Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 2
Enter HAMLET and three of the PLAYERS.
HAMLET
1 Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to
2 you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you mouth it,
2. mouth it: i.e., deliver it melodramatically.
3 as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier
3. our players: i.e., the actors of this time. lief: willingly.
4 spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with
5 your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very
6 torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, the whirlwind of
7 passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance
8 that may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the
9 soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear
9. robustious: boisterous. periwig-pated fellow: i.e., some guy with a fashionable wig on his head. ...more
10 a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the
11 groundlings, who for the most part are capable of
11. groundlings: those who paid just a penny and stood on the ground in the pit of the theater.
12 nothing but inexplicable dumbshows and noise: I would
11-12. capable ... noise: i.e. respond to the play only by making faces and a lot of noise.
13 have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant;
14 it out-herods Herod: pray you, avoid it.
13-14. Termagant . . . Herod: Both of these were well-known as noisy, melodramatic characters in medieval drama.
First Player
15 I warrant your honor.
15. warrant: promise, assure. The player is promising Hamlet that all of his instructions will be faithfully followed.
HAMLET
16 Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion
17 be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word
18 to the action; with this special observance, that you
19 o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so
19. the modesty of nature: the simple truth of nature.
20 overdone is
from the purpose of playing, whose end,
20. is from the purpose of playing: is contrary to the purpose of staging plays. end: goal.
21 both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere,
21. both at the first and now: both when plays were first performed and now.
22 the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature,
23 scorn her own image, and the very age and body of
23. scorn: i.e., that which is worthy of scorn.
24 the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone,
24. his: its pressure: impression, exact image.
25 or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful
25. come tardy off: done lamely. This fault in acting is the opposite of the fault of being "overdone."
26 laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the
27 censure of the which one must in your allowance
27. censure: judgment. which one: [even] one of whom [i.e., "the judicious"]. allowance: estimation.
28 o'erweigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be
29 players that I have seen play, and heard others
30 praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely,
30. not to speak it profanely: to speak without joking.
31 that, neither having the accent of Christians nor
31. Christians: i.e., ordinary, recognizable human beings.
32 the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so
33 strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of
34 nature's journeymen had made men and not made
34. journeymen: day laborers, not masters of their craft.
35 them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.
First Player
36 I hope we have reformed that indifferently with us,
36. reformed that indifferently: have corrected that fault pretty well.
37 sir.
HAMLET
38 O, reform it altogether. And let those that play
39 your clowns speak no more than is set down for
40 them; for there be of them that will themselves
40. of them: some of them.
41 laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators
41. barren: i.e., witless.
42 to laugh
too; though, in the mean time, some
43 necessary question of the play be then to be
44 considered: that's villanous, and shows a most pitiful
45 ambition in the fool that uses it. Go, make you ready.
[Exeunt Players.]
Enter POLONIUS, GUILDENSTERN
and ROSENCRANTZ.
46 How now, my lord! Will the king hear this piece
47 of work?
46-47. piece of work: masterpiece. But Hamlet is being sarcastic.
POLONIUS
48 And the queen too, and that presently.
48. presently: at once.
HAMLET
49 Bid the players make haste.
[Exit Polonius.]
50 Will you two help to hasten them?
ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN
51 Ay, my lord. Exeunt they two.
HAMLET
52 What ho! Horatio! Enter HORATIO.
HORATIO
53 Here, sweet lord, at your service.
HAMLET
54 Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man
54-55. thou art e'en as just a man / As e'er my conversation coped withal: i.e., of all men that I have known, you are most like what a man should be.
55 As e'er my conversation coped withal.
HORATIO
56 O, my dear lord—
HAMLET
Nay, do not think I flatter;
57 For what advancement may I hope from thee
57. advancement: promotion, advantage.
58 That no revenue hast but thy good spirits,
59 To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flatter'd?
60. candied: sugared; i.e., flattering.
60 No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp,
61 And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
61. crook . . . knee: i.e., bend a knee in hopes of receiving a reward.
62 Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear?
62. Where . . . fawning: when profit may follow from fawning.
63 Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice
64 And could of men distinguish, her election
64. could . . . distinguish: i.e., could evaluate the differing worths of men. election: considered choice.
65 Hath seal'd thee for herself; for thou hast been
65. seal'd: chosen once and for all.
66 As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing,
66. in . . . nothing: i.e., endures everything without complaint.
67 A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards
67. buffets: beatings.
68 Hast ta'en with equal thanks: and blest are those
69 Whose blood and judgment are so well commeddled,
69. blood: i.e., passions. commeddled: blended, balanced.
70 That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger
70. pipe: musical instrument, such as a recorder or flute.
71 To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
71. stop: i.e., note. A "stop" is a hole in a wind instrument for controlling the note played.
72 That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
73 In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,
74 As I do thee.—Something too much of this.—
74. Something too much of this: Apparently Hamlet has either noticed that Horatio is embarrassed by this effusive praise, or Hamlet himself has become embarrassed.
75 There is a play tonight before the king;
76 One scene of it comes near the circumstance
77 Which I have told thee of my father's death:
78 I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
79 Even with the very comment of thy soul
79. Even . . . soul: with the most wise judgment of your soul.
80 Observe mine uncle. If his occulted guilt
80. occulted: hidden.
81 Do not itself unkennel in one speech,
81. unkennel: bring into the open.
82 It is a damned ghost that we have seen,
83 And my imaginations are as foul
83. imaginations: suspicions, mental images. foul: i.e., black, dirty, and dangerous.
84 As Vulcan's stithy. Give him heedful note;
84. Vulcan's stithy: Vulcan's forge. ...more Give him heedful note: i.e., pay very close attention to him.
85 For I mine eyes will rivet to his face,
86 And after we will both our judgments join
87. censure: render a verdict.
87 In censure of his seeming.
HORATIO
Well, my lord:
88 If a' steal aught the whilst this play is playing,
88. If a' steal aught: i.e., if he hide anything.
89 And scape detecting, I will pay the theft.
89. scape: escape. pay: pay for. Horatio is promising that he will not miss any sign of King Claudius' guilt.
HAMLET
90 They are coming to the play; I must be idle.
90. be idle: i.e., pretend to be unconcerned.
91 Get you a place.
Enter trumpets and kettledrums,
KING, QUEEN, POLONIUS,
OPHELIA, [ROSENCRANTZ,
GUILDENSTERN, and attendants].
KING
92 How fares our cousin Hamlet?
92. cousin: i.e., nephew. The word "cousin" was used for cousins, nephews, nieces, and sometimes very good friends.
HAMLET
93 Excellent, i' faith; of the chameleon's dish:
93. the chameleon's dish: i.e., air, which Chameleons were thought to feed on.
94 I eat the air, promise-crammed. You cannot
95 feed capons so.
95. capons: roosters which have been castrated and force-fed, so that they are tastier. ...more
KING
96 I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet; these
97 words are not mine.
96-97. I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet; these words are not mine: i.e., I can't make sense of your answer, Hamlet; it's not responsive to the question I asked.
HAMLET
98 No, nor mine now. [To Polonius.] My lord,
99 you played once i' the university, you say?
POLONIUS
100 That did I, my lord; and was accounted a
101 good actor.
HAMLET
102 What did you enact?
POLONIUS
103 I did enact Julius Caesar: I was killed i' the
104 Capitol; Brutus killed me.
HAMLET
105 It was a brute part of him to kill so capital a
105. part: action, role.
106 calf there. Be the players ready?
ROSENCRANTZ
107 Ay, my lord; they stay upon your patience.
QUEEN
108 Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me.
HAMLET [Approaching Ophelia]
109 No, good mother, here's metal more
109. metal: Perhaps Hamlet is comparing Ophelia to a magnet.
110 attractive.
POLONIUS [To the King.]
111 O, ho! do you mark that?
HAMLET
112 Lady, shall I lie in your lap?
112. lie: In Shakespeare's time, the phrase "lie with" had the same sexual meaning as "sleep with" does now (C.E. 2020).
OPHELIA
113 No, my lord.
HAMLET
114 I mean, my head upon your lap?
OPHELIA
115 Ay, my lord.
HAMLET
116 Do you think I meant country matters?
116. Do you think I meant country matters?: i.e., Do you think I meant to be rude and indecent? -- Hamlet's use of the word "country" is probably a rude and indecent pun.
OPHELIA
117 I think nothing, my lord.
HAMLET
118 That's a fair thought to lie between
119 maids' legs.
OPHELIA
120 What is, my lord?
HAMLET
121 Nothing.
OPHELIA
122 You are merry, my lord.
122. You are merry: i.e., you're just joking. Poor Ophelia! If she took Hamlet's sarcastic remarks at all seriously, she would have to think that he was grossly insulting her, so she decides to believe that he is just making witticisms.
HAMLET
123 Who, I?
OPHELIA
124 Ay, my lord.
HAMLET
125 O God, your only jig-maker. What should a man do
125. your only jig-maker: the very best composer of jigs, farcical song-and-dance entertainments that followed plays.
126 but be merry? for, look you, how cheerfully my mother
127 looks, and my father died within's two hours.
127. within's: within these.
OPHELIA
128 Nay, 'tis twice two months, my lord.
HAMLET
129 So long? Nay then, let the devil wear black, for I'll
130 have a suit of sables. O heavens! die two months ago,
129-130. let . . . sables: Devils were usually depicted as black. Sable is a luxurious fur and also, in heraldry, the color black. -- I do not understand what Hamlet is getting at.
131 and not forgotten yet? Then there's hope a great man's
132 memory may outlive his life half a year: but, by'r lady,
133 he must build churches, then; or else shall he suffer
134 not thinking on, with the hobby-horse, whose epitaph
133-134. suffer . . . on: i.e., endure the insult of being forgotten.
135 is "For, O, for, O, the hobby-horse is forgot."
135. "For . . . forgot": This is a quotation from a ballad.
The trumpets sounds. Dumb show follows.
Dumb: silent.
Enter a King and a Queen; the Queen embracing
him, and he her. [She kneels.] He takes her up,
and declines his head upon her neck. He lies him
down upon a bank of flowers. She, seeing him
asleep, leaves him. Anon comes in another man,
takes off his crown, kisses it, pours poison in
the sleeper's ears, and leaves him. The Queen
returns; finds the King dead, makes passionate
action. The Poisoner, with some three or four,
makes passionate action: i.e., weeps and otherwise expresses her grief.
comes in again, seems to condole
with her.
The dead body is carried away. The Poisoner
woos the Queen with gifts; she seems harsh
awhile,
but in the end accepts his love.
Exeunt.
OPHELIA
136 What means this, my lord?
HAMLET
137 Marry, this' miching mallecho; it means
137. this' miching mallecho: this is sneaking mischief.
138 mischief.
OPHELIA
139 Belike this show imports the argument of
140 the play.
139-140. Belike this show imports the argument of the play: it seems likely that this dumb show tells the plot of the play.
Enter PROLOGUE.
HAMLET
141 We shall know by this fellow: the players
142 cannot keep counsel; they'll tell all.
142. keep counsel: keep secrets.
OPHELIA
143 Will he tell us what this show meant?
HAMLET
144-145. be not you: if you are not.
144 Ay, or any show that you'll show him: be
145 not you ashamed to show, he'll not shame
146 to tell you what it means.
OPHELIA
147 You are naught, you are naught: I'll mark
147. naught: nothing, naughty. mark: pay attention to. Ophelia means that she will learn more from watching the play than she will from listening to Hamlet.
148 the play.
Prologue
149 For us, and for our tragedy,
150 Here stooping to your clemency,
151 We beg your hearing patiently.
150-151. Here stooping to your clemency, / We beg your hearing patiently: Here bowing to your forgiving nature, we beg that you will hear us patiently.
[Exit.]
HAMLET
152 Is this a prologue, or the posy of a ring?
152. Is this a prologue, or the posy of a ring?: A "posy of a ring" is a scrap of verse inscribed on a ring, such as "my love for you will always be new." Hamlet is complaining that the prologue didn't really say anything interesting.
OPHELIA
153 'Tis brief, my lord.
HAMLET
154 As woman's love.
Enter [two Players,] KING and QUEEN.
Player King
155 Full thirty times hath Phoebus' cart gone round
155. Phoebus' cart: the sun-god's chariot.
156 Neptune's salt wash and Tellus' orbed ground,
156. Neptune's . . . ground: i.e., the whole round ["orbed"] world. ...more
157 And thirty dozen moons with borrow'd sheen
157. borrow'd sheen: i.e.,light reflected from the sun.
158 About the world have times twelve thirties been,
159 Since love our hearts and Hymen did our hands
159. Hymen: god of marriage.
160 Unite commutual in most sacred bands.
160. commutual: mutually. bands: bonds, pledges of faith.
Player Queen
161 So many journeys may the sun and moon
162 Make us again count o'er ere love be done!
163 But, woe is me, you are so sick of late,
164 So far from cheer and from your former state,
165 That I distrust you. Yet, though I distrust,
165. distrust you: fear for your health.
166 Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must,
167 For women's fear and love holds quantity;
168 In neither aught, or in extremity.
165-168. Yet . . . extremity: i.e., I worry about you greatly because my love for you is great. ...more
169 Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know;
169. proof: experience.
170 And as my love is sized, my fear is so:
170. as . . . so: i.e., as my love is of great size, so is my fear for your health. The Player Queen repeats this idea in the next two lines.
171 Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear;
172 Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.
Player King
173 'Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly too;
173. 'Faith, I must leave thee: i.e., certainly, I must die.
174 My operant powers their functions leave to do:
174. operant: active, vital. leave to do: cease to perform.
175 And thou shalt live in this fair world behind,
175. behind: i.e., after I die.
176. haply: by good fortune.
176 Honor'd, beloved; and haply one as kind
177 For husband shalt thou—
Player Queen
177. the rest: i.e., what you are about to say next: that I will take a second husband.
O, confound the rest!
178 Such love must needs be treason in my breast:
179 In second husband let me be accurst!
180 None wed the second but who kill'd the first.
HAMLET
181 Wormwood, wormwood.
181. Wormwood, wormwood: i.e., that's bitter! The extract of the plant wormwood is very bitter. and so the word "wormwood" also means anything that is harsh or embittering.
Player Queen
182 The instances that second marriage move
182. instances: motives. move: motivate.
183 Are base respects of thrift, but none of love:
183. base respects of thrift: dishonorable considerations of monetary or other material advantages.
184 A second time I kill my husband dead,
185 When second husband kisses me in bed.
Player King
186 I do believe you think what now you speak;
187 But what we do determine oft we break.
187. what . . . break: i.e., often, we don't follow through on a course of action that we have decided upon.
188 Purpose is but the slave to memory,
188. Purpose: determination, resolution.
189 Of violent birth, but poor validity;
189. validity: strength, power to last.
190 Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree;
191 But fall, unshaken, when they mellow be.
192 Most necessary 'tis that we forget
193 To pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt:
192-193. Most necessary . . . debt: Of necessity, we forget to pay the obligations that we have imposed on ourselves.
194 What to ourselves in passion we propose,
194. passion: violent emotion.
195 The passion ending, doth the purpose lose.
196 The violence of either grief or joy
197 Their own enactures with themselves destroy:
196-197. The . . . destroy: violent grief and joy don't lead to action because they burn themselves out as they are felt.
198 Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament;
199 Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident.
198-199. Where joy . . . accident: i.e., the smallest happenstance can turn grief to joy, and vice versa.
200 This world is not for aye, nor 'tis not strange
200. for aye: for ever; everlasting.
201 That even our loves should with our fortunes change;
202 For 'tis a question left us yet to prove,
202. 'tis a question left us yet to prove: it's a question that we haven't yet answered. However, in what follows, the Player King shows that fortune controls love.
203 Whether love lead fortune, or else fortune love.
204 The great man down, you mark his favorite flies;
205 The poor advanced makes friends of enemies.
205. poor advanced: poor man raised to a higher position.
206 And hitherto doth love on fortune tend;
206. And . . . tend: i.e., And these examples show that love depends on fortune.
207 For who not needs shall never lack a friend,
207. who . . . friend: the person who doesn't need a friend will always have one.
208 And who in want a hollow friend doth try,
209 Directly seasons him his enemy.
208-209. who . . . enemy: i.e., a person in need who asks for help from a hollow friend immediately makes that friend his enemy.
210 But, orderly to end where I begun,
211 Our wills and fates do so contrary run
212 That our devices still are overthrown;
212. devices: i.e., intentions, plans, and efforts. still: always.
213 Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own:
213. ends: results. This line foreshadows Hamlet's famous lines: "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will."
214 So think thou wilt no second husband wed;
215 But die thy thoughts when thy first lord is dead.
Player Queen
216-223. Nor earth . . . I be wife!: This long speech is a list of all the horrible punishments that the Player Queen says should be inflicted upon her if she re-marries.
216 Nor earth to me give food, nor heaven light!
217 Sport and repose lock from me day and night!
217. Sport . . . me: deny me both recreation and rest.
218 To desperation turn my trust and hope!
219 An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope!
219. An anchor's . . . scope: let a hermit's food in prison be all the comfort I ever have or can hope for.
220 Each opposite that blanks the face of joy
221 Meet what I would have well and it destroy!
220-221. Each . . . destroy: i.e., let every force that makes the face of joy go white with grief destroy my every desire.
222 Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife,
222. Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife: both in life and in the hereafter let everlasting agony follow me.
223 If, once a widow, ever I be wife!
HAMLET
224 If she should break it now!
Player King
225 'Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here awhile;
226 My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile
226. fain: gladly. beguile: pass the time of.
227 The tedious day with sleep.
[Sleeps.]
Player Queen
Sleep rock thy brain,
228 And never come mischance between us twain!
Exit.
HAMLET
229 Madam, how like you this play?
QUEEN
230 The lady protests too much, methinks.
230. protests: vows, promises.
HAMLET
231 O, but she'll keep her word.
KING
232 Have you heard the argument? Is there no
233 offense in't?
232-233. Have you heard the argument?: Do you know the plot? Is there no offense in't?: Is it free of offensive matter?
HAMLET
234 No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest—
234. in jest: i.e., pretend (because they are just actors in a play).
235 no offense i' the world.
KING
236 What do you call the play?
HAMLET
237. Tropically: Figuratively.
237 The Mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropically. This play
238 is the image of a murder done in Vienna: Gonzago is
238. image: representation.
239 the duke's name; his wife, Baptista. You shall see
240 anon. 'Tis a knavish piece of work, but what of
240. anon: very soon.
241 that? Your Majesty and we that have free souls, it
241. free souls: i.e., clear consciences.
242 touches us not. Let the galled jade winch, our
243 withers are unwrung.242-243. Let . . . unwrung: i.e., let the one who has a guilty conscience wince; not us, who don't have guilty consciences. A "jade" is a horse that is hard to control. A horse that is galled has a sore, caused by the chafing of its saddle or other tack. If the sore is on the withers (the ridge between a horse's shoulders), the withers are "wrung"—rubbed sore.
Enter LUCIANUS.
244 This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king.
OPHELIA
245 You are as good as a chorus, my lord.
245. chorus: Many plays of Shakespeare's time had a chorus—an actor who would appear at the beginning of an act to explain the forthcoming action, as in Romeo and Juliet.
HAMLET
246 I could interpret between you and your
247 love, if I could see the puppets dallying.
246-247. I could interpret . . . dallying: i.e., If I saw you with your lover, I know exactly what you would be saying to each other. ...more
OPHELIA
248 You are keen, my lord, you are keen.
248. keen: witty, sharp.
HAMLET
249 It would cost you a groaning to take off my
249-250. It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge: Hamlet takes the word "keen" to mean "eager for sex." The groaning could allude either to noisy love-making or to the groaning of a woman in labor.
250 edge.
OPHELIA
251 Still better, and worse.
251. Still better, and worse: i.e., you're always more witty, and always more indecent.
HAMLET
252 So you mistake your husbands. Begin, murderer;
252. So you mistake your husbands: with those words you women wrongly take husbands. ...more.
253 leave thy damnable faces, and begin. Come,
253. leave ... faces: i.e., quit making those stupid faces.
254 the croaking raven doth bellow for revenge.
254. the croaking raven doth bellow for revenge: Hamlet is mocking the melodramatic language of old revenge tragedies.
LUCIANUS
255 Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time agreeing,
256 Confederate season, else no creature seeing;
255-256. Thoughts . . . seeing:
257 Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected,
257. Thou mixture rank: Lucianus' vial of poison.
258 With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected,
258. Hecat's ban: the curse of Hecate, goddess of witchcraft.
259 Thy natural magic and dire property,
259. dire property: deadly power.
260 On wholesome life usurp immediately.
260. usurp: take the place of.
[Pours the poison into the sleeper's ears.]
Illustrator: H.C. Selous
HAMLET
261 He poisons him i' the garden for's estate. His
262 name's Gonzago: the story is extant, and writ in
263 choice Italian: you shall see anon how the murderer
264 gets the love of Gonzago's wife.
[King rises.]
OPHELIA
265 The king rises.
HAMLET
266 What, frighted with false fire!
266. false fire: the discharge of a gun loaded with gunpowder, but no shot.
QUEEN
267 How fares my lord?
Illustrator: Sir John Gilbert
POLONIUS
268 Give o'er the play.
KING
269 Give me some light: away!
All
270 Lights, lights, lights!
Exeunt all but Hamlet and Horatio.
HAMLET
271 "Why, let the strucken deer go weep,
271. strucken: struck, i.e., wounded. ...more
272 The hart ungalled play;
272. hart: deer. ungalled: unwounded.
273 For some must watch, while some must sleep:
273. watch: stay awake.
274 So runs the world away."
274. So ... away: i.e., it's the way of the world to run away from those who are suffering.
275 Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers— if
275. feathers: the plumes worn by tragic actors.
276 the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me—with two
277 Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a
277. Provincial roses: decorative rosettes. raz'd: with decorative slashing. fellowship: partnership.
278 fellowship in a cry of players, sir?
278. cry: company.
HORATIO
279 Half a share.
279. Half a share: Shakespeare's acting company shared profits according to each member's shares, which were determined by the member's value to the whole enterprise.
HAMLET
280 A whole one, I.
280. A whole one, I: i.e., I'm sure I deserve a whole share.
281 "For thou dost know, O Damon dear,
282 This realm dismantled was
283 Of Jove himself; and now reigns here
284 A very, very—pajock.
281-284. "For thou ... pajock": This may be a quotation from another ballad. ...more. pajock: peacock, a bird with a bad reputation for vanity and foolishness.
HORATIO
285 You might have rhymed.
285. You might have rhymed: i.e., you could have made a rhyme. If Hamlet had completed his song with a rhyme, he could have said "ass," rather than "pajock."
HAMLET
286 O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for
287 a thousand pound. Didst perceive?
HORATIO
288 Very well, my lord.
HAMLET
289 Upon the talk of the poisoning?
HORATIO
290 I did very well note him.
HAMLET
291 Ah, ha! Come, some music! come, the
292 recorders!
291-292. Come . . . recorders!: Hamlet is calling out to the actors of "The Murder of Gonzago." ...more
293 For if the king like not the comedy,
294 Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdy.
293-294. For . . . perdy: belike: it's likely. perdy: assuredly. (From the French pardieu, "by God").
295 Come, some music! Enter ROSENCRANTZ
and GUILDENSTERN.
GUILDENSTERN
296 Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with
296. vouchsafe me: kindly grant me.
297 you.
HAMLET
298 Sir, a whole history.
GUILDENSTERN
299 The king, sir—
HAMLET
300 Ay, sir, what of him?
GUILDENSTERN
301 Is in his retirement marvellous distempered.
301. Is in his retirement marvellous distempered: i.e., is keeping to himself because he is greatly disturbed. In his next line, Hamlet mocks both Guildenstern and King Claudius by saying that the cause of the king's distemper is that he has been drinking too much.
HAMLET
302 With drink, sir?
GUILDENSTERN
303 No, my lord, rather with choler.
303. choler: anger. "Choler" could also mean the disease of biliousness, and in his next speech, Hamlet makes a bitter joke by playing with the two senses of the word.
HAMLET
304 Your wisdom should show itself more richer to
305 signify this to his doctor; for, for me to put him
306 to his purgation would perhaps plunge him into
305-306. put him to his purgation: i.e., give him the treatment for what's wrong with him. Much of the medical treatment of Shakespeare's time consisted of purgation of one kind or another, for example, purging bad blood by bleeding, or purging bile by inducing vomiting or bowel movements.
307 far more choler.
GUILDENSTERN
308 Good my lord, put your discourse into some frame
308. frame: logical order.
309 and start not so wildly from my affair.
309. start: skip away. my affair: my business, the subject I am trying to discuss.
HAMLET
310 I am tame, sir: pronounce.
GUILDENSTERN
311 The queen, your mother, in most great affliction
312 of spirit, hath sent me to you.
HAMLET
313 You are welcome.
GUILDENSTERN
314 Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of the
315 right breed. If it shall please you to make me
314-315. this courtesy is not of the right breed: i.e., your polite reply ("You are welcome") is inappropriate.
316 a wholesome answer, I will do your mother's
316. wholesome: sensible, rational. But Hamlet takes the word to mean "healthy."
317 commandment: if not, your pardon and my
318 return shall be the end of my business.
317-318. pardon: permission to leave. return: i.e., return to where he came from. Guildenstern seems to be hinting that if Hamlet doesn't give them a straight answer, he'll go back and "tell" on Hamlet to Hamlet's mother.
HAMLET
319 Sir, I cannot.
GUILDENSTERN
320 What, my lord?
HAMLET
321 Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseased:
322 but, sir, such answer as I can make, you shall
323 command; or, rather, as you say, my mother:
324 therefore
no more, but to the matter: my mother,
325 you say—
ROSENCRANTZ
326 Then thus she says; your behavior hath struck her
327 into amazement and admiration.
327. amazement and admiration: bewilderment and wonder.
HAMLET
328 O wonderful son, that can so stonish a mother! But
328. wonderful: amazing. stonish: stun, shock, surprise.
329 is there no sequel at the heels of this mother's
330 admiration? Impart.
330. admiration: astonishment.
ROSENCRANTZ
331 She desires to speak with you in her closet, ere you
331. closet: private room, study, sewing room.
332 go to bed.
HAMLET
333 We shall obey, were she ten times our mother. Have
334 you any further trade with us?
ROSENCRANTZ
335 My lord, you once did love me.
HAMLET
336 So I do still, by these pickers and stealers.
336. pickers and stealers: hands; which, as the Catechism says, we must keep "from picking and stealing."
ROSENCRANTZ
337 Good my lord, what is your cause of distemper? you
338 do, surely, bar the door upon your own liberty, if
339 you deny your griefs to your friend.
337-339. you . . . friend.: i.e., surely, you will never be free of your problems if you refuse to discuss your troubles with a friend.
HAMLET
340 Sir, I lack advancement.
ROSENCRANTZ
341 How can that be, when you have the voice of the king
342 himself for your succession in Denmark?
HAMLET
343 Ay, but sir, "While the grass grows,"—the proverb
343. proverb: i.e., "While the grass grows, the steed starves," meaning, "expectations may not be realized until it's too late."
344 is something musty.
344. something musty: somewhat stale.
Enter PLAYERS with recorders.
345 O, the recorders! let me see one.
[To the player who gives him a recorder.]
To withdraw with you:—
345. To withdraw with you: i.e., let's step aside for a bit.
[To Guildenstern.]
346 why do you go about to recover the wind of me,
346. recover . . . me: circle about to my windward side
347 as if you would drive me into a toil?
347. toil: trap, snare.
GUILDENSTERN
348 O, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my love is too
349 unmannerly.
348-349. if my duty be too bold, my love is too unmannerly: i.e., if my duty to convey your mother's message is carried out in a way that is too bold, it's only because my concern for you has caused me to forget my manners.
HAMLET
350 I do not well understand that. Will you play upon
351 this pipe?
351. this pipe: i.e., the recorder that Hamlet has in his hand.
GUILDENSTERN
"Will you play upon this pipe?"
352 My lord, I cannot.
HAMLET
353 I pray you.
GUILDENSTERN
354 Believe me, I cannot.
HAMLET
355 I do beseech you.
GUILDENSTERN
356 I know no touch of it, my lord.
HAMLET
357 'Tis as easy as lying: govern these ventages with
357. govern: control ventages: stops.
358 your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your
359 mouth, and it will discourse most eloquent music.
359. discourse: speak, play.
360 Look you, these are the stops.
GUILDENSTERN
361 But these cannot I command to any utterance of
362 harmony; I have not the skill.
HAMLET
363 Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of
364 me! You would play upon me; you would seem to know
365 my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my
366 mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to
367 the top of my compass: and there is much music,
367. compass: range (in singing).
368 excellent voice, in this little organ; yet cannot
368. organ: instrument.
369 you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am
370 easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what
371 instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you
371. fret: (1) finger (an instrument); (2) annoy.
372 cannot play upon me.
Enter POLONIUS.
373 God bless you, sir!
POLONIUS
374 My lord, the queen would speak with you, and
375 presently.
375. presently: at once.
Fun Quiz: Which of these looks "Very like a whale"?
HAMLET
376 Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape
377 of a camel?
POLONIUS
378 By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.
HAMLET
379 Methinks it is like a weasel.
POLONIUS
380 It is backed like a weasel.
HAMLET
381 Or like a whale?
POLONIUS
382 Very like a whale.
HAMLET
383 Then I will come to my mother by and by.
383. by and by: immediately, or when I get around to it.
384 [Aside.] They fool me to the top of my bent.
384. fool me: play me for a fool.
385 I will come by and by.
POLONIUS
386 I will say so.
[Exit POLONIUS.]
HAMLET
387 "By and by" is easily said. Leave me, friends.
[Exeunt all but Hamlet.]
388 'Tis now the very witching time of night,
388. witching time: i.e., when the powers of evil are at large, and spells are cast.
389 When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
389. When churchyards yawn: i.e., when the coffins in churchyards open of their own accord.
390 Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
391 And do such bitter business as the day
392 Would quake to look on. Soft! now to my mother.
393 O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever
393. nature: natural condition. To harm one's mother would be unnatural.
394 The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom:
394. Nero: Roman emperor who had his mother executed.
395 Let me be cruel, not unnatural:
396 I will speak daggers to her, but use none;
397 My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites;
397. My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites: i.e., may I never say or accept what I'm feeling.
398 How in my words soever she be shent,
399 To give them seals never, my soul, consent!
398-399. How . . . consent!: however much my words condemn her, may my soul never consent to confirm those words [by putting them into action and killing her].
Exit.