted that it had been acted “by his Highness' servants.” On the title-page of the quarto of 1604 we are not informed that the tragedy had been acted by any company.

Thus we see, that in July, 1602, there was an intention to print and publish a play called “The Revenge of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” and this intention, we may fairly conclude, arose out of the popularity of the piece, as it was then acted by “the Lord Chamberlain's servants,” who, in May following, obtained the title of “the King's players.” The object of Roberts in making the entry, already quoted, was to secure it to himself, being, no doubt, aware that other printers and booksellers would endeavour to anticipate him. It seems probable, that he was unable to obtain such a copy of “Hamlet” as he would put his name to; but some inferior and nameless printer, who was not so scrupulous, having surreptitiously secured a manuscript of the play, however imperfect, which would answer the purpose, and gratify public curiosity, the edition bearing date in 1603 was published. Such, we have little doubt, was the origin of the impression of which only a single copy has reached our day, and of which, probably, but a few were sold, as its worthlessness was soon discovered, and it was quickly entirely superseded by the enlarged impression of 1604.

As an accurate reprint was made in 1825 of “The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet Prince of Denmarke,” 1603, it will be unnecessary to go in detail into proofs to establish, as we could do without much difficulty, the following points:—1. That great part of the play, as it there stands, was taken down in short-hand. 2. That where mechanical skill failed the short-hand writer, he either filled up the blanks from memory, or employed an inferior writer to assist him. 3. That although some of the scenes were carelessly transposed, and others entirely omitted in the edition of 1603, the drama, as it was acted while the short-hand writer was employed in taking it down, was, in all its main features, the same as the more perfect copy of the tragedy printed with the date of 1604. It is true that in the edition of 1603 Polonius is called Corambis, and his servant Montano, and we may not be able to determine why these changes were made in the immediately subsequent impression; but we may perhaps conjecture that they were names in the older play on the same story, or names which Shakespeare at first introduced, and subsequently thought fit to reject. We know that Ben Jonson changed the whole dramatis personæ of his “Every Man in his Humour.”

But although we entirely reject the quarto of 1603 as an authentic “Hamlet,” it is of high value in enabling us to settle the text of various important passages. It proves, besides, that certain portions of the play, as it appears in the folio of 1623, which do not form part of the quarto of 1604, were originally acted, and were not, as has been hitherto imagined, subsequent introductions. We have pointed out these and other peculiarities so fully in our notes, that we need not dwell upon them here; but we may mention, that in Act iii. sc. 4, the quarto of 1603 explains a curious point of stage-business, which puzzled all the commentators. Just as the Ghost is departing from the Queen's closet, Hamlet exclaims,
“Look, how it steals away!
My father, in his habit as he lived!”

Malone, Steevens, and Monck Mason argue the question, whether in this scene the Ghost, as in former scenes, ought to wear armour, or to be dressed in “his own familiar habit;” and they conclude, either that Shakespeare had “forgotten himself,” or had meant “to vary the dress of the Ghost at this his last appearance.” The quarto of 1603, shows exactly how the poet's intention was carried into effect, for there we meet with the stage-direction, “Enter the Ghost in his night-gown,” and such was unquestionably the appearance of the performer of the part when the short-hand writer saw the tragedy, with a view to the speedy publication of a fraudulent impression. “My father, in the habit as he lived,” are the words he recorded from the mouth of the actor of Hamlet.

The impression of 1604 being intended to supersede that of 1603, which gave a most mangled and imperfect notion of the drama in its true state, we may perhaps presume that the quarto of 1604 was, at least, as authentic a copy of “Hamlet” as the editions of any of Shakespeare's plays that came from the press during his lifetime. It contains various passages, some of them of great importance to the conduct and character of the hero, not to be found in the folio of 1623; while the folio includes other passages which are left out in the quarto of 1604, although, as before remarked, we have the evidence of the quarto of 1603, that they were originally acted. The different quarto impressions were printed from each other, and even that of 1637, though it makes some verbal changes, contains no distinct indication that the printer had resorted to the folios.

The three later folios, in this instance as in others, were printed from the immediately preceding edition in the same form; but we are inclined to think, that if “Hamlet,” in the folio of 1623, were not composed from some now unknown quarto, it was derived from a manuscript obtained by Heminge and Condell from the theatre. The Acts and Scenes are, however, marked only in the first and second Acts, after which no divisions of the kind are noticed, and where Act

iii. commences is merely matter of modern conjecture. Some large portions of the play appear to have been omitted for the sake of shortening the performance; and any editor who should content himself with reprinting the folio, without large additions from the quartos, would present but an imperfect notion of the drama as it came from the hand of the poet. The text of “Hamlet” is, in fact, only to be obtained from a comparison of the editions in quarto and folio, but the misprints in the latter are quite as numerous and glaring as in the former. In various instances we have been able to correct the one by the other, and it is in this respect chiefly that the quarto of 1603 is of intrinsic value.

Coleridge, after vindicating himself from the accusation that he had derived his ideas of Hamlet from Schlegel, (and we heard him broach them some years before the Lectures Ueber Dramatische Kunst and Litteratur were published) ^note thus, in a few sentences, sums up the character of Hamlet. “In Hamlet Shakespeare seems to have wished to exemplify the moral necessity of a due balance between our attention to the objects of our senses, and our meditation on the workings of our minds,—an equilibrium between the real and the imaginary worlds. In Hamlet this balance is disturbed: his thoughts and the images of his fancy are far more vivid than his actual perceptions, and his very perceptions, instantly passing through the medium of his contemplations, acquire, as they pass, a form and a colour not naturally their own. Hence we see a great, an almost enormous, intellectual activity, and a proportionate aversion to real action consequent upon it, with all its symptoms and accompanying qualities. This character Shakespeare places in circumstances under which it is obliged to act on the spur of the moment. Hamlet is brave, and careless of death; but he vacillates from sensibility, and procrastinates from thought, and loses the power of action in the energy of resolve.” (Lit. Rem. vol. ii. p. 205.)

It has generally been supposed that Joseph Taylor was the original actor of Hamlet, and Wright, in his “Historia Histrionica,” 1699, certainly speaks of him as having performed the part. This, however, must have been after the death of Richard Burbage, which happened precisely eighty years before Wright published his tract: we know from the manuscript Elegy upon Burbage, sold among Heber's books, that he was the earliest representative of Hamlet; and there the circumstance of his being “fat and scant of breath,” in the fencing scene, is noticed in the very words of Shakespeare. Taylor did not belong to the company for which Shakespeare wrote at the date when “Hamlet” was produced.

1 ^note.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ CLAUDIUS, King of Denmark. HAMLET, Son to the former, and Nephew to the present King. HORATIO, Friend to Hamlet. POLONIUS, Lord Chamberlain. LAERTES, his Son. VOLTIMAND [Voltemand], Courtier. CORNELIUS, Courtier. ROSENCRANTZ, Courtier. GUILDENSTERN, Courtier. OSRICK [Osric], a Courtier. Another Courtier. [Lord] A Priest. [Priest 1] MARCELLUS, An Officer. BERNARDO, An Officer. FRANCISCO, a Soldier. REYNALDO, Servant to Polonius. A Captain. Ambassadors. Ghost of Hamlet's Father. FORTINBRAS, Prince of Norway. Two Clowns, Grave-diggers. [Clown 1], [Clown 2]. GERTRUDE, Queen of Denmark, and Mother to Hamlet. OPHELIA, Daughter to Polonius. Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Players, Sailors, Messengers, and Attendants. [Player 1], [Prologue], [Player King], [Player Queen], [Gentleman], [Danes], [Servant], [Sailor], [Messenger] SCENE, Elsinore.

PRINCE OF DENMARK.

HAMLET, ACT I. [Notes and Emendations to the 1632 Folio]11Q1007 SCENE I. Elsinore. A Platform before the Castle. Francisco on his Post. Enter to him Bernardo.

Ber.
Who's there?

Fran.
Nay, answer me: stand, and unfold
Yourself.

Ber.
Long live the king^{1 note}!

Fran.
Bernardo?

Ber.
He.

Fran.
You come most carefully upon your hour. 11Q1008

Ber.
'Tis now struck twelve: get thee to bed, Francisco.

Fran.
For this relief much thanks. 'Tis bitter cold,
And I am sick at heart.

Ber.
Have you had quiet guard?

Fran.
Not a mouse stirring.

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

Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

Fran.
I think I hear them.—Stand, ho! Who is there^{2 note}!

Hor.
Friends to this ground.

Mar.
And liegemen to the Dane.

Fran.
Give you good night.

Mar.
O! farewell, honest soldier^{3 note}:
Who hath reliev'd you?

Fran.
Bernardo has my place.
Give you good night. [Exit Francisco.

Mar.
Holla! Bernardo!

Ber.
Say.
What! is Horatio there?

Hor.
A piece of him.

Ber.
Welcome, Horatio: welcome, good Marcellus.

Hor.
What, has this thing appear'd again to-night^{4 note}?

Ber.
I have seen nothing.

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

Hor.
Tush, tush! 'twill not appear.

Ber.
Sit down awhile;
And let us once again assail your ears,
That are so fortified against our story,
What we two nights have seen.

Hor.
Well, sit we down,
and let us hear Bernardo speak of this.

Ber.
Last night of all,
When yond' same star, that's westward from the pole,
Had made his course t' illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus, and myself,
The bell then beating one,—

Mar.
Peace! break thee off: look, where it comes again! Enter Ghost.

Ber.
In the same figure, like the king that's dead.

Mar.
Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio.

Ber.
Looks it not like the king? mark it, Horatio.

Hor.
Most like:—it harrows me^{5 note} with fear, and wonder.

Ber.
It would be spoke to.

Mar.
Question it, Horatio.

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

Mar.
It is offended.

Ber.
See! it stalks away.

Hor.
Stay! speak, speak! I charge thee, speak! [Exit Ghost.

Mar.
'Tis gone, and will not answer.

Ber.
How now, Horatio! you tremble, and look pale.
Is not this something more than fantasy?
What think you on't?

Hor.
Before my God, I might not this believe,
Without the sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes.

Mar.
Is it not like the king?

Hor.
As thou art to thyself.
Such was the very armour he had on,
When he th' ambitious Norway combated:
So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle,
He smote the sledded Polacks^{6 note} on the ice.
'Tis strange.

Mar.
Thus, twice before, and jump at this dead hour^{7 note}
,
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.

Hor.
In what particular thought to work, I know not;
But in the gross and scope of mine opinion,
This bodes some strange eruption to our state.

Mar.
Good now, sit down; and tell me, he that knows,
Why this same strict and most observant watch
So nightly toils the subject of the land?
And why such daily cast^{8 note} of brazen cannon,
And foreign mart for implements of war?
Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task
Does not divide the Sunday from the week?
What might be toward, that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint labourer with the day?
Who is't, that can inform me?

Hor.
That can I;
At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king,
Whose image even but now appear'd to us,
Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride,
Dar'd to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet

(For so this side of our known world esteem'd him)
Did slay this Fortinbras; who, by a seal'd compact,
Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Did forfeit with his life all those his lands,
Which he stood seiz'd of, to the conqueror:
Against the which, a moiety competent
Was gaged by our king; which had return'd
To the inheritance of Fortinbras,
Had he been vanquisher; as, by the same co-mart,
And carriage of the article design'd^{9 note}
,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Of unimproved mettle^{1 note} hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway, here and there,
Shark'd up a list of lawless resolutes 11Q1009^{2 note},
For food and diet, to some enterprize
That hath a stomach in't: which is no other
(As it doth well appear unto our state)
But to recover of us, by strong hand
And terms compulsative^{3 note}, those 'foresaid lands
So by his father lost. And this, I take it,
Is the main motive of our preparations,
The source of this our watch, and the chief head
Of this post-haste and romage in the land.

Ber.
I think, it be no other, but e'en so^{4 note}:
Well may it sort^{5 note}, that this portentous figure

Comes armed through our watch; so like the king
That was, and is, the question of these wars.

Hor.
A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye.
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,
The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets:
As, stars with trains of fire and dews of blood,
Disasters in the sun^{6 note}
; and the moist star,
Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands,
Was sick almost to dooms-day with eclipse:
And even the like precurse of fierce events^{7 note}—
As harbingers preceding still the fates,
And prologue to the omen coming on—
Have heaven and earth together demonstrated
Unto our climatures and countrymen.— Re-enter Ghost.
But, soft! behold! lo, where it comes again!
I'll cross it, though it blast me.—Stay, illusion^{8 note}!
If thou hast any sound, or use of voice,
Speak to me:
If there be any good thing to be done,
That may to thee do ease, and grace to me,
Speak to me:
If thou art privy to thy country's fate,
Which happily foreknowing may avoid,

O, speak!
Or, if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Extorted treasure in the womb of earth,
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, [Cock crows.
Speak of it:—stay, and speak!—Stop it, Marcellus.

Mar.
Shall I strike at it^{9 note} with my partisan?

Hor.
Do, if it will not stand.

Ber.
'Tis here!

Hor.
'Tis here!

Mar.
'Tis gone. [Exit Ghost.
We do it wrong, being so majestical,
To offer it the show of violence;
For it is, as the air, invulnerable,
And our vain blows malicious mockery.

Ber.
It was about to speak, when the cock crew.

Hor.
And then it started, like a guilty thing
Upon a fearful summons. I have heard,
The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn^{10 note},
Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat
Awake the god of day; and at his warning,
Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air,
Th' extravagant and erring spirit hies
To his confine; and of the truth herein
This present object made probation.

Mar.
It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad^{1 note};

The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes^{2 note}, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is that time.

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

Mar.
Let's do't, I pray; and I this morning know
Where we shall find him most conveniently. [Exeunt. SCENE II. 11Q1010 The Same. A Room of State. Enter the King, Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimand, Cornelius, Lords, and Attendants.

King.
Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death
The memory be green, and that it us befitted
To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom
To be contracted in one brow of woe;
Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature,
That we with wisest sorrow think on him,
Together with remembrance of ourselves.
Therefore, our sometime sister, now our queen,
Th' imperial jointress of this warlike state^{3 note},
Have we, as 'twere, with a defeated joy,—
With one auspicious, and one dropping eye,

With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole,—
Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr'd
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone
With this affair along: for all, our thanks.
Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras,
Holding a weak supposal of our worth,
Or thinking, by our late dear brother's death
Our state to be disjoint and out of frame,
Colleagued with the dream of his advantage,
He hath not fail'd to pester us with message,
Importing the surrender of those lands
Lost by his father, with all bands of law,
To our most valiant brother.—So much for him.
Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting.
Thus much the business is^{4 note}: we have here writ
To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras,—
Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears
Of this his nephew's purpose,—to suppress
His farther gait herein, in that the levies,
The lists, and full proportions, are all made
Out of his subject: and we here despatch
You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltimand,
For bearers of this greeting^{5 note} to old Norway;
Giving to you no farther personal power
To business with the king, more than the scope
Of these dilated articles allow.
Farewell; and let your haste commend your duty.

Cor. Vol.
In that, and all things, will we show our duty.

King.
We doubt it nothing: heartily farewell. [Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius.
And now, Laertes, what's the news with you?

You told us of some suit; what is't, Laertes?
You cannot speak of reason to the Dane,
And lose your voice: what would'st thou beg, Laertes,
That shall not be my offer, not thy asking?
The head is not more native to the heart,
The hand more instrumental to the mouth,
Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father.
What would'st thou have, Laertes?

Laer.
My dread lord^{6 note},
Your leave and favour to return to France;
From whence though willingly I came to Denmark,
To show my duty in your coronation,
Yet now, I must confess, that duty done,
My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France,
And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon.

King.
Have you your father's leave? What says Polonius?

Pol.
He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave^{7 note}

,
By laboursome petition; and, at last,
Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent:
I do beseech you, give him leave to go.

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

Ham.
A little more than kin, and less than kind^{8 note}. [Aside.

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

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

Queen.
Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off 11Q1011^{9 note},
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not, for ever, with thy vailed lids^{1 note}
Seek for thy noble father in the dust:
Thou know'st, 'tis common; all that live must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.

Ham.
Ay, madam, it is common.

Queen.
If it be,
Why seems it so particular with thee?

Ham.
Seems, madam! nay, it is; I know not seems.
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother^{2 note},
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shows of grief,
That can denote me truly: these, indeed, seem,
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within, which passeth show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.

King.
'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet,
To give these mourning duties to your father:
But, you must know, your father lost a father;
That father lost, lost his; and the survivor bound

In filial obligation, for some term,
To do obsequious sorrow^{3 note}: but to persevere
In obstinate condolement is a course
Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief:
It shows a will most incorrect to heaven;
A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,
An understanding simple and unschool'd:
For what, we know, must be, and is as common
As any the most vulgar thing to sense,
Why should we, in our peevish opposition,
Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven,
A fault against the dead, a fault to nature,
To reason most absurd, whose common theme
Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried,
From the first corse till he that died to-day,
“This must be so.” We pray you, throw to earth
This unprevailing woe, and think of us
As of a father; for let the world take note,
You are the most immediate to our throne;
And, with no less nobility of love
Than that which dearest father bears his son,
Do I impart toward you. For your intent
In going back to school in Wittenberg
It is most retrograde to our desire;
And, we beseech you, bend you to remain
Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye,
Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

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

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

King.
Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply:
Be as ourself in Denmark.—Madam, come;
This gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet
Sits smiling to my heart; in grace whereof,
No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day,

But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell,
And the king's rouse^{4 note} the heaven shall bruit again,
Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away. [Flourish. Exeunt King, Queen, Lords, &c. Polonius, and Laertes.

Ham.
O! that this too, too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew^{5 note};
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter^{6 note}. O God! O God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! O fie^{7 note}! 'tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank, and gross in nature,
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead!—nay, not so much, not two:
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr: so loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven^{8 note}
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on; and yet, within a month,—
Let me not think on't.—Frailty, thy name is woman!—
A little month; or ere those shoes were old,

With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears;—why she, even she,
(O God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer)—married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father,
Than I to Hercules: within a month;
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married.—O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to, good;
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue! Enter Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus.

Hor.
Hail to your lordship!

Ham.
I am glad to see you well:
Horatio,—or I do forget myself.

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

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

Mar.
My good lord,—

Ham.
I am very glad to see you; good even, sir.—
But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?

Hor.
A truant disposition, good my lord.

Ham.
I would not hear^{9 note} your enemy say so;
Nor shall you do mine ear that violence,
To make it truster of your own report
Against yourself: I know, you are no truant.
But what is your affair in Elsinore?
We'll teach you to drink deep, ere you depart^{1 note}
.

Hor.
My lord, I came to see your father's funeral.

Ham.
I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student;
I think, it was to see my mother's wedding.

Hor.
Indeed, my lord, it follow'd hard upon.

Ham.
Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral bak'd meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.
'Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven^{2 note}
Ere ever I had seen^{3 note} that day, Horatio!—
My father,—methinks, I see my father.

Hor.
O! where, my lord?

Ham.
In my mind's eye, Horatio.

Hor.
I saw him once: he was a goodly king.

Ham.
He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.

Hor.
My lord, I think I saw him yesternight.

Ham.
Saw! who?

Hor.
My lord, the king your father.

Ham.
The king my father!

Hor.
Season your admiration for a while
With an attent ear, till I may deliver,
Upon the witness of these gentlemen,
This marvel to you.

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

Hor.
Two nights together, had these gentlemen,
Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch,
In the dead vast and middle of the night^{4 note}


,

Been thus encounter'd. A figure like your father,
Armed at point^{5 note}, exactly, cap-à-pié,
Appears before them, and with solemn march
Goes slow and stately by them: thrice he walk'd,
By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes,
Within his truncheon's length; whilst they, distill'd^{6 note}
Almost to jelly with the act of fear,
Stand dumb, and speak not to him. 11Q1012 This to me
In dreadful secrecy impart they did,
And I with them the third night kept the watch;
Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time,
Form of the thing, each word made true and good,
The apparition comes. I knew your father;
These hands are not more like.

Ham.
But where was this?

Mar.
My lord, upon the platform where we watch'd.

Ham.
Did you not speak to it?

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

Ham.
'Tis very strange.

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

Ham.
Indeed, indeed, sirs^{7 note}, but this troubles me.
Hold you the watch to-night?

All.
We do, my lord.

Ham.
Arm'd, say you?

All.
Arm'd, my lord.

Ham.
From top to toe?

All.
My lord, from head to foot.

Ham.
Then, saw you not his face?

Hor.
O! yes, my lord; he wore his beaver up. ^note

Ham.
What! look'd he frowningly?

Hor.
A countenance more
In sorrow than in anger.

Ham.
Pale, or red?

Hor.
Nay, very pale.

Ham.
And fix'd his eyes upon you?

Hor.
Most constantly.

Ham.
I would I had been there.

Hor.
It would have much amaz'd you.

Ham.
Very like,
Very like. Stay'd it long?

Hor.
While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred.

Mar., Ber.
Longer, longer.

Hor.
Not when I saw it.

Ham.
His beard was grizzled^{8 note}? no?

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

Ham.
I will watch to-night:
Perchance, 'twill walk again.

Hor.
I warrant it will^{9 note}.

Ham.
If it assume my noble father's person,
I'll speak to it, though hell itself should gape,
And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all,
If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight,
Let it be tenable in your silence still^{1 note};
And whatsoever else shall hap to-night,
Give it an understanding, but no tongue:
I will requite your loves. So, fare you well:
Upon the platform, 'twixt eleven and twelve,
I'll visit you.

All.
Our duty to your honour.

Ham.
Your loves, as mine to you. Farewell. [Exeunt Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo.
My father's spirit in arms! all is not well;
I doubt some foul play: would the night were come!
Till then sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise,
Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. [Exit. SCENE III. A Room in Polonius' House. Enter Laertes and Ophelia.

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

Oph.
Do you doubt that?

Laer. 11Q1013
For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favour,
Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood;

A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute^{2 note};
No more.

Oph.
No more but so?

Laer.
Think it no more:
For nature, crescent, does not grow alone
In thews, and bulk; but, as this temple waxes,
The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. Perhaps, he loves you now;
And now no soil, nor cautel, doth besmirch
The virtue of his will^{3 note}: but you must fear,
His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own,
For he himself is subject to his birth^{4 note}:
He may not, as unvalued persons do,
Carve for himself; for on his choice depends
The safety and health of this whole state^{5 note};
And therefore must his choice be circumscrib'd
Unto the voice and yielding of that body,
Whereof he is the head. Then, if he says he loves you,
It fits your wisdom so far to believe it,
As he in his particular act and place^{6 note}
May give his saying deed; which is no farther,

Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.
Then, weigh what loss your honour may sustain,
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmaster'd importunity.
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister;
And keep you in the rear of your affection,
Out of the shot and danger of desire.
The chariest maid is prodigal enough,
If she unmask her beauty to the moon.
Virtue itself scapes not calumnious strokes:
The canker galls the infants of the spring,
Too oft before their buttons be disclos'd;
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.
Be wary, then; best safety lies in fear:
Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.

Oph.
I shall th' effect of this good lesson keep,
As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whilst, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own read^{7 note}.

Laer.
O! fear me not.
I stay too long;—but here my father comes. Enter Polonius.
A double blessing is a double grace;
Occasion smiles upon a second leave.

Pol.
Yet here, Laertes? aboard, aboard, for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for. There,—my blessing with you; [Laying his Hand on Laertes' Head.
And these few precepts in thy memory

Look thou character^{8 note}. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar:
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel^{9 note};
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,
Bear't, that th' opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy:
For the apparel oft proclaims the man;
And they in France, of the best rank and station,
Are of a most select and generous chief in that11Q1014^{1 note}.
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all,—to thine ownself be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!

Laer.
Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.

Pol.
The time invites you^{2 note}: go; your servants tend.

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

Oph.
'Tis in my memory lock'd,
And you yourself shall keep the key of it.

Laer.
Farewell. [Exit Laertes.

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

Oph.
So please you, something touching the lord Hamlet.

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

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

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

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

Pol.
Marry, I'll teach you: think yourself a baby;
That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay,
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly;
Or, not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,
Wronging it thus^{3 note}, you'll tender me a fool.

Oph.
My lord, he hath importun'd me with love,
In honourable fashion.

Pol.
Ay, fashion you may call it; go to, go to.

Oph.
And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord,
With almost all the holy vows of heaven^{4 note}.

Pol.
Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know,

When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
Lends the tongue vows: these blazes, daughter^{5 note},
Giving more light than heat,—extinct in both,
Even in their promise, as it is a making,—
You must not take for fire. From this time^{6 note},
Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence:
Set your entreatments at a higher rate,
Than a command to parley. For lord Hamlet,
Believe so much in him, that he is young;
And with a larger tether may he walk,
Than may be given you. In few, Ophelia,
Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers
Not of that die^{7 note} which their investments show,
But mere implorators of unholy suits,
Breathing like sanctified and pious bonds^{8 note},
The better to beguile. This is for all,—
I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,
Have you so slander any moment leisure^{9 note},
As to give words or talk with the lord Hamlet. 11Q1015
Look to't, I charge you; come your ways.

Oph.
I shall obey, my lord. [Exeunt.

SCENE IV. The Platform. Enter Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus.

Ham.
The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold^{10 note}.

Hor.
It is a nipping, and an eager air.

Ham.
What hour now?

Hor.
I think, it lacks of twelve.

Mar.
No, it is struck.

Hor.
Indeed? I heard it not: it then draws near the season,
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk. [A Flourish of Trumpets, and Ordnance shot off, within^{1 note}.
What does this mean, my lord?

Ham.
The king doth wake to-night, and takes his rouse,
Keeps wassel, and the swaggering up-spring reels;
And as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down,
The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge.

Hor.
Is it a custom?

Ham.
Ay, marry, is't:
But to my mind,—though I am native here,
And to the manner born,—it is a custom
More honour'd in the breach, than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel, east and west^{2 note}

Makes us traduc'd and tax'd of other nations:
They clepe us drunkards^{3 note}, and with swinish phrase
Soil our addition; and, indeed, it takes
From our achievements, though perform'd at height,
The pith and marrow of our attribute.
So, oft it chances in particular men,
That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As, in their birth, (wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin)
By their o'ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason;
Or by some habit, that too much o'er-leavens
The form of plausive manners;—that these men,—
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect
Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,—
Their virtues else^{4 note}, be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo,
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault: the dram of ill
Doth all the noble substance often dout,
To his own scandal^{5 note}


.

Enter Ghost.

Hor.
Look, my lord! it comes.

Ham.
Angels and ministers of grace defend us! 11Q1016
Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd,
Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents^{6 note} wicked, or charitable,
Thou com'st in such a questionable shape,
That I will speak to thee. I'll call thee, Hamlet,
King, Father, Royal Dane: O! answer me^{7 note}:
Let me not burst in ignorance; but tell,
Why thy canoniz'd bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cerements? why the sepulchre,
Wherein we saw thee quietly in-urn'd^{8 note},
Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws,
To cast thee up again? What may this mean,
That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel,
Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous; and we fools of nature,
So horridly to shake our disposition,
With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls?
Say, why is this? wherefore? what should we do? [The Ghost beckons Hamlet^{9 note}.

Hor.
It beckons you to go away with it,
As if it some impartment did desire
To you alone.

Mar.
Look, with what courteous action
It waves you^{1 note} to a more removed ground:
But do not go with it.

Hor.
No, by no means.

Ham.
It will not speak; then, will I follow it^{2 note}.

Hor.
Do not, my lord.

Ham.
Why, what should be the fear?
I do not set my life at a pin's fee;
And, for my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?
It waves me forth again:—I'll follow it.

Hor.
What, if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord,
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff,
That beetles o'er his base into the sea,
And there assume some other horrible form,
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason,
And draw you into madness? think of it:
The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without more motive, into every brain
That looks so many fathoms to the sea,
And hears it roar beneath^{3 note}.

Ham.
It waves me still:—Go on, I'll follow thee.

Mar.
You shall not go, my lord.

Ham.
Hold off your hands.

Hor.
Be rul'd: you shall not go.

Ham.
My fate cries out,
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve. [Ghost beckons.
Still am I call'd.—Unhand me, gentlemen,— [Breaking from them.
By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me^{4 note}:—
I say, away!—Go on, I'll follow thee. [Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet.

Hor.
He waxes desperate with imagination.

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

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

Mar.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Hor.
Heaven will direct it.

Mar.
Nay, let's follow him. [Exeunt. SCENE V. 11Q1017 A more remote Part of the Platform. Enter Ghost and Hamlet.

Ham.
Whither wilt thou lead me^{5 note}? speak, I'll go no farther.

Ghost.
Mark me.

Ham.
I will.

Ghost.
My hour is almost come,
When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames
Must render up myself.

Ham.
Alas, poor ghost!

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

Ham.
Speak, I am bound to hear.

Ghost.
So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear^{6 note}.

Ham.
What?

Ghost.
I am thy father's spirit;
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confin'd to fast in fires,

Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature,
Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted^{7 note} and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand an-end,
Like quills upon the fretful porcupine^{8 note}:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood.—List, list, O list^{9 note}!—
If thou didst ever thy dear father love,—

Ham.
O God!

Ghost.
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

Ham.
Murder?

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

Ham.
Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift^{10 note}
As meditation, or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.

Ghost.
I find thee apt;
And duller should'st thou be, than the fat weed
That roots itself^{1 note} in ease on Lethe wharf,
Would'st thou not stir in this: now, Hamlet, hear.
'Tis given out, that sleeping in mine orchard,
A serpent stung me: so the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abus'd; but know, thou noble youth,

The serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown.

Ham.
O, my prophetic soul! my uncle!

Ghost.
Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts^{2 note},
(O wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!) won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming virtuous queen.
O, Hamlet, what a falling-off was there^{3 note}!
From me, whose love was of that dignity,
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage; and to decline
Upon a wretch, whose natural gifts were poor
To those of mine!
But virtue, as it never will be mov'd,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,
Will sate itself^{4 note} in a celestial bed,
And prey on garbage.
But, soft! methinks, I scent the morning air:
Brief let me be.—Sleeping within mine orchard,
My custom always in the afternoon^{5 note},
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed hebenon in a phial,
And in the porches of mine ears did pour
The leperous distilment; whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man,
That, swift as quicksilver, it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body;

And with a sudden vigour it doth posset^{6 note},
And curd, like eager droppings^{7 note} into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine;
And a most instant tetter bark'd about^{8 note},
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand,
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once despatch'd 11Q1018^{9 note}:
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd^{1 note};
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head:
O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible^{2 note}!
If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive
Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven,
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once.

The glow-worm shows the matin to be near,
And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire:
Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me^{3 note}. [Exit.

Ham.
O, all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell?—O fie!—Hold, hold, my heart;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up^{4 note}!—Remember thee?
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven.
O, most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables,—meet it is, I set it down^{5 note},
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark: [Writing.
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word;
It is, “Adieu, adieu! remember me.”
I have sworn't.

Hor. [Within.]
My lord! my lord!

Mar. [Within.]
Lord Hamlet!

Hor. [Within.]
Heaven secure him!

Mar. [Within.]
So be it!

Hor. [Within.]
Illo, ho, ho, my lord!

Ham.
Hillo, ho, ho, boy! come, bird, come^{6 note}. Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

Mar.
How is't, my noble lord?

Hor.
What news, my lord?

Ham.
O, wonderful!

Hor.
Good my lord, tell it.

Ham.
No;
You'll reveal it.

Hor.
Not I, my lord, by heaven.

Mar.
Nor I, my lord.

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

Hor. Mar.
Ay, by heaven, my lord.

Ham.
There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Denmark,
But he's an arrant knave.

Hor.
There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave
To tell us this.

Ham.
Why, right; you are i' the right;
And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit that we shake hands and part:
You, as your business and desire shall point you,
For every man hath business and desire,
Such as it is; and, for mine own poor part,
Look you^{7 note}, I'll go pray.

Hor.
These are but wild and whirling words^{8 note}, my lord.

Ham.
I am sorry they offend you, heartily; yes,
'Faith, heartily.

Hor.
There's no offence, my lord.

Ham.
Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you:
For your desire to know what is between us,
O'er-master 't as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,
Give me one poor request.

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

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

Hor. Mar.
My lord, we will not.

Ham.
Nay, but swear't.

Hor.
In faith,
My lord, not I.

Mar.
Nor I, my lord, in faith.

Ham.
Upon my sword.

Mar.
We have sworn, my lord, already.

Ham.
Indeed, upon my sword, indeed.

Ghost. [Beneath.]
Swear.

Ham.
Ha, ha, boy! say'st thou so? art thou there, true-penny^{9 note}?
Come on,—you hear this fellow in the cellarage,—
Consent to swear.

Hor.
Propose the oath, my lord.

Ham.
Never to speak of this that you have seen,
Swear by my sword.

Ghost. [Beneath.]
Swear.

Ham.
Hic et ubique? then, we'll shift our ground.—

Come hither, gentlemen,
And lay your hands again upon my sword:
Never to speak of this that you have heard,
Swear by my sword^{1 note}
.

Ghost. [Beneath.]
Swear.

Ham.
Well said, old mole! can'st work i'the earth so fast?
A worthy pioneer!—Once more remove, good friends.

Hor.
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!

Ham.
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy^{2 note}. But come;—
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,—
As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on,—
That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber'd thus, or this head-shake,
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,
As, “Well, well, we know;”—or, “We could, an if we would;”—
Or, “If we list to speak;”—or, “There be, an if they might;”—
Or such ambiguous giving out, to note
That you know aught of me:—this not to do^{3 note},
So grace and mercy at your most need help you,
Swear.

Ghost. [Beneath.]
Swear.

Ham.
Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!—So, gentlemen,

With all my love I do commend me to you:
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do, t' express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together;
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
The time is out of joint;—O cursed spite!
That ever I was born to set it right.
Nay, come; let's go together. [Exeunt. ACT II. SCENE I. A Room in Polonius's House. Enter Polonius and Reynaldo^{4 note}.

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

Rey.
I will, my lord.

Pol.
You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo,
Before you visit him, to make inquiry
Of his behaviour.

Rey.
My lord, I did intend it.

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

Rey.
Ay, very well, my lord.

Pol.
“And, in part, him; but,” you may say, “not well:
But, if't be he I mean, he's very wild,
Addicted so and so;”—and there put on him
What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank
As may dishonour him: take heed of that;
But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips,
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.

Rey.
As gaming, my lord.

Pol.
Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling,
Drabbing:—you may go so far.

Rey.
My lord, that would dishonour him.

Pol.
'Faith, no^{5 note}; as you may season it in the charge.
You must not put another scandal on him,
That he is open to incontinency:
That's not my meaning; but breathe his faults so quaintly,
That they may seem the taints of liberty;
The flash and out-break of a fiery mind;
A savageness in unreclaimed blood,
Of general assault.

Rey.
But, my good lord,—

Pol.
Wherefore should you do this?

Rey.
Ay, my lord,
I would know that.

Pol.
Marry, sir, here's my drift;
And, I believe, it is a fetch of warrant^{6 note}.
You laying these slight sullies on my son,
As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i'the working,
Mark you,
Your party in converse, him you would sound,
Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes

The youth you breathe of guilty, be assur'd,
He closes with you in this consequence:
“Good sir,” or so; or “friend,” or “gentleman,”—
According to the phrase, or the addition,
Of man, and country.

Rey.
Very good, my lord.

Pol.
And then, sir, does he this,—he does—
What was I about to say?—By the mass^{7 note}, I was
About to say something:—where did I leave?

Rey.
At closes in the consequence,
As “friend or so,” and “gentleman^{8 note}.”

Pol.
At, closes in the consequence,—ay, marry;
He closes thus:—“I know the gentleman;
I saw him yesterday, or t'other day,
Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you say,
There was he gaming; there o'ertook in's rouse;
There falling out at tennis: or perchance,
I saw him enter such a house of sale,
Videlicet, a brothel” or so forth.—
See you now;
Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth^{9 note}:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,
With windlaces, and with assays of bias,
By indirections find directions out:
So, by my former lecture and advice,
Shall you my son. You have me, have you not?

Rey.
My lord, I have.

Pol.
God be wi' you; fare you well.

Rey.
Good my lord.

Pol.
Observe his inclination in yourself.

Rey.
I shall, my lord.

Pol.
And let him ply his music.

Rey.
Well, my lord. [Exit. Enter Ophelia.

Pol.
Farewell!—How now, Ophelia? what's the matter?

Oph.
Alas, my lord^{10 note}! I have been so affrighted!

Pol.
With what, in the name of God?

Oph.
My lord, as I was sewing in my chamber,
Lord Hamlet,—with his doublet all unbrac'd;
No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd,
Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle;
Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;
And with a look so piteous in purport,
As if he had been loosed out of hell,
To speak of horrors,—he comes before me.

Pol.
Mad for thy love?

Oph.
My lord, I do not know;
But, truly, I do fear it.

Pol.
What said he?

Oph.
He took me by the wrist, and held me hard;
Then goes he to the length of all his arm,
And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow,
He falls to such perusal of my face,
As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so:
At last,—a little shaking of mine arm,
And thrice his head thus waving up and down,—
He rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound,
That it did seem to shatter all his bulk,
And end his being. That done, he lets me go,
And, with his head over his shoulder turn'd,
He seem'd to find his way without his eyes;
For out o' doors he went without their help,
And to the last bended their light on me.

Pol.
Come, go with me^{1 note}: I will go seek the king.
This is the very ecstasy of love;
Whose violent property fordoes itself,
And leads the will to desperate undertakings,
As oft as any passion under heaven,
That does afflict our natures. I am sorry,—
What! have you given him any hard words of late?

Oph.
No, my good lord; but, as you did command,
I did repel his letters, and denied
His access to me.

Pol.
That hath made him mad.
I am sorry that with better heed and judgment
I had not quoted him^{2 note}: I fear'd, he did but trifle,
And meant to wreck thee; but, beshrew my jealousy!
By heaven^{3 note}, it is as proper to our age
To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions,
As it is common for the younger sort
To lack discretion. Come, go we to the king:
This must be known; which, being kept close, might move
More grief to hide, than hate to utter love^{4 note}. [Exeunt. SCENE II. A Room in the Castle. Enter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Attendants.

King.
Welcome, dear Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern:

Moreover, that we much did long to see you,
The need we have to use you, did provoke
Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
Of Hamlet's transformation; so I call it,
Sith nor th' exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was. What it should be,
More than his father's death, that thus hath put him
So much from the understanding of himself,
I cannot dream of^{5 note}: I entreat you both,
That, being of so young days brought up with him,
And since so neighbour'd to his youth and humour,
That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time; so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather,
So much as from occasion you may glean,
Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus^{6 note},
That, open'd, lies within our remedy.

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

Ros.
Both your majesties
Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,
Put your dread pleasures more into command
Than to entreaty.

Guil.
But we both obey^{7 note};

And here give up ourselves, in the full bent,
To lay our service freely at your feet,
To be commanded.

King.
Thanks, Rosencrantz, and gentle Guildenstern.

Queen.
Thanks, Guildenstern, and gentle Rosencrantz:
And I beseech you instantly to visit
My too much changed son.—Go, some of you,
And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.

Guil.
Heavens make our presence, and our practices,
Pleasant and helpful to him!

Queen.
Ay, amen^{8 note}! [Exeunt Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and some Attendants. Enter Polonius.

Pol.
Th' ambassadors from Norway, my good lord,
Are joyfully return'd.

King.
Thou still hast been the father of good news.

Pol.
Have I, my lord? Assure you, my good liege,
I hold my duty, as I hold my soul,
Both to my God, one to my gracious king^{9 note}:
And I do think, (or else this brain of mine
Hunts not the trail of policy so sure
As it hath us'd to do^{1 note}) that I have found
The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.

King.
O! speak of that; that do I long to hear.

Pol.
Give first admittance to th' ambassadors;
My news shall be the fruit to that great feast 11Q1019^{2 note}.

King.
Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in. [Exit Polonius.
He tells me, my dear Gertrude^{3 note}, he hath found
The head and source of all your son's distemper.

Queen.
I doubt, it is no other but the main;
His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage^{4 note}. Re-enter Polonius, with Voltimand and Cornelius.

King.
Well, we shall sift him.—Welcome, my good friends.
Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?

Volt.
Most fair return of greetings, and desires.
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
His nephew's levies; which to him appear'd
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack,
But, better look'd into, he truly found
It was against your highness: whereat griev'd,—
That so his sickness, age, and impotence,
Was falsely borne in hand,—sends out arrests
On Fortinbras; which he in brief obeys,
Receives rebuke from Norway, and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle, never more
To give th' assay of arms against your majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee;
And his commission to employ those soldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack:
With an entreaty, herein farther shown, [Giving a Paper.
That it might please you to give quiet pass
Through your dominions for this enterprize;
On such regards of safety, and allowance,
As therein are set down.

King.
It likes us well;
And, at our more consider'd time, we'll read,

Answer, and think upon this business:
Mean time, we thank you for your well-took labour.
Go to your rest; at night we'll feast together:
Most welcome home. [Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius.

Pol.
This business is well ended.
My liege, and madam; to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night, night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity^{5 note} is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad:
Mad call I it; for, to define true madness,
What is't, but to be nothing else but mad:
But let that go.

Queen.
More matter, with less art.

Pol.
Madam, I swear, I use no art at all.
That he is mad, 'tis true: 'tis true 'tis pity,
And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure;
But farewell it, for I will use no art.
Mad let us grant him, then; and now remains,
That we find out the cause of this effect;
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause:
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.
Perpend.
I have a daughter; have, while she is mine;
Who, in her duty and obedience, mark,
Hath given me this. Now gather, and surmise.

—“To the celestial, and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia,”—

That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; “beautified” is a vile phrase; but you shall hear.—Thus^{6 note}:

  “In her excellent white bosom, these,” &c.—

Queen.
Came this from Hamlet to her?

Pol.
Good madam, stay awhile; I will be faithful.—

“Doubt thou the stars are fire, [Reads.
  Doubt, that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar,
  But never doubt I love.

“O dear Ophelia! I am ill at these numbers: I have not art to reckon my groans; but that I love thee best, O most best! believe it. Adieu.

Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet.”

King.
But how hath she
Receiv'd his love?

Pol.
What do you think of me?

King.
As of a man faithful, and honourable.

Pol.
I would fain prove so. But what might you think,
When I had seen this hot love on the wing,
(As I perceiv'd it, I must tell you that,
Before my daughter told me) what might you,
Or my dear majesty, your queen here, think,
If I had play'd the desk, or table-book;
Or given my heart a winking^{7 note}, mute and dumb;
Or look'd upon this love with idle sight;
What might you think? no, I went round to work,
And my young mistress thus I did bespeak:
“Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star^{8 note};

This must not be:” and then I precepts gave her,
That she should lock herself from his resort,
Admit no messengers, receive no tokens.
Which done, she took the fruits of my advice;
And he, repulsed, a short tale to make,
Fell into a sadness; then into a fast;
Thence to a watch; thence into a weakness;
Thence to a lightness; and by this declension,
Into the madness wherein now he raves,
And all we wail for^{9 note}.

King.
Do you think 'tis this?

Queen.
It may be, very likely.

Pol.
Hath there been such a time, I'd fain know that,
That I have positively said, “'Tis so,”
When it prov'd otherwise?

King.
Not that I know.

Pol.
Take this from this, if this be otherwise. [Pointing to his Head and Shoulder.
If circumstances lead me, I will find
Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed
Within the centre.

King.
How may we try it farther?

Pol.
You know, sometimes he walks four hours together,
Here in the lobby.

Queen.
So he does, indeed.

Pol.
At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him:
Be you and I behind an arras, then:
Mark the encounter; if he love her not,
And be not from his reason fallen thereon,

Let me be no assistant for a state,
But keep a farm^{9 note}, and carters.

King.
We will try it. Enter Hamlet, reading.

Queen.
But, look, where sadly the poor wretch comes reading.

Pol.
Away! I do beseech you, both away.
I'll board him presently:—O! give me leave.— [Exeunt King, Queen, and Attendants.
How does my good lord Hamlet?

Ham.

Well, god-'a-mercy.

Pol.

Do you know me, my lord?

Ham.

Excellent well^{1 note}; you are a fishmonger.

Pol.

Not I, my lord.

Ham.

Then, I would you were so honest a man.

Pol.

Honest, my lord?

Ham.

Ay, sir: to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand^{2 note}.

Pol.

That's very true, my lord.

Ham.

For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion^{3 note},—Have you a daughter?

Pol.

I have, my lord.

Ham.

Let her not walk i' the sun: conception is a blessing; but not as your daughter may conceive^{4 note}:— friend, look to't.

Pol. [Aside.]

How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter:—yet he knew me not at first; he said, I was a fishmonger. He is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love; very near this. I'll speak to him again.—What do you read, my lord?

Ham.

Words, words, words.

Pol.

What is the matter, my lord?

Ham.

Between whom?

Pol.

I mean, the matter that you read 11Q1020^{5 note}, my lord.

Ham.

Slanders, sir: for the satirical rogue says here, that old men have grey beards; that their faces are wrinkled; their eyes purging thick amber, and plumtree gum; and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams: all of which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down; for you yourself, sir, should be^{6 note} old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward.

Pol.

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

Ham.

Into my grave?

Pol.

Indeed, that is out o' the air.—How pregnant

sometimes his replies are! a happiness that often madness hits on, which reason and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of. I will leave him, and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my daughter.—My honourable lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you^{7 note}.

Ham.

You cannot, sir, take from me any thing that I will more willingly part withal; except my life, except my life, except my life^{8 note}.

Pol.

Fare you well, my lord.

Ham.

These tedious old fools!