Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 2
Flourish. Enter KING and QUEEN,
ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN,
[and Attendants.]
KING
1 Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern!
2 Moreover that we much did long to see you,
2. Moreover that: besides the fact that.
3 The need we have to use you did provoke
3. use: employ.
4 Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
4. hasty sending: sudden summons.
5 Of Hamlet's transformation; so call it,
6 Sith nor the exterior nor the inward man
6. Sith: Since.
7 Resembles that it was. What it should be,
8 More than his father's death, that thus hath put him
9 So much from th' understanding of himself,
10 I cannot dream of. I entreat you both,
11 That, being of so young days brought up with him,
11. of so young days: from early youth.
12 And sith so neighbor'd to his youth and havior,
12. sith . . . havior: since you are so close to him in age and manners.
13 That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
13. vouchsafe your rest: be pleased to stay.
14 Some little time, so by your companies
15 To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather,
15. pleasures: amusements.
16 So much as from occasion you may glean,
16. So . . . glean: so much as you can pick up at any opportune moment.
17 Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus,
17. aught: anything.
18 That, open'd, lies within our remedy.
18. open'd: revealed. lies within our remedy: is something that we can cure.
QUEEN
19 Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of you;
20 And sure I am two men there are not living
21 To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
21. more adheres: is more attached.
22 To show us so much gentry and good will
22. gentry: courtesy.
23 As to expend your time with us awhile,
24 For the supply and profit of our hope,
24. For . . . hope: in order to support and bring to a successful outcome what I hope to accomplish.
25 Your visitation shall receive such thanks
26 As fits a king's remembrance.
25-26. Your . . . remembrance: The king is promising a rich reward to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
ROSENCRANTZ
Both your majesties
27 Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,
28 Put your dread pleasures more into command
29 Than to entreaty.
26-29. Both . . . entreaty: i.e., because you are our king and queen, you could command us to do whatever you want, rather than ask us.
GUILDENSTERN
But we both obey,
30 And here give up ourselves, in the full bent
30. in the full bent: most willingly, and to our utmost capacity.
31 To lay our service freely at your feet,
32 To be commanded.
KING
33 Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern.
QUEEN
34 Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz:
35 And I beseech you instantly to visit
36 My too much changed son. Go, some of you,
37 And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.
GUILDENSTERN
38 Heavens make our presence and our practises
38. our presence and our practises: our company and our efforts [to help Hamlet].
39 Pleasant and helpful to him!
QUEEN
Ay, amen!
Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ
and GUILDENSTERN,
[and Attendants.]
Enter POLONIUS.
POLONIUS
40 Th' ambassadors from Norway, my good lord,
41 Are joyfully return'd.
KING
42 Thou still hast been the father of good news.
42. still: always.
POLONIUS
43 Have I, my lord? I assure my good liege,
43. liege: sovereign.
44 I hold my duty, as I hold my soul,
45 Both to my God and to my gracious king:
46 And I do think, or else this brain of mine
47 Hunts not the trail of policy so sure
47. Hunts not the trail of policy: i.e., doesn't smell out the trail of politics.
48 As it hath used to do, that I have found
49 The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.
KING
50 O, speak of that; that do I long to hear.
POLONIUS
51 Give first admittance to the ambassadors;
52 My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
52. fruit: dessert.
KING
53 Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in.
Exit POLONIUS.
54 He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found
55 The head and source of all your son's distemper.
55. head: i.e., primary cause. distemper: [mental] illness.
QUEEN
56 I doubt it is no other but the main;
56. doubt: suspect. main: i.e., main cause.
57 His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage.
KING
58 Well, we shall sift him.
58. sift him: i.e., thoroughly investigate the cause of his problem.
Enter Ambassadors [VOLTEMAND
and CORNELIUS, with POLONIUS].
Welcome, my good friends!
59 Say, Voltemand, what from our brother Norway?
59. our brother Norway: i.e., my fellow-king, the king of Norway. ...more
VOLTEMAND
60 Most fair return of greetings and desires.
60. desires: i.e., your requests.
61 Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
61. Upon our first: i.e., as soon as we mentioned it.
62 His nephew's levies; which to him appear'd
62. His nephew's levies: i.e., Fortinbras' raising of a military force.
63 To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack;
63. the Polack: the Poles; the Polish nation. ...more
64 But, better look'd into, he truly found
65 It was against your highness: whereat grieved,
65. griev'd: aggrieved, offended.
66 That so his sickness, age and impotence
66. impotence: weakness.
67 Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrests
67. falsely borne in hand: deceptively taken advantage of. sends out arrests: issues cease and desist orders.
68 On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys;
69 Receives rebuke from Norway, and in fine
69. in fine: in the end.
70 Makes vow before his uncle never more
71 To give the assay of arms against your majesty.
71. give the assay of arms: i.e., attempt an armed action.
72 Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
73 Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee,
73. in annual fee: i.e., promised as an annual payment.
74 And his commission to employ those soldiers,
74. commission: official permission.
75 So levied as before, against the Polack:
76 With an entreaty, herein further shown,
76. herein further shown: i.e., with the details spelled out in this document.
[Giving a paper.]
77 That it might please you to give quiet pass
77. give quiet pass: i.e., give permission to travel without any trouble.
78 Through your dominions for this enterprise,
79 On such regards of safety and allowance
80 As therein are set down.
79-80. On . . . down: with such safeguards and provisos as are written down [in the diplomatic document from the King of Norway].
KING
It likes us well;
80. likes: pleases.
81 And at our more consider'd time we'll read,
81. at our more consider'd time: i.e., at a time when I can consider [the matter] more carefully.
82 Answer, and think upon this business.
83 Meantime we thank you for your well-took labor.
84 Go to your rest; at night we'll feast together.
85 Most welcome home!
Exeunt Ambassadors [VOLTEMAND
and CORNELIUS].
POLONIUS
This business is well ended.
86 My liege, and madam, to expostulate
86. expostulate: expound upon.
87 What majesty should be, what duty is,
88 Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
89 Were nothing but to waste night, day and time.
90 Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
90. wit: sound sense, eloquence.
91 And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
92 I will be brief. Your noble son is mad.
93 Mad call I it; for, to define true madness,
94 What is't but to be nothing else but mad?
95 But let that go.
QUEEN
More matter, with less art.
95. matter: substance. art i.e., rhetorical art; empty flourishes.
POLONIUS
96 Madam, I swear I use no art at all.
97 That he is mad, 'tis true: 'tis true 'tis pity;
98 And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure;
98. figure: figure of speech. The figure of speech which Polonius uses throughout this speech (even after he has promised to use "no art") is antanaclasis, the use of the same word in different senses.
99 But farewell it, for I will use no art.
100 Mad let us grant him, then: and now remains
101 That we find out the cause of this effect,
102 Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
103 For this effect defective comes by cause:
103. For . . . cause: Polonius uses a lot of words to say that Hamlet's madness must have a cause.
104 Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.
104. Thus . . . thus:
105 Perpend.
105. Perpend: Consider.
106 I have a daughter—have while she is mine—
107 Who, in her duty and obedience, mark,
108 Hath given me this. Now gather, and surmise.
[Reads.]
109 "To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most
110 beautified Ophelia,"—
110. beautified: adorned with many beauties. "Beautify" was a fairly common word, and I don't know just why Polonius objects to it.
111 That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; "beautified" is
112 a vile phrase: but you shall hear. Thus:
[Reads.]
113 "In her excellent white bosom, these," etc.
113. In her excellent white bosom, these: i.e., may you keep these words in your heart (?). I believe that the "etc." is Polonius' way of saying that the words he is about to skip are the usual kind of silly stuff written by lovers.
QUEEN
114 Came this from Hamlet to her?
POLONIUS
115 Good madam, stay awhile; I will be faithful.
115. stay awhile: wait a minute. I will be faithful: I will read the letter just as it is written (?).
[Reads the] letter.
116 "Doubt thou the stars are fire;
117 Doubt that the sun doth move;
117. the sun doth move:
118 Doubt truth to be a liar;
118. Doubt: Here, "doubt" is used in the sense of "suspect."
119 But never doubt I love.
120 O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers;
120. ill at these numbers: bad at versifying. ...more
121 I have not art to reckon my groans: but that
121. reckon: (1) count; (2) number metrically, as when writing verse. The "groans" to which Hamlet refers are expressions of the pain which the stereotypical love-lorn man was supposed to experience.
122 I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu.
123 Thine evermore most dear lady,
124 whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet."
124. whilst this machine is to him: while his body belongs to him; i.e., my whole life.
125 This, in obedience, hath my daughter shown me,
126 And more above, hath his solicitings,
127 As they fell out by time, by means and place,
128 All given to mine ear.
126-128. And more above . . . ear: i.e., and furthermore, Ophelia has told me all about Hamlet's pleas for her love—when they happened, how they were delivered, and in what place they happened.
KING
128 But how hath she
129 Received his love?
POLONIUS
129 What do you think of me?
KING
130 As of a man faithful and honorable.
POLONIUS
131 I would fain prove so. But what might you think,
131. I would fain prove so: i.e., I am eager to show that I am indeed faithful and honorable.
132 When I had seen this hot love on the wing—
133 As I perceived it, I must tell you that,
134 Before my daughter told me—what might you,
135 Or my dear majesty your queen here, think,
136 If I had play'd the desk or table-book,
136. play'd . . . table-book: i.e., said nothing. ...more
137 Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb,
137. winking: closing of the eyes. mute and dumb: The two words mean the same thing; Polonius is always long-winded.
138 Or look'd upon this love with idle sight;
138. with idle sight: i.e., without understanding or action.
139 What might you think? No, I went round to work,
139. round: straightforwardly.
140 And my young mistress thus I did bespeak:
140. bespeak: address.
141 "Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star;
141. out of thy star: i.e., above your lot in life.
142 This must not be." And then I precepts gave her,
143 That she should lock herself from his resort,
143. his resort: visits from him.
144 Admit no messengers, receive no tokens.
144. tokens: love tokens; keepsakes.
145 Which done, she took the fruits of my advice;
145. took . . . advice: i.e., followed my advice.
146 And he, repelled—a short tale to make—
146. a short tale to make: to tell the story shortly.
147 Fell into a sadness, then into a fast,
147. fast: refusal to eat.
148 Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness,
148. watch: sleeplessness.
149 Thence to a lightness, and, by this declension,
149. lightness: lightheadedness. declension: decline, deterioration.
150 Into the madness wherein now he raves,
151 And all we mourn for.
KING
152 Do you think 'tis this?
QUEEN
It may be, very likely.
POLONIUS
153 Hath there been such a time—I'd fain know that—
153. fain: gladly.
154 That I have positively said "'Tis so,"
155 When it proved otherwise?
KING
Not that I know.
POLONIUS [Pointing to his head and shoulder.]
156 Take this from this, if this be otherwise:
157 If circumstances lead me, I will find
157. circumstances: circumstantial evidence.
158 Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed
159 Within the center.
159. center: center of the earth; i.e., the most hidden place.
KING
How may we try it further?
159. try it: test it. The "it" is Polonius' theory about the cause of Hamlet's madness.
POLONIUS
160 You know, sometimes he walks four hours together
161 Here in the lobby.
QUEEN
So he does indeed.
POLONIUS
162 At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him:
163 Be you and I behind an arras then;
163. arras: hanging tapestry.
164 Mark the encounter. If he love her not
165 And be not from his reason fall'n thereon,
165. thereon: because of that.
166 Let me be no assistant for a state,
166. Let . . . carters: i.e., let me not be an important counselor in matters of state, but run a farm and employ common laborers.
167 But keep a farm and carters.
KING
We will try it.
167. try it: test it. King Claudius is agreeing to Polonius' plan to hide behind an arras and observe an encounter between Hamlet and Ophelia.
Enter HAMLET, [reading a book].
QUEEN
168 But, look, where sadly the poor wretch comes reading.
POLONIUS
169 Away, I do beseech you, both away:
170 I'll board him presently.
170. board: accost. presently: at once.
Exeunt King and Queen.
O, give me leave.
171 How does my good Lord Hamlet?
HAMLET
172 Well, God-a-mercy.
172. God-a-mercy: i.e., thank you.
POLONIUS
173 Do you know me, my lord?
HAMLET
174 Excellent well; you are a fishmonger.
174. fishmonger: seller of fish. Editors often explain this as slang for a pimp, but there is no evidence for that meaning in Shakespeare's day.
POLONIUS
175 Not I, my lord.
Illustrator: Kenny Meadows
HAMLET
176 Then I would you were so honest a man.
POLONIUS
177 Honest, my lord!
HAMLET
178 Ay, sir; to be honest, as this world goes, is to be
179 one man picked out of ten thousand.
POLONIUS
180 That's very true, my lord.
HAMLET
181 For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a
182 good kissing carrion—Have you a daughter?
182. good kissing carrion: dead flesh good enough for the sun to kiss. This is the first part of a a rather nasty comparison, which Hamlet finishes in his next speech. The comparison is between the birth of maggots from the carcass of a dog, and the birth of a baby from a woman.
POLONIUS
183 I have, my lord.
HAMLET
184 Let her not walk i' th' sun. Conception is a
184. Conception: (1) understanding; (2) conceiving a child. Hamlet is mocking both Polonius' lack of understanding and his over-protective attitude towards Ophelia.
185 blessing: but not as your daughter may conceive.
186 Friend, look to 't.
POLONIUS [Aside.]
187 How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter:
188 yet he knew me not at first; 'a said I was a fishmonger.
189 'A is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth I
190 suffered much extremity for love—very near this. I'll
191 speak to him
again.—What do you read, my lord?
HAMLET
192 Words, words, words.
POLONIUS
193 What is the matter, my lord?
193. What is the matter, my lord?: Polonius asks about the subject matter of Hamlet's book, but Hamlet deliberately takes the word "matter" to mean "cause for a quarrel."
HAMLET
194 Between who?
Illustrator: Sir John Gilbert
POLONIUS
195 I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.
HAMLET
196 Slanders, sir: for the satirical rogue says here
197 that old men have grey beards, that their faces are
198 wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and
198. purging: discharging.
199 plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of
200 wit, together with most weak hams: all which, sir,
201 though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet
202 I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down, for
202. honesty: decency; a fitting thing.
203 yourself, sir, should be old as I am, if like a crab
204 you could go backward.
POLONIUS [Aside.]
205 Though this be madness, yet there is method
205. method: some sense; a connection among the ideas.
206 in 't. Will you walk out of the air, my lord?
206. Will you walk out of the air, my lord?: Polonius is inviting Hamlet to come inside, because fresh air was thought to be bad for an invalid, such as Hamlet, who is (in Polonius' opinion) mad. Shakespeare has apparently forgotten that the scene started inside, in the "lobby."
HAMLET
207 Into my grave.
POLONIUS [Aside.]
208 Indeed, that is out o' the air.
209 How pregnant sometimes his replies are! a happiness
209. pregnant: full of meaning. happiness: a lucky expressiveness.
210 that often madness hits on, which reason and sanity
211 could not so prosperously be delivered of. I will
211. prosperously be delivered of: successfully express.
212 leave him, and suddenly contrive the means of
212. suddenly: at once.
213 meeting between him and my daughter.—My honorable
214 lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you.
HAMLET
215 You cannot, sir, take from me any thing that I will
216 more willingly part withal: except my life, except
217 my life, except my life.
POLONIUS
218 Fare you well, my lord.
HAMLET
219 These tedious old fools!
Enter GUILDENSTERN
and ROSENCRANTZ.
POLONIUS
220 You go to seek the Lord Hamlet; there he is.
ROSENCRANTZ [To Polonius.]
221 God save you, sir!
[Exit POLONIUS.]
GUILDENSTERN
222 My honored lord!
ROSENCRANTZ
223 My most dear lord!
HAMLET
224 My excellent good friends! How dost thou,
225 Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads,
226 how do ye both?
ROSENCRANTZ
227 As the indifferent children of the earth.
227. indifferent: average, ordinary.
GUILDENSTERN
228 Happy, in that we are not over-happy, on
229 Fortune's cap we are not the very button.
HAMLET
230 Nor the soles of her shoe?
ROSENCRANTZ
231 Neither, my lord.
HAMLET
232 Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of
233 her favors?
GUILDENSTERN
234 'Faith, her privates we.
234. privates: (1) intimate friends; (2) private parts.
HAMLET
235 In the secret parts of Fortune? O, most true; she
236 is a strumpet. What news?
236. strumpet: slut. Fortune (i.e., chance, luck) was often called a strumpet, because she grants favors to all men, without regard to their worthiness. What news?: i.e., what's up?; what's happening?
ROSENCRANTZ
237 None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest.
HAMLET
238 Then is doomsday near. But your news is not true.
239 Let me question more in particular: what have you,
240 my good friends, deserved at the hands of Fortune,
241 that she sends you to prison hither?
GUILDENSTERN
242 Prison, my lord!
HAMLET
243 Denmark's a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ
244 Then is the world one.
HAMLET
245 A goodly one, in which there are many confines,
245. confines: places of confinement.
246 wards and dungeons, Denmark being one o' the
246. wards: cells.
247 worst.
ROSENCRANTZ
248 We think not so, my lord.
HAMLET
249 Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing
250 either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. To
251 me it is a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ
252 Why then, your ambition makes it one; 'tis too
253 narrow for your mind.
HAMLET
254 O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count
255 myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I
256 have bad dreams.
GUILDENSTERN
257 Which dreams indeed are ambition, for the very
258 substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow
259 of a dream.
HAMLET
260 A dream itself is but a shadow.
ROSENCRANTZ
261 Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a
262 quality that it is but a shadow's shadow.
HAMLET
263 Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs and
264 outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. Shall we
263-264. Then . . . shadows:
265 to the court? for, by my fay, I cannot reason.
265. by my fay: by my faith. I cannot reason: i.e., I can't keep up this exchange of witty remarks.
ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN
266 We'll wait upon you.
266. We'll wait upon you: we'll accompany you and be your attendants.
HAMLET
267 No such matter: I will not sort you with the rest
267. sort you with: consider you to be in the same class as.
268 of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest
269 man, I am most dreadfully attended. But, in the
269. dreadfully attended: execrably waited upon.
270 beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinore?
269-270. in . . . friendship: i.e., please just answer me as a friend. what make you at Elsinore?: what are you doing at Elsinore?
ROSENCRANTZ
271 To visit you, my lord; no other occasion.
HAMLET
272 Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I
273 thank you: and sure, dear friends, my thanks are
274 too dear a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it
273-274. are too dear a halfpenny: too expensive at the price of a halfpenny; i.e., not worth much.
275 your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come,
276 deal justly with me: come, come; nay, speak.
276. justly: honestly.
GUILDENSTERN
277 What should we say, my lord?
HAMLET
278 Why, anything, but to th' purpose. You were sent
278. Why, anything, but to th' purpose: i.e., get to the point. ...more
279 for; and there is a kind of confession in your looks
280 which your modesties have not craft enough to color:
280. your modesties have not craft enough to color: i.e., your sense of shame prevents you from covering up.
281 I know the good king and queen have sent for you.
ROSENCRANTZ
282 To what end, my lord?
HAMLET
283 That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, by
283. conjure: entreat.
284 the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy of
285 our youth, by the obligation of our ever-preserved
284-285. consonancy of our youth: similarity of our ages.
286 love, and by what more dear a better proposer could
287 charge you withal, be even and direct with me,
286-287. by . . .
withal: i.e., by whatever is more precious that a more eloquent person could come up with. Hamlet is using high-flown language to mock the hypocrisy of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. even: frank, honest.
288 whether you were sent for, or no?
ROSENCRANTZ [Aside to Guildenstern.]
289 What say you?
HAMLET [Aside.]
290 Nay, then, I have an eye of you.—If you
290. an eye of you: an eye on you.
291 love me, hold not off.
"I have an eye of you"
GUILDENSTERN
292 My lord, we were sent for.
HAMLET
293 I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation prevent
294 your discovery, and your secrecy to the king and
293-294. so . . . discovery: i.e., by telling you what you want to know before you ask, I will make it unnecessary for you to be revealed as spies.
295 queen moult no feather. I have of late—but wherefore
296 I know not—lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of
297 exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily with my
296-297. custom of exercises: usual exercises.
298 disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to
299 me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy,
300 the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament,
300. brave: splendid.
301 this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why,
301. fretted: ornamented as with fretwork. ...more
302 it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent
303 congregation of vapors. What a piece of work is a man!
303. piece of work: masterpiece.
304 How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties,
304. faculties: abilities.
305 in form and moving how express and admirable,
305. express: exact.
306 in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like
307 a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals!
308 And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man
308. quintessence: purest essence. In ancient philosophy, the "quintessence" (fifth essence) is superior to the four essences (air, fire, earth, water) of this world; it the essence of all essences. Therefore Hamlet's phrase, "quintessence of dust," is very ironic.
309 delights not me—no, nor woman neither, though by
310 your smiling you seem to say so.
ROSENCRANTZ
311 My lord, there was no such stuff in my
312 thoughts.
HAMLET
313 Why did you laugh then, when I said "man delights
314 not me"?
ROSENCRANTZ
315 To think, my lord, if you delight not in man, what
316 lenten entertainment the players shall receive from
316. lenten entertainment: meager reception. Lent is a period of fasting.
317 you. We coted them on the way; and hither are they
317. coted: overtook and passed.
318 coming, to offer you service.
HAMLET
319 He that plays the king shall be welcome; his majesty
320 shall have tribute of me; the adventurous knight
321 shall use his foil and target; the lover shall not
321. foil and target: light fencing sword and small shield.
322 sigh gratis; the humorous man shall end his part
322. gratis: without reward. humorous man: comic stage character defined by an obsession,a 'humor'.
323 in peace; the clown shall make those laugh whose
324 lungs are tickle o' th' sere; and the lady shall
324. tickle o' th' sere: i.e., easily made to laugh.
325 say her mind freely, or the blank verse shall halt
325. halt: limp. Maybe the idea is that if the actor playing the lady's part has to omit certain offensive words, the blank verse wouldn't sound right.
326 for't. What players are they?
ROSENCRANTZ
327 Even those you were wont to take delight in,
328 the tragedians of the city.
HAMLET
329 How chances it they travel? their residence,
329. residence: i.e., staying at home in the city.
330 both in reputation and profit, was better both
331 ways.
ROSENCRANTZ
332 I think their inhibition comes by the means of the
333 late innovation.
332-333. inhibition: hindrance [to playing in the city]. late: recent. innovation: Shakespeare is probably alluding to the vogue for troupes of boy actors which arose in London about the time Hamlet was first performed.
HAMLET
334 Do they hold the same estimation they did when I was
335 in the city? are they so followed?
335. the city: Although Hamlet is set in the Elsinore, castle of the Danish king, Shakespeare seems to be thinking of England, where "the city" always referred to London, the center of all political and cultural activity. are they so followed? i.e., do people still talk about them and attend their performances as they used to?
ROSENCRANTZ
336 No, indeed, are they not.
HAMLET
337 How comes it? do they grow rusty?
ROSENCRANTZ
338 Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace: but
338. their . . . pace: i.e., they perform as well as they ever did.
339 there is, sir, an aery of children, little eyases,
339. aery: nest. eyases: unfledged hawks.
340 that cry out on the top of question, and are most
340. cry . . . question: cry shrilly, dominating the controversy.
341 tyrannically clapp'd for't: these are now the
341. tyrannically clapp'd: domineeringly applauded.
342 fashion, and so berattle the common stages—so they
342. berattle: berate, satirize. common stages: i.e., public theatres [such as Shakespeare's Globe]. ...more
343 call them—that many wearing rapiers are afraid of
344 goose-quills and dare scarce come thither.
344. goose-quills: pens [of satirical playwrights].
HAMLET
345 What, are they children? who maintains 'em? how are
346 they escoted? Will they pursue the quality no
346. escoted: financially supported. quality: profession [of acting].
347 longer than they can sing? will they not say
348 afterwards, if they should grow themselves to common
347-348.no . . . sing?: i.e., only until their voices change.
349 players—as it is most like, if their means are no
348-349. grow themselves to common players: themselves become regular actors.
350 better—their writers do them wrong, to make them
351 exclaim against their own succession?
351. exclaim against their own succession: denounce their own future profession.
ROSENCRANTZ
352 'Faith, there has been much to do on both sides; and
352. to do: ado.
353 the nation holds it no sin to tarre them to
353. tarre: incite, urge on. The verb "tarre" was usually used in connection with dog fights.
354 controversy: there was, for a while, no money bid
355 for argument, unless the poet and the player went to
356 cuffs in the question.
354-356. there was . . . in the question: i.e., for a while it was not possible to sell a proposal for a play, unless the action contained a scene in which a poet and an actor ("player") had a fistfight. argument: plot outline. in the question: in the action.
HAMLET
357 Is't possible?
GUILDENSTERN
358 O, there has been much throwing about of
359 brains.
HAMLET
360 Do the boys carry it away?
360. carry it away: win the day.
ROSENCRANTZ
361 Ay, that they do, my lord; Hercules and his
362 load too.
361-362. Hercules . . . too:
One of Hercules' labors was to hold up the world in the place of Atlas, and the sign of the Globe theater depicted Hercules holding up the world. These two allusions say that the boy players have taken the world by storm and so taken away customers from the adult actors.
HAMLET
363 It is not very strange; for mine uncle is king of
364 Denmark, and those that would make mouths at
364. mouths: derisive faces.
365 him while my father lived, give twenty, forty,
366 fifty, an hundred ducats apiece for his picture
366. ducats: gold coins.
367 in little. 'Sblood, there is something in this more
367. in little: in miniature. 'Sblood: by his [Christ's] blood.
368 than natural, if philosophy could find it out.
368. philosophy: i.e., natural philosophy, science.
A flourish [for the Players].
flourish: trumpet fanfare.
GUILDENSTERN
369 There are the players.
369. There are the players: i.e., that trumpet flourish means that the acting company has arrived.
HAMLET
370 Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. Your hands,
370. Your hands: i.e., shake hands.
371 come then. Th' appurtenance of welcome is fashion
371-375. come then: i.e., come on, shake hands!
372 and ceremony. Let me comply with you in this garb,
373 lest my extent to the players, which, I tell you,
374 must show fairly outward, should more appear like
375 entertainment than yours. You are welcome. But my
Th' appurtenance . . . yours: i.e., the formalities of giving a welcome are determined by current fashion and ceremony. So, let me observe the usual formalities, lest my more enthusiastic welcome to the players—which, I have to tell you, must appear very warm—should appear more sincere than my welcome to you.
376 uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived.
GUILDENSTERN
377 In what, my dear lord?
HAMLET
378 I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is
378. I am but mad north-north-west: i.e., I am only a mad under particular conditions. ...more
379 southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.379. I know a hawk from a handsaw: "Hawk" is the name of both a bird and a plasterer's tool. Also, it's possible that "handsaw" is a pun on "hernshaw," a heron. In any case, Hamlet is wittily warning Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (and via them, the King and Queen) that he is not easily deceived.
Enter POLONIUS.
POLONIUS
380 Well be with you, gentlemen!
HAMLET
381 Hark you, Guildenstern; and you too: at each ear a
382 hearer: that great baby you see there is not yet
383 out of his swaddling-clouts.
ROSENCRANTZ
384 Happily he's the second time come to them; for they
384. Happily: Haply, perhaps.
385 say an old man is twice a child.
385. twice: i.e., for the second time.
HAMLET
386 I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the players;
387 mark it.—You say right, sir: o' Monday morning;
387. mark it: i.e., watch for it.
387-388. You say right, sir: o' Monday morning; 'twas so indeed: Hamlet pretends to be deeply involved in a conversation, and is expecting that Polonius will interrupt, because Polonius is so full of the importance of his news, and full of himself.
388 'twas so indeed.
POLONIUS
389 My lord, I have news to tell you.
HAMLET
390 My lord, I have news to tell you.
391 When Roscius was an actor in Rome—
391. Roscius: Roscius (d. 62 B.C.E.) was a famous Roman actor. Hamlet is mocking Polonius. Polonius' news is old news, and Hamlet offers to tell him even older news.
POLONIUS
392 The actors are come hither, my lord.
HAMLET
393 Buzz, buzz!
393. Buzz: "Buzz" is still (C.E. 2020) a word for the newest rumor, gossip, or fad. But Hamlet is being sarcastic; Polonius' "buzz" is not really new; it is more like the idle buzzing of a fly.
POLONIUS
394 Upon mine honor—
HAMLET
395 Then came each actor on his ass—
395. ass: donkey.
POLONIUS
396 The best actors in the world, either for tragedy,
397 comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical,
397. pastoral: a literary work which idealizes the simplicity and wisdom of shepherds and other rural types.
398 historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-
399 comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or
399. scene individable: play observing the unity of place.
400 poem unlimited: Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor
400. poem unlimited: i.e., play which is not bound by the limits of neo-classical rules.
401 Plautus too light. For the law of writ and the
402 liberty, these are the only men.
400-402. Seneca: tragic playwright. Plautus: comic playwright. ...more For . . . liberty: i.e., for drama which follows the neo-classical rules, and for drama which is free.
HAMLET
403 O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure
403. Jephthah, judge of Israel: This is the title of a ballad of Shakespeare's time, from which Hamlet goes on to quote. ...more
404 hadst thou!
POLONIUS
405 What a treasure had he, my lord?
HAMLET
406 Why,
407 "One fair daughter and no more,
408 The which he loved passing well."
408. passing: surpassingly.
POLONIUS [Aside.]
409 Still on my daughter.
HAMLET
410 Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah?
POLONIUS
411 If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a daughter
412 that I love passing well.
HAMLET
413 Nay, that follows not.
413. Nay, that follows not: Literally, Hamlet means, "That's not the next verse"; figuratively, he means, "you do not understand the implications of what follows."
POLONIUS
414 What follows, then, my lord?
HAMLET
415 Why,
416 "As by lot, God wot,"
416. lot: chance. wot: knows. Here is the text of the ballad.
417 and then, you know,
418 "It came to pass, as most like it was,"—
418. It . . . was: it happened to happen, as was most likely.
419 the first row of the pious chanson will show you
419. row: stanza. chanson: song, ballad.
420 more; for look, where my abridgement comes.
420. abridgment: (1) interruption; something that cuts short something else. (2) diversion, entertainment.
Enter the PLAYERS.
421 You are welcome, masters; welcome, all. I am glad
422 to see thee well. Welcome, good friends. O, my old
423 friend! thy face is valenc'd since I saw thee last:
423. valanc'd: i.e., fringed with a beard. ...more
424 comest thou to beard me in Denmark? What, my young
424. beard: pick a quarrel. young lady and mistress: Hamlet is speaking to an teenage actor who plays women's parts.
425 lady and mistress! By'r lady, your ladyship is
426 nearer to heaven than when I saw you last, by the
427 altitude of a chopine. Pray God, your voice, like
427. chopine: extreme platform shoe. ...more
428 a piece of uncurrent gold, be not cracked within the
428. a piece of uncurrent gold: a gold coin that is not lawful currency. ...more
429 ring. Masters, you are all welcome. We'll e'en
430 to't like French falconers, fly at any thing we see:
430. like French falconers: i.e., freely, without being too choosy.
431 we'll have a speech straight: come, give us a taste
431. straight: straightway, at once.
432 of your quality; come, a passionate speech.
432. quality: professional skill.
First Player
433 What speech, my lord?
HAMLET
434 I heard thee speak me a speech once, but it was never
435 acted; or, if it was, not above once; for the play, I
436 remember, pleased not the million; 'twas caviary to
436-437. caviary to the general: caviare to the multitude, i.e., a dish too elegant for ordinary people.
437 the general: but it was—as I received it, and others,
438 whose judgments in such matters cried in the top
439 of mine—an excellent play, well digested in the scenes,
438-439. whose . . . mine: i.e., whose judgments in such matters were better than mine. digested: arranged.
440 set down with as much modesty as cunning.
440. set . . . cunning: written with as much discretion as skill.
441 I remember, one said there were no sallets in the lines
441. sallets: salads, i.e., spicy jokes.
442 to make the matter savory, nor no matter in the phrase
442. savory: zesty. phrase: mode of expression.
443 that might indict the author of affectation; but called it an
443. indict: convict.
444 honest method, as wholesome as sweet, and by
445 very much more handsome than fine. One speech
445. handsome: fitting. fine: flashy.
446 in it I chiefly loved: 'twas Aeneas' tale to Dido;
446. 'twas . . . Dido: it was the story that Aeneas told to Dido.
447 and thereabout of it especially, where he speaks of
447. and . . . especially: and specially that part of it.
448 Priam's slaughter: if it live in your memory, begin
448. Priam's slaughter: the slaying of Priam, the elderly King of Troy.
449 at this line—let me see, let me see:
450 "The rugged
Pyrrhus, like the Hyrcanian beast—"
450. Pyrrhus: cruel son of Achilles Hyrcanian beast: i.e., a ferocious tiger.
451 'Tis not so: it begins with Pyrrhus:
452 "The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms,
452. sable: black. The Greeks hiding in the Trojan horse blackened their skin to camouflage themselves.
453 Black as his purpose, did the night resemble
454 When he lay couched in the ominous horse,
454. lay couched: i.e., hidden, waiting in ambush.
the ominous horse: i.e., the Trojan horse.
the ominous horse: i.e., the Trojan horse.
455 Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd
456 With heraldry more dismal; head to foot
455-456. smear'd . . . dismal: i.e., smeared over with horrifying blood.
457 Now is he total gules; horridly trick'd
457. gules: Heraldic term for "blood red." trick'd: adorned.
458 With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons,
459 Bak'd and impasted with the parching streets,
459. Bak'd: caked. impasted: crusted. with the parching streets: i.e., by the heat from the burning streets.
460 That lend a tyrannous and damned light
461 To their lord's murder. Roasted in wrath and fire,
461. their lord's murder: Priam's murder.
462 And thus o'er-sized with coagulate gore,
462. o'er-sized: covered over as with a coat of sizing or glue. coagulate gore: i.e., clotted blood.
463 With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus
463. carbuncles: deep-red jewels which shine in the dark.
464 Old grandsire Priam seeks."
465 So, proceed you.
465. So, proceed you: i.e., pick up where I left off.
POLONIUS
466 'Fore God, my lord, well spoken, with good accent
466-467. with good accent and good discretion: i.e., intelligently, meaningfully.
467 and good discretion.
First Player
468 "Anon he finds him
468. Anon: quickly.
469 Striking too short at Greeks; his antique sword,
470 Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls,
471 Repugnant to command. Unequal match'd,
471. Repugnant: disobedient [to Priam's control]. Unequal match'd: i.e., facing a foe not equal to him.
472 Pyrrhus at Priam drives; in rage strikes wide;
472. strikes wide: misses.
473 But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword
473. fell: cruel, deadly.
474 The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium,
474. unnerved: drained of strength. senseless: insensible. Ilium: the central tower of Troy.
475 Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top
476 Stoops to his base, and with a hideous crash
476. Stoops to his base: falls to its foundation.
477 Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear: for, lo! his sword,
478 Which was declining on the milky head
478. declining on: coming down on.
479 Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick:
480 So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood,
480. painted: i.e., painted in a picture.
481 And like a neutral to his will and matter,
481. like a neutral to his will and matter: i.e., poised midway between intention and action.
482 Did nothing.
483 But, as we often see, against some storm,
483. against: just before.
484 A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still,
484. rack: mass of clouds.
485 The bold winds speechless and the orb below
486 As hush as death, anon the dreadful thunder
487 Doth rend the region, so, after Pyrrhus' pause,
487. region: sky.
488 Aroused vengeance sets him new a-work;
489 And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall
489. Cyclops: one-eyed giants who worked in Vulcan's smithy, where armor was made for the gods.
490 On Mars's armor forged for proof eterne
490. proof eterne: eternal invincibility.
491 With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword
491. remorse: pity. bleeding: dripping blood.
492 Now falls on Priam.
493. strumpet: slut. Lady Fortune was often called a strumpet, because she grants favors to all, regardless of their worth.
493 Out, out, thou strumpet, Fortune! All you gods,
494 In general synod take away her power;
494. In general synod: i.e., by unanimous consent.
495 Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel,
495. fellies: rims. her wheel: Fortune's wheel. ...more
496 And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven,
496. nave: hub.
497 As low as to the fiends!"
POLONIUS
498 This is too long.
HAMLET
499 It shall to the barber's, with your beard. Prithee,
500 say on: he's for a jig or a tale of bawdry, or he
500. jig: comic song and dance performed after a play. tale of bawdry: raunchy story.
501 sleeps: say on: come to Hecuba.
First Player
502 "But who, O, who had seen the mobled queen—"
502. mobled: muffled, hastily wrapped up.
HAMLET
503 "The mobled queen?"
POLONIUS
504 That's good; "mobled queen" is good.
First Player
505 "Run barefoot up and down, threatening the flames
506 With bisson rheum; a clout upon that head
505-506. threatening . . . rheum: i.e., weeping so much that it seemed she would extinguish the flames with her blinding tears. clout: cloth.
507 Where late the diadem stood, and for a robe,
508 About her lank and all o'er-teemed loins,
508. o'er-teemed: worn out by childbearing. Hecuba bore most of Priam's fifty sons.
509 A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up;
510 Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd,
511 'Gainst Fortune's state would treason have pronounced.
511. state: rule, government.
512 But if the gods themselves did see her then
513 When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport
514 In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs,
514. mincing with his sword her husband's limbs: Marlowe, in Dido, Queen of Carthage, writes that Pyrrhus cut off Priam's hands before killing him.
515 The instant burst of clamor that she made,
516 Unless things mortal move them not at all,
517 Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven,
517. made milch the burning eyes of heaven: i.e., made the blazing stars weep milky tears.
518 And passion in the gods."
518. passion: grief.
POLONIUS
519 Look, whether he has not turned his color and has
519. Look, whether he has not turned his color: i.e., Look how he has gone pale.
520 tears in's eyes. Prithee no more.
HAMLET
521 'Tis well: I'll have thee speak out the rest soon.
522 Good my lord, will you see the players well
523 bestow'd? Do you hear, let them be well us'd; for
523. bestow'd: lodged. us'd: treated.
524 they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the
524. abstract: summary account.
525 time: after your death you were better have a bad
526 epitaph than their ill report while you live.
POLONIUS
527 My lord, I will use them according to their
528 desert.
HAMLET
529 God's bodykin, man, much better: use every
529. God's bodykin: by God's (Christ's) little body. This is a humorous oath.
530 man after his desert, and who should 'scape
531 whipping? Use them after your own honor
531. after: according to.
532 and dignity: the less they deserve, the more
533 merit is in your bounty. Take them in.
POLONIUS
534 Come, sirs.
HAMLET
535 Follow him, friends: we'll hear a play
536 tomorrow.
[Exit POLONIUS with all the Players
but the First.]
537 Dost thou hear me, old friend; can you
538 play the Murder of Gonzago?
First Player
539 Ay, my lord.
HAMLET
540 We'll ha't tomorrow night. You could,
540. ha't: have it; see it.
541 for a need, study a speech of some dozen
541. for need: if necessary. study: memorize.
542 or sixteen lines, which
I would set down
543 and insert in't, could you not?
First Player
544 Ay, my lord.
HAMLET
545 Very well. Follow that lord; and look you mock him not.
545. that lord: i.e. Polonius.
[Exit First Player.]
546 My good friends, I'll leave you till night: you are
547 welcome to Elsinore.
ROSENCRANTZ
548 Good my lord!
HAMLET
549 Ay, so, God buy to you.
549. God buy to you: God be with you; goodbye.
Exeunt [ROSENCRANTZ and
GUILDENSTERN].
Now I am alone.
550 O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
551 Is it not monstrous that this player here,
552 But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
553 Could force his soul so to his own conceit
553. conceit: imaginative conception.
554 That from her working all his visage wann'd,
554. from her working all his visage wann'd: i.e., as a result of the soul's efforts his whole face grew pale.
555 Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
556 A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
556-557. his whole function suiting / With forms to his conceit: i.e., his whole being responding with actions and expressions corresponding to his imaginative conception.
557 With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
558 For Hecuba!
559 What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
560 That he should weep for her? What would he do,
561 Had he the motive and the cue for passion
562 That I have? He would drown the stage with tears
563 And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
563. cleave . . . ear: split the ears of all who heard him.
564 Make mad the guilty and appall the free,
564. free: innocent.
565 Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
566 The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,
566. The very . . . ears: i.e., sight and hearing.
567 A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
567. muddy-mettled: dull-spirited. peak: mope.
568 Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
568. John-a-dreams: a sleepy, dreaming slacker. unpregnant of my cause: not brought to life by my mission.
569 And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
570 Upon whose property and most dear life
570. property: i.e., the crown of Denmark.
571 A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
571. defeat: destruction.
572 Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
573 Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
574 Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
575 As deep as to the lungs? who does me this?
574-575. gives me ... lungs: i.e., calls me a pathological liar.
576 Ha! 'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be
576. 'swounds: by God's (Christ's) wounds. I should take it: i.e., I should accept all these insults [because I deserve them].
577 But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall
578 To make oppression bitter, or ere this
577-578. I . . . bitter: i.e., I have a nature that is not capable of resenting wrongs.
579 I should have fatted all the region kites
580 With this slave's offal. Bloody, bawdy villain!
581 Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
581. kindless: unnatural.
582 O, vengeance!
583 Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
583. most brave: i.e., ridiculous and cowardly. "Brave" meant both brave and handsome, but Hamlet is being sarcastic.
584 That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
585 Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
586 Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
587 And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,
587. drab: whore.
588 A scullion! Fie upon't! foh!
588. scullion: i.e., a foul-mouthed dishwasher.
589 About, my brain! Hum — I have heard
589. About, my brain!: i.e., turn about, my brain, and get to work.
590 That guilty creatures sitting at a play
591 Have by the very cunning of the scene
591. cunning of the scene: skillful performance of a scene.
592 Been struck so to the soul that presently
592. presently: at once; then and there.
593 They have proclaim'd their malefactions;
593. proclaim'd their malefactions: revealed their misdeeds [via their spontaneous reactions].
594 For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak
595 With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players
595. organ: means of communication.
596 Play something like the murder of my father
597 Before mine uncle. I'll observe his looks;
598 I'll tent him to the quick. If he but blench,
598. tent him to the quick: probe him to his vital core. blench: flinch.
599 I know my course. The spirit that I have seen
600 May be the devil, and the devil hath power
601 To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps
602 Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
603 As he is very potent with such spirits,
603. As . . . spirits: i.e., because he has great influence on those who have a temperament such as mine.
604 Abuses me to damn me. I'll have grounds
604. Abuses: deludes. If the Ghost is deceiving Hamlet about King Claudius' guilt, and Hamlet kills him, Hamlet would be a murderer, and therefore damned.
605 More relative than this: the play's the thing
606 Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Exit.