3 1404 00 206 301 1/

1
 t (David ©.oAAc^ay ££ibfta/aj
4 PR
2753
F5
v. 3

■^s

«?
 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
Brigham Young University-Idaho

http://archive.org/details/newvariorumediti11shak
/

Hamlet
 A NEW VARIORUM EDITION

OF

Shakespeare
EDITED BY

HORACE HOWARD FURNESS, Ph.D., LL.D.

HONORARY MBMBBR OP THB ' DEUTSCHE SH AKBSPHARB-GBSBLLSCH AFT '
OF WHIMAK

Hamlet
VOL. I

TEXT

[SIXTEENTH EDITION]

PHILADELPHIA & LONDON

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
 Copyright, 1 877, by J. B. Lippincott Company,,

Copyright, 1905, by Horace Howard Furness.

Copyright, 1918, by Horace Howard Furness, Jr.

Whstcott & Thomson, Lippincott's Press,

Electrotyfiers, Phila. Phila.
 PREFACE

The plan of the preceding volumes of this edition has been fol-
lowed in the preparation of the present volumes. It is modified
only by the necessity of making the impossible attempt to condense
within a certain number of pages a whole literature.
Of the imperfect success which has crowned the labour no one can
be so fully aware as the Editor. Nevertheless, the work is given to
the public in the trust that it will furnish some facilities to the study
of this great poem, and aid in preparing the way for better editions
than this.
The First Volume contains The Text, with a collation of the texts of
the Quartos and Folios, and of some thirty modern editions, together
with Notes and Comments from the Editors whose texts are collated,
and, added to these, such verbal and grammatical criticisms from
other quarters as seemed to be valuable ; in some instances, notes are
given that have little or no value, except as hints of the progress or
of the madness of Shakespearian criticism.

As a general rule, in the Commentary preference is given to verbal

over aesthetic criticism. Whenever editors whose texts are collated
have indulged in aesthetic suggestions, these, in the main, have been
retained. But in other cases aesthetic criticisms have been reserved
for Volume II, except where the notes were of too brief and frag-
mentary acharacter to be separated from the context.
This difference in the treatment of verbal and aesthetic criticism
is observed solely with reference to the arrangement of the mass
of material, not because aesthetic criticism is inferior in value to
verbal. Indeed, does not the value of the latter depend in many
cases more or less directly upon the former?

A*
VI PREFACE

There is a disposition abroad to disparage xsthetic criticisms of

Shakespeare. An excellent edition of the Poet, now issuing from the
press, discards it wholly ; the editor, whose opinions are entitled to
great respect, regarding it as an impertinence, and stigmatising it gene-
rally as 'sign-post criticism.' Unquestionably, there has been much
commenting upon Shakespeare, which, ignoring the humblest intel-
ligence inthe reader, is flat, stale, and unprofitable, a nuisance and a
weariness of the flesh. But shall we ignore the possible existence
of a keener insight than our own ? Is the gift of reading between the
lines, so essential to the appreciation of dramatic literature, universal?
Have the generality of us eyes to see what is there written ? Who
can fail to be enlightened and delighted with such fine criticism (as
is given in Volume II, p. 167) of the very first scene of this tragedy,
and which the Editor regrets did not come to his notice in time to be
inserted in the Commentary, where it vitally belongs ? Are we not to
listen eagerly and reverently when Coleridge or Goethe talks about
Shakespeare ? Can we fail to prize the flashes of light (all too few)
thrown here and there upon Shakespeare by Charles Lamb, that
genius, wasted in the India House, whom, had England known
the gift of God, she would have pensioned bountifully and set to re-
cording the thoughts these plays evoked in him, that we might be
brought into nearer communion with the great Poet than, with all
our laborious verbal criticism, we have yet been able to reach?
To be sure, such commentators as these, and Schlegel, and Haz-
litt, and Mrs Jameson, and Christopher North, and Garrick (such
acting as his was aesthetic criticism of a high order) are rare, and ex-
ception may be made in favour of all master-minds like these. But
the present Editor, in full memory of the many weeks and months
spent in reading criticisms on Hamlet, fully agrees with a keen and
eloquent critic in Blackwood' }s Magazine (more likely than not,
Thomas Campbell) when he says : ' We ask not for a picture of the
4 whole landscape of the soul, nor for a guide who shall point out all its
* wonders. But we are glad to listen to every one who has travelled
* through the kingdoms of Shakespeare. Something interesting there
4 must be even in the humblest journal ; and we turn with equal pleasure
' from the converse of those who have climbed over the magnificence
 PREFACE Vll

' of the highest mountains there, to the lowlier tales of less ambitious
4 pilgrims, who have sat on the green and sunny knoll, beneath the
•whispering tree, and by the music of the gentle rivulet.*
Moreover, the present Editor freely acknowledges the great inter-
est he has taken in witnessing the power of Shakespeare's genius as
shown in its stimulating effect upon minds of a high order. In the
endeavour to solve the mystery of Hamlet, the human mind, not only
in its clear radiance but in the sad twilight of its eclipse, has been
subjected to the most searching analysis. This ideal character,
Hamlet, has been assumed to be very nature, and if we fail to reach
a solution of the problem it presents, the error lies in us and in our
analysis; not in Shakespeare. Such have been the revelations of
the wisdom and genius of the First of Poets found in the works
which attempt to ravel all this matter out, and from which extracts
have been made in the second of these volumes, that the present
Editor was not long in making up his mind to bear patiently, for
the sake of these, the sea of troubles (sign-post criticisms) that he
has been compelled to encounter in the prosecution of his work.
To appreciate what is beautiful is one thing; to be informed of
what it is that delights us is a different and an added pleasure.
To vary the language of another: 'The worth of [Shakespeare]
'must rise as his grandeurs are comprehended, and our joy in
'his harmony and beauty will be heightened the more fully he is
1 understood.

* " I grieve net that ripe knowledge takes away

* The charm that [Shakespeare] to my boyhood bore,
* For with the insight cometh day by day
' A greater bliss than wonder was before." '

The Editor has availed himself of the liberty to form his own text
afforded him by the fact that the texts of all the ancient authoritative
editions are virtually printed on the same page. He has followed no
other. If his text appears to follow the Cambridge Edition, it is
merely because that edition has been used to print from.
It has been his settled principle, as it was that of Dr Johnson:
•that the reading of the ancient books is probably true, and there-
Vlii PREFACE

'fore not to be disturbed for the sake of elegance, perspicuity, or

'mere improvement of the sense. For though much credit is not
* due to the fidelity, nor any to the judgement of the first publishers,
' yet they who had the copy before their eyes were more likely to
' read it right than we who read it only by imagination My
' first labour is always to turn the old text on every side, and try if
' there be any interstice through which light can find its way. . . • „
' I have adopted the Roman sentiment, that it is more honourable
'to save a citizen than to kill an enemy, and have been more
'careful to protect than to attack.'
A list of editions collated in the Textual Notes, and an explana-
tion of the abbreviations and symbols there employed will be found
at the close of the Appendix.

In the Second Volume is given, first: a Reprint of the Quarto of

1603. This earliest Quarto differs from the rest so materially that
a full or intelligible record of its various readings in the form of
foot-notes is simply impossible. In a note on ' The Date and the
TexV will be found an account of the different theories respecting
its origin.
Then follows The Hystorie of Hamblet, the story on which, per-
haps, was founded either this tragedy or the lost original drama
which Shakespeare afterward changed to its present shape.
After this comes a translation of a curious old German tragedy
called Fratricide Punished, or Prince Hamlet of Denmark, An
account of it will be found in a short prefatory note.
Then come the English Critics, and a discussion of the one great
insoluble mystery of Hamlet's sanity. Without for one moment
wishing to assume the responsibility of umpire, the present Editor
thinks it no more than right to call attention to one fact which it
seems to him should be kept in view on entering upon this dis-
cussion— viz. where the testimony of experts is invoked, and their
testimony is unanimous, the speculations and opinions of others,
laymen and inexpert, cannot be expected to carry much weight. In
courts of justice, every day, the testimony of experts is accepted
in cases involving liberty or confinement, life or death, and we
 PREFACE IX

cannot, it is submitted, be so inconsistent as wholly to rule out

that testimony here. If, therefore, we listen to experts at all, we
can hardly refuse our assent to their unanimous verdict. Despite
all this, the present Editor's opinion, which, after what he has
just said, he cannot, as a layman, expect to have any value, and
which, in view of the magnitude of the discussion, he would be
the last, as an Editor, to set forth at length, is that Hamlet is
neither mad, nor pretends to be so. And in view of the fact that
he has faithfully read and reported all the arguments on that side,
the Editor begs the advocates of the theory of feigned insanity to
allow him, out of reciprocal courtesy, to ask how they account for
Hamlet's being able, in the flash of time between the vanishing of
the Ghost and the coming of Horatio and Marcellus, to form, horror-
struck as he was, a plan for the whole conduct of his future life?
Then follow Notes on The Names and Characters, on the Duration
of the Action, on Garrick's Version, and on Actors' Interpretations ;
it is greatly to be regretted that in this last department our accounts
of how. great actors spoke are so meagre. As Cibber says of Bet-
terton: 'Pity it is that the momentary Beauties flowing from an
'harmonious Elocution cannot, like those of Poetry, be their own
'Record: That the animated Graces of the Player can live no
'longer than the instant Breath and Motion that presents them,
'or at best, can but faintly glimmer through the Memory or im-
' perfect Attestation of a few surviving Spectators. Could how Bet-
' terton spoke be as easily known as what he spoke, then might you
'see the Muse of Shakespeare in her Triumph, with all her Beau-
'ties, rising into real Life, and charming the Beholder. But, since
' this is so far out of the reach of description, how shall I show
'you Betterton?'
Next comes the German Criticism,
With the rashness of ignorance, the present Editor, in laying out
his plan for this edition, proposed to himself to preface it with an
essay upon the remarkable literature which this great drama has
created in Germany. His idea was to give the views of all the wri-
tings on Hamlet which have appeared down to the present time in
that country, — of a 1, that is, which he could procure. But, in the
X PREFACE

work of preparation for such an essay, after going carefully through

what, at a rough and moderate computation, amounts to some two
thousand pages and upwards, he finds himself, — no surprising dis-
covery,— quite unequal to the task. The sense of his incompetency
is, however, greatly relieved by the one very clear conviction with
which he emerged from the metaphysical atmosphere : the proposed
essay, could it be written, would utterly defeat a purpose to be kept
religiously in view in the preparation of this edition of Hamlet, —
namely, compression. It would far exceed in bulk all the rest of
the volumes. The Editor therefore must restrict himself to a simple
statement of the principles by which he has been guided in the
selection of extracts from the German critics.
First: All unfavourable criticism of fellow-critics is excluded as
much as possible. Although our German friends are somewhat jeal-
ous of their well-deserved reputation as a nation of thinkers, they
sometimes seem, individually, very much disposed to grudge one an-
other a share in that distinction. The propriety of the exclusion
observed is obvious. To confound Goethe, Schlegel, or Tieck is
one thing, to elucidate Shakespeare is another. It is curious to
observe how much of Shakespearian criticism, — and this applies to
English as well as German, — is devoted to hostile criticism of fellow-
critics, living and dead. It is submitted that this it is, and not
' sign-post criticism ' alone, which has tended to bring disrepute on
this branch of literature, 'I know not,' says Dr Johnson, 'why
' our editors should with such implacable anger persecute their pre-
decessors. 01vsxpo) fiij ddxvouew, the dead, it is true, can make
'no resistance, they may be attacked with great security; but, since
' they can neither feel nor mend, the safety of mauling them seems
'greater than the pleasure; nor, perhaps, could it much misbecome
'us to remember, amidst our triumphs over the nonsensical and
' senseless ', that we likewise are men; that debemur morti, and, as
'Swift observed to Burnet, shall soon be among the dead ourselves.'
Second : The selection is confined as closely as possible to one
point : the character of Hamlet. It has been hardly possible to ob-
serve this rule with absolute strictness. Tieck' s theory in regard to
Ophelia's relationship to Hamlet bears so intimately upon the cha-
 PREFACE XI

racter of both, and has made so deep an impression upon the popular
mind, as to demand its insertion here.
Lastly : Whatever has been found that is strikingly original, although
not of necessity true, has been included among these extracts ; such as
the wonderful connection which Karpf imagines he has discovered
between the * courtier's kibe' and Thor's frozen toe, and Flathe's
opinions concerning the family of Polonius. Of course the reader
will not suppose where no bracketed exclamation-marks appear, that
all these criticisms or commentaries are adopted by the present Edi-
tor; and this remark the Editor wishes most emphatically to apply
to all the comments and notes, English and German, throughout
these volumes. He has an especial aversion to that cheap and easy
way of expressing dissent, or, as it most commonly reads, contempt.
He can recall but one instance of its use, and even there it would
have been avoided could the structure of the sentence, condensed
to save space, have left the paternity of the note unambiguous.
Those who read or study these volumes may be safely trusted to dis-
cover for themselves the wisdom or the folly of the critics, and the
Editor gladly forgoes the pleasure of displaying how much wiser he
is than those whom he cites.
The endeavour, in all honesty, has been to select from every author
the passages wherein he appears to most advantage, and wherein also
he contributes his best thought to the elucidation of the great tragedy.
At the same time, it must be confessed, there has been a little amuse-
ment had, now and then, in citing passages where our admirable
friends stumble and fall in the interpretation of words, as when
Gerth states that slings (in the 'slings and arrows of outrageous
1 fortune ') are the cables with which buoys are attached to sunken
anchors or are placed to indicate hidden reefs or shoals.
Notwithstanding these trivial deductions, no one who has made
any acquaintance with the labours of Shakespeare students in Ger-
many can fail to be impressed by the excellence they show even in
the department of verbal criticism. It is too late a week with
Schmidt's Lexicon and a dozen Shakespeare Yearbooks on our
shelves to cast any slurs on German Shakespeare criticism. Were
such the intention, German criticism could well endure them with
XH PREFACE

equanimity. For the indefatigable labour, the keen analysis, the

sympathetic and loving appreciation which characterise the treat-
ment of Shakespeare by German men of letters, command the
warmest admiration. Their devotion to this tragedy in particular
is impressive. Everywhere throughout the length and breadth of
their land commentators on it arise; not only at the prominent
centres of culture, but in towns and villages, whose names English-
speaking people have perhaps never heard of, do these writers spring
up. Even while the Editor is closing his labours, two more volumes
on Hamlet have been added to the list. Although it would be a
comfort to think that he had collected all, yet, — Rusticus exspectat,
6°^. Verily, given a printing-press on German soil (and the print-
ing-pres isindigenous there), and, lo ! an essay on Ha?nlet. Let
Germans themselves ridicule this devotion if they will. No man
born to the inheritance of the language of Shakespeare can regard
it otherwise than with respectful admiration and pride, or fail to
welcome the aid which it contributes to an enlightened apprecia-
tion of the great Poet. We all hold ourselves partakers of his
glory, and such fine adoration of our household divinity we accept
as a flattering tribute to ourselves.
And what a tribute is it to Shakespeare's genius ! Here, at last,
we may venture to set a limit to his imagination. Not even he could
have imagined such a fame. No one of mortal mould (save Him
'whose blessed feet were nailed for our advantage to the bitter
'cross') ever trod this earth, commanding such absorbing interest
as this Hamlet, this mere creation of a poet's brain. No syllable
that he whispers, no word let fall by any one near him, but is
caught and pondered as no words ever have been, except of Holy
Writ. Upon no throne built by mortal hands has ever 'beat so
fierce a light* as upon that airy fabric reared at Elsinore.
In Shakespeare's allusions to Wittenberg the Germans have
found a direct intimation that Hamlet was written with especial
reference to their own nation; and Freiligrath struck a keynote,
which found an echo in all hearts, when he exclaimed: 'Germany
'is Hamlet.' Lessing, that most healthy and earnest of German
scholars, ' the Englishman born in Germany ', was the first, now
 PREFACE Xlil

more than a hundred years ago, to announce to his countrymen

the advent of Shakespeare. His masterly criticisms of the Ham-
burg Theatre, written in the interest of the great English Poet,
levelled Voltaire and the French school of taste, and opened the
path ten years later for the extraordinary success that attended
Brockmann's Hamlet. The enthusiasm which Brockmann inspired
in this character was unprecedented in Germany, and can be
paralleled only by Mr Irving' s recent success in London. Fine
steel engravings appeared, representing different scenes of the trag-
edy; silver medals were struck in honour of the popular actor,
and, what was before unheard of on the Berlin stage, he was called
before the curtain after the play.
The enthusiasm for Hamlet, thus kindled, has not died out to this
day. Goethe's interpretation, everywhere as widely known as the
play itself, quickened the popular admiration by apparently reliev-
ing the tragedy of its painful mystery ; and although there are not
wanting keen critics who dissent from Goethe's interpretation of
Hamlet's character, yet as a piece of criticism it filled Lord Ma
caulay 'with wonder and despair/ and still underlies most of the
theories, English and German, that have since appeared.
The last theory of Hamlet's character, which has arrested specia
attention in Germany by the bold and animated way in which it
has been set forth by its chiefest expounder, Werder, was first
proposed in strong terms by Klein* It sweeps aside every vestige
of Goethe's explanation, with all theories akin to it. It affirms
Hamlet to be a man of action, never at a loss, never wavering,
taking in at once the position of affairs, adjusting himself thereto
with admirable sagacity, and instantly acting with consummate tact
as occasions require. A theory so directly opposed to all accepted
ideas of Hamlet claims a full exposition. It has been found im-
possible, in justice, to compress it into a narrower space than it
occupies in the Appendix.
The Editor is well aware that he incurs some hazard in thus
selecting extracts from the German essayists. If he has unwittingly
committed any injustice, and omitted to notice theories for which
their authors claim originality, he can only plead innocence of in-
XIV PREFACE

tention, and the difficulty he has found in fathoming the precise

meaning of metaphysical treatises, dive as deeply as he might into
1 the depths of his consciousness.'
German actors and stage-managers have long felt a want unknown
in English-speaking lands. There are probably not three theatres
in Germany that use the same translation or adaptation of Shake-
speare. To meet this want of uniformity, a selection of the dramas
was issued by Eduard and Otto Devrient, a name that will ensure
everywhere a respectful attention to all suggestions thus endorsed, —
suggestions, be it understood, never the crude conceits of the mo-
ment, but practically tested during many years of highly-famed
practice on the stage. In their rendition of Hamlet by the Messrs
Devrient, it is a noteworthy fact that for scenic representation the
First Quarto has been proved by them to be more effective than
the Second Quarto or Folio, which is the basis of the ordinary act*
ing copies. Over thirty years ago Hunter in England and Rapp
in Germany maintained the higher dramatic power of the First
Quarto over the Second Quarto in the order of the scenes and in
its general effectiveness. But it was reserved for the Messrs Dev-
rient to put these theories to the test with the best possible result,
as they say, and as their fame warrants the belief.
The claim for Hamlet's youth, urged by the Messrs Devrient,
deserves attention. Hamlet as a youth of nineteen or twenty cer-
tainly possesses a charm which can hardly belong to the maturer age
of thirty; besides, this idea of him reconciles many discrepancies
which have set commentators at variance. It accords with his wish
to return to Wittenberg; witn the election of his uncle over him
as king by the nobles; and it also lessens the age of the Queen
and our disgust at the mutiny in a matron's bones. A discussion
of this question will be found in the notes on V, i, 153. This
puzzle about Hamlet's age arises, to a large extent, it is submitted,
from our losing sight of Shakespeare's method of dealing with
the dramatic element of time, — a method whereby in the most
artful manner he conveys two opposite ideas of its flight : swiftness
and slowness ; by one series of allusions we receive the impression
that the action of the drama is driving ahead in storm, while by
 PREFACE XV

another series we are insensibly beguiled into the belief that it

extends over days and months. Attention was called to this won-
drous art of Shakespeare's by both Halpin and Christopher
North, at about the same time; the former admirably analyzed,
with reference to it, the Merchant of Venice, and the latter re-
vealed its working in the case of Macbeth and Othello. If we
turn to this present play of Hamlet, we see how throughout, wher-
ever time comes in as an element, we are subject to Shakespeare's
glamour and gramarye. Horatio is introduced to us as one famil-
iar with all the every-day occurrences in Denmark, the gossip of
the court, the cause of the post haste and rummage in the land ;
in the next scene, on the very same day, Hamlet greets him with
such surprise that we get the impression that he is fresh from
Wittenberg; if we stop to think, we remember that he came to
see the old king's funeral, and that took place nearly two months
before, and in that time he might well have learned all the polit-
ical news; but then he must have been about the court, and it is
a little strange that Hamlet had not met him. As spectators of
the play, we do not stop to think this out, but accept without
question each impression that the poet intends to make on us.
Again, Polonius, who assuredly knew the latest item of court
gossip, seems as much surprised at Ophelia's account of Hamlet's
strange behaviour as Ophelia herself; it was evidently a new thing
to him, and yet when he goes directly to the King, the latter has
been so long cognisant of Hamlet's 'transformation1 that he had
sent for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to help him find out its
cause; and Polonius, too, speaks of Hamlet's 'lunacy' as a fact
well known and of long standing; and the very next day after
this Hamlet has a second interview with Ophelia, when she asks
him how he does 'this many a day,' and tells him that she has
remembrances of his which she has longed long to re-deliver.
Again, Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that He has
'of late foregone all custom of exercises.' In the last scene
Hamlet tells Horatio that he has been in 'continual practice of
4 late.' These are not inconsistencies. They are not oversights
on the part of Shakespeare. They belong to the two series of
XVI PREFACE

times, the one suggestive and illusory, and the other visible and
explicitly indicated. Halpin calls them the protractive series and
the accelerating series. Christopher North calls them Shake-
speare's 'two clocks.' As another instance of the way in which
the long time is adroitly insinuated in this Play, note the passage,
where Claudius describes to the Queen the events that have fol-
lowed the death of Polonius: 'the people are muddied, thick,
'and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers,' which of
course was the work not of an hour nor of a day, but perhaps of
weeks; it must have taken some time for this knowledge to have
reached the king's ears ; then Laertes has ' returned in secret
'from France, feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds.'
This, too, consumes time, and the very time which we feel, with-
out stopping to compute it, is necessary for Laertes to gather the
populace to his side and mature his plans for rebellion. From
what we here learn, Laertes may have returned from France
weeks before, and yet when he bursts into the King's presence
and demands his father, the short time which is essential for
keeping up the tension of the passion comes into play, and we
get the impression that Laertes has just landed and has rushed in
hot haste to the King's palace. And so vivid is this impression
that Laertes is always held up by critics and commentators as an
example to Hamlet in the speed with which he sweeps to avenge
his father's death; whereas, as we see from this speech of Clau-
dius, Laertes may have been almost as dilatory as Hamlet, and
may have allowed 'buzzers' day after day 'to infect his ears,' or
kept himself 'in clouds' for weeks. The short time is again
thrust upon us by showing us Laertes ignorant of Ophelia's in-
sanity. Apparently, Laertes has not even taken the time to go
to his own home after landing from France. And these instances
may be multiplied, doubtless, by any attentive reader of the trag-
edy. Indeed, is not the whole theory of Hamlet's procrastination
to a large extent due to this ' legerdemain ' of Shakespeare's in
the matter of time? There are not wanting critics who, counting
off the days on only one of 'Shakespeare's clocks/ conclude
 PREFACE XVU

the whole action within a week or ten days, — scant room for pro-
crastination, where the killing of a king is the aim. As Chris-
topher North says: 'Shakespeare, in his calmer constructions,
'shows in a score of ways, weeks, months; that is therefore the
1 true time, or call it the historical time. Hurried himself, and
1 hurrying you, on the torrent of passion, he forgets time ; and a
1 false show of time, to the utmost contracted, arises If
'any wiseacre should ask, "How do we manage to stand the
£{t known together-proceeding of two times ?" the wiseacre is an-
'swered, "We don't stand it,— for we know nothing about it.
'"We are held in a confusion and a delusion about the time."
' We have effect of both,— distinct knowledge of neither. We
'have suggestions to our Understanding of extended time, — we
'have movements of our Will by precipitated time If you
'ask me, — which judiciously you may, — what or how much did
'the Swan of Avon intend and know of all this astonishing leger-
'demain, when he sang thus astonishingly? Was he, the juggler,
'juggled by aerial spirits, — as Puck and Ariel? I put my finger to
'my lip, and nod to him to do the same A good-natured
Juggler has cheated your eyes. You ask him to show you how
'he did it. He does the trick slowly, — and you see. "Now,
'"good Conjurer, do it slowly and cheat us.1* "I can't. I
'"cheat you by doing it quickly. To be cheated, you must not
'"see what I do; but you must think that you see." When we
'inspect the Play in our closets, the Juggler does his trick slow-
My. We sit at the Play, and he does it quick.' Just as Shake
Speare has dealt with the time of the whole tragedy he has dealt
with the age of Hamlet; in the earlier scenes he is in the very
hey-day of primy nature, but the effect of the fearful experience
which he undergoes is to quicken and stimulate mightily his
powers of thought, — to ripen his intellect prematurely. Therefore
at the close, as though to smoothe away any discrepancy between
his mind and his years, or between the execution of his task and
his years, a chance allusion by the Grave-digger is thrown out,
which, if we are quick enough to catch, we can apply to Ham*
let's age, and we have before us Hamlet in his full maturity.
XV111 PREFACE

In the selection of French Criticisms which follow the German, it

may be thought strange that no reference is to be found to Ducis's
version of Hamlet, — that unlucky butt for English and German
ridicule. No extracts would do it justice, and to insert the whole
was impossible. But would it not be well, between our fits of
laughter over it, to recall the year in which it first appeared ?
In 1769 the first German translation of Hanilet was only three
years old, and Lessing almost single-handed was in the thick of
his battle-royal with the French school of art, then supreme in
Germany, and of which Ducis's Haifilet is no unfair representa-
tive in the main features; seven years later, Brockmann, the idol
of the German stage, played Hamlet at first in Heufeld's ver-
sion, in which Laertes is omitted and Hamlet is the prosperous
successor of Claudius (afterwards, it is true, Brockmann acted
Schroeder's version, which is nearer the original, although Ham-
let survives the King's attempt to poison him, and the fencing-
scene is omitted). And at that time, on the English stage, Gar-
rick and his ' showmen ' were ' drawing about ' Lear with Nahum
Tate's 'hook in the nostrils of the Leviathan.' It is to be ap-
prehended that no German nor English tongue dare wag in rude
noise at Ducis, who, after all, did not assume to translate Shake-
speare, but merely adapt him. From the French point of view
(and is it not unreasonable to demand that a Frenchman should
have any other?) it is not difficult to regard Ducis's version as
a powerful drama; and we know that in the hands of Talma its
effect was signal.

There now remains the agreeable duty to record the names ot

those from whom I have received aid.
At the very outset, however, it is with sorrow that I am reminded
that Professor Allen, upon whom in years past I leaned so heavily,
and to whom it was a pleasure to be indebted, has joined the
group of
' Precious friends, hid in death's dateless night.'

Hid he lived, many an error now lurking in these volumes would

 PREFACE XIX

have been detected and obliterated. I am reconciled to their

presence, since they show how much I have been indebted to
him in the past.
My cordial thanks are hereby extended to J. Payne Collier, esq.,
Mr Albert Cohn, Professor Corson, Joseph Crosby, esq., Rev. F.
G. Fleay, Prof. Dr Elze, F. J. Furnivall, esq., Dr Hering, Rev.
H. N. Hudson, Dr Kellogg, Dr Ray, W. J. Rolfe, esq., William
Lowes Rushton, esq., S. Timmins, esq., Richard Grant White,
esq., Justin Winsor, esq., and William Aldis Wright, esq.
My especial acknowledgements are due to Dr C. M. Ingleby for
valuable suggestions prompted by his keen, critical taste and varied
learning, and for stray notes and readings which might otherwise
have escaped my notice; to A, I. Fish, esq., for the valuable con-
tribution he has made to Hamlet literature in the English Part of
the Bibliography ; and to J. Parker Norris, esq., for his selections
in reference to Actors' Interpretations •, and for numberless acts of
thoughtful kindness ; and to Mr L. F. Thomas, the reader of the
proofs, the excellent representative of a class to whom authors are
under deep though often unacknowledged obligations.
There yet remain three: to my father, Rev. Dr Furness, I am
indebted for all the translations from the German (except the
Bestrafte Brudermord) in the Second Volume ; the mere statement
of this debt reveals my utter bankruptcy in adequate expressions
of gratitude. More is his due than more than all can pay. Be
it remembered, that I alone am responsible for the selection of
the extracts.
To my sister, Mrs A. L. Wister, for the fine translation of Frei-
ligrath's Deutschland ist Hamlet.
And to Mrs Furness for the Index in the First Volume and
the Table of Contents in the Second.
In conclusion, let me add that I do not flatter myself that this
is an enjoyable edition of Shakespeare; I regard it rather as a
necessary evil, — so evil that I should sometimes question the pro-
priety of its existence were it not that I am encouraged by the
words of Dr Johnson, for whose Preface to his edition of Shake-
speare advancing years add only increasing admiration. 'Let
XX PREFACE

'him,' says Dr Johnson, 'that is yet unacquainted with the

'powers of Shakespeare, and who desires to feel the greatest
'pleasure that the drama can give, read every play, from the first
'scene to the last, with utter negligence of all his commentators.
'When his fancy is once on the wing, let it not stoop at cor-
'rection or explanation. When his attention is strongly engaged,
'let it disdain alike to turn aside to the name of Theobald and
•of Pope. Let him read on through brightness and obscurity,
'through integrity and corruption; let him preserve his compre-
'hension of the dialogue and his interest in the fable. And
'when the pleasures of novelty have ceased, let him attempt ex
'actness and read the commentators.' H. H. F.
March, 1877.
Hamlet.
 DRAMATIS PERSON^1

Claudius, King of Denmark.

Hamlet, son to the late, and nephew to the present, King.
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway.
Polonius, Lord Chamberlain.
Horatio, friend to Hamlet.
Laertes, son to Polonius.
Voltimand,
Cornelius,
rosencrantz,3
~ > Courtiers.
GUILDENSTERN,
OSRIC,

A Gentleman,
A Priest.
^ARCELLUS'l Office
Bernardo, J r,
Francisco, a soldier.
Reynaldo, servant to Poloniiifc.
Players.
Two Clowns, grave-diggers.
A Captain.
English Ambassadors.
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and mother to Hamlet.
Ophelia, daughter to Polonius.
Ijords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, and other
Attendants.

Ghost of Hamlet's Father.

Scene : Elsinore?

1 Dramatis Persons] First given by Rowe.

2 Rosencrantz] Theob. Roseneraus. Rowe. Rosencraus. Pope, Jen. Rosin
Crosse. Han.
3 Elsinore] Mai. Elsinoor. Rowe +. Elsinour. Cap. Elsineur. Steev. Den
mark. Glo-f .
 THE TRAGEDY OF

Hamlet
PRINCE OF DENMARK

ACT I

Scene I. Elsinore. A platform before the castle.

Francisco at his post. Enter to him Bernardo.

Bey. Who's there ?

Act i] Actus Primus. Ff. Francisco...] Dyce. Francisco upon...
Scene I.] Sccena Prima. Fs. Scaena Cap. Enter Barnardo and Francifco, two
Prima. F2F4. Scena Prima. F3. Centinels. QqFf (Bernardo Q4) Rowe + .
Elsinore.] Cap. Francisco on guard. Sta.
A platform ] Mai. An open I — 5. Who's He\ Two lines, the
Place before the Palace. Rowe, Pope. first ending unfold Cap. Steev. Var.
A Platform before the Palace. Theob. + . Cald. Knt, Coll. White, El.
Platform of the Castle. Cap. 1. Who's'] Whofe Qq.
Scene I] GlLDON {Remarks, &c, 1709, p. 404) : This scene, I have been assured,
Sh. wrote in a Charnal House, in the midst of the Night. Seymour (p. 138) : This
whole scene appears unnecessary to the design and conduct of the play, and might
with advantage be omitted. The hand of Sh. is visible in it occasionally, but it is
part of that undigested plan which is manifest throughout the play. [Seymour finds
the same fault in Macbeth and Lear. Ed.]
Cambridge Editors : In this play the Acts and Scenes are marked in the Ff only
as far as II, ii, and not at all in the Qq.
1. Who's there] Coleridge (p. 148) : That Shakespeare meant to put an effect
in the actor's power in these very first words is evident from the impatience expressed
by the startled Francisco in the line that follows. A brave man is never so per-
emptory as when he fears that he is afraid. Tschischwitz finds a • psychological
motive ' in thus representing Bernardo as so forgetful of all military use and wont as
to challenge Francisco who is on guard. Evidently Bernardo is afraid to meet the
Ghost all alone, and it is because he feels so unmanned that his last words to Fran-
cisco are to bid Horatio and Marcellus make haste. [For other instances of irregu-
larities in metre, which may be explained by the custom of placing ejaculations,
appellations, &c. out of the regular verse, see Abbott, \ 512. Ed.]
3
4 HAMLET [act I, sc. i.

Fran. Nay, answer me ; stand, and unfold yourself. 2

Ber. Long live the king !
Fran. Bernardo ?
Ber. He. 5
Fran. You come most carefully upon your hour.
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. 10
4. Bernardo ?] Barnardo ? FxFaF3. 7. struck] Jlrooke Qq. Jlrook Fg,
Barnardo. QqF^. Cap.
6. carefully] chearfully FF, twelve] twelfe Q2QV
7. now struck] new-struck. Steev. 7, 8, 23. ' Tis] Tis Fa.
conj. El. Heussi. 10. guard P] guard. F .

2. me] Jennens : This is the emphatic word. [Hanmer printed it in italics. Ed.]
Francisco, as the sentinel on guard, has the right of insisting on the watch-word,
which is given in Bernardo's answer.
3. king] Malone supposed this sentence to have been the watch-word, but Pye
(p. 308) believes that it corresponds to the former usage in France, where, to the
common challenge Qui vive ? the answer was Vive le Roi, like the modern answer,
1 A friend.' And Delius points out that shortly afterwards to the same challenge
Hor. and Mar. give a different response.
6. upon your hour] Clarendon: An unusual phrase, meaning 'just as your
hour is about to strike.' Compare Rich. Ill: III, ii, 5; IV, ii, 115; Meas. for
Meas. IV, 1, 17. As Fran, speaks the clock is heard striking midnight. [See
Abbott, \ 191 ; Macb. Ill, i, 16; V, iii, 7.]
7. now] Dyce : Is not the sense the same whether we read new or ' now ' ?
8. much] Abbott, §51: Much, more, is frequently used as an ordinary adjective
like the Scotch mickle, and the Early English muchel.
9. heart] Hunter (ii, 212) : As no particular reason appears for the melancholy
of this insignificant personage, it is probable that the poet meant by this little artifice to
prepare the minds of the spectators for a tragical story. Such a remark at the open-
ing of a play disposed their minds, unconsciously perhaps to themselves, to the
solemnity of thought and feeling which suited the awful scenes soon to be unfolded.
STRACHEY (p. 24): The key-note of the tragedy is struck in the simple preludings of
this common sentry's midnight guard, to sound afterwards in ever-spreading vibra-
tions through the complicated though harmonious strains of Hamlet's own watch
through a darker and colder night than the senses can feel.
10. Not a mouse stirring] Coleridge (p. 148) : The attention to minute
sounds, — naturally associated with the recollection of minute objects, and the more
familiar and trifling, the more impressive from the unusualness of their producing
any impression at all, — gives a philosophic pertinency to this image ; but it has like-
wise its dramatic use and purpose. For its commonness in ordinary conversation
tends to produce the sense of reality, and at once hides the poet, and yet approxi-
act I, sc. i.J HAMLET 5

Ber. Well, good night. II

If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus,
The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
Fran. I think I hear them. — Stand, ho ! Who is there ?
Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

Hor. Friends to this ground.

Mar. And liegemen to the Dane. 15
Fran. Give you good night.
Mar. O, farewell, honest soldier :

11 — 13. As in Qq. Prose, Ff, Rowe. + , Mob. QqFf (after line 13), et cet.
14. Stand, ho] Stand ho Qq. Stand 15. liegemeri\ Leige-men Fx, Leedge-
F . men QaQ,. Leegemen Q4QS«
ho] Om. Ff, Rowe, Pope, Knt, 16, 18. Give you] Om. Q'76.
Sing. Ktly, Del. 16 — 18. O, farewell... night] Cap.
Who is], who's FT, Rowe, Pope. Two lines, QqFf, Rowe+.
Enter...] Dyce, White, Sta. Glo. 16. soldier] fouldiers Qq.

mates the reader or spectator to that state in which the highest poetry will appear,
and in its component parts, though not in the whole composition, really is the lan-
guage of nature. If I should not speak it, I feel I should be thinking it ;— the voice
only is the poet's, — the words are my own.
13. rivals] Warburton : That is, partners [which is the word used here in
Qx. — White.] Ritson : Thus, in Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1636: * Tullia.
Aruns, associate him. Arwts. A rival with my brother in his honours.' And in
The Tragedy of Hoffman, 1631 [II, iii, p. 29. Reprint 1852], 'And make thee rival
in those governments.' See also rivality in Ant. & Cleop. Ill, v, 8. Warner
( Var. 1821) : Read • Horatio, and Marcellus The rival of &c. because Hor.
is a gentleman of no profession, and there is but one person in each watch. Cal-
DECOTT: See corrival, I Hen. IV; I, iii, 207, and IV, iv, 31. Wedgwood : Lat.
rivalis, explained in different ways from rivus, a brook ; by some from the struggles
between herdsmen using the same watercourses; by others as signifying those who
dwell on opposite sides of the stream. Clarendon: This is the only passage of
Sh. in which the word is employed in its earlier and rarer sense [as given by War-
burton].
14. Coleridge (p. 148) : Observe the gradual transition from the silence and the
still recent habit of listening in Francisco's • I think I near them,' — to the more
cheerful call out, which a good actor would observe, in the * Stand ho ! Who is
there ?'
16. Give") Caldecott : That is, May He, who has the power of giving, so dis-
pense ;or, I give you good night, like the Latin dare salutem. Clarendon : The
more probable ellipsis is ' God give you.' We do not find the complete phrase * I
give you good night,' but we have many examples of ' God give you good even,
as Rom. & ful. I, ii, 56, and Love's Lab. Lost, IV, ii, 84. The omission of ' I
before such words as ' pray ' is not a parallel case. [Compare ' the owl . . . Which
gives the stern'st good-night,' Macb. II, ii, 3. — Ed ]

I*
6 HAMLET [act i, sc. I

Who hath relieved you ?

Fran. Bernardo hath my place. 17
Give you good night. [Exit,
Alar. Holla! Bernardo!
Ber. Say, —
What, is Horatio there ?
Hor. A piece of him.
Ber. Welcome, Horatio ; welcome, good Marcellus. 20
Mar. What, has this thing appear'd again to-night ?
17. Who hath] who has Q'76. Coll. Dyce i.
hath my], ha's my FxFa. has 18,19. Say, ... there ?] Cap. One line,
my F3F4, Rowe+, Coll. Dyce, El. QqFf.
White, Sta. Ktly, Glo. Mob .. 21. Mar.] Hora. Qq, Cap. Steev.
18. [Exit.] Exit Fran, or Francifco. Rann, Var. Cald. Coll. Sing. Hud.
QqFf. What, has] What, ha's Q3Q.
Bernardo /] Bernardo,— Theob. FXF3. What ha's QAQS.
Warb. to-night?] to night? Qq. to
Say,] fay Q4Qg. Say. Knt, night. Ff {to Night FJ.

19. A piece] Warburton : He says this as he gives his hand [to this effect War-
burton inserted a stage-direction]. Heath and Steevens : It is merely a humorous,
cant expression. Tschischwitz : The philosophic Horatio conceives the personality
of man, in its outward manifestation merely, as only a piece of himself. Moltke :
It is not without significance that Sh. makes Horatio return a different answer to
this question than did Bernardo. The latter by his reply of ' He ' implies that he is
present body and soul (for he and Marcellus have no longer any doubt ; they have
already seen the apparition with their own eyes) ; whereas Horatio by his answer
implies that owing to his incredulity he is not wholly present, that he is not there
with his body and soul, but that he had undertaken to share the watch with the cor-
poreal part only of his entire individuality. Moberly: As we say, 'scmething
like him.'
20. Coleridge (p. 149) : The actor should be careful to distinguish the expecta-
tion and gladness of Bernardo's ' Welcome, Horatio !' from the mere courtesy of his
' Welcome, good Marcellus !"
21. Whether this should be spoken by Mar. or Hor. has occasioned discussion.
Capell (i, 122) asks, ■ Can it be imagined that the same person, who, but a line or two
after, calls the apparition " this dreaded sight," should, in this line, call it " this
thing" ? The levity of the expression, and the question itself, are suited to the un-
believing but eager Hor.' Collier gives it to Hor., because Hor. had come pur-
posely to inquire about the Ghost. Tschischwitz : Mar. is a firm believer in the
Ghost, and the allusion to it as a « thing ' betokening contempt and doubt can come
only from the skeptic, Hor. Hudson : There is a temperate skepticism well befitting
& scholar in this speech of Horatio's. On the other hand, Elze advocates Mar.
Horatio, being the invited guest, remains in the background, attentive and expect-
ant, while Marcellus is more forward in his zeal to convince Horatio of the truth oi
his story.' White : Horatio does not yet believe that the Ghost appeared at all.
21. again] Coleridge (p. 149): Even the word 'again' has its credibilizin^
kcr I, sc. i.J HAMLE T J

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 ; 25
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 ; 30
And let us once again assail your ears,
That are so fortified against our story,
What we two nights have seen.

23. our] a Q.Qc- 28. apparition] apparifion QaQ,.

fantasy] fantafie F,Qq. phan- 30. Tush, tush,] Om. Q'76.
tafte F2F3F4. awhile] a while Q3Q3Q5FaF3
25. sight] spright Warb. conj. F4. a-while Ff.
26,27. along With us to] Knt. along, 33. two nights have] Ff, Rowe,
With us to Qq, Cap. Steev. Var. along Johns. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing.
With us, to Ff, Rowe ii + , Cald. Coll. Dyce, El. White, Sta. Ktly, Del. Huds
El. White, along, With us, to Rowe i. have two nights Qq et cet.
27. minutes] minuts QaQ3Q..

effect. From speaking of ' this thing ' Mar. rises into ' This dreaded sight,' which
immediately afterwards becomes ' this apparition,' and that, too, an intelligent spirit
that is to be spoken to.
23. fantasy] Clarendon : Both this word and ' fancy ' are commonly used by Sh.
in the sense of imagination. The former is, however, found in the modern sense
of whim, caprice in Oth. Ill, iii, 299.
25. dreaded] Francke: Conf. 1 Hen. VI: IV, v, 8, * unavoided danger.'
26. along] Abbott, \ 30 : Perhaps we ought (to the advantage of the rhythm)
to place a comma after ' along.' [See III, iii, 4, where the verb of motion is
omitted; as in 'Let's along,' which Abbott says is 'still a common Americanism;'
it is probably local rather than common; I have never heard it. — Ed.]
27. minutes] Steevens : See Ford, The Fancies Chaste and Noble, V, i : • Ere
the minutes of the night warn us to rest.'
29. approve] Johnson : Add a new testimony to that of our eyes. Caldecott :
To approove or confirme. Ratum habere aliquid. — Baret's Alvearie. TSCHISCH
WITZ : Exactly corresponding to the Ital. approvare.
31, 32. assail, fortify] Elze: Appropriate in the mouth of a soldier.
33. What . . . seen.] Hanmer gives this line to Mar. ; and Jennens follows him,
thus explaining the change : Mar. begins eagerly to tell the story to Hor., who, having
already heard his version, interrupts him by saying that he will now hear Bernardo's.
Caldecott : Supply ' With ' or By relating before * What.' Keightley reads ■ With
what' Clarendon: A comma is usually placed after 'story,' and the construction
8 HAMLET [act i, sc. i.

Hoy, Well, sit we down,

And let us hear Bernardo speak of this.
Ber. Last night of all, 35
When yond same star that's westward from the pole
Had made his course to illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
The bell then beating one, —
Enter Ghost.

Mar. Peace, break thee off; look, where it comes again ! 40

33. sit we] lets Q'76. 39. one, — ] one — Rowe. one. QqFf.
36. When] Whon Fa. [Castle-bell tolls one. Ingleby.
yond] yon FF. Enter Ghost.] Qq. Enter the
36, 41. that's] thats QqF3. Ghost after off, line 40, Ff, Rowe + .
36. westward] weajlward Q2Q3. After line 40, Steev. Var. Cald. Knt,
37. to illume] Steev. /' illume Q2Q3 Coll. Sing. Dyce, White, Sta. Enter
Q4Ff, Rowe + , Cap. Jen. Coll. Sing. El. the Ghost armed. Coll. (MS).
White, Ktly, Dyce ii, Huds. f illumin 40. Two lines, Ff, Rowe, + .
Qg. to enlighten Q'76. off] of Q/^F,.
39. beating] tolling Coll. (MS).

is as if ' let us tell you' had been used instead of ' let us assail your ears.' It is an
instance of what the Greek grammarians called oxv[JLa npog to o7//LLcuv6fievov. But
we may omit the comma, and take 'what . . . seen' as an epexegesis of 'story.'
[See Abbott, g 252.]
33. sit we] Abbott, \ 361, considers this so-called imperative in the first person
plural as the subjunctive, i. e. ' suppose we sit down?' ' what if we sit down ?' Com-
pare Break
' we our watch up,' line 168 of this scene.
35. Coleridge: In the deep feeling which Ber. has of the solemn nature of what
he is about to relate, he makes an effort to master his own imaginative terrors by an
elevation of style, — itself a continuation of the effort, — by turning off from the ap-
parition, as from something which would force him too deeply into himself, to the
outward objects, the realities of nature, which had accompanied it. This passage
seems to contradict the critical law that what is told makes a faint impression com-
pared with what is beholden ; for it does indeed convey to the mind more than the
eye can see ; whilst the interruption of the narrative at the very moment when we
are most intensely listening for the sequel, and have our thoughts diverted from the
dreaded sight in expectation of the desired, yet almost dreaded, tale, — this gives all
the suddenness and surprise of the original appearance.
36. star] Clarke : Nothing more natural than for a sentinel to watch the course
of a particular star while on his lonely midnight watch ; and what a radiance of
poetry is shed on the passage by the casual allusion !
Hudson : Of course the north star is meant, which appears to stand still while the
other stars in its neighborhood seem to revolve around it.
37. illume] Clarendon : Not used elsewhere by Sh.
39. beating] Staunton: 'Tolling* of Qx perhaps imparts additional sol em niiy
lo this impressive preparation for the appearance of the spectre.
 act I, sc. i.] HAMLET 9

Ber. In the same figure, like the king that's dead. 41

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 with fear and wonder.
Ber. It would be spoke to.
Mar. Question it, Horatio. 45
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

41. A^^.]Ar«^QqFaF3F4- F,Fa- ./&"*/« Q'76.

43. Om. Q4QS. 45. to\ too Fx.
Look: it~\ Lookes a QaQ,- Looke Question] Speakc to Qq, Pope-t-,
it Fa. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cal.
44. harro7us~\ horrowes Qq. harrowes 46. usurp'st] ufurpejl Q''7'6.
41-44. Coleridge: Note the judgement displayed in having the two persons
present, who, as having seen the Ghost before, are naturally eager in confirming
their former opinions, — whilst the skeptic is silent, and, after having been twice ad-
dressed byhis friends, answers with two hasty syllables, — ' Most like,' — and a con-
fession of horror. O heaven ! words are wasted on those who feel, and to those who
do not feel, the exquisite judgment of Sh. in this scene, what can be said? Hume
himself could not but have had faith in this Ghost dramatically, let his anti-ghostism
have been as strong as Samson against other ghosts less powerfully raised.
42. scholar] DOUCE : Exorcisms were performed in Latin, and therefore only
by scholars. Reed : Thus Toby in Beau, and Fl.'s Night Walker II, i,— < Let's call
the butler up, for he speaks Latin, And that would daunt the devil.' In like manner
the honest butler in Addison's Drummer recommends the steward to speak Latin to
the ghost in that play. Tschischwitz : Evil spirits were not exorcised by the sign
of the cross alone, but cried out to the exorciser the Latin hexameter Signa te signa,
temere me tangis et angis, a verse which being a palindrome reveals its diabolic
origin. Moltke: See Much Ado II, i, 264: ' I would to God some scholar would
conjure her.'
44. harrows] Steevens : Compare Milton : • Amazed I stood, harrow' d with grief
and fear.' — Comus, 565. Caldecott : It is natural that the surprise and terror of
the speaker should bear some proportion to the degree of his former confidence and
incredulity. Clarke : Horatio's previous levity makes his subsequent awe, and
trembling, and paleness seem like the effects of our own awe-stricken imaginations.
Wedgwood : Harrow ! a cry of distress ; Old French, hare ! harau ! Crier haro
sur, to make hue and cry after. Bohem. hr ! hrr ! interjection of excitement (fre-
mentis), hurrah ! Old High German, haren, to cry out. A harrowing sight is one
which leads to the exclamation harrow !
45. It would] Clarendon : There was, and is, a notion that a ghost cannot speak
till it has been spoken to. [See Macb. I, v, 19; Ham. Ill, iii, 75 ; V, i, 77, or Ab
BOTT, \ 329. Ed.]
46. usurp'st] Moberly : Zeugma : the Ghost invades the night and assumes the
form of the king.
 IO HAMLET [act I, sc. i.

Did sometimes march ? by heaven I charge thee, speak !

Mar. It is offended.
Ber. See, it stalks away ! 50
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 ? 55
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 60
When he the ambitious Norway combated ;
So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle,

49. march?'] Q'76. march, Q2Q3- 55. you on' t] you-ont Q2Q3- you of
march: Q4QsFf. U Q4QS, Pope + , Steev. Var. Cal.
by heaven] Om. Q'76. 56. Before.... believe] I could not
thee,] Rowe. thee QqFf, Pope. believe this Q'76.
50. stalks] flaukes Qq. not] nor F2.
51. speak, speak !] speak; Pope + , 57. true] try V Warb.
Cap. N 60. very] Om. FaF3F4
[Exit Ghost.] Exit the Ghost 61. he] Om. Ff.
FxFa. 62. frownd] fround ¥.

53. Horatio] Corson : ' Horatio ' should be uttered with an unequal upward
wave, expressing the triumph of the speaker in the confirmation of his report.
55. on't] For instances of the use of * on ' in the sense of about, where we should
use of, see Abbott, § 181. Moberly thinks that the preposition seems to be really
' on ' here, not the on which is a mispronunciation of the word of. See also I, i, 89 ;
IV, v, 194; Macb. I, iii, 84.
56. might] See Abbott, \ 312, for other instances of 'might' used in the sense
of ' was able ' or ' could.'
57. sensible] For instances of adjectives, especially those ending mful, less, ble,
and ive, which have both an active and a passive meaning, see Abbott, \ 3 ;
Walker (Crit. i, 179, 183). See also Macb\ II, i, 36, and note.
57. avouch] See Abbott, § 451, for instances of substantives of similar forma
tion. Clarendon : This substantive does not occur elsewhere in Sh. See also
•cast,' I, i, 73; ' hatch,' ' disclose,' III, i, 166; 'remove,' IV, v, 77 ; 'supervise,'
V, ii, 23. [Also ' repair, V, ii, 206.]
60. armour] Was this the very armour that he wore thirty years before, on the
day Hamlet was b^rn (see V, i, 135-140) ? How old is Horatio?
62. parle] Heussi erroneously supposes that this word signifies a physical
combat. Clarendon (Note on Rich. II: I, i, 192): 'Parle' and parley arc
act I, sc. i.] HAMLET II

He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice. 63

Tis strange.

63. smote] f mot QQF^JF^. F4. Pole-axe Rowe. Poluck Pope + ,

sledded ]JlcadedQi\, Pope + , Jen. Cap. Jen. Steev. Sing. El.
Polacks] Mai. pollax Q3Q3Q.. 64. ' Zi'j strange.] y Tis strange —
Pollax Q,lr1Fa. Polax F . Poleaxe Rowe + . Om. Seymour.

identical, meaning ' conference,' with a view to a peaceful settlement of differ-

ences.
63. sledded Polacks] German commentators have found more difficulty in this
phrase than the English. TlECK supposes (and so translates) that the king ' dashed
his sliding Pole axe on the ice.' ' Sledded? he adds, ' according to a license frequent
in Sh., stands for ' sledding,' which Tieck mistook for ' sliding.' The folly of this
interpretation and its errors were exposed by Delius. But the spelling of the Qq
sleaded, and the lack of a capital P in pollax, together with its Roman letters (proper
names in the old copies being usually printed in Italics), still presented inexplicable
difficulties. Friesen inclined to Tieck, believing it more ' conceivable that the king
dashed down on the ice his sleaded battle-axe (whatever that might be) than that he
struck an enemy or smote him to the ground, for in this case the king's visor would
have been down, and Horatio could not have seen the frown on his face.' Wherefore,
he concludes, there is greater likelihood of finding verbal obscurities in Sh.'s text than
downright nonsense. Elze and Delius follow the English commentators, and scout
the idea of ' poleaxe.' The former follows Pope, on the ground that Polack is gen-
erally found in the singular, and refers to the Polish king, just as 'the Dane ' is used
in line 15 of this scene. Tschischwitz also follows Pope, because the plural
Polacks would signify the whole Polish army, and it would be monstrous to suppose
that the whole army could travel in sleighs ; the ' sledded Polack ' is therefore merely
the Polish king, who, and who alone, had come to the conference on a sled. If the
word * Poleaxe * be adopted, insuperable difficulties attend the interpretation of
* sledded.' If it mean sledged, it refers to a battle-axe, to which a war-club (Old
North German sleggja) has been added, and the words ' on the ice ' are used instead
of the more natural phrase on the ground to indicate that the parle took place on
some frozen neutral river. Leo {Notes and Queries, November 19, 1864) :
'I always regarded 'sleaded,' or, as the modern editors read, 'sledded,' as
nonsense. What a ridiculous position it must have been to see a king, in full
armour, smiting down a sledded man, i. e. a man sitting in a sledge ! It would
rather not have been a king-like action. And it vas, of course, not a remarkable,
not a memorable, fact, that in the cold Scandina ian country in winter-time, people
were found sitting in a sledge; nobody would \ave wondered at it,— perhaps more
at the contrary. When the king frowned in £n angry parle he must have been pro-
voked to it by an irritating behaviour of the adversary, and Horatio, remembering
the fact, will also bear in mind the cause of it, and so, I suppose, he used an epithet
which points out the provoking manner of the Polack ; and, following as much as
possible the fonn " sleaded," I should like to propose the word sturdy, or, as it would
have been written in Shakespeare's time, sturdier Moltke believes that he has
discovered the correct reading on aesthetic as well as philological grounds ; Sh.
wishe- tfi portray to us the character of the deceased king, which must be full of
12 HAMLET [act i, sc. i.

Mar. Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour, 65

With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
Hor. In what particular thought to work I know not ;

65. jump]jufl Ff+Jen. Cald. Knt, 66. hath he] he hath Thecb. Warb.
Sing. Dyce i, Ktly, Del. ii. Johns.
jump at this dead] at the fame hath he gone by] he passed through
Q'76. Q,, Sta.
dead] J ami F2F3F 4,Rowe. dread 67. particular] perticular Q2Q3Qv
Anon.* thought to] it Coll. (MS).
66. stalk] Jlau.i'e Qq.

grandeur and dignity. Such rage as Tieck's interpretation implies would be most
unseemly; besides, by dashing down his poleaxe, he would disarm himself, which
would be silly. The idea, therefore, conveyed by the word ' smite ' must be per-
sonal to the king; it must be some gesture, not a blow delivered on an enemy. What,
therefore, more natural than that he should strike his Poleaxe violently on the ice,
just as any honest citizen is wont by-way of emphasis to strike his fist on the table ?
" Sledded " is a sophistication of the printers, and the correct text is his leaded pole-
axe, i.e. his poleaxe loaded with lead ; or his edged poleaxe, i. e. sharpened ; or, for
aught to the contrary, his sledged poleaxe. This emendation of Moltke's Clarendon
pronounces an anticlimax ; Sh. having mentioned ' Norway ' in the first clause would
certainly have told us with whom the ' angry parle ' was held. Curiously enough,
this emendation of Moltke's has been anticipated not by a German, but by an
Englishman. In the Athen&um, 3d April, 1875, C. Eliot Browne gives some
notes on Hamlet by the Earl of Rochester, 1761, and on the present passage is the
following: 'Sleaded agrees with an axe, but not with a man; and signifies loaded
with lead. . . . The king was then in an angry parle (which can't signify fighting),
and because he could not have his will most furiously struck his loaded or heavy
battle-axe into the ice.' Johnson : ' Polack ' is the name of an inhabitant of Poland.
Polaque is French. As in Davison's translation of Passeratius's Epitaph on Henry
III of France, published by Camden : ' This little stone a great king's heart doth
hold, Who ruled the fickle French and Polacks bold.' Malone: The corrupted
form in the Qq shows that Sh. wrote ' Polacks.' Since, as Dyce adds, the singular
is afterwards spelled in this play ' Polacke,' ' Pollacke,' ' Poleak,' ' Pollock.' and
' Polake.' Steevens preferred the singular, because we cannot well suppose that in
a parley the king belaboured many, as it is not likely that provocation was given by
more than one, or that on such an occasion he would have condescended to strike a
meaner person than a prince. Boswell : May not Poleax be put for the person
who carried the pole-axe, a mark of rank, — as we should talk at the present day ' of
the gold stick in waiting.'' ' He sent a great and glorious duke, one of them that
held the golden pole-axe, with his retinue,' &c. — Milton's Brief Hist, of Moscovia.
65. jump] Malone : In the folio we sometimes find a familiar word substituted
for the more ancient. Steevens : 'Jump' and just were synonymous in Sh.'s time.
Jonson refers to jump-names, i. e. names that suit exactly. ' Your appointment was
jumpe at three.' — Chapman's May-Day. Halliwell : Jump is rather more ex-
pressive, implying coincidence of time to the very second. [See V, ii, 362.]
67 thought] Steevens: What particular train of thinking to follow.
 ACT I, SC. i.] HAMLET

But, in the gross and scope of my 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 of brazen cannon,
And foreign mart for implements of war ;
Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task
68. gross and] Om. Q'76. 72. subject] subjects Pope + . 75
~tny] mine Qq, Cap. Steev. Var. 73. why] with Qq.
cast] cojl Qq, Jen.
I Cald^oll. El. White, Sta. Huds.
69. eruption] erruption Fx. brazen] brazon QaQ3F,F .
70. Good now ',] Pray Q'76. 70
70. Good now] Johnson {Diet.) : In good time : a la bonne heure. A gentle
exclamation of entreaty. Coleridge : How delightfully natural is the transition to
the retrospective narrative ! And observe, upon the Ghost's reappearance, how much
Horatio's courage is increased by having translated the late individual spectator into
general thought and past experience, — and the sympathy of Mar. and Ber. with his
patriotic surmises in daring to strike at the Ghost; whilst in a moment, upon its
vanishing, the former solemn awe-stricken feeling returns upon them : see lines 143,
144. Abbott, \ 13: 'Gunnow' (good now) is still an appellative in Dorsetshire.
CORSON : ' Good ' is a vocative, and ' now ' belongs to • sit down.'
72. toils] Clarendon : Causes to toil. Many verbs which we only use as in-
transitive were used in Shakespeare's time also as transitive; e.g. * to fear,' ' to learn/
* to cease,' ' to remember ;' and some which we only use as transitive were used as
intransitive also; e.g. * to show,' * to want,' ' to look.' [See Macb. II, iv, 4; Abbott,
§290, for a list of transitive verbs formed from nouns and adjectives; thus 'pale,'
I, v, 90.]
72. subject] Jennens : A noun of multitude. Clarendon : See I, ii, 33 ; Meas
for Meas. Ill, ii, 145. [Lear, IV, vi, 1 10.] Thus, too, • the general,' Ham. II, ii, 416.
74. mart] Clarendon : Market, marketing, purchasing. In Tarn, of Shrew, II,
i, 329, it means a mercantile expedition.
75. impress] Whalley : Judge Barrington (Obs. on the more Ancient Statutes, p.
300) infers from this passage that in the reign of Queen Elizabeth shipwrights as
well as seamen were forced to serve. Douce {Lear, IV, vi, 87 — Var. 1793) incon-
sequently denies Barrington's conclusion, by affirming that/rm-money was given to
soldiers when they were retained in the king's service, and that it merely indicated
that they were to hold themselves, at all times, in readiness to serve. The term is
taken from the French * prest,' ready, and is so written in Henry VII's Book of
Household Expenses. The word is here used in its ordinary signification, as shown
by the Concordance. Lord Campbell (p. 103) : Such confidence has there been in
Shakespeare's accuracy, that this passage has been quoted both by text-writers and
by judges on the bench as an authority upon the legality of the press-gang, and upon
the debated question whether shipwrights, as well as common seamen, are liable to
be pressed into the service of the royal navy. Tschischwitz, however, will not
toler?te the idea of impressment, which he says is an injustice of wholly modern
2
 14 HAMLET [act i, sc. L

Does not divide the Sunday from the week ; 76

What might be toward, that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day ;
Who is't that can inform me ?
j Hor. That can I ;
At least the whisper goes so. Our last king, 80
Whose image even but now appear'd to us,
Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
J Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride,
^ Dared to the combat ; in which our valiant Hamlet —
I For so this side of our known world esteem'd him — 85
Did slay this Fortinbras ; who by a seal'd compact,
I Well ratified by law and heraldry,

76. Does'] Do's FIF2. Dos't F3F4. 83. emulate] emulant Seymour.
78. Doth make] Makes Q'76. 84. combat] fight Pope + .
joint -labourer] ioint labour Q . 86. a] Om. Pope + .
81. even but] but even Warb. Johns. 87. and] of Warb. Han.
appeared] appeal d Q . heraldry] herald}' Q2Q,.

origin, and that the word must be imprest (Ital. impresto), equivalent to 'handsel,'
and of common usage in England aforetime ; and thus it stands in his text.
77. toward] Dyce. In a state of preparation, forthcoming, at hand. See V, ii,
352. [See Rom. &■* Jul. I, v, 120. Florio gives: ' Prefagiare : to perceiue a thing
that is toward before it come.' Ed.]
81. but] See Abbott, \ 130, and Macb. V, viii, 40.
82. Fortinbras] Latham {Athenaum, 27 July, 1872) shows that this is a corrupt
French form, equivalent to Fierumbras or Fierabras, which is a derivative from
ferri brachium ; by translating brachium, side, we have Ironside, or, in Icelandic,
famsidha, a name actually applied to one of the old Norse Sea-kings. All that the
learned critic contends for is that such names are in some small sense historical, i. e.
that they have their origin in distorted history, rather than in arbitrary fiction.
83. emulate] Clarendon : Emulous. Not elsewhere in Sh.
84. the] Abbott, § 92 : i. e. the combat that ends all dispute. Or see Macb.
V, ii, 4.
86. Clarendon pronounces this line an Alexandrine ; but Abbott ($ 469) re-
duces itto a line of five feet by scanning ' this Fortinbras ' as one foot. [See Macb.
IV, ii, 72.]
86. compact] Clarendon : Always, whether substantive or adjective, accented by
Sh. on the last syllable, except in 1 Hen. VI: V, iv, 163. For lists of words with
accents differing from present use, see Abbott, \\ 490, 492. Elze refers to the com-
pact made between Collere and Horvendile in The Hystorie of Hamblet, Appendix,
Vol. II, p. 92.
87. law and heraldry] Capell (i, 122) : The forms of both the common law and
vhe law of arms having been duly observed. Steevens erroneously cites Upton as
giving this phrase ar an instance of hendiadys, meaning the heraldic law, which ii
ACT I, SC. i.] HAMLET

Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands

Which he stood seized of, to the conqueror;
Against the which a moiety competent
Was thegaged by our king ; which had return'd
To inheritance of Fortinbras,
Had he been vanquisher; as, by the same covenant
And carriage of the article design'd,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Of unimproved mettle hot and full, 95
88. those] thefe Qq. Qq, Warb. Cap. Jen. co-man Qg*,
89. of] on Ff, Rowe, White, Huds. Steev. Var. Coll. Sing. Ktly, Dyce ii.
in Coll. (MS). compact Q'76, Heath, Hunter.
90. Against] Again Jen. 94. article designed] article dej] eigne 90
91. returned] returne Qq, Pope, Q3Q . articles defeigne Q . Articles de-
Theob. Warb. Han. Cap. remained Coll. figne Q . Article defigne Ft. articles
(MS). design'd Pope + , Jen. article then sign' a
93. vanquisher;] vanquisher, Ff. Coll.
Huds. (MS), articles' design White,
van-quijht ; Qg*.
the same] that Pope, Theob. 95.
Han. Johns. 96. sir] Om. Pope 4-inapproved
unimproved] . Q ,
covenant] Cou'nant Ff. comart Sing, ii, Ktly. unapproved Anon.*

may be possibly (though I doubt it; CLARENDON says it is ' a kind of hendiadys'),
but the only example Upton gives from Sh. is from Ant. & Cleop. IV, ii, 44.
MOBERLY : Law would be wanted to draw up accurately the contract, heraldry to
give it a binding force in honour; as the court of chivalry 'has cognizance of con-
tracts touching deeds of arms or of war out of the realm.'
89. seized] Clarendon: Possessed of. Cotgrave : Saisi : seised, layed hold
on, possessed of. [The customary legal term at the present day. Ed.]
90. moiety] Clarendon : Used generally for any portion. In 1 Hen. IV: III,
i, 96, it means a third.
91. return'd} Earl of Rochester (1761, Athenceum, 3 April, 1875) : These
lands could have no return, that had never been turned or moved from the primitive
owner. Read, enured.
93. covenant] Malone, Dyce : Co-mart of the Qq is a joint bargain, a word
of Shakespeare's coinage. A mart signifying a great fair or market ; he would not
have scrupled to have written to mart, in the sense of to make a bargain. Steevens :
He has not scrupled so to write in Cym. I, vi, 151. White: Co-mart is a singular
phrase, which implies a trading purpose not well suited to a royal combat for a
province. Heath, Hunter and Bailey prefer compact. Abbott, \ 494 : One of
these syllables is slurred; see 'funeral,' I, ii, 176.
94. carriage] Johnson : That is, the import of the article formed or drawn up
between them. White: In FT an s after 'article' seems manifestly omitted. The
meaning is the carrying out of the design of the articles between the two kings.
96. unimproved] Johnson's definition of this word as ' not regulated or guided
by knowledge or experience ' is denied by Gifford, who says that it means just the
contrary. See note on reprove (in Every Man in his Humour, III, ii, p. 88), which
 16 HAMLET [act i, sc. i.

Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there 97

Shark'd up a list of lawless resolutes,
For food and diet, to some enterprise
That hath a stomach in't; which is no other — 100
n ^ As it doth well appear unto our state —
But to recover of us, by strong hand
And terms compulsative, those foresaid lands
98. lawless] laweleffe Q2Q3- lawlejfe 101. As] And Ff, Rowe, Pope, Cald.
Q4Q5. Landlefe FxFaF3. Landlefs Knt.
F + , Steev. Cald. Var. Knt, Dyce i, 103. compulsative] compulfatory Qq,
Del. Mob. Warb. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Sing, i,
100. is] Om. Q4QS. Glo. + , Mob.

has the same sense as improve. This last word Nares defines by ' to reprove or
refute; as from improbo, Latin.1 Singer (ed. 1) cites Florio: • Improbare, to im-
prooue, to impugn,' hence ' unimproved ' means unimpeackcd, unquestioned. In his
ed. 2, Singer adopted Qx ' as the idea excited by young Fortinbras is of one animated
by courage at full heat, but at present untried, — the ardour of inexperience.' Staun-
ton apprehends that insatiable, ungovernable is meant, as in Chapman, Iliad, Book
xi, — ' the King still cride, Pursue, pursue, And all his unreproved hands did blood
and dust embrue.' Dyce follows Gifford, and Clarendon inclines to the definition
of Singer (ed. 2), untutored.
98. Shark'd] Steevens : Picked up without distinction, as the shark-fish collects
his prey. Nares : Collected in a banditti-like manner. The verb to shark is nearly
equivalent to the modern verb to swindle.
98. list] Hunter (ii, 214) : Sight of Qx, though now accounted a vulgarism, is
here the better word.
98. lawless] Tschischwitz : The reading of the Ff is certainly the better ; had
' lawless ' been meant, the more usual word outlaws would have been used. No
young noble warrior like Fortinbras would have made common cause with outlaws*
but with the landless the case was different ; indeed, he himself belonged to that
category.
98. resolutes] For inflected participles and adjectives, see Abbott, \ 433; and
Macb. I, ii, 60, ' Norways' king.'
99. food and diet] Theobald (Nichols, Lit. Hist, ii, 558) : Is not « food and
diet ' a mere tautology ? Read, ' For food ; and dieted to some,' &c, i. e. trained up.
[This was not repeated in his edition. Ed.] Moberly : For no pay but their keep.
Being landless, they have nothing to lose, and the war would at the worst feed them.
100. stomach] Johnson : Constancy, resolution. Dyce : Stubborn resolution
or courage. Caldecott : The redundancy of ' food and diet ' may have been em-
ployed for the purpose of fixing in the mind the continuation of the metaphor in the
use of the word ' stomach,' here put in an equivocal sense, importing both courage
and appetite. The same play on the word is in Two Gent. I, ii, 68.
101. state] Delius : This does not in Sh. refer merely to geographical limits,
but to the government.
102. 108. But] Abbott, § 127: In the sense of except, where we should use
than.
\ct I, sc. i.] HAMLET 17

So by his father lost ; and this, I take it,

Is the main motive of our preparations, 105
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.
Well may it sort, that this portentous figure
Comes armed through our watch, so like the king 1 10
That was and is the question of these wars.
Hot. A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye. . 9 /=£
In the rhrjsTnigh and palmy state of Rome, ^C^s-tJl^
107. romage] Romadge Q2. Rome- Rowe + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Cald. Var.
°# %Q.A% Knt-
108 — 125. Ber. / think. ..country- 112. mote] moth QaQ3Q4, Jen. Cald.
men.] Om. Ff. Knt, Del.
108. e'en so] enfo Q3Q3- euen fo 113. palmy] JlouriJJiing Q'76, Rowe.

107. romage] Wedgwood (s. v. Rummage) : Two words seem confounded.

I. Rummage, the proper stowing of merchandise in a ship; from Du. ruttt, Fr.
rum, the hold of a ship. Hence to rummage, to search among the things stowed
in a given receptacle. 2. But in addition to the foregoing the word is sometimes
used in the sense of racket, disturbance [as here in Hamlet], In this sense it may
be a parallel form with rumpus. CALDECOTT connects it with ' Romelynge, privy
myoterynge. Ruminacio, mussitacio.' — Prompt. Parv.
108-125. Knight explains the omission of these lines in the Ff on the ground
that Shakespeare probably suppressed this magnificent description of the omens
which preceded the fall of ' the mightiest Julius ' after he had written Jul. Cas.
Hunter (ii, 214) : I wonder that the commentators should have overlooked so
obvious an origin of this passage as Lucan's description (Pharsalia, lib. i) of the
prodigies which preceded the death of Caesar. We have the tenantless graves, the
sheeted dead seen on the streets, the stars with trains of fire, and the moon's eclipse.
It is of little moment to ask if Lucan had been translated when Sh. wrote Hamlet.
The earliest published translation, I believe, is that by Sir Arthur Gorges, 1614.
108. be] Abbott, § 299 : As a rule it will be found that be is used with some
notion of doubt, question, thought, &c. ; I, in questions, as in III, ii, 100; V, i,
94 ; and 2, after verbs of thinking, as in the present case. Very significant is this
difference in ' I think my wife be honest, and think she is not,' Oth. Ill, iii, 384.
109. sort] Johnson : The cause and effect are proportionate and suitable.
112. mote] Malone [King John, IV, i, 92): The modern spelling of moth.
Thus, ' they are in the aire, like atomi in sole, mothes in the sonne.' — Preface
to Lodge's Incarnate Devils, 1596. Also, ' Festucco, a little sticke, a fease-strawe,
a tooth-picke, a moth, a little beame.' — Florio, 1598.
113. state] Wilson [Blackwood's Mag., Aug. 1849, p. 252): Write henceforth
and for ever ' State ' with a towering capital. ... It is for the Republic and City
what Realm or Kingdom is to us, — at once place and indwelling Power. ' State,' —
properly Republic, — here specifically and pointedly means Reigning City. The
Ghosts walked in the City, — not in the Republic. . . . Every hackneyer of this
2* B
18 HAMLET [act i, sc. i.

A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,

The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead 115
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets ;
As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood,
115. tenantless] tennatlijfe QaQ3- in] Ay, stars with. ..Did darken e'en, a\
and] Om. Pope, Theob. Han. Ay, stars with.. .Did enter in, or Ay
Warb. stars with...Dyd darkening. Leo (N.
116. streets :] Line marked as omit- 6° Qu. 19 Nov. '64).
ted Jen. Steev. Var. Sing, i, White, Ktly, 117. As. ..blood,] Stars shon with
Cam. Huds. Trains of Fire, Dews of Blood fell,
117 — 120. Transferred by Tsch. to Rowe + , Cap. Om. P.ann.
follow countryman, line 125. and dews] shed dews Harness.
117. 118. As stars with... Disasters

phrase, — State, — as every man alive hackneys it [by using it in the sense of con-
dition], isa ninefold Murderer! He murders the Phrase; he murders the Speech;
he murders Horatio; he murders the Ghost; he murders the Scene; he murders the
Play; he murders Rome; he murders Shakespeare; and he murders Me.'
114. mightiest] Abbott, $ 8: The superlative, like the Latin usage, sometimes
signifies ve?y, with little or no idea of excess.
116. Jennens : Perhaps a line has been omitted here, by mistake, somewhat like
the following: 'Tremendous prodigies in heav'n appear'd.' Hunter (ii, 2, 15)
suggests, ' In the heavens above strange portents did appear.'
117, 118. Malone: When Sh. had told us that the 'graves stood tenantless,' &c,
which are wonders confined to the earth, he naturally proceeded to say (in the line
now lost) that yet other prodigies appeared in the sky ; and the phenomena he ex-
emplified byadding, ' As [i. e. for instance] stars with trains,' &c. I suspect that
the words ' As stars ' are a corruption, and that the lost words, as suggested by the
passage in ful. Cas. II, ii, which describes the prodigies preceding his death, con-
tained adescription of 'fiery warriors fighting in the clouds? or of ' brands burning
bright beneath the stars.' What makes me believe that the corruption lies in ' As
stars' is the disagreeable recurrence of ' stars' in the next line. Perhaps Sh. wrote :
Astres with trains of fire — and dews of blood Disastrous dimm'd the sun ! 'Astre'
is an old word for star; see Diana, a collection of poems, printed circa 1580. [See
also Florio, lStella: a starre, an aster, a planet.' Ed.] Knight rather favors
Malone's emendation, and thinks that it gets rid of the difficulty. Caldecott finds
no difficulty in conceiving the meaning of the passage as it stands, reading or under-
standing itthus : * The graves opened, the dead were seen abroad [spectacles such]
as,' &c. Mitford [Gent. Mag., Feb. 1845): This line has merely got out of its
place; there is nothing wanting. Transpose it to follow line 121, and read, 'As
stars with blood, Are harbingers preceding,' &c. A. E. B [RAE] (JV. <5r> Qu.,
24 Jan. 1852): It is only by the occurrence of such difficulties as the present,
which, after remaining so long obscure, are at last only resolvable by presup-
posing in Sh. a depth of knowledge far exceeding that of his triflers, that his
wonderful and almost mysterious attainments are beginning to be appreciated. In
the present case he must not only have known that the fundamental meaning of
astf is a spot of light, but he must also have taken into consideration the power of
dii in producing an aosolute reversal in the meaning of the word to which it may
be prefixed. Thus, service is a benefit, disservice is an injur}', while unservice (did
act i, sc. i] HAMLET 19

Disasters in the sun ; and the moist star, 1 18

118. in] veiTd Rowe + . dim'd C&p. Mai. Harness.

such a word exist) would be a negative mean between the two extremes. Similarly,
if aster signify a spot of light, a name singularly appropriate to a comet, disaster
must, by reversal, be a spot of darkness, and 'disasters in the sun' no other than
what we should call spots upon his disk. Read, therefore, 'Asters with trains of
fire,' &c. SlNGER (ed. 2) : As it has been conjectured that a line has been here
lost, perhaps we might read : 'And as the earth, so portents filVd the sky, Asters, with
trains of fire,' &c. Disaster is used as a verb in Ant. &° Cleop. II, vii, 18, and it has
therefore been conjectured that we should read Disastering here. Collier think*
that these lines are probably irretrievably corrupt, but that there is no sufficient reason
for supposing a line to have been lost, adding, ' We shrewdly suspect that the error
lies merely in the word " Disasters," which was perhaps misprinted, because it was
immediately below " As stars," and thus misled the eye of the old compositor. We
do not imagine that Sh. used so affected and unpopular a word as astres or asters?
W. W. Williams proposes : * Astres with trains of fire and dews of blood, Did over-
cast the sun,' &c. STAUNTON awards some plausibility to Malone's emendation,
and considers Astres or Asters as an acceptable conjecture, but conceives, with
Collier, that the cardinal error lies in ' Disasters,' which conceals some verb import-
ing the obscuration of the sun; for example, 'Asters with trains of fire and dews of
blood Distempered the sun,' or ' Discoloured the. sun.' Dyce pronounces the passage
hopelessly mutilated, and in his 2d ed. terms Leo's alterations ' most wretched,' and
also gives a MS. emendation by Boaden, supplying the missing line thus : • The
heavens, too, spoke in silent prodigies ; As, stars,' &c. White says that a preceding
line, or even more than one, has been lost. Clarke: Bearing in mind that Sh. uses
' as ' many times with markedly elliptical force, and in passages of very peculiar
construction, we do not feel so sure that the present one has suffered from omission.
It may be that the sentence is to be understood, ' As there were stars of fire, &c,
so there were disasters in the sun,' &c. Fahius Oxoniensis (AT. 6° Qu., 7 Jan.
1865) : Read, * As stars (z*. e. while stars) ... or, ' And stars . . . Disastrous dimmed
the sun.' Duane (AT. &> Qu., 3d S. viii, 30 Sept. '65) : ' I am convinced Sh.
wrote, ' Did usher in the sun.' This makes sense of the whole passage ; it is
metrical, and it produces a line in analogy with the line ' did speak and gibbei.
The words did usher might be readily mistaken for * Disasters,' and the compositor's
eye may have caught the word 'stars' in the line above. Keightley {Expositor) :
Perhaps for ' disasters ' we might read distempers : ' distemperatures of the sun,'—
I Hen. IV: V, i. Massey ( The Secret Drama of Shakespeare's Sonnets, ed. ii, 1872,
Supplement, p. 46) inserts lines 1 21-125 between lines 116 and 117, and asserts that
'it must he admitted that we recover the perfect sense of the passage by this insertion.'
There is no eclipse of either sun or moon mentioned in Jul. Cas., and its men-
tion here, Massey infers, must point to some actual, recent instance. The Astronomer
Royal, being applied to, replied by showing that there was an eclipse of the moon
on 20 February, 1598, and one of the sun, almost total, on 6 March following.
Hence Massey infers that this year is the date of the composition of Hamlet, and
that in this passage Sh. pointed, by the eclipse of the moon, to the death or deposi-
tion of Queen Elizabeth, who had an attack of ' special sickness at the time.' More-
over,disasters
' in the sur ' Massey thinks, might have been ' sun-spots ' which Sh.
20 HAMLET [act I, sc. i.

Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands,

Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse: 120
And even the like precurse of fierce events,
As harbingers preceding still the fates
And prologue to the omen coming on,
Have heaven and earth together demonstrated
121. fierce] fearce Q . feare Q2Q,. 123. omen coming} omen'd Coming
fear* 'd Coll. conj. Theob. Han. Johns.

1 noted,' and so ' pluralized [sic] the phenomenon.' Moberly agrees with Malone
in supplying the missing line from the corresponding passage in yul. Cas., if a line
be really lost. Clarendon: Sh. had probably in his mind the passage in North's
Plutarch, Jul. Cces. p. 739 (ed. 1631) : ' Certainly, destinie may easier be foreseene
then auoided, considering the strange and wonderfull signes that were said to be
seene before Caesars death. For, touching the fires in the element, and spirits run-
ning vp and downe ii. the night, and also the solitary birds to be seene at noon
daies sitting in the great market place, are not all these signes perhaps worth the
noting, in such a wonderful chance as happened ?' Plutarch also relates that a comet
appeared after Caesar's death for seven nights in succession, and then was seen nc
more, that the sun was darkened and the earth brought forth raw and unripe fruit.
118. moist star] Malone : That is, the moon. See Wint. Tale, I, ii, 1. Voss
refers to Matthew, xxiv, 29. Moltke cites parallel references from Mid. N. D. II,
1, 162; Wint. Tale, I, ii, 427 ; Rich. Ill : II, ii, 69 ; Lear, V, iii, 19 ; Rom. &> Jul.
I, iv, 62. Tschischwitz discusses the claims of various philosophers to the dis-
covery of the dependence of the tides upon the moon.
121. precurse] Clarendon : Only found here in Sh., though he uses ' precurrer '
(Thorn, dr> Tur. 6), and 'precursor' (Temp. I, ii, 201). It includes everything
that preceded and foreshadowed the fierce events that followed.
121. fierce] Warburton explains this as terrible; Steevens, as conspicuous,
glaring, and cites in proof Timon, IV, ii, 30; Hen. VIII: I, i, 54; Caldecott,
bloody and terrible, as elsewhere it means extreme, excessive, citing King John, V,
vii, 13, and Jonson's Sejanus,V , x (p. 140, ed. Gifford), 'O most tame slavery, and
fierce flattery.'
122. harbingers] See Macb. I, iv, 45.
122. still] Constantly, always. See II, ii, 42; Rom. & yul. II, ii, 172, 174.
V, iii, 106 ; Macb. V, vii, 16; and Abbott, \ 69.
123. omen] Theobald: 'Prologue' and 'omen' are synonymous, whereas Sh.
means that these phenomena are forerunners of the events presaged by them, and
such sense the addition of a single letter gives. Upton says that the ' omen ' is the
event itself, which happened in consequence of the omens, and cites Virgil, A£n. i,
349. Heath expressed the same idea in the phraseology of a grammarian : ' Omen,'
by metonymy of the antecedent for the consequent, is here put for the event pre-
dicted bythe omen. Farmer appositely cited a distich from Heywood's Life of
Merlin : ' Merlin, well vers'd in many a hidden spell, His countries omen did long
since foretell.'
124. demonstrated] Pk.ius : This word is accented on the first syllable also
in Hen. V: IV, ii, 54.
Acri.sc. i.] HAMLET 21

Unto our climatures and countrymen. 1 25

Re-enter Ghost.

But soft, behold ! lo, where it comes again !

I'll cross it, though it blast me. — Stay, illusion!
If thou hast any sound, or use of voice,
Speak to me ;
If there be any good thing to be done HO
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,
0, speak! 135
125. climatures] climature Dyce Spreading his Arms. Rowe + , Jen.
conj. White, Dyce ii, Huds. 129, 130. Speak ..done'] Pope. One
countrymen.] contrimen. Q^. line, QqFf.
countrymen Jen. 131, 132. One line, Ff, Rowe.
Re-enter Ghost.] Cap. Enter 134, 135. One line, Ff, Rowe, Sta.
Ghofl. Qq, White. Enter Ghoft againe. 134. foreknowing] foreknowledge
Ff. Coll. (MS).
127. [It fpreads his armes. Qq, El. 135. speak!] speak! Rowe + .
Om. Ff. He fpreads his arms. Q'76.

125. climatures] Clarendon : Possibly used for those who live under the same
climate. Otherwise it would be better to read ' climature ' with Dyce. The French
climature appears to be a modern word in that language, for it is not found in Cot-
grave, and Littre gives no early example of its use.
127. White: The stage direction of the Qq may be a misprint for 'He spreads/
&c, indicating Horatio's action in his attempt to stay the Ghost. ' His' might, of
course, refer to the Ghost through 'it;' but there seems to be no occasion for the
Ghost to make such a gesture.
127. cross] Blakeway : Whoever crossed the spot on which a spectre was
seen became subject to its malignant influence. Among the reasons for supposing
the Earl of Derby (who died 1594) to have been bewitched is the following: 'On
Friday there appeared a tall man who twice crossed him swiftly; and when the Earl
came to the place where he saw this man, he first fell sick.' — Lodge's Illustrations
of British History, vol. iii, p. 48.
129, 132, 135. See I, i, 1, and Abbott, \ 512.
131. ease] Tschischwitz quotes Simrock {Mythologie, p. 488, ed. 2) : « A ghost
can be not infrequently laid, especially when a living person accomplishes that for
him which he, when alive, should have himself accomplished.'
134. happily] Nares and Clarendon consider this as equivalent to haply;
TSCHISCHWITZ and Hudson, as equivalent to luckily. The latter says : ■ Which
happy or fortunate foreknozvledge may avoid :' a participle and adverb used in the
3ense of a substantive and adjective. The structure of this solemn appeal is almost
tdertical with that of a very different strain in At You Like It, II, iv, 33-42.
22 HAMLET [act i, sc. i.

Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life 136

Extorted treasure in the womb of earth,
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death,
\TJie cock crows.
Speak of it ; stay, and speak !— Stop it, Marcellus.
Mar. Shall I strike at it with my partisan ? 140
Hor. Do, if it will not stand.
Bcr. Tis here !
Hor. 'Tis here !
Mar. 'Tis gone ! {Exit Ghost.
We do it wrong, being so majestical,

138. you] your Qq. After speak ! line 139, Cam. Cla.
[The cock crows.] Qq. Om. Ff. 140. at] Om. Qq, Pope i, Jen.
After line 137, Rowe + , Jen. After of Tsch.
it; line 139, Cap. After 132, Glo. Mob. 142. [Exit Ghost.] Om. Qq.

136. uphoarded] Steevens: 'If any of them had bound the spirit of gold by
any charmes in caves, or in iron fetters under the ground, they should, for their own
soules quiet {which questionlesse else would whine up and down), if not for the good
of their children, release it.' — Decker, Knighfs Conjuring.
138. they say] Clarke: There is great propriety in the use of these wortls in
the mouth of Horatio, the scholar and the unbeliever in ghosts.
138. spirits] For the monosyllabic pronunciation of this word, see Walker
{Crit. i. 193, 205), quoted in Macb. IV, i, 127. Also Abbott, \ 463; and I, i, 161.
139. Cock crows] Dyce {Few Notes, &c, p. 134): The cock used to crow
when Garrick acted Hamlet, and, perhaps, also when that part was played by some
of his successors ; but now-a-days managers have done wisely in striking the cock
from the list of the Dramatis Personam. Mitford {Cursory Notes, &c, p. 43): It
is said in the life of one of the actors, I think of George Cooke, that on one occa-
sion not fewer than six cocks were collected in order to summon the spirit to his
diurnal residence, lest one cock, like one single clock, might not keep time exactly,
when the matter was of importance.
139, 141. Steevens is unwilling to believe that the speeches ' Stop it, Marcellus,'
and ' Do, if it will not stand,' are correctly given to Horatio, who, as a scholar, must
have known the folly of attempting to commit any act of violence on a shadow ; he
therefore proposes to give them to Bernardo, whose first impulse, as an unlettered
officer, would be to strike at what offends him. • The next two speeches, " 'Tis
here!" "'Tis here!" should be allotted to Mar. and Ber., and the third, " 'Tis
gone !" to Hor. As the text now stands, Mar. propcses to strike the Ghost with his
partisan, and yet, afterwards, is made to descant on the indecorum and impotence
of such an attempt.
140, partisan] See Rom. & Jul. I, i, 66.
141, 142. Do . . . gone Y] Walker {Crit. iii, 261) : To avoid the broken line:
'Tis gone !' which here seems to me irregular, arrange ' Do ' as belonging to line
140, reading ' If V will not . . . gone !' as one line.
act i, 8C\ L] HAMLET 23

To offer it the show of violence ;

For it is, as the air, invulnerable, 145
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, 1 50
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,
The extravagant and erring spirit hies

145. For it is,,] // is ever Q'76. Rowe.

150. morn~\ tnorne Qq. day Ff, 154. extravagant'] extra-vacate Grey.
145. invulnerable] Malone: See Macb. V, viii, 9, and King John, II, i, 252.
150. cock] Farmer: Bourne of Newcastle, in his Antiqtiities of the Common
People, informs us : ' It is a received tradition among the vulgar, that at the time of
cock-crowing the midnight spirits forsake these lower regions and go to their proper
places. Hence it is that in country places, where the way of life requires more
early labour, they always go chearfully to work at that time.' And he quotes some
lines from the first hymn of Prudentius, Ad Gallicinium : * Ferunt, vagantes daemonas,
Laetos tenebris noctium, Gallo canente exterritos Sparsim timere, et cedere. Hoc
esse signum praescii Norunt repromissae spei, Qua nos soporis liberi Speramus ad-
ventum Dei.' Douce quotes from another hymn, said to have been composed by
Saint Ambrose, and formerly used in the Salisbury service : ' It contains the follow-
ing lines, which so much resemble the speech of Hor. that one might almost suppose
Sh. to have seen them : " Preco diei jam sonat, Noctis profundae pervigil ; Nocturna
lux viantibus, A nocte noctem segregans. Hoc excitatus Lucifer Solvit polum
caligine ; Hoc omnis errorum chorus Viam nocendi deserit. Gallo canente spes
redit," ' &c. Steevens : Philostratus, giving an account of the apparition of Achilles's
shade to Apollonius Tyanaeus, says that it vanished with a little glimmer as soon as
the cock crowed. — Vit. Apol. iv, 16. Coleridge : No Addison could be more care-
ful to be poetical in diction than Sh. in providing grounds and sources of its pro-
priety. But how to elevate a thing almost mean by its familiarity, young poets may
learn in this treatment of the cock-crow.
153. sea] Johnson: According to the pneumatology of that time, every element
was inhabited by its peculiar order of spirits. The meaning therefore is, that all
spirits extravagant, wandering out of their element, whether aerial spirits visiting
earth, or earthly spirits ranging the air, return to their station, to their proper limits,
in which they are confined. We might read :— * at his warning Th' extravagant and
erring spirit hies To his confine, whether in sea, or air, Or earth, or fire. And of,'
&c. But change is unnecessary.
154. extravagant] Steevens: Thus,' — they took me up for a 'stravagant.'—
Nobody and Somebody, 1 598. The same effect is given to 'Aurora's harbinger' in
Mid. N. D. Ill, ii, 381. Clarendon cites Oth. I, i, 137.
154. erring] Steevttns: That is, wandering. Thus, Telemachus calls Ulysses
 24 HAMLET [act i, sc. l

To his confine; and of the truth herein 155

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,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long; 160
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
W^i he nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,

157. oft'] at Q'76. Q3Q4- darejlirre Q . dares Jlir Q'76,

158. say] /ayes Ff. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Coll. El. dare
160. The] This Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. walke Qx, Ktly. can walke Ff, Johns.
Var. Coll. Sing. Del. El. Ktly. Knt, Sing. Dyce i, White, Del. dares
161. then] Om. F2F3F4. 7//a/^ Rowe. 7ualks Pope + .
dare stir] Cold. darej2urreQ2 1 61. abroad] abraode Q2Q,.

' My erring father.' — Chapman's Odyssey, lib. iv. ' Erring Grecians we, From Troy
returning homewards.' — lb. lib. ix. Clarendon: In WicliPs version of Jude, 13,
the planets are called ' erringe sterris.'
155. confine] Clarendon: The same accent occurs in Temp. IV, i, 121 ; King
John, IV, ii, 246. Accent on first syllable in Rich. II: I, iii, 137.
156. probation] Clarendon: Proof. Cotgrave gives, 'Probation: A proba-
tion, proofe.' Conf. Oth. Ill, iii, 365.
158. 'gainst] Abbott, § 142: Used metaphorically to express time. See III, iv.
50 : ' as against the doom,' i. e. as though expecting doomsday.
158. season] Moltke: This passage, in connection with Francisco's remark,
1 'Tis bitter cold,' I, i, 8, and then with, * But two months dead,' I, ii, 138, and lastly
with, ' Sleeping within my orchard,' I, v, 59, intimates to us in the clearest manner
the time of year in which Sh. wishes us to conceive the opening of this tragedy —
namely, in winter, but a little before Advent ; for, two months previously, about
September, the older Hamlet could have taken his after-dinner nap in the open air.
Caldecott (in a note on 'the morn,' line 166) says, that the almost momentary
appearance of the Ghost, and the short conversations preceding and subsequent to it,
could not have filled up the long interval of a winter's night in Denmark, from
twelve till morning. Knight asks, How do we know it was a winter's night ?
Francisco, indeed, says ' 'tis bitter cold;' but even in the nights of early summer in
the north of Europe, during the short interval between twilight and sunrise, ' the air
bites shrewdly.' That this was the season intended by Sh. is indicated by Ophelia's
flowers. Her pansies, her columbines, and her daisies belong not to winter, and her
' coronet of weeds ' were the field flowers of the latter spring hung upon the willow
in full foliage, ' That shows its hoar leaves in the glassy stream.' Knight might have
added that the reference to ' the dew of yon high eastern hill ' is also inappropriate
to midwinter.
161. dare stir] White: A much inferior reading to that of Ff.
162. planets] Nares : The planets were supposed to have the power of doing
ludden mischief by their malignant aspect, which was conceived to strike objects.
Clarendjn cites Tit And II, iv, 14, and Cor. II. ii, 117 We still have 'moon-
act |, sc. L] HAMLET 25

No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,

So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
Hor. So have I heard, and do in part believe it. 165
But look, the Morn, in russet mantle clad,
Walks o'er the dew of yon hiflh ^^gternJiill.
Break we our watch up ; and by my advice,
Let us impart what we have seen to-night

161. fairy'] Faiery F,F,. 166, 167. Om. Coll. (MS).

takes] talkes FfFa. talks FF. 167. yon"\ yon1 Cap. yond1 Coll.
nor] no F , Rowe+, Cap. El. White.
164. hallowed] hollow 'd F2. eastern] eaflward Qq, Warb.
the] that Qq, Jen. Coll. El. Cap. Jen. El. Glo. + .
White, Moltke. 168. advice] aduife Qq.

Ed.]
struck.' [Thus Florio : Assiderare : to blast or strike with a planet, to be taken. —

163. takes] Dyce: To bewitch, to affect with malignant influence, to strike with
disease. See Merry Wives, IV, iv, 32. Clarendon : The adjective ' taking,' for
infectious, occurs in Lear, II, iv, 160. And 'taking,' as a substantive in the sense
of infection, is found in Lear, III, iv, 58.
164. gracious] Caldecott : Partaking of the nature of the epithet with which it
is associated, with * blessedness ;' participating in a heavenly quality, of grace in its
scriptural sense; not in the sense in which it is used in King John, III, iv, 81.
Frequently, in Sh., it does not mean, as has been interpreted, graceful, elegant, win-
ning, pleasing simply, but touched with something holy, instinct with goodness.
165. in part believe] Clarke : This assent of Horatio's to so imaginative a creed
is peculiarly appropriate, coming, as it does, immediately upon a supernatural appear-
ance, when his mind is softened to impressions, and is prepared to admit the possi-
bility of spiritual wonders. Moberly : A happy expression of the half-sceptical,
half-complying spirit of Shakespeare's time, when witchcraft was believed, antipodes
doubted.
166. 167. Hunter (ii, 216) : It must have been in emulation of these lines that
Milton wrote, ' Now morn her rosy steps in th' eastern clime Advancing, sowed the
earth with orient pearls.' — Par. Lost, v, 1. We have the same characteristics of
morning in both. 'Russet,' rosy; ' eastern hill,' eastern clime; 'the dew,' orient
pearls. Strachey (p. 27) : We are brought out of the cold night into the warm
sunshine, and we realize, in this lyrical movement, that harmony of our feelings
which it was one of the objects of the Chorus to produce in the Greek Tragedy.
167. eastern] Warburton pronounced in favor of eastward. Steevens denied
its superiority, and cited, ' Ulysses still An eye directed to the eastern hill.'' —
Chapman's Odyssey, lib. xiii. Staunton prefers ' eastern ' as more in accord-
ance with the poetical phraseology of the period. Thus Spenser charmingly ushers
in the morn, ' — cheareful Chaunticlere with his note shrill Had warned once, that
Phcebus' fiery Car In haste was climl ing up the Eastern Hill, Full envious *hai
Night so long, his room did fill.'
168. Break we] See I, i, 33.
26
HAMLET
[act i, sc.170ii. 175
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. \Exetint.

Scene II. A room of state in the Castle.

Fl&urish. Enter the King, Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimand,
Cornelius, Lords, and Attendants.

King. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death

170. young] yong Qp F * Enter...] Mai. Enter Claudius,
King of Denmarke, Gertrad the Queene,
for, upon my life,] perhaps Q'76.
172, 173. Om. Coll. (MS). Counfaile : as Polonius, and his Sonne
172. shall] do Rowe ii. Laertes, Hamlet, Cum Alijs. Qq. Enter
173. duty?] duty. Qq (duety. Q4). Claudius King of Denmarke, Gertrude
174. Let's] Let Fx. the Queene, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes,
175. conveniently.] convenient Qq, and his Sifter Ophelia, Lords Attendant.
Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Dyce ii, Tsch. Ff (Attendants FaF , Lords, Attendant?
A room...] Cap. substantially. The
Palace. Rowe + . I. King.] Claud. Qq.
Flourish.] Om. Ff.

170. Hamlet] Coleridge (p. 151): Note the unobtrusive and yet fully adequate
mode of introducing the main character, ' young Hamlet,' upon whom is transferred
all the interest excited for the acts and concerns of the king his father.
171. dumb] Tschischwitz quotes from Simrock (p. 488) that only those per-
sons have any influence over spirits, who are themselves guileless, such as Priests,
young scholars, &c. This essential qualification Horatio attributes to Hamlet.
173. loves] Clarendon (Note on Rich. II: IV, 1,315): The plural is fre-
quently used by Sh. and writers of the 16th and 17th centuries when designating
an attribute common to many, in cases where it would now be considered a solecism.
Thus ' sights,' Lear, IV, vi, 35; Rich. Ill : IV, i, 25 ; Timon, I, i, 255 ; Pericles, I,
i, 74 ; so ' loves,' ' consents,' Two Gent. I, iii, 48, 49; • wills ' in Hen. VIII : III, i,
68; see also Ham. I, ii, 14, 250, 253; II, ii, 14; IV, vii, 30; Macb. Ill, i, 121.
173. dut}'] Hudson: These last three speeches are admirably conceived. The
speakers are in a highly kindled state ; when the Ghost vanishes, their terror pres-
ently subsides into an inspiration of the finest quality, and their intense excitement,
as it passes off, blazes up in a subdued and pious rapture of poetry.
Scene II.] Coleridge: The audience are now relieved by a change of scene
to the royal court, in order that Ham. may not have to take up the leavings of ex-
haustion. In the king's speech, observe the set and pedantically antithetic form of
the sentences when touching that which galled the heels of conscience, — the strain
of unaignified rhetoric, — and yet in what follows concerning the public weal, »
cert n appropriate majestv Indeed was he not a royal brother?
i , jl act I, sc. ii.] HAMLET

The memory be green, and that it us befitted 2

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,
The imperial jointress of this warlike state, 10

J Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy,— -

With one auspicious and one dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,

2. us befitted] fitted Pope, Theob. 9. of] to Qq, Glo.

Han. Warb. 11, 12, 13. Om. Coll. (MS).
3. dear] bathe Coll. (MS) El. 1 1 . one... one] an. ..a Qq, Glo. + , Hal.
6. wisest] wiser Seymour. 12. dirge] dirdge Q2Q .
8. sometime] fotnetimes Ff, Rowe.

2. that] Tschischwitz : The simpler form 'that' was used instead of the fuller
form ' though that,' just as in French after quoique subordinate clauses are introduced
by que. [See also Abbott, g 284.]
2. befitted] Steevens : Perhaps Sh. elliptically wrote 'and us befitted,' i. e. < and
that it befitted us.' Seymour (ii, 141): Read, 'The memory's green; and it be-
fitted us.' The greenness of the memory is not hypothetic, but real, and the proper
mood of the verb could not be mistaken, if, for ' though,' we substitute as.
4. woe] Clarendon : Mourning brow. See Love's Lab. Lost, V, ii, 754 ; ' the
mourning brow of progeny.' For similar phrases, see IV, vi, 19; Lear, I, iv, 306,
'brow of youth '= youthful brow; Mer. of Ven. II, viii, 42, ' mind of love' =
loving mind; and I Hen. IV: IV, iii, 8^, ' brow of justice.'
10. defeated] Clarendon : Disfigured, marred. See Oth. I, iii, 346.
11. auspicious ... dropping] Steevens: Seethe same thought in Wint. 7'au,
V, ii, 80. It is only the ancient proverbial phrase, ' To cry with one eye and laugh
with the other.' Malone says that dropping may mean depressed or cast down ;
there could be little hesitation in rejecting this interpretation had not White so far
adopted it as to substitute in the text drooping in place of ' dropping,' ' considering,'
he says, ' the sense required, the distinction made between " drop " and " droop " in
Shakespeare's day as in our own, and remembering how common an error is the
reduplication of the wrong letter in both type-setting and chirography.' Francke
refers to the Homeric phrase, daupvdev ye/.aaaoa, Iliad, vi, 484, and to Odyssey, xix,
471, and Sophocles, Electra, 1920.
12. mirth . . . dirge] Moberly : The studied antitheses repeated over and over in
this speech give it a very artificial appearance. The king's politic and parliamentary
reasons for marrying the queen remind us of the similar motives which an eminent
writer supposes to have influenced Henry VIII in his prompt remarriages.
13. dole] Sandys [Sh. Illust. by the Dialect of Cornwall, Sh. Soc. Papers, vol.
iii, p. 25 A person in grief is said in Cornwall to be bedoled
28 HAMLET [act i, sc. il

In equal scale weighing delight and dole, — 13

Taken to wife ; nor have we herein barr'd
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone 15
With this affair along. For all, our thanks.
Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras,
Holding a weak supposal of oui worth,
Or thinking by our late dear brother's death
Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, 20
Colleagued with this 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 bonds of law,

16. along. For. ..thanks] Johns. Colegued Q. Collegued Q^ Co-leagueu

along: {for. ..thanks.") Pope, Theob. Cap.
Warb. Cap. Jen. Coll. along {for all 21. this] the Ff, Knt, Coll. Dyce.
our thankes) Qq. along, for all our Sta. White, Ktly, Del.
thankes. Ff, Rowe his] this Coll. (MS).
17. folloivs,...know,] Theob. fol- 24. with] by Pope + .
lowes...knowe Qq. followes,...know Ff, bonds] bands Qq, Pope + , Cap.
Rowe, Pope. Jen. Steev. Cald. Var. Coll. El. White,
21. Colleagued] Coleagued Q3Qy Huds.

14. to wife ;] See Macb. IV, ill-, 10.

14. barr'd] Caldecott: Excluded, acted without the concurrence of. Claren-
don cites Cymb. I, i, 82, where it means ' thwarted.'
17. that you know,] Walker (Crit. iii, 261): Sh. can never have written any-
thing so harsh and obscure as this. Point, * Now follows that you know : young
Fortinbras,' &c. If, indeed, this correction has not been made already, as I think it
has. [Theobald made it (Sh. Rest. p. 5), using a comma instead of a colon.]
20. disjoint] For other instances of the omission, in participles, of ed after d or
t, see Walker ( Crit. ii, 324) and Abbott, \ 342. also • deject,' III, i, 155; 'bloat,
III, iv, 182; 'hoist,' III, iv, 207: 'distract,' IV, v, 2; also Macb. Ill, vi, 38.
21. Colleagued] From the definition of the word 'Collogue, blanditiis tentare,'
given by Skinner, Theobald suggested collogue, that is, ' he being flattered, imposed
on, cajoVd by the dream of his Advantage;' he, however, did not adopt it in his text,
but Hanmer did. See Abbott, p. 16, ' Colleagued' for Co-leagued.
21. dream] Warburton : He goes to war so unprepared that he has no allies
but a dream, with which he is confederated. Clarendon : With this imaginary
superiority for his only ally.
22. pester] See Macb. V, ii, 23. Walker (Crit. ii. 351) : To pester a place or
person, for to crowd, tc throng them ; to be in a person's way.
22. message] See Macb. II, iv, 14; V, i, 22. Walker (Vers. 253): Surely
'message' in the singular is not grammar. [Walker would print message''; the
apostrophe indicating the plural.] See also Abbott, § 471.
23 Importing] Abbott, p. 16: Used for importuning.
ACT I, SC. ii.] HAMLET

To our most valiant brother. So much for him.

Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting;
Thus much the business is ; 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 further gait herein ; in that the levies,
The lists and full proportions, are all made
Out of his subject; and we here dispatch
You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltimand,
For bearers of this greeting to old Norway,
Giving to you no further personal power
35 .SO
To business with the king more than the scope
Jen. El. Quincy (MS).
25. [Enter Voltemand and Corne-
lius. Ff. (Voltimand F3F3F4). Om. Qq. ^. here] now Q'76.
26. meeting ;] meeting, Qq. meeting 34. Voltimand] Valtemand Qq.
Voltemand Ft.
F,F F . meeting. Cap. Steev.Var. Knt,
Coll. White. 35. For bearers] For bearing Ff,
29. bed-rid] bedred Qq. Rowe, Knt.
3 1 . gait ] Cap. gate QqFf, Rowe + , For bearers of this greeting]

Ambajfadors Q'76.
Jen. herein ; in] Theob. heerein, in 36. 37. Giving to you. ..To business]
QaQ3Q4. In herein, in Q$, Coll. El.White. Who have... Of treaty Q'76. Giving to
herein. Ff. you... Of treaty Rowe, Pope, Han.
the!Jhe FF.34 more than] than does Seymour.
33. subject'] fubjects Q'76, Rowe + ,
29. bed-rid] Clarendon : Earle gives the following doubtful, but ingenious,
etymology of this word : ' The Saxons called a sorcerer " dry :" . . . out of this word
a verb was made, " be-drian," to bewitch or fascinate. . . . The participle of this verb,
" be-drida," a disordered man, has, by a false light of cross analogy, generated
the modern " bed-ridden," a half-sister of " hag-ridden." ' {Philology of the English
Tongue, p. 22.) The etymology commonly given explains it of one who is carried
or rides on a bed. 'Bed-rid' occurs in Wint. Tale, IV, iv, 412. Moberly : If
Earle's derivation be rejected, and the connection with ride still assumed, we must
suppose that from the idea of a ' ridden ' or trained horse comes the more general
one of ' accustomed to,' and thence ' perpetually on,' the bed. Compare the way
in which rfioq is used in Homer and Herodotus simply to mean ' a place ' (ra ZnvOeuv
ffiea).
31. gait] Nares : Here used metaphorically, for proceeding in a business.
32. proportions] Elze : Contingents, as in Hen. V : I, ii, 137 and 304.
33. subject] See I, i, 72. That this is used absolutely, see Lear, IV, vi, 107,
' see how the subject quakes.'
35. For] Thec^ald (Sh. Pest. p. 7) shrewdly conjectured ' our bearers;' it accords
with the regal style, and the same misprint of ' for ' for our occurs in Ff in I, v, 156.
' we'll shift for grounc3
30 HAMLET [act I, sc. ii

Qi these dilated articles allow.

Cor. \ and let your haste commend your duty.
Farewell,

y j > In that and all things will we show our duty. 40

King. We doubt it nothing ; heartily farewell. —
\Exeunt Voltima?td and Cornelius.

38. Of] Which Pope, Theob. Han. 40. Cor. Vol.] Volt. Ff, Rowe-S
Warb. Jen.
dilated'] delated Qq, Glo. + . re- 41. it nothing] in nothing F , Rowe,
lated Qt, Sing. i. Pope i.
allow.] allows. Johns. Jen. [Exeunt...] Exit... FxFaF . Om.
White, Ktly. allow. [Give them. Coll. Qq.
(MS).

38. dilated] Caldecott : The tenor of these articles set out at large. Claren-
don : According to Minsheu, ' delate ' is only another form of ' dilate,' meaning ' to
speak at large.' Compare 'defused' and 'diffused.' Bacon uses 'delate' in the
sense of ' carry,' ' convey.'
38. allow.] Malone says Sh. should have written allows, and that many
writers fall into this error, when a plural noun immediately precedes the verb.
Steevens asserts that all such defects in Sh. were merely the errors of illiterate
transcribers or printers. Caldecott boldly maintains that Sh. was fully justified,
in cases like the present, by the usage of the best scholars and writers of the time,
and gives instances from Queen Elizabeth's Seneca, and King James's Reylis and
Cautelis of Scottis Poesie, from Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, and Daniel's
Apologie for Rytne ; and, further, that this usage was proper because the ear abhors
the cacophony of an accumulation of ss, more especially in poetry, whose prov-
ince is to please the ear, not offend it. Knight says that the use of the plural
verb with the nominative singular, a plural genitive intervening, can scarcely be
detected as an error. ' The truth is, that it is only within the last half century that
the construction of our language has attained that uniform precision which is now
required. ... It is remarkable that the very commentators, who were always ready
to fix the charge of ignorance of the rudiments of grammar upon Sh., have admitted
the following passage in a note to 2 Hen. IV by that elegant modern scholar, T.
Warton : " Beaumont and Fletcher's play contains many satirical strokes against
Heywood's comedy, the force of which are entirely lost to those who have not seen
that comedy." ' Elze ingeniously suggests that 'allow' may be in the subjunctive,
and Tschischwitz roundly asserts that it is, ' because it is preceded by the idea
of comparison implied by " than," which in Old English and Anglo-Saxon usually
governed the subjunctive.' Abbott gives this as an instance of confusion of agree-
ment by proximity (§ 412). For many instances (which Dyce with truth says might
be multiplied without end) of apparent lack of agreement between the nominative
and the verb, see Abbott, \ 332 et sea. ; Macb. II, i, 61, and Ham. Ill, ii, 194; III,
lii, 14.

39. duty] Walker

wrong. (Crit. i, 277): Perhaps service; at any rate 'duty' is

41. nothing"1 Tschis :hwitz Here used adverbially and like something, in
Acri.ac.ft.] HAMLET 31

And now, Laertes, what's the news with you? 42

You told us of some suit; what is't, Laertes?
You cannot speak of reason to the Dane,
And lose your voice ; what wouldst thou beg, Laertest 45
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 wouldst thou have, Laertes ?
Laer. D_read my lord. 50
Your leave and favour to return to France,
From whence though willingly I came to Denmark,

42. And] Om. Q'76. Cap.

45. lose] loose FxFaF3. 50. Dread my] Afy dread Qq, Pope-r,
47. native] motive Bubier conj.* Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Coll. Sing.
49. is. ..to] to. ..is Warb. Han. Johns. Ktly. My dear Q''76.

similar cases, analogous to the Greek [iqdev, e.g. Mqdev Oavdrov fiolpav kirevxov Tolofie
PapwOelc jEschyl. A gam. [1384, ed. Klausen]. Clarendon cites Twelfth Night,
II, iii, 104; Cor. I, iii, III.
42-45. you . . . thou] Abbott, \ 235 : The king, as he rises in his profession of
affection to Laer., passes from you to thou, subsequently returning to you. [See
Macb. V, iii, 37. Ed.]
42. Coleridge (p. 151): Thus with great art Sh. introduces a most important
but still subordinate character, first, Laertes, who is yet thus graciously treated in
consequence of the assistance given to the election of the late king's brother, instead
of his son, by Polonius.
47. head] Warburton could not conceive what this line means; but after
changing ' head ' to blood he pronounced the sentiment just and pertinent, and the
expression ' extremely fine. For the heart is the laboratory where,' &c. &c. Han-
mer adopted the emendation. Heath (p. 522) : There is not more natural affinity
and strict connection between the head and heart, though the former contrives the
means by which the purposes of the latter are executed. The king considers him-
self the heart and Polonius the head.
47. native] Steevens : The head is not formed to be more useful to the heart,
the hand is not more at the service of the mouth, than my power is at your father's
service. Caldecott : The principal parts of the body are not more natural,
instrumental, or necessary to each other than is the throne natural to, and a
machine acted upon and under the guidance of, your father. Delius : 'Native'
expresses a connection that is congenital ; • instrumental,' one that is mechanical.
Clarendon refers to IV, vii, 181, and a similar sense of 'native' in AlPs Well, I,
1, 238.
51. leave and favour] Caldecott: Your kind permission. Two substantives
with a copula being here used for an adjective and substantive; an adjective sense
is given to a substantive.
32 HAMLET [act I, sc. ii

To show my duty in your coronation,

Yet now, I must confess, that duty done,
My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France 55
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
By laboursome petition, and at last
Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent ; 60
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, —

55. toward] towards Ff, Rowe, Knt. And my best graces ; spend Johns, conj
57. Two lines Ff. 62. thine,'] thine; Theob. Warb.
Polonius'] Pollonius Fx. Johns, thine ! Cald.
58. He hath] Hath Q3Q3- 63. graces] graces; Q'76, Rowe + ,

58, 59.lord,] lord:..petition]

wrung. Ff. ' Pope, Steev.
by labour- [Exit Var. Coll. Anon.
Laertes. White. conj.
tome petition, Wrung from me my slow 64. Hamlet, and] Hamlet. — Kind
leave; Rowe + . Warb.
58 — 60. wrung... cons ent :] Om. Ff. son, — ] son — Rowe. fonne
59. at last] at the last Pope-K Qq. fonne ? Ff.
62. 63. be thine. ..spend] is thine,

53. coronation] Staunton : As an instance of the minute attention with which

the finished play was elaborated from the early sketch, it may be noteworthy that, in
Q , the motive of Laertes's visit is said to be his desire to attend the late king's
funeral. But it evidently occurred to Sh. that the acknowledgement of such an
object was as little consistent with the character of Laertes as it would be palatable
to the living monarch, and, accordingly, in the augmented piece the reason given
by Laertes for his coming is more courtier-like.
56. pardon] Clarendon : Leave to depart. So in III, ii, 303. It is equivalent
to ' leave ' in Cymb. I, iv, 46, and 3 Hen. VI; IV, i, 87.
57. Polonius] Walker (Crit. ii, 32) : A critic who should suggest that « Polo
nius ' was a corruption of Apollonius would perhaps • make much laugh,' as Man
Friday says ; yet I know not that it is more strange than ' Laertes ' and fifty other
similar names in our old plays.
63. graces] Caldecott : May the exercise of thy fairest virtues fill up thy time,
which is wholly at thy command.
64. cousin] Clarendon: This word was used to denote 'uncle* and 'aunt,'
* nephew ' and ' niece,' as well as in the modern sense. Compare Twelfth Night, I,
iii, 5, where it means 'niece,' and III, iv, 68, where it means 'uncle.'
64. and] Warburton suggested ' Kind my son,' or, as we now say, ' Good
iny son,' whereby, Warburton thinks, a pertinence is gained for Hamlet's reply,
which it otherwise lacks.
act i, sc. ii.] HAMLET 33

Ham. [Aside] A little more than kin, and less than kind. 65
65. [Aside] Warb.

65. [Aside] The propriety of this ' aside,' which was first marked by Warburton,
and has been adopted by every succeeding editor, is denied by Moltke for the fol-
lowing reasons : There is no other instance in Shakespeare's plays where the hero is
first introduced with such a very brief soliloquy; secondly, no one plays upon words
when speaking to one's self; thirdly, Sh. invariably strikes the keynote of his dramas
at the very outset. In this instance, after having in the first scene made us take sides
with Hamlet against the King, and after having still further fostered this feeling of
sympathy for the one and dislike for the other by the King's hypocritical speech
from the throne, it is of the utmost importance that this opposition between the two
should be emphasized, and that Hamlet himself should be shown, not only as per-
fectly aware of it himself, but as equally determined that the King himself should
be aware of it. All these objects fail if the speech be spoken aside.
65. kin . . . kind] Hanmer : Probably a proverbial expression for a relationship
so confused and blended that it was hard to define it. Johnson supposes ' kind ' to
be here the German word for child. That is, • I am more than cousin and less than
son.' This conjecture Steevens properly disposes of by requiring some proof that
1 kind ' was ever used by any English writer for child. He adds : A jingle of the
same sort is found in Mother Bombie, 1594, ' — the nearer we are in blood, the fur-
ther we must be from love, the greater the kindred is, the less the kindness must be.'
Again, in Gorboduc, 1561, 'In kinde a father, but not kindelynesse.' As 'kind,'
however, signifies nature, Hamlet may mean that his relationship had become an
unnatural one, as it was partly founded on incest. ' Kind ' is used for nature in
Jul. Qes.y Ant. 6° Cleo., Rich. II, and Tit. And. So, too, we have 'kindness,' i. e.
unnatural, in Ham. II, ii, 609. Malone gives substantially the best paraphrase : ' I
am a little more than thy kinsman (for I am thy step-son), and am somewhat less
than kind to thee (for I hate thee, as being the person who has incestuously married
my mother). Steevens says that it was the King who was ' less than kind ;' so also
does Caldecott, who somewhat darkly interprets (yet Moberly quotes it approv-
ingly) More
: than a common relation, having a confusedly accumulated title of rela-
tionship, you have less than benevolent, or less than even natural, feeling; by a play
upon • kind' in its double use and double sense — its use as an adjective, signifying
benevolent ; and its sense as a substantive, signifying natttre. We have ' unkind' in
this sense in Ven. &° Ad. 204. ' Surely,' says Knight, ' Hamlet applies these words
to himself. The King has called him, " My cousin Hamlet." He says, in a sup
pressed tone, " A little more than kin," — a little more than cousin. The King adds,
"and my son." Hamlet says, " less than kind;" — I am little of the same nature
with you.' Singer follows Steevens and Caldecott in applying these words to the
King. ' By " less than kind " Hamlet means degenerate and base. " Going otit of
kinde, (says Baret,) which goeth out of kinde, 7vhich doth, or worketh dishonour to his
kindred. Degener: Forlignant." — Alvearie, K. 59. " Forligner" says Cotgrave,
" to degenerate, or grow out of kind, to differ in conditions from his auncestors." That
less than kind and out of kind have the same meaning who can doubt ?' Collier
aptiy cites the following : ' I would he were not so near to us in kindred, then sure
he would be nearer in kindness.' — Rowley, Search for Money, 1609, sig. B. (re-
printed for the Percy Society). Elze calls attention to the fact that probably in no
34 HAMLET [act i, sc. ii.

King. How is it that the clouds still hang on you ? 66

Ham. Not so, my lord ; I am too much i' the sun.
67. so~\fo much Qq. F3F4, Rowe + , Jen. White, in the fonne
V the sun\ Cap. V th' Sun Ff Qq. ithy Sun F2. in the Sun Q'76.

other work is the word • kind ' used so frequently and so unambiguously as in The
Tragedie of Gorboduc. White and Hudson follow Steevens, Caldecott, and Singer
in referring these words to the King. The former paraphrases : In marrying my
mother, you have made yourself something more than my kinsman, and, at the same
time, have shown yourself unworthy of our race, our kind. Coleridge: This
playing on words may be attributed to many causes or motives ; as, either to an exu-
berant activity of mind, as in the higher comedy of Sh. generally; or to an imitation
of it as a mere fashion, as if it were said, — ' Is not this better than groaning ?' — or
to a contemptuous exultation in minds vulgarized and overset by their success, as in
the poetic instance of Milton's Devils in the battle; or it is the language of resent-
ment, as is familiar to every one who has witnessed the quarrels of the lower orders,
where is invariably a profusion of punning invective, whence, perhaps, nicknames
have in a considerable degree sprung up : or it is the language of suppressed passion,
and especially of a hardly-smothered personal dislike. The first and last of these
combine in Hamlet's case ; and I have little doubt that Farmer is right in suppos-
ing the equivocation carried on in the expression, ' too much i' the sun,' or son.
67. i' the sun] Johnson : A probable allusion to the proverb : * Out of heaven's
blessing into the warm sun.' Farmer suggested that a quibble was here intended
between ' sun ' and son. Caldecott : Adopting this suggestion of Farmer's, the pas-
sage must mean, • I have too much about me of the character of expectancy, at the
same time that I am torn prematurely from my sorrows, and thrown into the broad glare
of the sun and day ; have too much of the son and successor and public staging without
possession of my rights, and without a due interval to assuage my grief.' But a closer
observer, (continues Caldecott), here says : ' One part of Farmer's suggestion is right ,
Hamlet means that he had not possession of his rights ; but there was no quibble ;
the allusion is to the proverb referred to by Johnson, which means, • to be out of
house and home,' or, at least, to be in a worse temporal condition than a man was,
or should be. Thus in Lear, II, ii, 168, and ' — they were brought from the good
to the bad, and from Goddes blessyng (as the proverbe is) in to a warme sonne.' —
Preface to Grindal's Profitable Doctrine, 1555. And again, ' By such art he thought
to have removed him, as we say, out of God's blessing into the warm sun.' —
Raleigh's Hist, of the World, 1677. His being deprived of his right, i. e. his suc-
cession to the kingdom, Hamlet might therefore call ' being too much i' the sun.'
Knight: There is no quibble. His meaning is explained by the old proverb.
Staunton: Hamlet may mean, «I am too much in the way; a mote in the royal
eye;' but his reply is purposely enigmatical. Dyce [Gloss, s. v. heaven's benediction,
&c.) : The proverbial expression alluded to by Johnson is found in various authors,
from Heywood down to Swift ; the former has, ' In your running from him to me, yee
runne Out of God's blessing into the warme sunne.' — Dialogue on Proverbs, Workes,
sig. G 2 ver. 1598; and the latter: ' Lord Sparkish. They say, marriages are made
in heaven; but I doubt, when she was married, she had no friend there. Neverout.
Well, she's got out of God's blessing into the warm sun.' — Polite Conversation,
Dialogue I, Works, vol. ix, p. 423. Ray gives as its equivalent, Ab equis ad asinos.
act i, sc. ii.] HAMLET 35

Queen. Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, 68

68. nighted} nightly Ff, Rowe, Knt, White, Tsch. nightlike Coll. (MS).

— Proverbs, p. 192, ed. 1768. Hudson inclines to Farmer's suggestion, and adas:
•Perhaps there is the further meaning implied, that he finds too much sunshine
of jollity in the Court, considering what has lately happened.' In Much Ado,
II, i, 331, Beatrice says of herself, 'I am sun-burned,' and this phrase Hunter
(i. 250) ingeniously explains, and gives it a signification akin to the present passage.
' " To be in the sun," " to be in the warm sun," " to be sun-burned," were phrases,'
says Hunter, ■ not uncommon in the time of Sh., and for a century later, to express
the state of being without family connections, destitute of the comforts of domestic
life. There must have been some reason for this association of discomfort with whaj
is generally considered comfort, at least among northern nations, and this reason is
found in the old English version of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Psalm, in
which occurs the passage, " So that the sun shall not burn thee by day, nor the moon
by night;" and as this psalm, in the earlier Rituals of the Church, was used in the
Churching of Women, it followed that the matron who was surrounded by her hus-
band and children was one who had received the benediction that the sun shoula
not burn her, while the unmarried woman, who had received no such benediction, came
to be spoken of by those who allowed themselves to use such jocular expressions as
one " still left exposed to the burning of the sun," or, as Beatrice says, " sun-burned."
When the translation of the Scriptures was revised, in the reign of James I, the
word " smite " was substituted in this verse for " burn," probably on account of these
ludicrous associations ; and for the same reason, on the last revision of the Liturgy,
this psalm was left out of the service altogether. In the first and original use of this
phrase, then, it denoted the state of being unmarried ; thus Beatrice uses it. It then
expanded so as to include the state of those who were without family connections of
any kind ; thus Hamlet uses it. It expanded still wider and included the state of
those who have no home, and thus it is used in Lear, II, ii, 168. And it seems to have
expanded wider still, and to have been sometimes used for any species of destitution, or
distress, or evil. Hamlet therefore means, " I have lost father and mother; you heap
upon me the terms ' cousin ' and ' son,' but I find myself forlorn, with none of the
comforts remaining which arise out of the charities of kindred." ' Ingenious as
this explanation of Hunter's is, it applies with more force to the phrase used by
Beatrice than to that used by Hamlet ; we have no examples given us that ' to be in
the sun ' was ever thus understood, and for it we must take Hunter's unsupported
assertion. Nicholson (JV. &* Qu. 25 May, 1867) thus paraphrases: Ham. turns
off the King's query with an apparently courtly compliment, — Nay, my lord, I am
too much in the sunshine of your favour, where I show but as a shadow (too muclj
am I in that sunshine which I detest) ; deposed by you as heir and successor to th«
throne on which by God's providence I was placed, I am now gone to the world ;
instead of being in clouds and rain, amid sorrow and tears for my dead father and
king, I find myself in the midst of marriage festivities and carousings. Moberly
thinks the proverb may have meant that a person loses all special advantages, and
is reduced to light and sunshine, which are the common inheritance of all.
68. nighted] For the general rule that participles formed from an adjective mean
'made of (the adjective),' and derived from a noun, mean ' endowed with, or like
(the noun),' see Abbott, § 294.
 HAMLET
[act i, sc. ii
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
6 for ever with thy vailed lids
Do 3not 70
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.
Thou know'st 'tis common ; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.
Ham. Ay, madam, it is common.
Queen. If it be,
Why seems it so particular with thee ? 75
Ham. Seems ', madam ? nay, it is ; I know not seems.
Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, 80
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage,
Together with all forms, modes, shows of grief,
70. vailed] veyled FXF2. veiled F 77. good mother] coold mother Q2Q3-
F , Rowe+, Jen. could /mother Q.Q-.
72. common /] Theob. common, Ft, 78. solemn] fole?nbe Q2Q3-
Rovve, Pope, Han. common, — Dyce, 81. haviour] 'haviour Pope + , Cap.
White, Sta. common Qq. 82. modes] Cap. moodes Q2Q3Q4-
Moods FfQ , Rowe+, Jen. Knt, Coll.
lives'] live F2F F , Rowe + , Cap. El. Glo. + .
Jen. Steev. Var. Coll. Dyce ii, Huds.
74. it be,] Q5. it be Q,Q3Q4- it be ; shows] Steev. Jltewes FXF2.
Ff, Rowe, Pope. Jhews F3F4, Rowei, Mai. chapes Q2Qr
77. my inky] this mourning Q'76. Jliapes Q4Q5>Cap. Jen.Tsch. Glo. + , Mob.
70. vailed] Johnson : With cast-down eyes. Steevens : See Mer. of Ven. I,
i, 28.
72. common] Seymour : Point thus : ' Thou know'st — 'tis common — all thai
live,' i. e. 'Thou knowest this truth, — nay, it is known to all men — it is ' a common

74. common] Caldecott : Similar examples of frailty, connected with such an

proof.'
event, are the things or occurrences that, he would have it inferred, were common.
Clarendon : We have ' common ' and ' particular ' opposed to each other in the
very difficult, and probably corrupt, passage of 2 Hen. IV : IV, i, 94 ; and ' partic-
ular 'opposed to ' general ' in Tro. & Cress. I, iii, 340. Coleridge : Here observe
Hamlet's delicacy to his mother, and how the suppression prepares him for the over-
flow in the next speech, in which his character is more developed by bringing for-
ward his aversion to externals, and which betrays his habit of brooding over the
world within him, coupled with a prodigality of beautiful words, which are the
half-embodyings of thought, and are more than thought, and have an outness, a
reality sui generis, and yet contain their correspondence and shadowy affinity to the
images and movements within. Note also Hamlet's silence to the long speech of
the King which follows, and his respectful, but general, answer to his mother.
81. haviour] For a list of dropped prefixes, see Abbott, $ 460.
82. modes] Knight: Mood [of the QqFf] perhaps here signifies something
act i, sc. ii.] HAMLET 37

That can denote me truly ; these indeed scan,

For they are actions that a man might play ;
But I have that within which passeth show ; 85
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 90
In filial obligation for some term
To do obsequious sorrow ; but to persever
$3. denote] denote Q2Q3Q.. deuoute 87. Hamlet, ] Om. Pope, Han.
Q . 90. That] The F..
indeed] may Pope. lost, lost his] his Pope, Han.
85. within] Within F,F2F3. Warb. Seymour.
passeth] paffes Qq, Cap. Cam. 92. sorrow] forrowes Q4QS«
87. Two lines, Ff. persever] perfevere Q'76, F ,
sweet and] Om. Seymour. Rowe+, Jen. Coll. i, El. White, Huds.

beyond the mere manner of grief, — the mariner as exhibited in the outward sadness.
The forms are the ceremonials of grief, — the moods its prevailing sullenness ; the
shows its fits of passion. Hunter (ii, 217): Moods and 'modes' form a various
reading well worthy of attention. In Qf, in support of moods, the King just before
said to Ham. : ' What mean these sad and melancholy moods ?' Dyce : Nothing
can be plainer than that Ham., throughout this speech, is dwelling entirely on the
outward and visible signs of sadness.
82. shows] Dyce (ed. 2) : I once felt inclined to adopt shapes, since in the
third line after this we have 'passeth show'' ; but 'forms' and 'shapes' would be
tautological. [Moreover, the ' show ' in line 85 is an intentional and emphatic
repetition of the ♦ shows ' in this line. Ed.]
85. passeth] Corson: The older form ['passeth'] not only suits the tone of
the passage better, but the two s's and the sh in ' passes show ' coming together are
very cacophonous. Seymour (ii, 144) : Ham. in this scene is impatient, fretful
and sarcastic ; every reply is in contradiction of what is said to him. It is not till
he comes to this line that he is actuated by tender sentiment.
87. commendable] Clarendon : The accent is on the first syllable, as in Cor.
IV, vii, 51. On the second in Mer. of Ven. I, i, in. To avoid the alexandrine,,
Abbott, \ 490, accents commendable, and scans ' 'Tis sweet and | command | able
in I your na | ture, Hamlet.'
87. Hamlet] Tschischwitz : The names of persons addressed are very fre-
quently not counted in the number of feet in a verse.
90. lost, lost] Steevens : Your father lost a father, i. e. your grandfather, which
lost grandfather also lost his father. Abbott, \ 246 : An ellipsis of ' that' (relative)
before the participle, ' That father (who was) lost,' &c.
92. obsequious] Johnson : Referring to obsequies, or funeral ceremonies.
Steevens: See Tit. And. V, iii, 152. Collier (ed. 2) : In Mer. Wives, IV, ii, 2,
it means observant ; in Meas. for Meas. II, iv, 28, it means dutiful.
92. persever]
4 Gifford (Dyce's Ren-arks, &c, p. 204) : So this word was-
38 HAMLET [act I, SC.il
In obstinate condolement is a course
Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief;
It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, 95
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 100
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, 105
' 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,

93,94. is a course Of] dares exprefs 105. corse~\ courfe Qq. Coarfe Ff,
An Q'76. Rowe + , Jen.
94. 'tis] Om. Pope + . 106. 'This. ..so"] Quotation, Pope.
96. a mind] or minde Qq, Cap. 107. unprevailing] unavailing 'Plan.
Steev. Var. Sing. Ktly. 108. for let] and let Q:'76.
103. absurd] abfur'd F2F .
anciently written and pronounced. See Abbott, $ 492, for list of words in which
the accent is nearer the beginning than with us. See also ' cdmplete,' I, iv, 52;
and 'secure,' I, v, 61; ' ploner,' I, v, 163; ' enginer,' III, iv, 206; ' dbscure,'
IV, v, 207.
93. condolement] Heath (p. 523) : That is, self-condolement, nourishing our
own grief. Caldecott holds it to be merely the expressions of grief.
95. incorrect] Caldecott: Contumacious towards.
98. what] For the relative use of ' what,' see Abbott, § 252.
99. any the most] Francke : Compare ' any the rarest,' Cymb. I, iv, 65 ; and
' one the wisest,' Hen. VIII : II, iv, 48. For the transposition of adjective phrases,
see Abbott, \ 419 a; and Macb. Ill, vi, 48. Clarendon refers to Abbott, § 18.
99. to sense] Caldecott: That is, 'addressed to sense; in every hour's occur-
rence offering itself to our observation and feelings.'
104. who] For instances of ' who ' personifying irrational antecedents, see
Abbott, \ 264.
105. till he] Abbott, \\ 184, 206: ' Till' is a preposition, and 'he' is used for
him.
107. unprevailing] Malone: Used of old for unavailing. 'He may often
prevail himself of the same advantages in English.' — Dryden, Essay on Dram.
Poet ry. Tschischwitz : Here used in its medical sense, like the Latin, ' praeva-
iere,' e.g. prsevalet contra serpentium ictus, in Pliny. Clarendon: See Rom. &*
Jul. Ill, iii, 60, where it is used in the sense referred to by Malone.
act i, BC, ii-1 HAMLET 39

You are the most immediate to our throne,

And with no less nobility of love IIO
Than that which dearest father bears his son
Do I impart toward you. For your intent
112. toiuarJ] towards Ff, Roue, 112. you. For] you for Qq.
Calcl. Knt.

109. immediate] STBEVENS having said that the crown of Denmark was
elective, Blackstone (in a note which is not given among the other notes by
him in vol. xii of the Sh. Soc.) agrees with him, adding: Though it must be
customary, in elections, to pay some attention to the royal blood, which by degrees
produced hereditary succession. Why, then, do the rest of the commentators so
often treat Claudius as an usurper, who had deprived young Hamlet of his right
by heirship to his father's crown ? Hamlet calls him drunkard, murderer, and
villain ; one who had carried the election by low and mean practices ; had ' Popp'd
in between the election and my hopes — ;' had ' From a shelf the precious diadem
stole, And put it in his pocket;' but never hints at his being an usurper. Mis dis-
content arose from his uncle's being preferred before him, not from any legal right
which he pretended to set up to the crown. Some regard was probably had to the
recommendation of the preceding prince in electing the successor. And therefore
young Hamlet had 'the voice of the king himself for his succession in Denmark ;'
and he at his own death prophesies that ' the election would light on Fortinbras,
who had his dying voice,' conceiving that by the death of his uncle he himself had
been king for an instant, and had therefore a right to recommend. When, in the
fourth Act, the rabble wished to choose Laertes king, I understand that antiquity
was forgot, and custom violated, by electing a new king in the lifetime of the old
one, and perhaps also by the calling in a stranger to the royal blood. Elze: It is
not exactly consistent with this elective character that the queen should be called
* the imperial jointress of this warlike state.' Marshall (p. 16) : Perhaps the com
parative youth of Ham., and the fact that the kingdom was threatened by the Nor-
wegians, were the reasons which induced the royal councillors to place the sceptre
in the hands of Claudius.
no. nobility] Warburton : Magnitude. Johnson : Rather generosity. Heath.
Eminence and distinction.
110-112. with . . . impart] Theobald: The king had declared Hamlet his im-
mediate successor, and with that declaration he imparts as noble a love, &c. Read,
therefore, • with't no less nobility,' &c. Hanmer adopted this suggestion. Johnson
siys 'impart' is impart myself , communicate whatever I can bestow ; and Heath
and Capell both approve of this interpretation. Mason (p. 374) : ' To impart
toiuara" a person is not English. Moreover ' impart' is never neuter. Read, there-
fore,and
' still no less nobility of love ' instead of ' with no less,' &c. ; or else read
' Do I my part toward you ' instead of ' do I impart.' Delius suggests that Sh.
probably regarded ' no less nobility of love ' as the object of ' impart,' and forgot,
owing to the intermediate clause, that he had written ' with no less.' Badham {Cam-
bridge Essays, 1856, p. 272) believes all difficulties removed by a slight transposition,
thus : ' And with nobility no less of love,' &c. The nobility that he grants him is
that of heir-presumptive. Dyce pronounces this reading of Badham's ' very improper.'
Whit would he have said had he seen Tschischwitz's reading, which substitutes 7t>u
4-0 HAMLET [act i, sc ii,

In going back to school in Wittenberg,

It is most retrograde to our desire ;
And we beseech you, bend you to remain 115
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. 120
King. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply ;
Be as ourself in Denmark. — Madam, come ;
This gentle and unforced accord of Hamlet
Sits smiling to my heart ; in grace whereof,
No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day, 125
113. in Wittenberg] to Wittenberg 119. pray thee~\ pray ' thee Q (Ash-
Q4Q5, Rowe + , Jen. bee's Facs.). prythee Ft. prethee F2F3.
114. retrograde] retrogard Q2Q3Q4- prithee F4, Rowe. pr'ythee Pope + .
tetrogradQ. retrogarde F2F . 120. Two lines Ff.
115. bend] beg Anon. MS.* 121. Why] Om. Q'76.
118. mother] Brother Y ^ 124. to] at Han. on Ritson.
lose] loose Qq.

for 'with,' that is, I wis (as in Mer. of Ven. II, ix, 68, for the old 'y-wiss'),
meaning assuredly ? Keightley would read, ' Mine do I impart toward you,' &c.
113. Wittenberg] M alone: The university of Wittenberg, as we learn from
Lewkenor's Discourse on Universities, 1600, was founded in 1502 by Duke Fred-
erick, the son of Ernestus Elector: 'which since in this latter age is growen famous
by reason of the controversies and disputations there handled by Martin Luther and
his adherents.' Ritson : Sh. may have learned of this university from The Life of
Iacke Wilton, 1594, or The Hy story of Doctor Faustus, of whom the second report
is said to be ' written by an English gentleman, student at Wittenberg, an university
of Germany in Saxony.' Boswell : Or from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, or a mul-
titude of other publications of that period. Elze : Sh. had to send the Dane Hamlet
to some northern university, and probably none other was so well known to him or
to his audience as Wittenberg.
114. retrograde] Tschischwitz : A word borrowed from astrology. When the
planets were retrograde, that is, when they were going away from the earth's orbit,
they were under certain circumstances hostile to human plans.
119. Abbott, \ 456, scans this line either by reading, 'I pray thee stay' as one
foot: 'I' being redundant as far as sound goes, and 'pray thee' contracted to
prithee ; or 'Wittenberg' may receive but one accent, as coming at the end of a
>.ine ; as ' Horatio,' in I, i, 43, or ' Ophelia,' V, i, 230. See § 469.
120. shall] See I, iv, 35; Macb. Ill, iv, 57; Abbott, \ 315.
124. to] Steevens : Near to, close to, next to, my heart. Delius : ' To' is con-
nected, byattraction, with ' smiling.'
125. drinks] Johnson: The king's intemperance is very strongly impressed;
everything that happens to him gives him occasion to drink.
iCri.SC. ».] HAMLET , 41
l
l
at non uds l e
But the gre can to the clo shal t 126
And the king's rouse the heavens shall bruit again,
Re-speaking earthly thunder. — Come away.
[Flourish. Exeunt all but Hamlet.
Ham. O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,

126. tell] tell it Han. ^ Hamlet. Ff.

127. rouse'] row/e Qq. Rouce, Vf. 129. Scene III. Pope, Han. Warb.
/teavens] heauen QqF4, Rowe, Jen.
{j
Pope, Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. Cald. too too solid] too-too-solid 'Theob.
Knt, Coll. Sing. El. White, Cam. Warb. Cap. too-too solid Pope, Dyce,
bruit] brute Qq. bruite FxFa. Huds. too, too solid Jen. Coll. i, Del.
128. Re-speaking] Hyphen, F^ Be- El. White, Hal.
speaking Ktly. solid] /allied Qq. sullied
Flourish.] Om. Ff. Anon.*
Exeunt...] Exeunt. Manet

127. rouse] Wedgwood: The radical sense of the word is shown in Piatt
Deutsch ruse, rusie, noise, racket, disturbance ; German rauschen, to rustle, roar, to
do things with noise and bustle. Rausch is a flare-up, a sudden blaze; the same
word is metaphorically applied to excitation from drink. Piatt Deutsch runsk, Old
Norse russ, Dutch roes, tipsiness. When transferred to the cognate sense of a full
glass or bumper, English rouse was not unnaturally supposed to be contracted from
carouse (German garaus), with which it has a merely accidental resemblance—
Rouse, noise, intemperate mirth. [See I, iv, 8.]
127. bruit] See Macb. V, vii, 22. Staunton: This plainly imports not simply
a deep draught, but the accompaniment of some outcry, similar, perhaps, to our
* hip, hip, hurrah !'
129. too too] Nares pointed out the intensive effect of this reduplication, giving
instances from Holinshed and Spenser, and adding that it is common. Halliwell
(Sh. Soc. Papers, 1844, i, 39) showed that 'too-too' is a provincial word recognized
by Ray, and explained by him as meaning ' very well or good,' and that Watson a
few years afterwards says it is ' often used to denote exceeding? In proof ' that too-
TOO, as used by our early writers, is one word, denoting " exceedingly" and that it
ought to be so printed? Halliwell gives from the poets twelve instances, from Skelton
down to Hudibras, and refers to over thirty other passages where the phrase ir,
found, extending from Promos and Cassandra to Young's Night Thoughts. [Aftei
all, Halliwell did not so print it in his edition.] HuNTEk doubts if this reduplica-
tion be emphatic. It appears to him to have been in sense neither more nor less
than too, and he cites many instances from prose writers. Palsgrave, he adds, has
beside to-much, to-little, &c, to to much, to to great, to to little, to to small, answering
to par trop trop peu, par trop trop grant, par trop trop petit. The pronunciation
was too-to6, as appears by this line of Constable's : ' But I did too-too inestimable
wey her.' That the phrase was used with intensifying iteration, White thinks is
clear from instances like the present, and from the similar iteration of other adverbs
and adjectives in the literature of Shakespeare's day. For instance : ' Thy wit dost
use still still more harmes to finde,' — Sidney's Arcadia, ii, p. 225, ed. 1603; 'While
he did live far far was, all disorder, — lb. v, p. 430; ' your lesson is Far fat too
\ong to learne iV without bocke,' — Astrophel and Stella, St. 56, lb. p. 537 ; ' Stop you
42 ^\ HAMLET [act i, sc ii.
Thaw, and resplve itself into a dew ! 1 30
Or that the Everlasting had not flx'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God!
132. canon] Q'03. cannon QqFf, 132. O God ! O God/] 6 Gcd, God,
R nve, Pope, Jen. Q2Q3> 0 God, God, Q4. O God, God,
self-slaughter] feale Jlaughter Q . O God ! God ! Jen. El. Glo.-f,
Qq. Mob. Om. Q'76.
my mouth with still still kissing me,' — lb. St. 81, lb. p. 547; 'Even to thy pure
and most most loving breast,' — Sh. Son. no. In any case the compound epithet
must have originated in the frequent iterative use of the word. Staunton thinks
that the present instance must be regarded as an exception to Halliwell's rule. Here
the repetition of too is not only strikingly beautiful, rhetorically, but it admirably
expresses that morbid condition of the mind which makes the unhappy prince deem
all the uses of the world but ' weary, stale, flat and unprofitable.' Halliwell notes
that his copy of Fa reads 'too- too,' with the hyphen.
129-159. Coleridge: This tcedium vita is a common oppression on minds cast
in the Hamlet mould, and is caused by disproportionate mental exertion, which
necessitates exhaustion of bodily feeling. Where there is a just coincidence of
external and internal action, pleasure is always the result ; but where the former is
deficient, and the mind's appetency of the ideal is unchecked, realities will seem
cold and unmoving. In such cases passion combines itself with the indefinite alone.
In this mood of his mind the relation of the appearance of his father's spirit in
arms is made all at once to Hamlet : it is — Horatio's speech, in particular — a perfect
model of the true style of dramatic narrative; the purest poetry, and yet in the
most natural language, equally remote from the inkhorn and the plough.
129. solid flesh] Moberly : The base affinities of our nature are ever present
to Hamlet's mind. Here he thinks of the body as hiding from us the freshness,
life, and nobleness of God's creation. If it were to pass away, silently and sponta-
neously, like the mist on a mountain-side, or if, curtain-like, we might tear it down
by an act of violence, it may be that we should see quite another prospect ; at any
rate, the vile things now before us would be gone for ever.
'130. resolve] Steevens : This means the same as dissolve. Nares cites: 'I
could be content to resolve myself into tears, to rid thee of trouble.' — Lyly's
Euphues, p. 38. Caldecott : ' To thaw or resolve that which is frozen, regelo.'
Baret's Alvearie.
132. canon] Theobald first pointed out that this did not refer to a piece of
artillery, but to a divine decree. Hunter (ii, 218) : This is an unhappy word to use
here. I fear the truth is that the noise of the cannon in the King's speech was still
ringing in the Poet's ears. Grant White ( The Galaxy, Oct. 1869) : Here and in
Cym. Ill, iv, 77-80, there is a particular assertion of the existence of a specific pro-
l.ibition of suicide by Divine law. Sh. may have known the Bible, as he knew all
other things in his day knowable, so much better than I do that I may not without
presumption question what he says with regard to it. But I have not been able to
discover any such specific prohibition. Wordsworth {Shakespeare 's Knowledge and
Use of the Bible, p. 149) : Unless it be the Sixth Commandment, the 'canon ' must
be one of natural religion.
132. slaughter] Corson: The ending -er of 'slaughter' shomd be read as an
act I, sc. ii.] HAMLET 43

How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses of this world !
'ie on't! O fie! 'tis an un weeded garden 135
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, 14c
133. weary] ivary Qq. Qq. meerly : thatQ'j6.
134. Seem] Seenic Qq. Seemes FXF,,. 137. come to this] come thus Qq,
Seems FF, Rowe, Cald. Knt, i. Pope.
135. Fie on't! O fie !] Om. Q'76. 138. not two ;~\ Theob. ii. not two ;
O fie] ah fie Qq, Cap. Jen. QqFf. not two, — Rowe+ (— Warb.),
Glo. + . Oh fie, fie FXF7. Oh fie Y^ Jen.
Pope + . 139, 140. that. .. satyr :] Om. Q'76.
I36- gross] grofe Q2Q3Q4- 14°- satyr] fatire Q2Q3Q4- Satyr e
137. merely. That] meerely that Q FxFaF .

internal extra syllable. And every reader would feel the want of the second ' O,' on
which to dwell before uttering ' God ' with a strong aspiration.
135. O fie] Elze : In Fx the emphatic iteration of exclamations is very frequent,
and is probably due to the pathos of the actors. Corson : ' Ah,' of the Qq, does
not express the feeling of the speaker so well as the ' Oh ' of the Ff.
135. garden] Corson (p. 10) : There should be no comma after ' garden,' as the
relative clause is not used simply as an additional characterization of an unweeded
garden, but as an inseparable part of the whole characterization — an important dis-
tinction that should be made in pointing.
137. merely] Completely. See Macb. IV, iii, 152. Hudson: Observe how
Hamlet's brooding melancholy leads him to take a morbid pleasure in making things
worse than they are.
140. Hyperion] Farmer {Essay, &c, p. 37, note, ed. ii) says that this name is
used by Spenser with the same error in quantity. Caldecott adds, that not only did
our old poets totally disregard the quantity in this instance, but the moderns also have
made it altogether subservient to their convenience; and quotes Mitford as saying
that, ' Spenser has Iole, Pylades, Caphareus, Rcetean.' Gascoigne, in his Ultimum
Vale: * Kind Erato and wanton Thalia.' Gray, in his Progress of Poetry: l Hyperion's
march and glittering shafts of War.' Clarendon : Sh. always accents the antepe-
nult of the name of this god, whom he identifies with the sun, as in Homer's Odyssey,
i, 8. Abbott, $ 501 : A trimeter couplet, with an extra syllable [sa/j/r] on the first
trimeter. It might almost be regarded as separate lines of three accents.
140. to a satyr] Matzner (ii, 289) : The comparison of one object with another
becomes the expression of the relation thereto in a qualitative or quantitative regard.
The object introduced by to forms the measure for the comparison. Clarendon:
So in Cymb. Ill, iii, 26, and Ham. I, v, 52; III, i, 52.
140. satyr] Warburton (followed by White) thinks that Pan is here meant,
the brother of Hyperion, or Apollo. Elze says he does not know what authority
Wai burton has for this relationship, wl ich, moreover, cannot be referred to here
bf cause of the indefinite article, ' a satyr.' [Elze forgets that Pan, as well as Apollo,
44 HAMLET [act l. sc. ii

That he might iiOt beteem the winds of heaven 141

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, — 145
Let me not think on't, — Frailty,- thy name is woman !—
A little month! or ere those shoes were old (j^o^^^ \
O/v
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
141. m igh t not beteem ] per m it ted n ot 145. month, — ] month, QaQ,Q..
Q'76, Rowe, Pope, Warb. would not moneth, Q . month ? Ff, Rowe, Pope.
let e'en Theob. i. might not let e'en 146. on't] Om. Pope-f.
Theob. ii, Han. Johns. Cap. Jen. 147. month !] Rowe. month QaQ~>
beteem'] Mai. beteeme Qq, Bos. month. QQ. month: Q'76. month;
leteene FxFa. bete en F . between F . Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing.
permit Southern MS. (ap. Coll.). Dyce, El. Sta. White. Huds. month,
142. 143. Heaven. ..why,] Om. Q'76. Ff, Glo. + , Mob.
143. remember ?] Rowe. remember,
ere] eWe Q'76. e''er Rowe,
Qq. remember: Ff. Pope, Han.
would] JJiould Qq. ufed to shoes] flioos F . JJiooes Qq, Fx
Q'76. FaF , Rowe, Pope, Theob.
144. increase] encreafe FxFaF , Cap. 148. followed] Rowe. followed Qq
145. and] Om. Pope + .
Ff, Johns.
was said to be the son of Jupiter ; but his objection on the score of the indefinite
article is sound. Ed.]
141. beteem] Steevens: This word occurs in Golding's Ovid, 1587, and from
the corresponding Latin word (dignatur, bk. x, line 157) must necessarily mean, to
vouchsafe, deign, permit, or suffer ; 'Yet could he not beteeme The shape of anie
other bird then egle for to seeme ?' Nares : Spenser uses it in the same sense : ' So
would I (said th' enchanter), glad and faine Beteeme to you this sword.' — Faerie
Queene, II, viii, 19. Also in Mid. N. D. I, i, 131. Collier (ed. i) : In this pas-
sage, from Mid. N. D., the word is used in a different sense, being the provincial
word teem, which is still used for pour out in the north of England. Moberly •
Here it is used causatively : ' He would not allow it to be beseeming.'
147. or ere] Matzner (iii, 446) : A strengthening of the notion of time is given
by ever {/er, ere), (comp. Germ.yV), which in this case usually preserves the old
form, or. Thus, King fohn, IV, iii, 20, and V, vi, 44. Clarendon : See Temp.
I, ii, 11, and line 183 of this scene. Also Macb. IV, iii, 173, or Abbott, \ 131.
147. shoes] Ingleby (JV. &° Qu. 2 Feb. 1856) finds an inappropriateness and an
incongruity in Hamlet's making the antiquity, or wear and tear, of his mother's
shoes ' the measure of her grief, and accordingly suggests shows for ' shoes.' Com-
pare line 82, where ' shows of grief is defined by Hunter to be ' mourning apparel,'
nay, by Hamlet himself, to be ' the trappings and the suits of woe.' What, then,
are the shows with which Gertrude followed her husband's body to the grave but
•customary suits of solemn black?' What were her Niobe's tears but ' th' fruitful
-iver in the eye?' What were these but the 'forms and shows of grief?' Let the
text be thus paraphrased, 'Before my mother's "mourning-weeds" (2 Hen. VI)
were worn out, -he doffed them for the wedding-gear. Oh ! wicked speed,' &c.
 i

act I, sc. u.j VVy HAMLET J- / 45

Like Niobe, all tears ;— why she, even she, — ^ *
O God ! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, ' 1 50
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 ? \{-t<^y
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears ( ^f
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, u< ?»H'«*«j c l 155
149. tears ; — ivhy] Steev. teares, Knt, Sing. Dyce i, Sta. Ktly.
why Qq. teares. Why Ff. tears — 152. but] Om. Pope.
Why Rowe + . 153. Hercules.~\ Hercules, Qq.
even she,] Om. Qq. month?] Ff {Moneth ? FJ.
150. O God] O Heaven Ff, Rowe + , month, Q2Q3Q4, Jen. Ktly. month I
Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly. Rowef. moneth, Q . month; The rest.
151. 7w7// «y] w//// ;////*<? Ff,Rowe + , 155. in] of Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Sta.
150. discourse of reason] Johnson {Diet.): Discourse. The act of the under-
standing, bywhich it passes from premises to consequences. Gifford (note on
Massinger's Unnatural Combat, Works, vol. i, p. 148, ed. 1813) : It is very diffi-
cult to determine the precise meaning which our ancestors gave to discotirse, or to
distinguish the line which separated it from reason. Perhaps it indicated a more
rapid deduction of consequences from premises than was supposed to be effected by
reason ;— but I speak with hesitation. . . . Whatever be the sense, it frequently
appears in our old writers, by whom it is usually coupled with reason or judgement,
which last would seem to be the more proper word. . . . • Discourse of reason ' is sc
poor and perplexed a phrase, that [in Ham. I, ii, 150] I should dismiss it at once
for what I believe to be the genuine reading: ' discourse and reason.' Boswell:
The text may be supported by numerous examples. The very same phrase is used
in Tro. cV Cress. II, ii, 116. In the preface to Davys's Reports : 'And this idea I
have conceived of him, not out of mine own imagination, or weak discourse of
reason;' and Saville's Tacitus's Agricola, 1591, p. 242: 'Agricola, though brought
up in the field, upon a naturall wit, and discourse of reason,' cap. ix. Hamlet him-
self explains the phrase in IV, iv, 36. Caldecott adds, Oth. IV, ii, 153, ' dis-
course of thought.' Singer (ed. 2): 'Discourse of reason' means ratiocination.
Brutes have not this reasoning faculty, though they have what is instinct and memory.
Hamlet opposes the discursive power of the intellect of men to the instinct o\
brutes. Dyce (Gloss.) cites : ' There was no discourse of reason strong enough to
diuert him from thinking that he was betrayed.' — A Tragi- comicall History of ov*
Times, &c, p. 34, 1627.
151. with] See Abbott, \ 194.
154. unrighteous] Badham (p. 282) : The Queen's tears were not unrighteous,
but every way due; and though it may be urged that they were hypocritical, we learn
nothing of the kind from Sh. ; nor is it conceivable that where there was so much
that deserved to be called by the worst names, Hamlet should be made to select
such a trifle as the mere feigning of sorrow as something most unrighteous. I have
little doubt that Sh. wrote, ' moist and righteous tears.'
155. flushing] Hudson : This refers to the redness of the eyes, caused by what
Sh. elsewhere calls ' eye-offending brine.' Clarendon : 'Yo flush is still used fransi<
tivelj , meaning, to fill with water.
4t> HAMLET [act i, sc. ii.

She married. Oh, most wicked speed, to post 156

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 t
Enter Horatio, Marcellus, a^BERNARDO.

Hor. Hail to your lordship !

Ham. I am glad to see you well ; 160
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 y ou ;
157. incestuous] incejlious Qq. 1 60, 161. I. ..myself?] One line. Qq,
158. cannot] canmot F . Jen.
159. b?-eak my] QqFxFaF3. break, 161. Horatio, — ] Theob. Horatio,
my ¥v et cet. QqFf. Horatio ? Pope. Horatio ! Ktly.
Marcellus, and Bernardo.] do] Om. Q'76.
Barnardo Q'76. Barnard, and Marcel- 162. Two lines. Ff.
lus. Ff. 163. Two lines. Ff.
160. Scene iv. Pope + , Jen.

155. galled] Clarendon: That is, sore with weeping. Compare Rich. III.
IV, iv, 53; and Tro. and Cress. V, iii, 55.
157. dexterity] Warburton's idea that this means simply ' quickness ' also
occurred to Walker, who (Crit. ii, 242) says: 'I cannot help suspecting that Sh.
wrote celerity? ' Surely not,' says Dyce (ed. 2). Clarendon pronounces in favour
of celerity, not adroitness, as in 1 Hen. IV: II, iv, 286. Tschischwitz : To say
that • dexterity ' means celerity, involves an intolerable pleonasm when connected with
1 wicked speed.' Sh. had clearly in mind the Italian destrezza, which contains the
idea of deceit, and consequently of a haste or of an artifice which is morally wrong.
158. cannot] Clarendon: Observe the double negative so frequent in older
English writers. The latest instance of it we have noticed in any careful writer is
in Congreve's Love for Love, iv, 4. [See III, ii, 190.]
159. heart] Corson: 'Break' is a subjunctive, not an imperative, and 'heart'
is a subject, not a vocative.
159. tongue] Tschischwitz: Observe well that Hamlet is forced by his piety
to maintain this silence in presence of the courtiers under all circumstances, even
after the appearance of the Ghost. It is not until his heart really breaks that he
breaks this silence also, and gives Horatio permission to proclaim what has happened.
160. well] Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) omits 'well.' It spoils the line, and is
not mere surplusage, for how was Hamlet thus early to know whether Horatic were
1 well ' or not. [Collier omits it in his text.]
161. forget myself] Seymour (ii, 147) : This may mean: 'Or I have lost the
knowledge even of myself.''
163. change that name] Johnson : I'll be your servant, you shall be my friend.
Caldecott: That is, reciprocally use: I'll put myself on an exact level with you.
Halliwell : Hamlet means that he will change the name Horatio has given him-
Belf, that of pf or servant, to good friend; or perhaps as Johnson explains it.
act I, sc. ii.] HAMLET 47

And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio ?—

Marcellus? 165
Mar. My good lord, —
Ham. I am very glad to see you. — \To Ber.~\ Good even,
sir. — make you from Wittenberg?
But what, in faith,
Hor. A truant disposition, good my lord.
Ham. I would not hear your enemy say so, 170
Nor shall you do mine ear that violence,
To make it truster of your own report
Against yourself; I know you are no truant.
Rut what is your affair in Elsinore ?
165. Marcellus f\ Cap. Marcellus. 168. in faith] Om. Q'76.
QqFf. Marcellus! — Rowe + ,Jen. 169. good my] my good Q'76.
166. lord, — ] Rowe. lord. QqFf. 170. hear] heare Qq. have bt,
lord— lord! Ktly. lord? Cam. Rowe, Knt, Sing. White.
167. you. Good even, sir.] El. you, 171. mine] my Qq, Cap. Jen. Glo. + .
{good euen fir) Q2Q3Q4- you (good euen 172. make] take F2F3F4>
fir) Q . you : good euen fir. Ff (even, make it truster] be a witnefs
F4 ). Q'76.
[To Ber.] White, Cam. Huds. 174. Elsinore] Mai. Elfonoure Qq.
Om. the rest. Elfenour FfF2F3, Cap. Elfenoore F4.
even] morning Han. Warb. Elsinoor Rowe+.
168. what] Om. F4.
164. make] Johnson: A familiar phrase for, What are you doing ? Steevens:
See As You Like It, I, i, 31. Nares : Very frequently used by Sh. See Ham. II,
ii, 264. Tschischwitz : It still corresponds with ' rnachen,' in our phrase of cour-
teous greeting: 'Was machen Sie?' Keightley (Expositor, p. 286): I suspect
that here, and in a following line, and in II, ii, 266, we should read ' makes ' with
an ellipsis of be. The answers seem to indicate it.
167. even] Johnson : There is no need of Hanmer's change. Between the first
and eighth scene of this act a day must pass ; and how much of it is over there is
nothing to determine. The King has held a council. It may as well be evening as
morning. Steevens : The change might be justified by I, i, 174. Tyrwhitt:
Good even or den was the usual salutation from noon, the moment that good morro-w
became improper ; from the course of the incidents, precedent and subsequent, the
day may here be well supposed to be turned of noon. [See Rom. &" Jul. II, iv,
98.] White (Sh. Scholar, p. 409) : This is addressed to Bernardo, whom Hamlet
does not recognize.
170. hear] Dyce: The next line proves the reading of Ff to be erroneous.
Hunter (ii, 219) : The reading of the Ff is better, even if it had not the effect of
obviating the disagreeable recurrence of the sounds 'hear and 'ear.' Corson also
thinks the Ff more euphonious.
171. that] For instances of 'that ' used for such, see Abbott, $ 277 ; and I, v, 48.
172. truster] For instances of suffixes appended to nouns for the purpose of sig-
nifying the agents, see Abbott, § 443; also I, v, 163; III, iv, 206.
4-8 HAMLET [act i, sc. ii.

We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart. 175

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 baked-meats 180
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.
Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
175. to drink deep] for to drinke Qq. 178. see] Om. Qq.
here to drink Q'76. 1 79. follow'd} followed QqF,, Cald.
1 77. I pray thee] I pre thee Q2Q3- / White, followeth F2¥J?A.
prelhee Q4Q$y Cam. I pry thee F2. / 180. fwieral baked-meats"] funeral-
prithee F F , Rowe. Ipr'ythee Pope + , bak'd-meals Ktly.
Jen. Sta. 181. marriage tables] marriage
student] ft udient QSQ3- tables Ktly.

177. pray thee] Corson: This reading of Ff suits the required deliberateness
of the expression better. There is an earnest entreaty meant.
180. baked-meats] Collins: It was anciently the general custom to give a cold
entertainment to mourners at a funeral. In distant counties this practice is continued
among the yeomanry. See The Tragique Historie of the Faire Valeria of London,
1598: ' His corpes was with funerall pompe conveyed to the church, and there sol-
lemnly enterred, nothing omitted which necessitie or custom could claime; a sermon,
a banquet, and like observations.' Again, in the old romance of Syr Legore, no
date : ' A great feaste would he holde Upon his quenes mornynge day, That was
buryed in an abbay.' Malone : See, also, Hayward's Life and Raigne of King
Henrie the Fourth, 1599, p. 135 : 'Then hee [King Richard II] was obscurely in-
terred,— without the charge of a dinner for celebrating the funeral.' DOUCE : This
practice was certainly borrowed from the ccena feralis of the Romans, alluded to in
Juvenal's 5th Satire and in the Laws of the Twelve Tables. It consisted of the
offering of a small plate of milk, honey, wine, flowers, &c. to the ghost of the
deceased. In the North this feast is called an arval or arvil-supper ; and the loaves
that are sometimes distributed among the poor, arval-bread. John Addis, Jun.
(Ar. dr» Qu. 9 Feb. '67) cites an apposite passage from Massinger: 'The same rose-
mary that serves for the funeral will serve for the wedding.' — Old Law, IV, i.
Tschischwitz : This is one word. See Chaucer {Cant. Tales, v. 344): ' With-
outen bake mete never was his house.' The combination of a funeral and a mar-
riage feast contained nothing repugnant to the ancient Northern mind. At the end
of cap. 14 of Frithiof s Saga, it is related that Frithiof prepared a sumptuous feast,
to which came all his followers, and thereupon was held the funeral feast of Hiing
the King, and likewise the marriage feast of Frithiof and Ingiborg. Here in
Hamlet what was so abhorrent was that the widow should have married so quickly.
Clarendon: We have 'bakemeats' in Gen. xl, 17.
182. met] Tschischwitz: Note how averse Hamlet afterwards is to killing his
* dearest foe,' his uncle, lest he should send him to heaven.
182. clearest] The notes of Horne Tooke, Singer, Caldecott, Dyce, and
Craik on this word are given in full in Rom. 6° Jul. V, iii, 32. Tooke derived its
alt i, sc. ii.j HAMLET 49

Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio ! 183

My father, — methinks I see my father.
Hor. O where, my lord ?
Ham. In my mind's eye, Horatio. 185
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.

183. Or ever L had] Ere I had ever 185. 0 where] Where Qq, Cap. Jen
Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Dyce i, White. Mai. Steev. Cald. Sing. i.
Ere ever I had Coll. Sing, ii, El. Sta. id6, 187. he. ..He] a... A Qq.
Ktly. EWe I had Q'76. 187. for] from Theob. i.
184, 185. My. ..where] One line, in a//,] in all : Ff. in all...
Steev. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly. Ktly.
1 84. father,—] father /— Glo. + . 1 88. I shall] Ifhould FaF3F4, Rowe.

two opposite meanings from the single Anglo-Saxon word derian, to hurt, thence
deriving our word dear =r\ot cheap (when the season dereth the crops, causing a
dearth) ; hence what is not cheap is precious, valued ; whence comes the secondary
meaning of dear = beloved. In this passage 'dearest' has reverted to its original
meaning of hurtful, mischievous. This plausible derivation, or rather explanation,
of the two distinct and contrary meanings of the word has been followed by Rich-
ardson in his Dictionary, and by the edd. above named, except Craik, who detected
Tooke's error in tracing the word, in both its meanings, to one root, by showing
that the word dear = high-priced, precious, beloved, is the Anglo-Saxon deore, dure,
d$>re, from the verb deoran or dyran, to hold dear, to love. Craik thus explains
the different senses which the word assumes : the notion properly involved in it of
love having first become generalized into that of a strong affection of any kind,
thence passes on into that of such an emotion the very reverse of love, or as
Clarendon concisely states it : ' dear ' is used of whatever touches us nearly either
in love or hate, joy or sorrow. Matzner (i, 196) gives a list of two hundred
and thirty-five words which had originally different forms (and of course different
meanings), but which now are found in only one form; among them (i, 206) is
dear, with the different original forms pointed out by Craik. See • dear soul,' III
ii, 58.
183. Or ever] Corson (p. 10) prefers the text of Ff as better suiting the re-
quired deliberateness of the expression. See line 147.
185. where] For a list of monosyllables frequently pronounced as dissyllables,
see Walker, Vers. 136, and Abbott, g 480.
185. mind's eye] JENNENS : Thus, 'E/x^eip^uev rolq bfj./j,aai rfjq ipvxvC- — I
Epistle of St. Clement, cap. 19. Steevens : See R. of L. 1426. Also Chaucer,
Man of Law e: Tale [line 454] : « But-if it were with eyen of his mynde.' Malone:
See Sonn. 113, 1 .
188. I shall] Steevens: According to Holt, Sir Thomas Samwell proposes:
'Eye shall ' as more in the true spirit of Sh. Douce (ii, 204) pronounced the emen-
dation elegant, and adduced 1 Corinth, ii, 9, yet confessed that the ear would fail to
perceive the force of it.
5 d
50 HAMLET [act i, sc. ii.

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

Ham. Saw ? who ? 190
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. 195
Hor. Two nights together had these gentlemen,
Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch,
In the dead vast and middle of the night,
190. Saw? who ?] Saw, who? Qq, 193. may] Om. Pope + .
El. White. Saw who? Q'76, Sing, ii, 195. marvel] wonder Q'7 6.
Dyce, Coll. ii, Sta. Del. Ktly, Huds. For God's love,] Pray Q'76.
Saw! whom? Johns. Coll. (MS). God's] Gods Qq. Heauens Ff,
192. Season] Defer Q 7 6. Rowe + , Cald. Knt.
for] but Q'76, Theob.+ 198. vast] waft Q2Q3Q4FX. wafle
(-Han.). F2F3F4' Rowe, Pope, Theob. Han.
193. attent] attentiue Q4QSF3F4> Warb. Cap. Jen. Cald. Knt, El. waist
Pope + , Sta. Mai. Steev. Var. Tsch.

190. who] Collier (ed. 2) : Notwithstanding the (MS), it may be doubted

whether Sh. did not write 'who.' Clarendon: Sh. very generally uses who for
the accusative. Dyce {Remarks, &c, p. 205) : The right punctuation is doubtless
' Saw who ?' {i. e. whom) ; nor do I recollect any performer of Ham. who under-
stood the words but as a single question; no pause of astonishment was made
between ' Saw ' and ' who ' by the two Kembles, Kean, and Young, — none is made
by Macready and the younger Kean.
192. Season] Johnson: That is, temper it. Clarendon: As in I, iii, 81 ; II,
i, 28 ; III, ii, 199 ; and Mer. of Ven. IV, i, 197.
192. admiration] Clarendon: Astonishment, as in III, ii, 311, and Rev.
xvii, 6.
193. attent] Clarendon : This only occurs in one other passage in Sh. : Peri-
cles, III (Gower), 1 1. Spenser uses it as a substantive : ' And kept her sheepe with
diligent attent.' — F. Qu. vi, 9, 37.
193. may] For the various shades of meaning in which can, may, might, are
used, see Abbott (g§ 307-309). See I, iv, 51.
195. God's] White: The conformity of the Ff to the statute 3 Jac. I is so com-
mon in this play that hereafter it need not be noticed.
198. vast] M alone: By waist is meant nothing more than middle. So, m
Marston's Malecontent, 1604: ' 'Tis now about the immodest waist of night? i.e.
midnight. Again, in The Puritan, 1607 : ' ere the day be spent to the girdle?
See Minsheu's Diet. 161 7: lWast, middle, or girdle-steed.' Collier: 'Vast' is
used in the same sense in Tempest, I, ii, 327, where ' vast of night ' means the vacancy
or void of night, an d the phrase here means t^e silent vacancy of midnight. To
ACTi.sc. ii.] HAMLET 51

Been thus encounter'd. A figure like your father,

Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe, 200
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

200. Armed at point'] Amid at all By them thrice Ff, Rowe.

points Ff, Rowe+, Jen. Cald. Knt, Sing. 203. fear-surprised ~\ Hyphen, Ft.
Dyce i, El. White, Huds. 204. his] this Q4Q5-
cap-a-pe] Capapea Q3Q3. Cap distill'd] Q5. di/lifd Q2Q3Q4
apea Q4Q5. Cap a Pe Ff. Cap ape beJliVd Ff. beJliWd F,, Knt. beJlilPd
Q'76. F F4. be-stiWd Rowe. bestiWd Cald
202. stately by them; thrice] Jlately: bechilPd Coll.ii(MS).

take wast of Q in the sense of waist, or middle of a person, is to impute mere

tautology to Sh., instead of the fine meaning of deserted emptiness and stillness of
midnight. White : Perhaps we should read waste. But in either case the sense
remains the same, — the dead void ; and ' vast ' seems to have been used substantively
in this sense by Sh., if not by his contemporaries. Clarendon: It here means
emptiness ; the time when no living thing is seen. We have it also in the sense of
an empty space in Wint. Tale, I, i, 33. ' Wast,' i. e. ' waste,' is in origin the same
word as ' vast,' and has the same sense. There is, of course, an easy pun on wast*
and waist, but it is not probable that Sh. meant to make one in this place.
200. at point] See Macb. IV, iii, 135.
201. Appears] Clarke: This speech shows notably Shakespeare's use of tnc
past and present tenses in narration.
204. distill'd] Knight [See Text. Notes] : To still is to fall in drops ;— they were
dissolved, — separated drop by drop. 'Almost to jelly.' Collier [Notes, &c, p.
433): Neither ' distill'd' nor bestiWd can be satisfactory; but it is apparent that
' bestill'd' of FT was a misprint for bechiWd. Bernardo and Marcellus were almost
chilled to jelly by their apprehensions, • the cold fit of fear ' having come powerfully
upon them. Dyce [Notes, &c, p. 135) : Is there not something strange in such an
expression as ' human bodies chilled almost to jelly by fear?' (I doubt if the verb
still (to fall in drops, melt) ever was, or could be, used with the augmentative prefix
be.) According to the Qq, they melted, dissolved almost to jelly with,' &c. A pas-
sage of Claudian (De Sexto Cons. Hon. v, 345), ' liquefactaque fulgure cuspis Can-
duit, et subitis fluxere vaporibus enses,' is thus rendered by Addison, ' Swords by
the lightning's subtle force distiird.' Singer (ed. 2) : So also in Sylvester's Du
Bartas (ed. 4, p. 764), ' Melt thee, distill thee, turne to wax or snow.' Collier
(ed. 2) : Jelly becomes jelly only by being 'bechill'd;' and when it is argued that
' distill'd ' may mean melted, it is forgotten that Horatio does not say that his com-
rades were melted to 'jelly,' for jelly is no longer jelly when melted, but that they
were 'bechill'd to jelly ;' it is jelly, because it has been 'bechill'd.' Besides, Sh.
never uses 'distill'd' (often as it occurs in his plays) as melted, but as extracted;
and even in this very tragedy, and in this very Act, he speaks of a ' leperous distil-
ment ' as procured by distillation from ' cursed hebenon.' Therefore we feel morally
certain that Shakespeare's word here was 'bechill'd.' Bailey (i, 47) dissents from
$2 HAMLET [act i, sc ii

Almost to jelly with the act of fear, 205

Stand dumb, and speak not to him. 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, 210
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 ?

205. the act of] their Q'76. th' Whereas QqFf.

rffecl of Warb. 210. thing ,] thing ; Fi.
207. In. ..did /] They did impart in 21 1, apparition] Apparifton Q Q.
dreadful fecrefie, Q'76. Q4.
209. Where, as] Where as Q'76. 213. watch'd] watch Q2Q,.

Collier on physical grounds. '■Solids cannot be chilled into gelatine.' ' It is the
exclusive privilege of liquids (and liquids only of a certain description) to be cooled
down into that tremulous substance. Hence the true reading seems to stare us in
the face: "whilst they dissolved Almost," &c.' 'It may deserve mentioning that
when the chilling effects of any passion are chiefly in view, it is the blood which
is usually described by Sh. as the seat of the refrigeration.' In view of the fact
that Sh. has several times used the word 'thrill' to express the effect of terror,
Bailey suggests ' a plausible reading,' so he says, for the present passage : ' while
they both thrill d? ' Or,' if the prefix be should be prefixed, we might read ' whik
they bethriWd.'1 HUDSON : ' Distill'd (meaning to fall in drops, to melt) is a verj
natural and fit expression for the cold sweat caused by intense fear. Corson : ' Be-
stil'd ' seems to be used as a strong form of ' still'd,' as the next line shows. I get
no meaning out of ' distill'd.'
205. act] Johnson: 'Fear' was the cause, the active cause, that 'distill'd' them
by the force of operation which we strictly call act in voluntary, and power in invol-
untary, agents, but popularly call act in both. Tschischwitz : Here used like the
Latin actus, and, like it, is passive, not active. Compare ' fertur magno mons impro
bus actu ' — Virgil; so also the Italian atto.
207. dreadful] For adjectives which have both an active and a passive meaning,
see Abbott, \ 3. Thus 'sensible,' I, i, 57 (also passive in Macb. II, i, 36) ; ' plaus-
ive' (passive), I, iv, 30. See also Walker (Crit. ii, 78).
207. impart they did] Clarendon : This inversion gives formality and solemnity
to the speaker's words.
209. time] Francke: After this word and is omitted by asyndeton. See also
Lear, I, i, 51.
214. speak] Steevens has a long note to prove that this is the emphatic word
here, and not 'you.' 'By what particular person, therefore, an apparition, which
exhibits itself only for the purpose of being urged to speak, was addressed, could be
iCTi.sc. ii.] HAMLE1 53

Hor. My lord, I did,

But answer made it none; yet once methought 215
It lifted up it head and did address

216. it] QiQgQ^F., White, Cla. Ktly. his Q,, Sta. its QSF,Q'76F4, et cet.

of no consequence. Be it remembered likewise that the words are not as lately pro-
nounced upon the stage : " Did not yon speak to it ?'' '
216. it head] Craik (Note on Jul. Ges. I, ii, 124): The word its does not
occur in the authorized translation of the Bible; it is, however, found in Sh. There
is one instance [the only one, according to RoLFE, where it is not spelled it's, with
an apostrophe] in Mens, for Mens. I, ii, 4. Hut the most remarkable of the plays
in this particular is probably Wint. Tale ; where in I, ii, 151-158, we have as many
as three instances in a single speech of Leontes ; again in I, ii, 266, and III, iii.
46. On the other hand, we have the following instances in Fx of the use of it in
possessive sense, where we now use its: Wint. Tale, II, iii, 178; III, ii, 101 ;
King John, II, i, 160, 161, 162 ; Lear, I, iv, 235 (l>is) ; the passage ' that nature which
contemnes it origin,' in Lear, IV, ii, 32, is not in Ff ; but Qx has ith and Q2 it. There
is also one passage in our English Bible, Levit. xxv, 5, in which the reading of the
original edition is ' of it own accord.' The modern reprints give ' its.' [Rolfe
adds: In the Geneva Bible, 1579, we have 'it owne accorde,' in Acts, xii, 10.]
Trench (English Past and Present) doubts whether Milton has once admitted its
into Paradise L^ost, ' although, when that was composed, others frequently allowed
it.' But he does use it occasionally, e.g. 'The mind is its own place.' — Par.
Lost, i, 254; and ' falsehood . . . returns Of force to its own likeness.' — Lb. iv,
813. [Rolfe : See also Hymn on the Nativity, 106.] Generally, however, he
avoids the word, and easily does so by personifying most of his substantives; it is
only when this cannot be done that he reluctantly accepts the services of the little
parvenu monosyllable. Bacon has frequently his in the neuter. Trench notices
the fact of the occurrence of its in Rowley's Poems as decisive against their genuine-
ness. The modern practice is the last of three distinct stages through which the
language passed, as to this use of its, in the course of less than a century. First,
we have his serving for both masculine and neuter; secondly, we have his restricted
to the masculine, and the neuter left with hardly any recognized form ; thirdly, we
have the defect of the second stage remedied by the frank adoption of the hereto-
fore rejected its. And the most curious thing of all in the history of the wcrd its
is the extent to which, before its recognition as a word admissible in serious com
position, even the occasion for its employment was avoided or eluded. This is very
remarkable in Sh. The very conception which we express by its probably does net
occur once in his works for ten times that it is to be found in any modern writer.
So that we may say the invention or adoption of this form has changed not only our
English style, but even our manner of thinking. The Saxon personal pronoun was,
in the nominative singular, He, masculine; LLeo, feminine; LLit, neuter. He we still
retain ; for Lied we have substituted She, apparently a modification of Seo, the
feminine of the demonstrative ; Hit we have converted into // (though the aspirate
is still often heard in the Scottish dialect). The genitive was Hire for the feminine
(whence our modern Her), and His both for the masculine and the neuter. It is to
be understood, of course, that its, however convenient, is quite an irregular forma-

5*
54 HAMLET [act i, sc. ii.

Itself to motion, like as it would speak; 217

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. 220
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.

217. like] Om. Q'76. 222. writ down in] then Q'76.
221. honoured] honourable F2F4, 223,224. To. ..but] One line, Seymour.
Rowe. honorable F . 223. of] Om. Q'76.
tion ; the / of it (originally hit) is merely the sign of the neuter gender, which does
not enter into the inflection, leaving the natural genitive of that gender (hi, his)
substantially identical with that of the masculine (he, he-s, his).
To the foregoing Rolfe adds the following instances of its in F : Te7np. I, ii,
95; lb. I, ii, 393; 2 Hen. VI: III, ii, 393; Hen. VIII: I, i, 18. //, or yt, pos-
sessive is found in Fx in fourteen passages. The following are not mentioned by
Craik: Temp. II, i, 163; 2 Hen. IV: I, ii, 131 ; Hen. V: V, ii, 40; Rom. 6° Jul.
I, iii, 52; Timon, V, i, 151 ; Ham. I, ii, 216; lb. V, i, 209; Ant. &> Cleo. II, vii,
49; lb. II, vii, 53; Cym. Ill, iv, 160. Rolfe concludes: No argument in regard
to the date of the plays can be based upon the occurrence of these various forms of
the possessive its. We find all three in some of the earliest plays, two different
forms in the very same play; and its in Hen. VIII, which, according to White, is
the latest of the plays. The simple fact is, that Sh. wrote in the early part of that
transitional period when its was beginning to displace his and her as the possessive
of it, and that just at that time the forms it and its were more common than its,
though this last was occasionally used even before the end of the 16th century. See
Wright's Bible Word-Book, and Marsh, Lectures on Eng. Lang., First Series, p.
397. [See also Matzner, i, 296, and Mommsen, Rom. 6° Jul., p. 22. Indeed,
this whole note ought to have been given in the Variorum ed. of Rom. 6° Jul.
I, iii, 52, but my only apology for this and similar omissions in that volume is
the terror with which the endless pages in prospect inspired me in those early
days; and I have not outgrown it yet. Ed.]
217. like as it would] As if. See II, i, 91, 95; III, iv, 135; Macb. I, iv, 11 ;
or Abbott, $ 107, or Matzner, ii, 128, and iii, 494.
218. even] Just, exactly. See Abbott, \ 38, or Schmidt, (s. v.) 4.
219. shrunk] Warton. It is a most inimitable circumstance in Sh. to make the
Ghost, which has been so long obstinately silent, and of course must be dismissed
by the morning, begin or rather prepare to speak, and to be interrupted at the very
critical time of the crowing of a cock. Another poet, according to custom, would
have suffered his Ghost tamely to vanish without contriving this start, which is like
a start of guilt, — to say nothing of the aggravation of the future suspense, occasioned
by this preparation to speak and to impart some mysterious secret. Less would havfl
been eypected had nothing been promised.
221. As] See Matzner, iii, 493, /?/?; and for the old preterite 'writ' in the next
tine, see lb. i, 368.
act i, sc. ii.] HAMLET 55

Ham. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles inc.

Hold you the watch to-night ?
Mar- I 1*7 A 1 A
r> , f We do, my lord. 225
Hani.
Ma r. \ Arm'd, say you ?

Ber ) Arm d, my lord.

Ham. From top to toe ?
Mar. \

„ ' \ My lord, from head to foot.

Ham. Then saw you not his face?
Hor. 0, yeSjjnyMor^a^Ji^ beavei
Ham. What, look'd he frowningly? 230
Hor. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.
Ham. Pale, or red ?
224. Indeed, indeed] Indeede Qq, 230, 231. What... more] One line,
Pope, Jen. Seymour. Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt i, Coll. Sing.
225. 226, 227. Mar. Ber.] Cap. Dyce, El. White, Ktly.
Sta. Del. Glo. + . All. Qq. Both. Ff, 230. What,] Ft. What Qq. Hem
Rowe + . Qx, Sta.
227-229. My. ..not] One line, Steev. he] he, Sta.
Cald. Bos. Knt i. 232. Pale,] Pale Dyce, Sta. Glo.-f ,
227. My lord,] Om. Q'76. Mob.
228. face?] face. Q2Q3<

226. Arm'd] Knight. This passage is sometimes read and acted as if it applied
to the manner in which Hor. and Mar. were to hold their watch ; and we have
somewhere seen a criticism which notes line 228 as a memorable example of an
abrupt transition. Without doubt it is asked with reference to the Ghost. Hamlet an-
ticipates the re-appearance of the figure when he asks, line 225, and proceeds to those
minute questions which carry forward the deep impressions of truth and reality with
which everything connected with the supernatural appearance of the Ghost is invested
229. beaver] Florio {A Worlde of' Wordes, 1598) gives: Bauiira, the chin peec<
of a caske or head-peece. Bullokar [English Expositor, 1616) defines: Beaner
In armour it signifieth that part of the helmet which may bee lifted vp, to take breath
the more freely. Douce (i, 439) shows that it is frequently used to denote the
whole helmet, as in 3 Hen. VI: I, i, 12, and gives representations of the helmel
and its parts; as also Knight at 2 Hen. IV: IV, i, 120. Worcester cites Stephen-
son as deriving it from Fr. buvoir, because it enabled the wearer to drink. The
definitions of Richardson and Wedgwood are not borne out by references to Sh.
Hunter (ii, 219) : Some say it ought to be 'he wore his beaver down,' but Sh. has
the authority of one who ought to know something concerning what belongs to
knights and chivalry : • they their bevers up did rear.' — Faerie Queene, IV, vi, 25.
231. Pale or red] Corson : The meaning is marred without the comma of F
after • Pale.' Hamlet must be supposed to utter ' Pale ' as a thing of course, pale-
ness being he conventional idea attached to a ghost. The word should be uttered
56 HAMLET [act i, sc. ii.

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 amazed you. 235
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't.

Ham. His beard was grizzled ? no ?
235, Var.
Steev. 236.Cald.
It...like,~]
Knt i,One
Coll. line,
White. Cap. All.238.
Ff. Mar. Ber?) Cap. Both. Qq.
23^> 237. very. ..haste] One line, 239. savSt] did see it Seymour.
Cap. Mai. 239. grizzled? no?] Cap. grifsVd,
236. Very like, very like] Very like no. Q2Q3» grifs'ld, no. Q . grijfeld,
Qq, Pope + , Jen. El. no. Q$. grijly ? no. Ft> Cald. Knt.
236. Stay'd it] Did it stay Seymour. grijly? F2F3F4, Rowe + . grijled ? Q'76,
237. moderate] modern Knt i (a mis- Jen. grisVd? no. Warb. grizzled, —
print— N. &° Qu.\ Jan. '51). no? Dyce, Sta. Mob.
hundred] hundreth Qq.

with a falling inflection, and then ' or red ' added, after a pause, with a certain
anxious impatience : Pale, was he ? or red ; how was it? In other words, he hasn't
the two ideas, ' pale ' and ' red,' in his mind at once ; when he first speaks he has
only that of ' Pale,' on which his voice rests. He then adds, somewhat impatiently,
' or red ?' A semicolon would mark the division better than a comma.
236. like] Clarendon: See II, ii, 336. This use of ' like' instead of 'likely'
has become provincial. Congreve (Way of the World, IV, iv) puts it into the
mouth of the rustic, Sir Wilfull.
239. grizzled] Moberly : The meaning seems to be * grisly' =■= foul and disordered.
Probably Hamlet's meaning in asking the question was to find whether his father
showed signs of a violent death, like Gloster, in 2 Hen. VI: III, ii, 175; but he
repels the supposition at once, as being unwilling to connect personal violence with
the thought of his father.
239. grizzled? no?] As You Like It {Gent. Maga. 1760, vol. Ix, 403):
' No ' appears to have been given very improperly to Ham. The question is de-
signed to try how far Hor. has observed the Ghost. Ham. therefore proposes the
question of a beard of a different colour to that of his father's. To which Hor.,
giving a negative to the question, describes the beard as it really was. [This ingeni-
ous suggestion carries probability almost sufficient to justify its adoption in the text;
for two reasons — First. After an affirmative question we instinctively anticipate the
inswer yes, not ' no,' which would more naturally follow a negative question :
His beard was not grizzled ?' Secondly. It is eminently characteristic of the pre-
cise Horatio (e'en the justest man Ham. had ever found) to draw a nice distinction
o« ween 'grizzled' and 'sable silvered.' He had been most exact in his estimate
cf the time the Ghost stayed, and he would be equally exact even as to the co^ur
act I. sc. ii.] HAMLET 57

Hor. It was, as I have seen it in his life, 240

A sable sitvcrM.
Ham. I'll watch to-night;
Perchance 'twill walk again.
Hor. I warrant it will.

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, 245
If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight,
Let it be tenable in your silence still,

240. as] Om. F F4, Rowe. Sing. White, Sta. Ktly. war'nt Cap.
241. /'//] F, Rowe + , Sing, ii, Jen.
White, Sta. Huds. He F,^. Pie Fj. 246. concert d] concealed Y^^.
I will Qq, et cet. 247. be tenable in~\ require Q'76.
241, 242. I'll. ..again] As one tenable] treble F,F4> Rowe-t-,
line, Ff, Rowe + , White, Huds. Cald. Knt i. trebble F,F,. ten'ble
241. night] nigh Q2Q3- Warb. tabled Nicholson (withdrawn).-"
242. walk] wake Fx. tenable . . . still] treble . . . no7v
warrant] Qt, Steev. warn't Warb. conj. (withdrawn).
Qq. warrant you Ff, Rowe -I- , Bos.
and texture of the beard. Ed.] Corson, however, strongly upholds Ff ; he says:
Hamlet is subjecting his friends to a searching examination, and when he asks the
question, ' His Beard was grisly ?' he adds, with decision, ' no,' as though he had
caught them on this point. ' No ' should be read with a strong downward inflection.
241. I'll] Corson: This is strongly emphatic, and it can be better made so in
4 I'll' of the Ff than ' I will' of the Qq. It seems, too, that the abbreviated form
suits better Hamlet's off-hand mode of speech with his friends.
242. warrant] For instances of words composed of two short syllables contracted
in pronunciation into monosyllables see Walker, Vers. 65 ; or Abbott, § 463.
244. gape] Staunton : It here, perhaps, signifies yell, howl, roar, &c, rather
than yawn or open, as in Hen. VIII : V, iv, 3. Clarendon: And so, perhaps, 'a
gaping pig.' — Mer. of Ven. IV, i, 54.
247. tenable] Caldecott and Knight (ed. i.) defend the misprint of Ff.
Both paraphrase it : * Impose a threefold obligation of silence ;' and in proof that
this was a favorite scale or measure with Sh., Caldecott adds some examples, which
Mrs Clarke's Concordance will more than treble. White : We might have had
some trouble in correcting the misprint of the Ff, if it had not been for the Qq.
Bailey (i, 51) objects to ' tenable ' on three grounds : First. * Tenable in silence ' is
scarcely English; no ordinary combination of circumstances requires it. Second.
It does not express the meaning here intended. Ham. enjoins that the matter be
held in silence, not holdable in silence ; the latter is a common condition of all intelli-
gence. Thirdly. ' Tenable ' is nowhere to be found in Sh. ; • intenible ' occurs once,
and singularly enough in an active sense — incapable of holding, not incapable of
being held. Furthermore, in addition to these three reasons, the point of the line
is lost if the right word, ' treble,' be excluded. Ham. is addressing his three com-
panions, and he lays upon all three a solemn injunction : ' Let it be treble in your
58 JIAMLET [act i, sc. ii.

And whatsoever else shall hap to-night

Give it an understanding, but no tongue ;
I will requite your loves. So fare you well ; 250
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.
\_Exeiint all but Hamlet.
My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well ;
I doubt some foul play ; would the night were come ! 255
Till then sit still, my soul ; foul deeds will rise,
Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. [Exit.
248. whatsoever] what fomeuer Q2 253. [Exeunt.. . Hamlet. ] Glo. Ex-
Q3. what what foeuer Q4. eunt. Manet Hamlet. Q'76. Exeunt
else shall hap] shall befall rPope + . Hor. Mar. and Ber. Cap. Exeunt.
250. requite] require F3F4. (after line 252) QqFf.
fare] farre Q3Q3- 254- spirit in arms /] fpirit in
you] ye Ff, Rowe + , Jen. Knt, armes ? FXF2F . fpirit [in amies') Qq.
Dyce, White, Sta. Huds. fpirit in arms, Q'76. spirit ! in arms !
251. eleven] a leauen Q2Q,Q.. Whalley, Rann.
252. duty] duties Qx, White, Huds. 256. foul] fonde Q2Q3»
honour] horn or Q . rise, Though... them, to] Johns.
253. loves] love Ff, Rowe, Pope, rife Though... them to Qq. rife, Though
Han. Knt, Sta. ...them to Ff, Mai. rife, Though.. .them
farewell.] so fare you well. Seym. from Q'76. rise, ( Tho' ...them) to Pope.
silence still,' i. e. Let all three of you continue to preserve silence respecting it. * Sh.
probably wrote, " Let it be in your treble silence still." ' Compare Cym. V, v, 388 :
1 Your three motives to the battle,' i. e. the motives of you three, not your motives
three in number. Clarendon : Regard it as a secret which ought to be kept.
See Walker, Crit. i, 183; or Abbott, g 3.
252. duty] White: That there is a mere omission of the final s appears both by
Hamlet's reply, ' Your loves,' and by the usage of Shakespeare's time. I think the
reading here of Qx is of little or no importance, so variable is our old typography as
to the final s in such words.

253. loves] Staunton : The hurried repetition, ' your loves, your loves,' of Qf
well expresses the perturbation of Hamlet at the moment, and that feverish impa-
tience to be alone and commune with himself which he evinces whenever he is
particularly moved. Corson : Love is better than ' loves ' of the Qq., as being
opposed to ' duty ;' love should be uttered with a slow and deliberate downward
wave : Your love, I ask ; I don't wish you to act from a sense of duty alone ; I ask
your love in the matter. Qf throws light on the true meaning. Hamlet, though
always
I»ii 17 princely, is impatient of certain conventional courtesies. [See note on ' loves,'
30
257. to men's eyes] Corson: It is questionable as to whether this phrase
should be connected with ' rise ' or with ' o'erwhelm.' A reader finds it awkward to
connect it with ' rUe.' The omission of the comma in Fx after ' them,' thus con
\ct l, sc. iii.j HAMLET 59

Scene III. A room in Polonius's house.

Enter Laertes and Opukua. I * * ^" 'f

Lacr. 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.
OpJi. Do you doubt that ?
Laer. For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favour, 5
Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood,
Scene in.] Scene v. Pope + . uoy is affiflant ; Ff, Rowe, Pope, Jen.
A room...] An apartment. ..Pope. conuay,in afsijlant Q2Q Q .. conuay,in
...house.] ...Apartment. Cap. affiflant, Q. convey in affiflant, Q 76.
Ophelia.] Ophelia his Sister. Qq. 3. sleep] slip Theob. conj. (with-
I. e?nbark\l~\Q\\>. inbarckt Q2Q3Q4- drawn).
imbarkt Q. imbark 7 F 't¥'t. inibark'd 5. favour} fauours Ff, Rowe, Pope.
FF, Rowe + , Jen. Plan. Cald. Knt, Sta.
3. convoy is assistant,"] Theob. con-
necting it with 'o'erwhelm,' makes equally good sense, and adapts the construction
of the sentence better to its vocal expression.
Scene hi.] Coleridge: This scene must be regarded as one of Shakespeare's
lyric movements in the play, and the skill with which it is interwoven with the
dramatic parts is peculiarly an excellence of our poet. You experience the sensa-
tion of a pause without the sense of a stop.
1. embark'd] Corson : As applied to things, imbarttt or inbark't seems prefer-
able to ' embark'd.'
2. as] Abbott, $ 109 : We almost always apply as, like because, to the past and
the present ; Sh. often uses it of the future, in the sense of ' according as.' In the
present passage a modern reader would at first naturally suppose ' as ' to mean since,
or because, but the context shows it means ' according as.7
2. benefit] Walker (Crit. i, 94) : It is to be observed that the words benefit
and beneficial, in our old writers, almost uniformly involve the idea of a benefactor,
which has since been dropped, except in cases where the context implies that idea,
1 g. conferring or receiving a benefit.
3. convoy] Clarendon : That is, conveyance. See Airs Well, IV, iv, 10.
5. trifling] Caldecott : That is, gay and thoughtless intimation.
6. fashion] Clarendon : That wh?ch is changeable and temporary. See Lyly's
Euphues, ed. Arber, p. 81 : 'Tush Philautus was liked for fashion sake, but neuer
loued for fancie sake.'
6. toy] That is, caprice, as in Rom. 6° Jul. IV, i, 119: 'inconstant toy.' Sh.
uses this word, as Staunton says {King John, I, i, 232), with great latitude. See
its use in I, iv, 75. Clarendon: A pastime and fancy, not a deep affection. See
Oth. I, iii, 269.
6. blcod] Dyce (Gloss.) : Disposition, inclination, temperament, impulse. [See
line 116 )f tMs scene, and III, ii, 64.]
bO HAMLET [act i, sc. iii.

A violet in the youth of primy nature, 7

Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute ;
No more.
Opli. No more but so ?
Laer. Think it no more ; ic
For nature crescent does not grow alone
In thews and bulk ; but, as this temple waxes,

7. youth of primy] youth and prime IO. No more.] No more — Warb.

vf Q'76. but no more Coll. (MS).
8. Forward] Froward FXF2. No more] Mo more Q .
sweet, not] the!' sweet, not Rowe+ . so ?] Rowe. so. QqFf.
tweet, but not Cap. Ktly. 11 crescent] crej[fant QqFxF2F .
9. The perfume and] The (reading 12 bulk] bulkes Qq.
The. ..No more, as one line) Ff, Rowe. this] his Ff, Rowe, Pope, tht
minute;] minute Qq. minute? Han.
Fx. minute: Q'76.
7. primy] Nares : Early, belonging to the spring ; perhaps, peculiar to this passage.
8. Forward] Caldecott : Early, ripe before due season ; and thence having in
it the principles of premature decay.
8. To aid the scansion of this line different expedients have been devised (see
Text. Notes). Mommsen {Perkins- Shakespeare, Berlin, 1854, pp. 360, 496) throws
the accent on the second syllable of ' lasting,' as we sometimes find it in words
which are now paroxytone; e.g. semblance, marchant, &c. To pronounce it as a
trochee, lasting, is against the Shakespearian usage of admitting a trochee only after
a pause. But, Elze asks, Why cannot both the last two feet be trochees : • sw6et
not I lasting'? Abbott and Clarendon prolong « sweet ' into a dissyllable (| 484,
and see Macb. I, ii, 5). Moberly finds the solution in ' permanent.' • The mean-
ing of this word induces a slight pause, and so gives it the time of an additional
syllable.' [In other words, the voice of an intelligent reader cures instinctively
such defects in metre; if they be defects.]
9. suppliance] Johnson : It is plain that perfume is necessary to exemphiy the
idea of sweet, not lasting. With the word suppliance I am not satisfied, and yet
dare hardly offer what I imagine to be right. I suspect that soffiance, or some such
word, formed from the Italian, was then used for the act of fumigating with swee:
scents. Mason : An amusement to fill up a vacant moment. Steevens : What was
supplied us for a minute. It is found in Chapman's ninth Iliad.
10. so?] Corson [who prefers the punctuation of the QqFf]: This speech is
certainly meant to express Ophelia's submissiveness to her brother's opinion, not to
question the correctness of it.
1 1-14. For . . . withal] Tschischwitz transposes these lines to follow line 32,
because, as he alleges, they afford not the slightest explanation to ' Think it no
more,' and because they have been evidently inserted in the wrong place through
some blunder, and are intelligible only when restored to their proper order, as he
deems it.
12. thew^l Rolfe (Cr uk's Jul Cas. I, iii, 81) : That is, muscular powers ; as in
act i, sc. iii.] HAMLET 01

The inward service of the mind and soul

Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now ;
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch 15
The virtue of his will ; but, you must fear,

His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own •

13. and] Om. Q . Rovve.
15. soil nor] foyle nor F,F _. foil 1 6. fear,] feare, Qq. feare F,J*#.
nor F , Rowe. soil of Warb. soil, or fear FF, Rowe. fear ; Ktly.
Heath. 17. weighed] wayd Q2Q3- waid
16. will] feare F,F.. >zr F3F4, Q4Q$.
all the three instances in which Sh. uses the word (the third is 2 Hen. IV: III, ii, 276).
It comes from the Saxon theow or theoh, whence also thigh, and must not be con-
founded with the obsolete thews = manners, or qualities of mind, which is from the
Saxon theaw. This latter thews is common in Spenser, Chaucer, and earlier writers;
the former is found very rarely before Shakespeare's day. It occurs (as cited by
Nares) in Turbervile's Ovid's Epistles, 1567 : ' the thews of Helens passing form.'
In the earlier version of Layamon"1 s Brut, at the end of the twelfth century (verse
6361): ' Monnene strengest of maine and of theawe of alle thissere theode ' (of
men strongest of main, or strength, and of sinew, of all this land). But Sir F.
Madden remarks (III, 471) : 'This is the only instance in the poem of the word
being applied to bodily qualities, nor has any other passage of an earlier date than
the sixteenth century been found in which it is so used.' Tschischwitz : The s is
probably not a sign of the plural, but a derivative affix for th, whence we may infer
in abstract theovth, denoting growth, in later English thewth.
12. this] Corson (p. 12): 'His' of Ff stands for 'nature': as nature's temple
grows, the service within widens. There is a metaphor implied.
12. temple] See Macb. II, iii, 64; R. of L. 719, and 1172, in proof of Calde-
cott's remark that this is never but on grave occasions applied to the body.
13. inward service] Caldecott : As the body increases in bulk, the duties
calling forth the offices and energies of the mind increase equally. Moberly :
'Av£avo/j.£V(i) r£> aufiart avvai^ovrai ml al <pp£veq. — Herodotus, iii, 134.
14. Grows] Hudson : The passage would seem to imply that Hamlet is not so
old as he is elsewhere represented to be.
15. cautel] Dyce (Gloss.): Craft, deceit. ' Cautelle : A wile, cautell, sleight ;
a craftie reach, or fetch, guilefvl deuise or endeuor ; also, craft, subtiltie, trumperie,
deceit, cousenageS — Cotgrave. Clarendon: Only used elsewhere by Sh. in L. C.
303. Rushton (Sh.'s Testamentary Language, p. 43) : Sh. may have written these
lines remembering the following passage from Swinburn's Treatise on Wills, 1590:
• There iz no cautele under heaven, whereby the libertie of making or revoking his
testament can be utterly taken away,' — p. 61. Again Laertes says, line 20, ' He may
not carve for himself,' and according to Swinburn, ' it is not lawful for legataries
to carve for themselves, taking their legacies at their own pleasure,' &c. — p. 50.
16. virtue] Johnson : It here seems to comprise both excellence and power, ana
may be explained the pure effects. Mason : His virtuous intentions. Staunton :
It here seems to import essential goodness ; as we speak of the virtues of herbs, &c.
16. will] Caldecott : The Ff contain a clear misprint by the eye catching and
giving the same word twice.
6
62 HAMLET [act i, sc. iii.

For he himself is subject to his birth;

He may not, as unvalued persons do,
Carve for himself, for on his choice depends 20
The safety and health of this whole state,
And therefore must his choice be circumscribed
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 2$
As he in his particular act and place
May give his saying deed ; which is no further
Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.
18. Om. Qq. 21. lhis]Qq, Coll. Glo. + , Mob. the
19. unvalued] inferior Q'76. Ff et cet.
20. Carve for] Craue for Q4QS- Be- whole] weole FT.
stow Q'76. 24. he is the] he's Pope-i-.
21. safety] fafty QQQ3- fafetie Q. 26. particular act and place] pecu-
fanclity Ff, Rowe, Pope, Theob. Cald. liar Seel and force Ff, Rowe, Knt. pe-
Knt. sanity Theob. conj. Han. Johns. culiar act and place Pope + . particular
Cap. White, safety Sing. sect and force Cald. peculiar sect and
health] the health Warb. Jen. place White.
Steev. Var. Dyce, Sta. Del. Huds.

20. Carve] Clarke (Note on ' Carver,' Rich. II: II, iii, 144). Sh. uses the
verb to ' carve ' very expressively to signify ' hew recklessly' and to ' select selfishly.'
21. safety] Theobald (Sh. Best. p. 22) conjectured that 'sanctity' of Ff should
be sanity, because the welfare, preservation of the state was in some degree con-
cerned byHamlet's choice of a wife. Theobald calls attention to the same mis-
print of one word for the other in II, ii, 208, and Macb. IV, iii, 144. Walker
(Crit. iii, 88, also Vers. 159) makes the same conjecture: ' Sanity must surely be
the right reading ; sanctity, at any rate, is absurd. Frequentius, ut sape fit, pro
rariori ; the pulpit having familiarized sanctity to men's minds.' Both Dyce and
Abbott, \ 484, agree with Walker. The latter says that the present line could not
be scanned without prolonging both ' health ' and ' whole.' ' Such a double pro-
longation isextremely improbable, considering the moderate emphasis required.
More probably, Theobald's suggestion is right.' Malone: The editor of Fx, finding
the metre defective, in consequence of the article being omitted before ' health,'
instead of supplying it, for ' safety ' substituted a word of three syllables. Collier :
' Safety ' was often of old, as here, pronounced as a trisyllable.
21. this] Corson (p. 12): The of Ff is better than 'this;' 'state' being used
abstractly.
26, 27. As . . . deed] Caldecott [see Text. Notes] : As he, in that peculiar rank
and class that he fills in the state, and the power and means thereto annexed, may
enable himself to give his professions effect. Collier : Sect and force may be
strained into a meaning, but ' act and place ' require no such effort. The latter is the
reading of the (MS) also. White: What tolerable sense has either Q2 or Ff in con-
nection wi'h the context ? Ff manifestly corrects two errors, but makes one — ' force '
(or place. Sect ' is class, lank, or, in the slang of society, set. So in Lear, V, iii, 18.
alt i, sc. iii.] If AM LET 63

Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain,

If with too credent ear you list his songs, 30
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. _^ 35
The chariest maid is prodigal enough, JA
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 disclosed, 40
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.
29. weigh\ way Q2Q3Q.. Rowe + , Cald. Knt, Dyce i, Del.
whaf\ that FF, Rowe. 36, 38, and 39 begin with quotation
30. too] two FaF . marks, Qq.
31. lose] loofe QqF4> 37. beauty] beaty Fa.
chaste] chajl QqFx, Cap. 39. galls'] gaules Qq. Galls, bJ.
32. unmaster 'd] vnmajlred QqFtF3 infants] infant Q4Q<FaF F ,
F . unmaflered F , Rowe. Rowe.
34. keep you in] keepe within Ff, 40. their] the Ff, Rowe.

30. credent] Clarendon : Not used elsewhere by Sh. in this sense. It means
• credible,' in Wint. Tale, I, ii, 142.
32. unmaster'd] Johnson : Licentious. Rather, says Seymour, not kept in sub-
jection bythe austere virtue of Ophelia.
34. rear] Johnson : Do not advance so far as your affection would lead you.
36. chariest] Dyce (Gloss.): Most scrupulous. Wedgwood: Anglo-Saxon,
cearig (from cearian, to care), careful. Dutch, karigh, sordidus, parcus, tenax. —
Kilian, Diet. Teutonico-Lat. German, karg, niggardly. Moberly : The meaning
conveyed by the superlative is • a maid who is far gone in chariness,' that is, ' one
who is really chary.' [Hudson in his forthcoming ed. will read Th' unchariest
maid': on the ground that '"chariest" gives altogether too weak a sense to suit
either the character of the speaker or of the occasion.' Ed.]
39. canker] Patterson (Nat. Hist, of Insects, &c, p. 34) : The canker (Lozo-
tcenia rosana) chooses for its domicile 'the fresh lap of the crimson rose,' and lives
among the blossoms, preventing the possibility of their further development.
39. infants] Caldecott : See Love's Lab. Lost, I, i, 101.
40. buttons] Wedgwood: French, bouton, a button, bud, any small projection,
from bouter, to push, thrust forwards, as rejeton, a rejected thing, from rejeter, &c.
It is remarkable that Chaucer, who in general comes so close to the French, always
translates bouton, the rosebud, in the Roman de la Rose, by bothum, and not
Dy button.
42. blastments] Clarendon : Only here in Sh. Coleridge uses it in the last
scene of Zapolya, p. 265 : ' Shall shoot his blastments on the land.'
64 HAMLET [act i, sc. iii

Be wary then ; best safety lies in fear ;

Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.
Op/i. I shall the effect of this good lesson keep, 45
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 50
45. effect] effects Pope + . While, like a Jen. While as a Sey-
46. As watclunan to] About Q'76. mour. Whiles, like a Glo. Cla. Mob
watchman] Q2Q3- watchmen 49. puff'd and reckless~\ Om. Q'76.
Q Q Ff, Rowe, Jen. Knt i. reckless] careless Pope, Theob.
my] Om. Q'76. Han. Johns.
48. steep] Jlep Q2Q3- 49, 50. libertine, Himself] libertine
49. Whilst, like a] Theob. Whiljl Him/elf, Ff.
like a Ff. ( Whilejl F3) Rowe, Pope, 50. Himself. . . treads] Thyself. . .
Han. Whiles a Qq. Whilst, he a Warb. tread 'st Seymour.
43. best] The not uncommon omission of the article before superlatives is
perhaps to be explained, according to Abbott, $ 82, by the double meaning of
the superlative, which means not only ' the best of the class,' but also ' very

43. safety] Francke: See Macb. Ill, v, 32. Also Velleius Paterculus, ii, 218:
good.'
irequentissimum initium esse calamitatis securitatem. Elze : See Tro. 6° Cress. II,
ii, 14 : • the wound of peace is surety, Surety secure.'
44. Clarendon : In the absence of any tempter, youth rebels against itself, i. e.
the passions of youth revolt from the power of self-restraint ; there is a traitor in
the camp.
44. though . . . near] For instances of the omission of the predicate verb, see
Matzner, ii, 43, though I can find no parallel instances in the conjunctive clauses
there noted. Clarendon appositely cites Cymb. IV, iv, 23.
45. Coleridge: You will observe in Ophelia's short and general answer to the
long speech of Laertes the natural carelessness of innocence, which cannot think
such a code of cautions and prudences necessary to its own preservation.
47. ungracious] Clarendon : Graceless. So 1 Hen. IV: II, iv, 490.
47. pastors] Tschischwitz does 'not scruple to change' this to the sing.
* pastor,' parsing the first ' Do ' as the auxiliary verb to the second, as well as to
'show,' while 'Himself remains in grammatical agreement with what has pre-
ceded.
47-50. pastors . . . Himself] See III, ii, 181, for a construction the reverse of
this: a plural relative and a singular antecedent. Abbott, $415: 'Himself . . .
treads ' is for ' Whiles you tread.' The construction is changed by change of
thought.
49. puff'd and reckless] Caldecott : Bloated and swollen, the effect of excess ;
and heedless and indifferent to consequences. ' Ignavus, inefficax, recheiesse.' —
Ortus Vocab. 15 14.
50 primrose] See Macb. II, iii, 17.
 act i, sc. iii.] HAMLET 65
And recks not his own rede.
Lair. O, fear me not. 51
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! 55
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for. There ; my blessing with thee !
And these few precepts in thy memory
\Laying his hand on Laertes's head.
Look thou character. \Give thy thoughts no tongue, J
51. recks] Pope, reakes QqFa, Cald. 57. stay'd] Jlaid Fu flayed Q2Q3
reaks FtF F , Rowe. reck'st Seymour. Jlaied Q4Q5-
his] thine Seymour. for. There;] Theob. for, there
rede] Sing. ii. reed Qq, Pope, Qq. for there : Ff. for there. Rowe,
Theob. Han. Warb. Jen. Coll. ii. reade Pope.
FfF2, Cald. read F F, Rowe, Johns. my. ..thee] Separate line (reading
Cap. Steev. Var. Knt, Coll. i, Dyce, My. ..you), Theob. Johns.
White, Huds. blessing] blessings Jen.
52. Scene vi. Pope+,Jen. thee] Qq, Cap. Jen. Glo. Dyce
Enter Polonius.] Cap. After ii, Huds. you Ff, et cet.
reed Qq. After not Ff, Rowe + , Jen. Laying...] Theob. Om. QqFf
53. [Kneeling to Polonius. Cap. Cap. Glo. + .
55. Aboard, aboard] Get aboard 59. Look] See Ff, Rowe+, Cald
Pope, Han. Knt, Dyce, White, Sta. Del. Huds.

51. rede] Collier : Cares not for his own counsel or advice. ' Read ' was used
of old both as a substantive and a verb. Clarendon : It is not used elsewhere in
Sh. See Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 1216: ' Ther was noon other remedy ne reed.'
51. fear] For other instances of its use as 'fear for,' see III, iv, 7; IV, v, 118;
and Schmidt, Sh. Lex. Abbott, $200: So also the preposition is omitted aftei
1 deprive,' I, iv, 73.
52. stay] Moberly : Laertes seems to think that Ophelia's spirited reply ii
giving the conversation a needless and inconvenient turn ; for that for sisters to
lecture brothers is an inversion of the natural order of things.
53. double] Delius : Laertes had already taken leave of his father.
57. There ;] In this punctuation all succeeding edd. have followed Theobald,
who could see no reference which ' there,' as punctuated in the Ff, could have, ex-
cept itbe to the 'shoulder' of the sail. Corson upholds the Ff: — 'there,' certainly
means at the port, where the ship is all ready to sail, and the attendants are waiting
for him. See the 83d line.
59. Warburton : Sh. had a mind to ornament his scenes with these fine lessons
of social life ; but his Polonius was too weak to be the author of them, though he
was pedant enough to have met with them in his reading, and fop enough to get
them by heart, and retail them for his own. Capell (i, 124) : 'This observation'
of Warburton's]
6* ' is not ill-grounded ; forE the moment he's at the end of his lesion,
66 HAMLET [act i, sc. iii.

Not any unproportion'd thought his act. 60

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

62. The\ Thofe Qq, Jen. Glo. + . tion Ktly conj.

adoption] a doption Q2Q3- adap- 62. tried~\ tride FXF2. tr'Sd F F
we are regal'd with a style very different, and flowers of speech is his way.' Cal-
DECOTT: These golden precepts very ill accord with the character and intellect
imputed to Polonius in the rest of the play, where he appears to be what Hamlet
calls hirn, a 'tedious old fool,' a ' wretched rash fool,' 'a foolish prating knave.'
Knight adds : ' It is remarkable that in Qx the " precepts " are printed with inverted
commas, as if they were taken from some known source; or, at any rate, as if
Polonius had delivered them by an effort of memory alone.' Dyce [Remarks, &c. p.
207) : Not at all 'remarkable.' In the Qq (except QJ, a speech of the Queen, IV,
v, 17-20, is ' printed with inverted commas.' [See textual notes on lines 36, 38, 39,
of this scene. Ed.] In various other early plays the Gnomic portions are so dis-
tinguished [Dyce here cites many examples from early poetry of thus marking
maxims ; he might have descended to much later times. Warburton, in his edition
of Sh., uniformly keeps the custom. Ed.]. Hunter (ii, 219) : Polonius is the dull,
prosing politician of the time. There is probably much personal satire in the cha-
racter. Itwas the practice of those politicians to deliver maxims to their children,
to be their guide in life. Thus Lord Burghley left ten admirable precepts of worldly
prudence to his son Robert, afterwards Earl of Salisbury, which may be read in the
Desiderata Ctiriosa; and in The Harleian Miscellany 'is a letter from Sir Henry Sydney
to Philip his son, containing divers lessons of prudence delivered in a didactic form.
That there was some individual nobleman more particularly pointed at in the cha-
racter of Polonius I can entertain no doubt, nor that some attentive observer of the
men of those times will one day trace the Poet home. Could it be the Lord Cham-
berlain ? Prynne alludes to the practice of bringing living noblemen upon the stage,
and names particularly the Lord Admiral, the Lord Treasurer, and Count Gondomer.
as persons with whom the stage had made free. Rushton [Shakespeare' 's Euphuism,
[). 46) : The advice of Euphues to Philautus is probably the origin of these few
precepts of Polonius. For line 59, see Euphues :— ' Be not lavish of thy tongue.'
Lines 64, 65, thus Euphues :— ' Eveiy one that shaketh thee by the hand, is not
joined to thee in heart.' Lines 66, 67, Euphues :— ' Be not quarrellous for every
light occasion : they never fight without provoking, and once provoked they never
cease.' Line 68, Euphues : ' It shall be there better to hear what they say, than to
speak what thou thinkest.' [See also II, ii, 86; and French, in Appendix, p. 239.]
59. character] Clarendon : Used with the accent either on the first or second
syllable. As a substantive, with the latter accent, it is found in Rich. Ill : III, i,
81 ; as a verb, in Two Gent. II, vii, 4. [R. of L. 807.] Caldecott : The verb has
the accent on the first syllable in Son. 122, 2.
60. unproportioned] Clarendon : Unsuitable, not in harmony with the occasion.
61. vulgar] Clarendon: Common. See Twelfth N. Ill, i, 135, where ' vulgar
proof ' = common experience ; as ' vulgar tongue ' = common language.
62. The] Corson: The use of 'them ' in next verse makes 'The' preferable 10
Those,' which serves to strengthen the pleonasm.
62. hast] Seymour (ii, 153): 'Hast' is not hades, but the aux;l;ary verb, —
act i, SC. ui.] HAMLET 57

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel,

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware 65
Of entrance to a quarrel ; but, being in,
Bear't, that th' opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thine oar, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, 70
But not express'd in fancy ; rich, not gaudy ;
63. them to] them vnto Qq, El. unto 65. comrade] courage Qq.
Seymour. 67. Bear't] Bear it Steev.Var. Cald.
hoops'] hooks Tope + , Cap. Stecv. opposed] oppofer Q.Q-, Johns.
Var. Sing. Jen. Mai. Steev.
65. new-hatcJCd] Tope, new hatcht 68. thine ear] thy eare Qq, Glo. + ,
Qq. unhatcJi't Ff, Rowe. Mob.
the friends whom, and the adoption of them, thou hast tried and proved. Claren-
don gives the simplest explanation : ' and whose adoption thou hast tried ;' but
Delius explains ' and their adoption tried ' as a participial parenthesis : when thou
hast put their adoption to the test. Tschischwitz also (followed by Moberly) pro-
nounces this clause a participle, or nominative, absolute, and cites Malzner, iii, 85.
63. hoops] Malone: 'Grapple' strongly supports Pope's reading, hooks. See
Minsheu : ' To hook or grapple, viz. to grapple and to board a ship.' It may be also
observed, that hooks are sometimes made of steel, but 'hoops' never. Steevens :
We have, however, a ' hoop of gold ' in 2 Hen. IV: IV, iv, 43. Pye [Comments, &c
p. 311) : I believe hoops are at least as often made of steel as hearts are, or as fore-
heads are of brass. Singer : ' Hoops ' is an evident misprint for hooks. Grappling-
hooks is a familiar term, but who ever heard of grappling with ' hoops ' of steel ?
White: It is far from improbable that 'hooks' is right. Clarendon: Pope's
reading makes the figure suggested by ' grapple ' the very reverse of what Sh. in-
tended; grappling with hooks is the act of an enemy and not of a friend.
64. dull] Johnson : Do not make thy palm callous by shaking every man by the
hand. Caldecott : Compare Tro. &° Cres. II, iii, 201, ' stale his palm.' Walker
(i, 306) : Dulls occurs thirteen lines below; may not Sh. have written stale ? Clar-
endon : Compare Cym. I, vi, 106: 'hands Made hard with hourly falsehood.'
[Compare also Ham. V, i, 67.]
65. comrade] Badham [Cam. Essays, 1856, p. 282) : This is the trashy correc-
tion made by later Qq \_sic] for the original reading, courage. Perhaps Shakespeare's
word was court-ape. Clarendon : The accent is on the last syllable, as in 1 Hen.
IV: IV, i, 96. In Lear, II, iv, 213, it is on the first. [See Ingleby, note on line
74. Ed.]
69. censure] Steevens: Opinion. See I, iv, 35 ; III, ii, 25.
70. costly] Tschischwitz : The construction is : Costly thy habit buy, as thy
puise can. Abbott, \ 276: The first as is sometimes omitted. See II, ii, 201
• old as I am.'
71 fancy] Moberly : Not marked or singular in device, but with a quiet cosui.
Bess, suggestive of habitual self-respect.
68 HAMLE7
[act i, sc. iil

For the apparel oft proclaims the man ;

And they in France of the best rank and station
Are most select and generous, chief in that.
74. Are...lhaf\ Rowe + , Cap. Jen. chief, in that Steev. '78, '85. Are of
Rann, Steev.'93, Var.'o3, Var.'i3, Cald. a most select and generous chief, in thai
Sing, i, Harness, Campbell, Hazlitt, De- Mal.Var. Are most select, and generous
lius, Clarke, Chambers, Dyce ii, Huds. chief in that First Am. Ed. '96. Are
Or of a moflfelecl and generous, chief e in most select and generous chief in that
that Q2Q,. Ar of a mojl Jelecl and gen- Dyce i, Hal. Are of a most select and
erous, cheefe in that Q . Are of a mojl generotis choice in that Coll. (MS), Coll.
Jelecl and generous, chiefe in that Q . ii, El. Ktly. Are most select and gen-
Are of a mojl Jelecl and generous cheff erous; chief in that Sing, ii, Chas. Kem-
in that Ff, and (reading chief) Knt, ble. Are most select and generous in
Corn. Verp. Coll. i, Glo. + , Mob. Are that White. Are of a most select and 72
most select, and generous, chief in that generous sheaf in that Sta.
Steev.'73. Are most select, and generous

74. Are. ..that] Steevens : ' Chief may be used adverbially, a practice common
in Sh. : ' chiefly generous.' I would more willingly read, \ Select and generous, are
most choice in that.' Ritson {Remarks, &.c. p. 193): The nobility of France are
select and generous above all other nations, and chiefly in the point of apparel ; the
richness and elegance of their dress. Malone: May we suppose that 'chief of
the Ff is a word borrowed from heraldry ? They in France approve themselves to
be of a most select and generous escutcheon by their dress. Chef, in heraldry, is the
upper third part of the shield. See Minsheu. This is very harsh ; yet I hardlv
think that the words 'of a' could have been introduced without some authority
from the MS. ' Generous ' =generosus. * Chief,' however, may have been used as a
substantive, for note or estimation. Knight : It is scarcely necessary to go to her-
aldry for an explanation of the word : we have it in composition, as in mischief and
the now obsolete bonchief. ' Chief,' literally the head, here signifies eminence, supe-
riority. Those of the best rank and station are of a most select and generous
superiority in the indication of their dignity by their apparel. Collier (ed. 1) :
The meaning perhaps is : ' Are of a most select and generous rank and station,
chiefly in that.' Dyce, in his Remarks, &c. p. 206, while approving of Collier's
rendering of ' chief in that' (' the words can be used here in no other sense ' than
chiefly in that), objects to the violent ellipsis which is implied by inserting 'rank
and station ' after • select and generous,' and adds : ' During the many hours which
I have spent (perhaps wasted) in collating early dramas, I have known four or five
editions of a play, though differing from each other materially elsewhere, yet coin-
cide in some one most erroneous reading (which was corrected by a fortunately
extant MS) : the text of that particular place having been once vitiated, the corrup-
tion had been retained in all the subsequent impressions. Such is evidently the
case here (where there is unluckily no MS Hamlet to refer to) ; and the probability
seems to be, that the strangely impertinent words, " of a," found their way into the
line, while the eye of the transcriber or compositor, glancing away from it for a
moment, was arrested by " of the " immediately above.' Collier (ed. ii) : « Choice'
was formerly not unfrequently spelt choise, and the longy led to the misprinting of
choice,' first, chiefe, and afterwards cheff. The (MS) substitutes ' choice,' and the
whole difficulty is removed, for Polonius says that the French are * of a most select
act I, sc. iii.] HAMLET 69

Neither a borrower nor a lender be ; 75

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

75. lender be~\ lender boy Qq. Qq. love Q'76.

76. loan] Loane F_. lone Ff. /0/<<? 76. /^5^] /00/« Qq.

ind generous choice' in all matters relating to dress. White [see this line and the
next above it in Q,, Appendix, p. 47. Ed.] : Here [in QJ I believe that we have not
only the obvious misprint of ' gencrall ' for ' generous,' and the interpolation of ' of
a,' which all editors have supposed, but the accidental repetition in the second line
of ' chief in the first, — a kind of misprint which often occurs in the old texts of
these plays. The two errors last named were perpetuated (as errors sometimes unac-
countably are), although ' chief in the first line was changed to ' best.' This reading
of White's the Cambridge Editors {Preface, viii) approve of as 'probably' what
Sh. had * originally written ;' the corruption in Qx and Qa which, they say, is clearly
due to an error in the transcript from which both were copied, may have arisen
from Shakespeare's having « given between the lines, or in the margin, " of,"
"chief," meaning these as alternative readings for "in" and "best" in line 73.
The transcriber by mistake inserted them in line 74.' Staunton : The slight
change of sheaf for * chiefe ' or ' cheff,' a change for which we alone are answer-
able, seems to impart a better and more poetic meaning to the passage than any vari-
ation yet suggested; and it is supported, if not established, by the following extracts
from Ben Jonson : ' Ay, and with assurance, That it is found in noblemen and
gentlemen Of the best sheaf? — The Magnetic Lady, III, iv. ' I am so haunted at
the ^ourt and at my lodging with your refined choice spirits, that it makes me clean
of another garb, another sheaf? — Every Man Out of His Humour, II, i. INGLEBY
[N. <5j° Qu. 13 Sept. 1856) strongly upholds Staunton's sheaf in the sense of a
clique, class, or set in fashionable society. ■ And for this meaning we must have re-
course to Euphuism. If sheaf be Shakespeare's word, it is not the only instance of
Euphuism in Polonius's speech. In line 65, courage of the Qq is Euphuistic for a
gallant. It is so used by Scott in 7he Monastery, and is put into the mouth of that
prince of Euphuists, Sir Piercie Shafton. Archers spoke of " arrows of the first
sheaf," and the Euphuists appropriated the metaphor, and called their friends " gen-
tlemen of the first sheaf." Every archer of this day has his best set (a set =12
arrows); and every archer of Shakespeare's day had his first sheaf (a. sheaf =24
arrows). Thus : " In my time, it was the usual practice for soldiers to choose their
first sheaf of arrows, and cut those shorter which they found too long," &c. — Dis-
cotirse on Weapons? Ingleby then cites the passages from Ben Jonson afterwards
cited by Staunton, and concludes his note with the expression of his belief that the
metaphor in the present case, as well as in Every Man Out of His Humour, was
taken, not wholly from archery, but from husbandry. H. C. K. [N. 6° Qu. II Oct.
1856) upholds the Ff, and explains cheff as a measure by which, according to Skin-
ner, cloth and fine linen were sold. TSCHISCHWITZ thinks that the uniformity of the
QqFf in the reading ' of a' is an insuperable objection to any change or omission
in that direction. The only suspicious words in the line are ' in that ' at the end of
it, because, as he says, we should rather expect them to be written ' therein.' ' In
that ' he believes to be the beginning of another line, of which the conclusion is
lost, but which expressed in substance • In that they clothe themselves simply.'
Accordingly, in his text the line is : In that their show denies extravagance. Mo-
70 HAMLET [act i, SC. iii. W

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. JJ

This above all : to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man. 80
Farewell ; my blessing season this in thee !
Laer. Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.
Pol. The time invites you ; go, your servants tend.
Laer. Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well
What I have said to you.
Oph. Tis in my memory lock'd, 85
And you yourself shall keep the key of it.
Laer. Farewell. [Exit.
Pol. What is't, Ophelia, he hath said to you ?
Oph. So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet.
77. And] A F2F3F4, Rowe, Pope. 85. to you] Om. Pope + .
dulls the edge] dulleth edge Q2Q_. in] Om. F .
dulleth the edge Q4QS< 87. [Exit.] Exit Laertes. QqFf.
79. the day] to day Q'76. (Laer. Ff.)
82. do I] I do Q'76. 88. hath] Om. F3F4, Rowe, Pope,
8"$. invites'] inuefls Qq, Theob. Han.
Warb. Cap. Jen. El. Tsch. 89. Lord] L. FXF2F3.
berly follows Malone in interpreting ' chief as the upper part of an heraldic shield.
Keighti.ey : A word even more appropriate than Steevens's ' choice ' would have
been taste. J. Beale (JV. <5r» Qu. 4 Sept. 1875) suggested chiefs.
77. husbandry] Malone: Thrift, economical prudence. [See Macb. II, i, 4.]
79. night] Warburton, on the ground that the image presented in this simile
should be one of cause and effect, substituted light for • night.' It is needless to add
r\at his reasoning has convinced no one up to this present. Ed.
81. season] Johnson: It is more than infuse, as Warburton interprets it; it is
>o to infix it that it may never wear out. Cai.DECOTT : Give a relish to, quicken, it ;
or it may be, keep it alive in your memory ; as things preserved, and by spicery kept
from a state of dissolution, are said to be seasoned. SlNGER : ' To season to
temper wiselie, to make more pleasant and acceptable. — Baret, Alvearie. Elze : It
means rather to ripen. Moberly : Make these thoughts familiar to you. Hudson :
Used, apparently, in the sense of ingrain ; the idea being that of so steeping the
counsel into his mind that it will not fade out.
83. invites] Theobald preferred invests, supposing the term was military, and
that it meant 'besieges, presses upon you on every side.'
83. tend] Johnson : Your servants are waiting for you.
86. key] Caldecott : Thence it shall not be dismissed till vou think it needless
to retain it.
89. So] In conditional sentences, according to Matzner, iii, 458, so is used
instead of if chiefly where the condition is of a restrictive nature, and expresses a
reservation, like (but not always) the Lat. modo, dum, dummodo.
89 *.he] For unemphaHc monosyllables in emphatic places and accented, see
ACT i. sc. iii.l HAM LET 71

Pol. Marnr, well bethought; 90

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, 95
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. 100
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, 105
That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay,
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly ;
94. 'tis] it is F , Rowe. it is, F4. Ff. puh ! Rowe + .
gS. you ? give. ...truth.] Q'76. you 102. Unsifted'] Ungifted Rochester.
giue... truth, QsQr you giue... truth. Q4 105. Tit] lie FXF2. f'/eFV. 1
Q. you, giue. ..truth? Ff, Rowe. ivill Qq, Cap.
101, 103. Affection — tenders] Ital. 106. these] his Ff, Rowe + , Knt.
by Sta. 107. sterling] JlarlingY 'J? '9¥ . start-
101. pooh/] Coll. puh, Qq. puh. lingY,

Abbott, g 457, where it is said that the seems to have been regarded as capable of
more emphasis than with us.
92. private] Caldecott : Spent his time in private visits to you. Delius : The
time which he had at his own disposal.
94. put] Caldecott : Suggested to, impressed on. Clarendon : See Twelfth
N. V, i, 70; Macb. IV, iii, 239; Meas.for Meas. IV, ii, 120. [Ham. V, ii, 370.]
101. green] Nares: Inexperienced, unskilful, still found in green-horn, thus
also ' greenly,' in IV, v, 79.
102. unsifted] Warburton : Untried, untempted.
102. circumstance] Delius : A collective noun.
106. tenders] Moberly: In the Dutch war of 1674, Pepys tells us that many
English seamen fought on the enemy's side, and were heard during an action to cry,
' Dollars now ; no tickets,' the latter being the only pay they had received in then
own service. This seems to explain the opposition intended here between 'tenders '
and • true pay.'
107. tender yourself] Malone: Regard with affection. Caldecott: This
was anciently used as much in the sense of regard or respect, as it was in that of
offer. * And because eche lit? thing tendreth his like.' — Preface to Drant's Horace,
1566.
72 HAMLET |act i, sc. iii,

Or — not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,

Running it thus — you'll tender me a fool.
OpJi. My lord, he hath importuned me with love 1 10
In honourable fashion.
Pol. Ay, fashion you may call it; go to, go to.
Op/i. And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord,
With almost all the holy vows of heaven.
Pol. Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, 115
When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
108, 109. not... thus] In parenthesis 109. tender] render F.
Q3Q3, Theob. 1 12. call it] calVt Pope + , Dyce ii.
108. not... phrase] In parenthesis Q Huds.
Qs, Pope. 113. to his] to it in his Coll. (MS).
109. Running] Coll. conj. Wrong 113, 114. my lord. ..heaven] Rowe.
Qq. Roaming Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, El. One line, QqFf.
Wronging Pope, Johns. Jen. Steev. Var. 114. almost... holy] all the Ff, Knt,
Coll. i, Sing. Wringing Warb. Theob. Sing, almost all the Rowe.
Han. Cap. 115. springes] fprings Q2Q3Q4F3FV
you'll] youle Q4Q5- 116. prodigal] prodigally Q'76.
109. Running] This emendation, which is Collier's conj., afterwards corrob-
orated byhis (MS), Dyce said he had long been convinced of. White calls it
'almost obvious,' and Clarendon adopts it as more in accordance with the figure
in the preceding line. Pope's emendation Johnson supported, believing that wrong-
ing had reference not to the phrase, but to Ophelia, the • it ' being the redundant ' it '
common enough in poetry, as in Pope's, ' To sinner it or saint it.' Theobald (Sh.
Rest. p. 25) conjectured ranging, i. e. you, behaving yourself with so much careless-
ness and liberty, wvl1 bring me into contempt, &c. Heath referred wronging to the
' poor phrase,' for • whoever cracks the wind of anything may surely be said with
propriety to wr^np ir abuse it.' Warburton preferred wringing, i. e. not farthei
to crack the vind of the phrase by twisting or contorting it. Caldecott para-
phrases the h f by : • ranging so far, becoming so wildly excursive, and running into
so many senses of the word tender.' Badham (Cam. Essays, 1856, p. 283) : Per-
haps some readers will think with me that wrong is a corruption of worrying. The
same description of persons will probably read in line 118 • extinct in birth ' instead
of ' extinct in both.' Keightley : ' To wrong it thus ' is most probably correct.
We. might read, — supposing the allusion to be to a horse, — To run, as in, You run
this humour out of breath, Com. of Err. I, i. Corson : The Ff are probably right;
Polonius has reference to his varying application of the word ' tender.'
115. woodcocks] Nares : Proverbial for a simpleton; probably from the ease
with which woodcocks suffer themselves to be caught in springes or snares. The
phrase here means ' arts to entrap simplicity.' Clarendon : Compare Gosson,
Apologie for the Schoole of Abuse, p. 72 (ed. Arber) : 'When Comedie comes vpon
..he Stage, Cupide sets vpp a Springe for Woodcockes, which are entangled ere thty
descrie the line, and caught before they mistruste the snare.' Harting (p. 229) :
The woodcock for some unaccountable reason was supposed to have no brains, and
the name of this bird became a synonym for a fool.
116. prodigal] For instance;-, of the free use of adjectives as adverbs, see ABBOTr, \ I.
lOTl,8C.iiL] HAMLET 73

Lends the tongue vows; these blazes, daughter, 117

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 120

117. Lends'] Giues Ff, Rowe, Knt. 119. their] the Warb.
blazes] bavin blazes Nicholson 1 20. lake] take't Q4Q-.
(AI.&3 Qu. 19 Dec. 1868). From this time] For this time
daughter] oh my daughter daughter Ff, Rowe.
Pope + . gentle daughter Cap.

117. Malone and White believe that some epithet to 'blazes' has been omitted.
Coleridge (p. 153) : A spondee has, I doubt not, dropped out of the text. Either
insert Go to after ' vows,' or read, ' these blazes, daughter, mark you? Sh. never
introduces a catalectic line without intending an equivalent to the foot omitted in
the pauses, or the dwelling emphasis, or the diffused retardation. I do not, however,
deny that a good actor might by employing the last-mentioned means, namely, the
retardation or solemn knowing drawl, supply the missing spondee with good effect.
But I do not believe that in this or any other of the foregoing speeches of Polonius,
Sh. meant to bring out the senility or weakness of that personage's mind. In the
great ever-recurring dangers and duties of life, where to distinguish the fit objects
for the application of the maxims collected by the experience of a long life requires
no fineness of tact; as in the admonitions to his son and daughter, Pol. is uniformly
made respectable. But if an actor were even capable of catching these shades in
the character, the pit and the gallery would be malcontent at their exhibition. It is
to Hamlet that Pol. is, and is meant to be, contemptible, because in inwardness and
uncontrollable activity of movement, Hamlet's mind is the logical contrary to that
of Pol., and besides Ham. dislikes the man as false to his true allegiance in the
matter of the succession to the crown. Walker ( Vers. p. 206) gives ten or twelve
instances from Sh. and other dramatists, among them the present passage, in proof
of his assertion that 'daughter' is sometimes a trisyllable. * It is observable,' he
adds, • that in almost all these instances there is a pause — in at least half of them a
full stop — after daughter. What was the original form of the word? Compare
dvy&TTjp. In Chaucer, as far as I am acquainted with him, it is uniformly a dissylla-
ble.' In a foot-note Lettsom asks : • Quere, when did the guttural become mute in
this word ? When pronounced, it would have facilitated a trisyllabic pronunciation.'
Moberly adopts one of Coleridge's suggestions, and thinks that the strong irony on
the word ' vows,' which is spoken with a laugh of contempt, makes it occupy the
time of three syllables.
118. both] See Badham in note on line 109
119. a-making] White: There is no purer or more logically correct English
than the idiom a-making, a- doing, a-building, &c. Ben Jonson says in his Grammar,
ii, cap. 3 : ' Before the participle present a and an have the force of a gerund, —
" There is some great tempest a-brewing against us." ' For instances of the prefix a
before adjectives and participles used as nouns, see Abbott, \ 24 (2) ; also I, v, 19;
Macb. V, v, 49.

120. Corson upholds the Ff. « It may be that " For this " = For[th] this, the th
of Forth being absorbed. The verse of the Ff scans better than that of the Qq ; in
the latter " fire" must be made dissyllabic, and " From " a heavy syllable. It will
7
 HAMLET 125
74 [act i, sc. iii.
121
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 dye which their investments show,
But mere implorators of unholy suits,
130
Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds,
Warb. Johns.
121.Cla.
Cam. somewhai~\ fomething Qq, Cap.
128. that dye] Q'76, Han. that die
your] thy Johns. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Bos. Cald.
maiden presence] maiden-pres- Coll. Sing. El. Mob. the eye Ff, Rowe,
ence Theob. ii, Warb. Johns. Cald. Knt. that eye White.
122. entreatments] intreatments Qq, 129. mere] Om. Seymour.
Pope + , Jen. intraitments Warb. implorators] imploratotors Q2Q3«
123. parley] parle Qq. implorers Pope + , Cap.
125. tether] tider Q2Q3- teder Q4Q5- 130. bawds] Theob. Pope ii, Han.
tedder Q'76. bonds QqFf, Rowe, Pope i + , Jen. Steev.
may he] he may Theob. ii, Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. i, Sta. Ktly, Mob.

be observed, too, that this speech is characterized by the double endings, as Bathurst
styles them, and the Ff verse is more in keeping with them.'
122. entreatments] Johnson: It means here company, conversation, French
entretien. Clarke : The entreaties you receive for granting an interview. Clar-
endon :' Parley ' in the next line seems to point to the sense of preliminary nego-
tiations, and so solicitations.
126. in few] For adjectives used as nouns, even in the singular, see Abbott, \ 5.
See also 'the general,' II, ii, 416.
127. brokers] MALONE: This meant, in old English, a bawd or a procuress.
[See Cotgrave : Maqtiignonner, To play the Broker, also to play the bawd. Ed.J
128. dye] Caldecott, Knight, White, Corson, follow the Ff. The first thus
paraphrases : ' Of the cast, or character, that character of purity, which their garb.
or assumed expression of passion, bespeaks.' Knight adduces, Temp. II, i, 55,
' eye of green,' to show that an eye was used to express a slight tint. Dyce asks
if our early writers ever use ' eye ' by itself to denote colour ? White cites, as an
instance in the affirmative, from ' the old translations of the Bible ' : ' And the eye
of manna was as the eye of bdellium.' — Numbers xi, 7 ; later translations substitut-
ing 'colour ' for ' eye.' Staunton thinks ' eye ' may possibly be right. Moberly :
Not of the real stamp which their vesture seems to show.
130. bawds] Theobald: What idea can we form of a 'breathing bond,' or of
its being sanctified ox pious. As amorous vows have just been called ' brokers,' and
* implorers of unholy suits,' the plain and natural sense suggests an easy emendation :
bawds. And this correction is strengthened by the concluding phrase, • the better
to beguile.' Mason (p. 376) • Pol. has called Hamlet's vows ' brokers ' but two
ttnes before, a word synonymous co bawds, and the very title that Sh. gives to Pan
act I, sc. iii.J IfAMLET 75

The better to beguile. This is for all : 131

I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,
Have you so slander any moment's leisure,

131. beguile] beguide Q2Q3- Q3Ff» Rowe, Coll. i, Dyce i, Sta. Glo.
133. slander] squander Co\\. ii (MS). + , Ktly, Mob., moments QQ. mo-
moment's] Pope, moment Q3 ments' Coll. ii (MS).

darus ; ' implorators of unholy suits ' is an exact description of a bawd. All such
of them as are crafty in their trade put on the appearance of sanctity, and are ' not
of that dye that their investments shew.' Collier's (MS) also substitutes 'bawds.'
Singer pronounces bonds nonsense. White says that the ' context does not leave a
question as to the propriety of Theobald's emendation, — " bawds " having probably
been spelled bauds? On the other hand, the advocates of the Ff are as follows :
Warburton, after sneering at Theobald, paraphrases : Do not believe Hamlet's
amorous vows made to you ; which pretend religion in them {the better to beguile)
like those sanctified and pious vows {or bonds') made to heaven. Heath pronounces
the sense of bonds unexceptionable, and interprets thus : Vows, uttered in the sem-
blance of sanctified and pious engagements, such as have marriage for their object.
Malone follows Heath, and affirms that by bonds were meant the bonds of love.
Seymour (ii, 155): ' His vows are implorators breathing like bonds {i.e. similar
bonds, or sanctified vows) to those which are breathed by implorators of unholy suits.'
Caldecott : Like the protestations of solemn contracts entered into with all the
formalities and ceremonies of religion. [Dyce (ed. i) pronounces this note of Cal-
decott's ' quite as silly as Malone's.'] Staunton : * At one time we were strenu-
ously in favour of Theobald's alteration ; we are now persuaded the Ff are right.'
Clarke : We cannot help believing bonds to be right, because Sh. uses the word
elsewhere to signify ' pledged vows,' ' plighted assurances of faith and troth ;' see
Mer. of Ven. II, vi, 6; Tro. dr3 Cress. V, ii, 156. Keightley {Expositor, p. 287) :
The whole passage is merely a poetic periphrasis of seduction under promise of
marriage ; and had the word been Sounding, not • Breathing,' there would probably
have been no mistake. Corson : Bonds makes good sense. The general term,
bonds, suggested, no doubt, by ' brokers,' is used for the more special term, ' vow?,.'
' Breathing ' refers back to ' they,' standing for ' vows ;' bonds, involving the idea of
'vows,' should not receive the stress, in reading, which should be given to 'pious.'
Moberly : Like law papers headed with religious formulae. So policies of insur-
ance begin, even at the present day, with the words, ' In the name of God, Amen.'
Shakespeare's bankrupt family had sad experience of such documents.
133. slander] Johnson: I would not have you so disgrace your most idle
moments, &c. Moberly : The meaning is, ' Do not misuse any moment of leisure,'
as, conversely, you have 'misused our sex,' means 'you have slandered it.' — As You
Like it, IV, ii, 205.
133. moment's] Dyce {Remarks, p. 209) : It is absolutely necessary to print
1 moment's.' Would Shakespeare have employed such a ridiculous inversion when
leisure moment' suited the metre as well? Abbott, §§ 22, 430, however, adopts
moment-leisure,' and gives it as one of many instances of noun- compounds where
;he first noun may be treated as a genitive used adjectively. See II, ii, 464; III, i,
156. Claben~»on: In the reading of the Ff. 'moment' must be taken as an adjec-
76 HAMLET [act i, sc. iv

As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.

Look to't, I charge you ; come your ways. 135
OpJi. I shall obey, my lord. \Exeunt.

Scene IV. The platform.

Enter Hamlet, Horatio, and MARCELLUS.

Ham. The air bites shrewdly ; it is very cold.

135. come~\ and so come Seymour, so The platform.] tjteev. The

how, come Coll. ii (MS). Platform before the Palace. Rowe.

ways'] wayes Q2Q3Q4FX. waies and] Om. Ff.

Q. 135,136.
way F2F3F4, Rowe + . I. shrewdly']
L00L. .shall] One line, Cap. F2F3F4. shroudly Qq. shrew 'dly

136. Oph. /...lord.] Om. Seymour. it is very cold.~\ is it very cold? F

Scene iv.] Cap. Om. Ff. Scene hi. F3, Knt i. it is very cold ? FF4>
Rowe. Scene vii. Pope + , Jen.

tive. This is very common when the first substantive is the name of a place, as in
' Lethe wharf,' I, v, 33.
135. ways] For instances of the genitive of nouns used adverbially, see Matzner,
i, 389 (a).
Scene iv.] Coleridge: The unimportant conversation with which this scene
opens is a proof of Shakespeare's minute knowledge of human nature. It is a well-
established fact, that, on the brink of any serious enterprise, or event of moment,
men almost invariably endeavor to elude the pressure of their own thoughts by
turning aside to trivial objects and familiar circumstances ; thus the dialogue on the
platform begins with remarks on the coldness of the air, and inquiries obliquely
connected, indeed, with the expected hour of the visitation, but thrown out in a seem-
ing vacuity of topics, as to the striking of the clock, and so forth. The same desire to
escape from the impending thought is carried on in Hamlet's account of, and moral
ising on, the Danish custom of wassailing; he runs off from the particular to the
universal, and in his repugnance to personal and individual concerns, escapes, as it
were, from himself in generalisations, and smothers the impatience and uneasy feel-
ings of the moment in abstract reasoning. Besides this, another purpose is answered ;
— for by thus entangling the attention of the audience in the nice distinctions and
parenthetical sentences of this speech of Hamlet's, Sh. takes them completely by
surprise on the appearance of the Ghost, which comes upon them in all the sudden-
ness of its visionary character. Indeed, no modern writer would have dared, like
Sh.,to have preceded this last visitation by two distinct appearances, — or could have
contrived that the third should rise upon the former two in impressiveness and
solemnity of interest. But in addition to all the other excellences of Hamlet's
speech concerning the wassail-music, — so finely revealing the predominant idealism,
the ratiocinative meditativeness of his character, — it has the advantage of giving
nature and probability to the impassioned continuity of the speech instantly directed
r the Ghost. The momentum had been given to his mental activity; the full cur-
rent of the thoughts and words had s;t in, and the very forgetfulness, in the fervor
act I, sc. iv.] HAMLET yj

I lor. It is a nipping and an eager air. 2

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 5
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.
\A flourish of trumpets, and ordnance shot offy within
2. a] Om. Qq. Indeed I Ff, Jen. /Q'76, Rowe + .
an] Om. F F4« 5- it then] then it Ff, Rowe, Knt,
hour] hower Fx. Dyce, Glo. Mob.
4. is] hd's FF. has Rowe i. has 6. wont to] wonted Heussi.
not Rowe ii. [A flourish ] Mai. after Cap.
struck] Jirooke QqFxFa. Jlrook A florish of trumpets and 2. peeces goes
F , Cap. of. Qq (off Q4QS) Trumpets and
4-7. No. ..lord?] Three lines ending Guns. Q'76. Om. Ff. Noise of war-
not. ...spirit... lord ? Ktly. like Musick within. Rowe+.
5. Indeed? I] Cap. Indeed; I Qq.
of his argumentation, of the purpose for which he was there, aided in preventing
the appearance from benumbing the mind. Consequently, it acted as a new impulse,
— a sudden stroke which increased the velocity of the body already in motion,
whilst it altered the direction. The co-presence of Hor., Mar., and Ber. is most
judiciously contrived; for it renders the courage of Ham., and his impetuous elo-
quence, perfectly intelligible. The knowledge, — the unthought-of consciousness, —
the sensation, — of human auditors, — of flesh and blood sympathists, — acts as a sup-
port and a stimulation a tergo, while the front of the mind, the whole consciousness
of the speaker, is filled, yea, absorbed, by the apparition. Add, too, that the appari-
tion itself has by its previous appearances been brought nearer to a thing of this
world. This accrescence of objectivity in a Ghost, that yet retains all its ghostly
attributes and fearful subjectivity, is truly wonderful.
1. it is] Dyce [Remarks, &c. p. 209): The reading of Ft would greatly
favour the opinion of those critics who contend that the madness of Ham. was real,
not assumed ; no man in his sound senses, just after remarking that the air bites
shrewdly, would inquire if it were very cold. White: The reading of the Ft is
not entirely unworthy of consideration, because Shakespeare's purpose might well
have been to suggest that state of the atmosphere between midnight and sunrise
when the air bites shrewdly, although it is not very cold. Horatio's reply is not
that it is cold, but that the air has this quality. However, that the Qq are right is
shown in the first scene.
2. eager] Wedgwood: French, aigre, eager, sharp, biting; Lat., acer, sharp,
severe, vehement, ardent.
5. Indeed. ..season] Seymour (ii, 156): This line is overloaded. 'I heard it
not ' is implied in ' indeed.' Read : Indeed ? why then it does draw near the hour !
6. wont] Abbott, \ 5 : This is a corruption from woned, from the verb • wonye,
Early English, wunian, Anglo-Saxon, ' to dwell.'
6. ordnance] Collier (ed. 2) : Perhaps [in explanation of the Qq] the theatre
had only two pieces belonging to it. Ben Jonson, in his « Execration against Vulcan?

7*
73 HAMLET [act i, sc. iv.

What does this mean, my lord ? 7

Ham. The king doth wake to-night and takes his rouse,
Keeps wassail, and the swaggering up-spring reels ;
7. What. ..my lord /] Om. in Steev- Huds.
ens's reprint of Q . 9. swaggering] staggering Ktly conj.
8. wake~\ walke Q.Q-' tip-spring reels'] vp-fpring reeles
rouse] 'rouse Cap. Qq. vpfpring reeles FxFa. upfpring
9. wassaif\ Dyce. waff ell Qq. waff els reels FF, Rovre. upstart reels Pope,
Ff, Cald. Knt. wassel Rowe+, Cap. Han.
Jen. Steev. Var. Coll. Sing. White, Ktly,
speaking of the burning of the Globe Theatre in 1613, tells us that the calamity was
caused by the discharge of ' two poor chambers.'
8. wake] Dyce (Gloss.) : To hold a late revel. So, in poets of a much earlier date,
we find the words watch and watching employed as equivalent to ' debauch at night.'
8. rouse] Gifford ( The Duke of Milan. — Massinger, vol. i, p. 237, ed. 1805) :
A ' rouse ' was a large glass (' not past a pint,' as Iago says) in which a health was
given, the drinking of which by the rest of the company formed a carouse. Bar-
naby Rich is exceedingly angry with the inventor of the custom, which, however,
with a laudable zeal for the honour of his country, he attributes to an Englishman,
who, it seems, 'had his brains beat out with a pottlepot' for his ingenuity. There
could be no rouse or carouse unless the glasses were emptied. In process of time
both these words were used in a laxer sense. They are used in their primal and
appropriate signification in ' I've ta'en, since supper, A rouse or two too much,' &c. —
Knight of Malta. This proves Johnson and Steevens are wrong : a rouse has here
a fixed and determinate sense. As we should now say, ' a bumper or two too much.'
[See I, ii, 127.]
9. wassail] Festivity, a drinking-bout. See Macb. I, vii, 64.
9. up-spring] Four explanations have been proposed. First : Pope (followed
by Hanmer) referred it to the King, and changed it into upstart ; Johnson re-
tainedup-spring,'
' but adopted in a paraphrase Pope's emendation, ' a blustering
upstart.' Nares adds the definition : ' one insolent from sudden elevation.' Singer
also prefers this interpretation. Second : Steevens started the correct explanation
when he showed by the following passage from Chapman's Alphonsus, that the
' up-spring ' was a German dance : ' We Germans have no changes in our dances.
An Almain and an upspring, that is all.' Elze confirmed it when, in his edition of
Chapman's Alphonsus [p. 144], he showed that this ' up-spring ' was ' the " Hiipfauf,"
the last and consequently the wildest dance at the old German merry-makings. See
Ayrer's Dramen, ed. by Keller, iv, 2840 and 2846: " Ey, jtzt geht irst der hupfTauff
an. Ey, Herr, jtzt kummt erst der hupfTauff." No epithet could therefore be more
appropriate to this drunken dance than Shakespeare's " swaggering." I need hardly
add that "up-spring" is an almost literal translation of the German name. Staun-
ton, while assuming that ' up-spring ' refers to a dance, understands ' reels ' as a plural
noun, qualified by ' up-spring.' [I have always supposed it to be a verb, in the
same construction as ' keeps.' Ed.] Third : Steevens, in his note on • rouse,' having
quoted from Decker's GuVs Hornbook : * Teach me, thou soveraigne skinker, how
to take the German's upsy freeze, the Danish rousa,' &c, Caldecott inferred that
the ' up-spring' dance might be like the ' upsy freeze,' both connected with the music
ana not of a German debauch. Badh \M (Cambridge Essays, 1856, p. 283) went
4C1 i. SC W.] HAMLET 79

And as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down, 10

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 15

10. drains'] (/reifies FXF2. tahesCY'jG. Seymour.

11. bray out] proclaim Q'76. 14. But] And Ff, Knt.
12. Is it] It is F2. native] a native Han. ii.
13. is't:] is't; of an antique date; 15. born] borne Q<|FxF0.

a step farther, and would substitute for * up-spring ' in the present line, upsy freeze.
1 Not that I know,' he adds, ' what upsy freeze is, or whence it is derived,' but frorr
Steevens's citation ' it is evident that it was a species of drinking.' ' Up-spring,' he
says, ' cannot be a dance (as if the descendants of the Berserker would interpolate
their serious drinking with such a frivolous thing as a dance!), nor can it mean
upstart — i. e. Hamlet's uncle (a likely epithet to be uttered before two persons, and
that when he has not yet seen the Ghost, and has no other feeling towards his uncle
but one of vague aversion!).' Fourth: Keightley {Expositor, p. 288) says that
it is • used collectively for the risers from the table, a mode of expression not yet
obsolete.'
11. kettle-drum J Douce (ii, 205) : Thus Cleaveland in his Fuscara, or the Bee
Errant : ' Tuning his draughts with drowsie hums As Danes carowse by kettle-

drums.'
12. triumph] Caldecott: This may be the victory consequent upon the accept-
ance of the challenge to this ' heavy-headed revel,' or it may be only its pageant and
scenic display. Delius : It is here the bitterest irony.
12. custom] Caldecott: The royal custom in Denmark near the date ot this
play may be seen in Howell's Letters; 'The King [Christian IV., who reigned
from 1588 to 1649] feasted my Lord once, and it lasted from eleven of the clock
till towards evening; during which time the King began thirty-five healths. . . .
The King was taken away at last in his chair.' [Caldecott cites several other
authorities to the same effect.] Hunter (ii, 221) : The English, in the Tudor
reigns, appear to have been a remarkably sober people, and the introduction of the
vice of drunkenness is attributed by contemporary writers to the connection with th>
Netherlands.
14, 15. native . . . manner born] Rushton (S/i. Illust. by Old Authors, i, 47) :
In the manumission by Henry VIII of two villeins the following words are used:
1 We think it pious and meritorious with God to manumit Henry Knight, a taylor,
and John Herle, a husbandman, our natives, as being born within the manor of Stoke
Clymmysland.' — Barr. Stats. 276. Flamlet, therefore, may speak of Denmark, or
Elsinore as the manor, himself as ?tativus, to the manor born, and the ' heavy-headed
revel ' as a custom incident to the manor. l Manor ' is here used, probably, in a
double sense, as in Love's Lab. I, i, 208, where it is contrasted with manner. It is of
little importance whether the word be spelt manner or manor, the mention of one
would suggesl the other, which is idem sonans, but different in meaning.
80 HAMLET [act I, sc. iv

More honour'd in the breach than the observance. 16

This heavy-headed revel east and west
Makes us traduced and tax'd of other nations ;
They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase

17-36. This... faulty In the margin, revell, east and west ; Makes Pope i.
Pope ('perhaps as being thought too revell, east and west, Makes Pope ii + ,
verbose'), Han. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly.
17-38. This. ..scandal.'] Om. Ff,Rowe, revel east and west, Makes Warb. revel.
Pope, Han. east and west Makes Coll. El. Sta. White.
17. revel] reueale Q2Qy reuelle Q4. 18. traduced] tradujl Q2Q3-
reuell Q . tax'd] Pope, taxed Qq.
17, 18. revel east and west Makes] Qq. 19. clepe] clip Qq, Pope i.

16. Dyce {Remarks, p. 210) : I once heard an eminent poet maintain that this
line, though it has passed into a sort of proverbial expression, is essentially non-
sense :' how.' said he, ' can a custom be honoured in the breach /" Compare the
following line of a play attributed to Jonson, Fletcher, and Middleton : ' He keeps
his promise best that breaks with hell.' — The Widow, III, ii. Mitford {Gent.
Maga. Feb. 1845) : The meaning is: « It is a custom that will more honour those
that break it than those who observe it ;' ' honoured ' is put for honourable, and
transferred to the subject. Hunter (ii, 221) : We may regard Sh. as again making
an effort, like that in Oth. II, iii, 79 (and efforts by a genius such as his are not lost),
to free his countrymen from so baneful a vice.
17. east and west] Johnson: That is, 'makes us traduced east and west oi
other nations.' [Not as Warburton says, ' this revel from morn till night.']
17-38. As these lines are not in Qx, Malone supposes that they were omitted out
of deference to Anne of Denmark, the queen of James I. Knight, on the other
hand, ingeniously conjectures that they were added in Q2 in order to qualify the
harsh description of royal riot in lines 8-12. A trait of Shakespeare's character may
be herein indicated : he would not suppress the lines offensive to royalty, because
the description given in them was true ; he only made it less severe by adding a
tolerant exposition of the mode in which one ill quality destroys the lustre of many
good ones. After the queen's death the passage was omitted in the Ff. Elze be
lieves that they were erased by Sh., but restored by the printer of Q2 in order tc
justify his title-page, wherein it was stated that the play was ' enlarged to as much
again as it was,' and is inclined to believe them spurious.
18. of] For other instances of * of used for by, see III, i, 154; IV, ii, 12; Macb.
Ill, vi, 27, or Abbott, § 170.
19. clepe] From the Anglo-Saxon, cleopian, to call. See Macb. Ill, i, 93.
19. drunkards] Steevens : And well our Englishmen might; for in 1604 the
following mention is made of a Dane in London, in Looke to it : For He Stabbe yt
[by Samuel Rowlands, p. 21, ed. Hunterian Club] : ' You that will drinke Reynaldo
vnto death : The Dane, that would carowse out of his Boote.'
19. swinish] Hunter (ii, 221) : This seems to allude to some parody on the
style of the kings of Denmark, which bore allusion to this habit. Clarendon :
Could Sh. have had in his mind any pun upon ' Sweyn,' which was a common name
of the kinps of Denmark ?
 %CT I, sc. iv.] HAMLET 81
<%**- ■
Soil our addition ; and indeed it takes 20
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, 25
Since nature cannot choose his origin, —
By the 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, — 30

23. So, oft'] Theob. So oft Qq, Pope, 27. the] Pope, their Qq, Knt, Coll.
Han. Cap. White, Del.
men,] men ; Cap. complexion] complextion QaQ,.

20. addition] Caldecott : Disparage us by using as characteristic of us, terms

that impute swinish properties, that fix a swinish ' addition ' or title to our names.
[See Macb. I, iii, 106. Ed.]
21. at height] Caldecott: To the utmost. [An instance of the absorption of
the definite article ; ' at' height, i. e. at the height. Thus also ' with blood,' I, v, 65.
See Allen's note, Rom. &■* Jul. p. 429. Abbott, \ 90, considers the as simply
omitted. Ed.]
22. pith . . . attribute] Johnson : The best and most valuable part of the praise
that would otherwise be attributed to us.
24. mole] Heath : A blemish of any kind, exactly corresponding to ' stamp of
one defect,' in line 31. M ALONE: Compare : For marks descried in men's nativity
Are nature's faults, not their own infamy.' — R. of L. 538. Theobald (Sh. Rest.
p. 33) suggested mould, i. e. ' when nature is unequally and viciously moulded, when
any complexion is too predominant.' But he did not repeat it in his edition. SlL-
berschlag (Morgenblatt, No. 47, i860, p. 1 109) adduces this passage as one of the
proofs that King James is designated under the character of Hamlet, and that the
' vicious mole of nature ' referred to James's aversion to the sight of a drawn dagger,
which was supposed to be derived from the shock his mother experienced, before his
birth, at seeing Rizzio assassinated.
25. As] Walker (Crit. i, 127) : As is here used, I think, not in the sense of for
instance, but in that of namely, to wit ; it expresses an enumeration of particulars,
not a selection from them by way of example. This is a frequent — perhaps, indeed,
the one exclusive — signification of as when employed in this construction ; as in 3
Hen. VI: V, vii, 7. 'Two Cliffords, as the father and son.' This is the true con-
struction ofas in a number of passages, where it has been, or is likely to be, mis-
taken for the modern usage.
26. his] See I, ii, 216.
27. complexion] Singer : This formerly meant the constitutions or affections of
the body. Clarendon : In the old medical language there were four complexions
or temperaments ; the sanguine, melancholy, choleric, and phlegmatic.
30. plauj've] M alone : Gracious, pleasing, popular.
 HAMLET
82
[act i, sc. i%
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being nature's livery, or fortune's star, —
Their virtues else — be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo —
Shall in the general censure take corruption 35
From that particular fault ; the dram of eale
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt
To his own scandal.

32. star] starre Qq. scar Theob. of ill... often dout, Cald. Knt, Coll. El.
the dram of lead. ..of a ducat Ingleby
Pope ii 4- .
23. Their] Theob. Pope ii. His Qq, conj. or the dram of evil... of a cour-
Pope i. tier Keightley conj. (withdrawn).* the 31
36, 37. the dram of eale. ..of a doubt] dram of eale... oft endoubt Nicholson
Q2Q3, Bos. Dyce i, Sta. White, Hal. conj.* the dram of cake... so adapt Bul-
the dram of eafe...of a doubt Q4Q5- the lock conj.* the dram of earth. ..so
dram of Base. ..of worth out, Theob. + , adapt Bullock conj. (withdrawn).* the
Cap. Steev. '73, '78, '85, Rann. the dram of base. ..overcloud Lloyd conj.*
dram of base. ..oft corrupt Anon. conj. the dram of base... of ten drown Taylor
ap. Rann. the dra?7i of base... of ten dout, conj. MS.* the dram of ease. ..oft work
Steev.'93, Var.'o3, Var.'i3, Verp. Huds. out Smyth conj. MS.* the dram of ill
i, Clarke, the dra7ne [i. e. dream] of ...of a doubt Heussi.
ease, The noble substance of a doubt, — 38. scandal.] J candle. Q9Q3- fcan
doth all Becket. the dram of ale... over dall. Q4< scandal — Ktly, Heussi.
dough or oft a-dough Jackson, the dram

30. that these men] Caldecott : ' It happens,' or something to that effect, must
be supplied before these words.
32. nature. ..star] Clarendon: A defect which is either natural or accidental,
Ritson : Star signifies a scar of that appearance, — it is a term of farriery. Theo-
bald (Sh. Best. p. 34) : Is fortune presumed to give a 'star,' where she means dis-
grace ? I should much rather suppose it an ensign of her favour, than designed to
set a mark of Infamy. Read scar; and so the sense of the whole passage hangs
together.
33. Their] Clarendon : After all, Sh. may have inadvertently written his.
34. undergo] Johnson : As large as can be accumulated upon man.
35. censure] Dyce: Judgement, opinion. See I, iii, 69.
36-38. dram. ..scandal] Theobald: The Tenour of this Speech is, that let to.cn
have never so many, or so eminent, Virtues, if they have one Defect which accom-
panies them, that single Blemish shall throw a Stain upon their whole Character,
and not only so, but shall deface the very Essence of all their Goodness, to its own
Scandal ; so that their Virtues themselves will become their Reproach. I have ven-
tured to conjecture : ' The dram of base Doth all the noble substance of worth out
To his own scandal.' The dram of base, i. e. the least alloy of baseness cr vice.
Sh. frequently uses the adjective of quality instead of the substantive of the thing.
Elsewhere speaking of worth, Sh. delights to consider it as a Quality that adds
Weight to a person. See All's Well, III, iv, 31, and * From whose so many weights
of baseness cannot A dram oi worth be drawn.' — Cym. Ill, v, 88. Heath: I
act i, sc. iv.] HAMLET 83

[36. ' The dram of eale,' &c]

should rather suspect Sh. might have written 'The dram of base Doth all the noble
lubstance oft eat out,' &c. But granting a little farther departure from the printed
text, I should think it still more probable that the true reading is : ' Doth all the
noble substance soil with doubt.' That is : A dram of base alloy stains all the noble
substance of his virtues with the suspicion that they are mere tinsel appearances only,
ami not of the true sterling standard. Capell [Notes, &c. i, 126), after citing Heath
with approval, adds, ' But it should seem, from the comment that the same author makes
upon his second amendment, that the line stands in need of a substantive, following
•of to perfect the sense of it. And this, in truth, is the light in which the editor
has view'd the corruption all along; that some word was slipt out of the copy, and
'■out' changed to 4a doubt' by the printer's ingeniousness : the vacancy cannot be
fill'd better than by the word in possession; and the line may be cur'd of it's bald-
ness by no very great licence, the change of 'all' into eat; after which, the comment
that has been given above [Heath's] is both a just and a perfect one.' [Which means
that Capell would read the line ' Doth eat the noble substance of worth out? In
Capell's list of ■ Various Readings of Hamlet ' he cites the reading of Qx thus : of eale
40. a. (f. ill). This, I presume, indicates, what the Cam. Edd. ascribe to him, the con-
jecture ofill for ' eale.' Hereby Capell anticipated Jennens, who merely states that
he ventures to read : ' The dram of ill Doth all the noble substance of good out, To
his own scandal.'] In the Var. of 1773, Steevens says : ' Mr Holt reads, The dram
of base Doth all the noble substance oft adopt, &c. I would read Doth all the noble
substance {i. e. the sum of good qualities) oft do out.'' ' To do a thing out is to efface^
or obliterate anything in drawing.' Perhaps we should say, ' To its own scandal.'
[ Vide infra, Steevens, 1793.] Davies [Dramatic Misc. 1784, iii, 10) : The very tri-
fling alteration of adding a letter to one word, and the changing two letters for one
in another, will restore to us the original reading, ' The dram of base Doth all the
noble substance oft work out,' &c. When I read this proposed emendation to the
reverend and learned Mr Robertson, he not only concurred with me, but assured
me he had himself made the same amendment. The apostle James hath a senti
ment very similar to the present passage; 'For, whosoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.' [In the Var. 1785, S[tephen]
W[eston] proposes the same emendation. Ed.] Mason (1785) : I offer as an amend-
ment (which is at least as near the old text as any yet proposed, and which is sup-
ported byline 35), ' Doth all the noble substance of 't corrupt.' Malone (1790) :
' The dram of base Doth all the noble substance of worth dout, To,' &c. To dou\
signified in Shakespeare's time, and yet signifies in Devonshire and other western
counties, to do out, to efface, to extinguish. Thus they say, ' dout the candle, dout th<
fire,' &c, just as don signifies do on [or doff, do off — Steevens]. ' Dout' having
been written by the transcriber dotibt, and the word ' worth ' having been inadver-
tently omitted, probably the line, in the copy for the press, stood : Doth all the noble
substance of doubt. The editor or printer of the Qq, finding the line too short, in-
serted the indefinite article, without attending to the context. Theobald's insertion
of worth is fully justified by his citation from Cymbeline. [Malone, in Var. 1785,
proposed ' By his own scandal ;' but did not repeat it in his own edition. Ed.]
Steevens [1793. Vi& supra, Steevens, 1773] : I now think we should read : ' The
dram of base Doth all the noble substance oiten dout,' &c, for surely it is needless tc
say — ' the no' 7e substance of worth dout,' because the'idea of worth is comprehended
84 HAMLET [act i, sc. iv.

[36. • The dram of eale,' &c]

in the epithet noble. N. B. This improvement I owed, about four years ago, to the
late Rev. Henry Homer. Rann (1794?): 'Doth all, &c. oft corrupt: oft work
out : eat out : By it's own scandal.' MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS {Explanations and
Emendations of Some Passages in the Text of Shakespeare, Edinburgh, 1814) : I
suppose there was a shifting of types from the upper to the lower line, and read thus:
' The dram of doubt Doth all the noble substance oft anneal To, J &c. That is, the
dram of doubtful or base metal doth often, in the operation of annealing, cause the
whole substance to become durably as base as itself. Whether this emendation
will be made out by a comparison with the processes used in the arts, I know not,
as everything connected with chemical science, or any branch of philosophy, ap-
peareth to me too insignificant to bestow upon it one moment's attention. Zachary
Jackson says that he has endeavored to give the passage some sense, but cannot
speak with that perfect confidence which he does in reference to * most of my restora-
tions.' Boswell (1821) : A clear meaning is afforded by Holt's emendation, if we
take ' substance ' as a nominative : ' The noble substance doth oft bring disgrace
upon itself by adopting the dram of base.' If this interpretation be rejected, I
would prefer to suppose that doubt means to bring into doubt or suspicion, as to fear
means to create fear ; to pale is to make pale. Yet I prefer Holt's change. Calde-
COTT merely enumerates, with approval, the various changes which preceding edd.
have made, and which he adopts. [See Text. Notes.] Singer (ed. i) : ' The dram of
bale Doth all the noble substance often doubt To,' &c. I see no reason why dout
should be substituted for ' doubt.' Boswell's interpretation of 'doubt' is just. I have
ventured to read bale (z. e. evil) as nearer to the reading of the first edition. Stearns
(Sh. Treas. p. 373) adopted this reading of Singer's, and explains it as a reference
to the commerce in drugs, in which a great deal of adulteration is practiced ; for
the word bale we have now only the word alloy. Collier : It is easy to see how
' ill ' might be misprinted eale, and ' often dout ' of a doubt ; the compositor having
taken the passage by his ear only : indeed, a stronger proof of the kind could hardly
be pointed out. Delius : ' The dram of bale Doth all the noble substance off and
out To,' &c. In the old edd. 'off' is constantly used for of, just as doubt for dout.
In MS andout, run into one word, would be readily mistaken for a doubt, especially
if an abbreviation were used instead of and. The sense is : The dram of evil doth
off [i. e. puts off] and doth out \i. e. puts out] all the noble substance,' &c. A. E.
B[rae] (A7". & Qu. 21 Feb. 1852) : Eafe and eale so nearly resemble each other,
and the subsequent transition to bafe is so extremely obvious, and so consistent
with the sense, that there can hardly be any plausible ground for the rejection
of base in favour of ill. Moreover, base is the natural antagonist of ' noble ' in the
next line. Now, in what way does ' the dram (i. e. an indefinitely small quantity, as
gram is used now-a-days) of base ' affect ' all the noble substance '? Sh. says it renders
it doubtful or suspicious. ' Doubt ' in this place is not a verb, but a noun substan-
tive. The chief hindrance now to a perfect meaning consists in the restriction of
1 doth ' to a mere expletive. Let this restriction be removed, by conferring upon
* doth ' the value of an effective verb, and the difficulty disappears : thus, ' the base
doth doubt to the noble,' i. e. imparts doubt to it, or renders it doubtful. We say a
man's good actions do him credit ; why not also, his bad ones do him doubt ? There
r ~>w remains ' of a' to be amended. I suggest offer ; it is almost identical (in sound
at least) with the original, and it materially assists in giving a much clearer applies-
act l, sc. iv.J HAMLET 85

[36. 'The dram of eale,' &c]

► ion to the last line. For these reasons, but especially for the last, I adopt offer, as
a verb in the infinitive ruled by ' doth,' in the sense of causing or compelling. Thus
the meaning of the passage becomes ' The base doth the noble offer doubt to his
own scandal,' that is, causes the noble to excite suspicion, to the injury of its own
character. H. F. (JV. 6° Qu. 6 March, 1852): Read 'dram of base. ..often dull
To his,' &c, merely a substitution of letters. Periergus Bibliophilus (Al. &*
Qu. 17 Aug. 1852): As the least deviation from the old copies, I prefer 'The
dram of base Doth, all the noble substance o'er, a doubt, To his own scandal,'
i. e. doth cast a doubt over all the noble substance, bring into suspect all the noble
qualities by the leaven of one dram of baseness. Singer (ed. ii) : Most probably
Sh. wrote : Doth all the noble substance oft adoubl.' Using the word adoubt for
doubt in its active sense of to bring into doubt or suspicion. We have numerous
old words of similar form, and in Latin dubito is written addubito by Cicero and
others. It is evident that dout could not have been the word, for the meaning is
• The dram of base renders all the noble substance doubtful or suspicious,' not that it
extinguishes it altogether. I read base as suggested by Q , from its more direct oppo-
sition to noble. [Singer's text follows Q2Q3, except that base is substituted for ' eale.']
Dyce (ed. i) : ' Often ' [in Steevens's reading] is very questionable, because, in all
probability, ' of in the Qq is a mistake for ' oft ;' and secondly, as Lettsom observes
to me, 'the words " To his own scandal" are fatal to the reading " dout," for if
that alteration be right they are superfluous. A verb,' he adds, ' I should think
must lurk under the corruption " a doubt " or " doubt," with the signification of turn,
pervert, corrupt, or the like. Shakespeare's meaning evidently is that a little leaven
leavens the whole lump — that one vice will ruin an otherwise perfect character.'
Mason's conjecture was unknown to the Rev. J. MlTFORD when he wrote to me as
follows : ' I would read " Doth all the noble substance oft corrupt." ' In the Devon-
shire dialect, to ' eale' is to reproach ; it may be asked, then, Did Sh. (who occa-
sionally has provincialisms) write here ' the dram of eale ' in the sense of ' the dram
0/" reproach ' ? for my own part, I hardly think so. White : I leave this grossly-cor-
rupted passage unchanged, because none of the attempts to restore it seem to me to
be even worth recording, and I am unable to better them. But it has occurred to
me that perhaps the corruption lurks in a part of the passage hitherto unsuspected,
and that ' Doth ' is either a misprint of ' Hath,' or has the sense of ' accomplishes.'
F. A. Leo (N. <2t° Qu. 27 Dec. 1862) : 'Eale,' in its real form, must have con-
tained a sense opposite to ' noble,' and for that purpose I find no better word than
vile. 'A doubt' I understand as a misprint for a draught; for Ham. had just
spoken about drinking, and had just used the word ' draughts.' After that I should
like to change the word ' Doth' into Turns. Nichols [Notes on Sh. i, 25) : Eale
is the old-fashioned mode of spelling ail= ailment, pronounced ale. ' Doth ' is not
the auxiliary verb, but the verb itself, the 3d pers. sing. pres. tense of to do, which here
means : ' to make anything what it is not,' as, ' to do him dead ' — so in Johnson.
1 Doubt ' is the means whereby that change is effected, of and by formerly being
used indifferently as a sign of the ablative. Hence the text of Q2Q, means that
* the dram of eale will, by a doubt (*'. e. by the doubt that it will create as to a man's
sincerity) do {i. e. convert) all this noble substance to his own scandal, laying him
open to the charge of hypocrisy. [Nichols repeated this note substantially in The
Athenceum, iff \ug. 1866. Ed.1 Ingleby {ap. Staunton) : < Of a doubt' is a mis-
86 HAMLET [act i, sc iv.

[36. ' The dram of eale,' &c]

print for derogate. First, they have the same number of letters. Secondly, they
have the o, a, d, and / in common. Thirdly, derogate is the only verb that at the
same time completes the sense and preserves the metre. Staunton : Ingleby's
suggestion is ingenious, but may not the construction have been this : ' The dram
of base (or ill, or bale, or lead, or whatsoever word the compositor tortured into
'eale,' or 'ease') doth [i.e. doeth, z&orhelh) all the noble substance of a pound
to its own vileness ' ? We by no means pretend that pound was the actual word
misrendered ' doubt ;' it is inserted merely because it occurs in opposition to
* dram ' in a line of Quarles's Emblems, b. ii, E 7, — ' Where ev'ry dram of gold
contains a pound of dross,' — and because it is extremely probable some such ant ithesi?
was intended here. So in Spenser's Eaerie Queene, b. i, c. iii, s. 30 :— ' A dram of
sweete is worth a pound of sowre.' Swynfen Jervis {Proposed Emendations, &c.
i860, p. 23): Read, The dram of evil Doth all the noble substance oft outdo, To,
&c. Compare Cor. II, i, 150; 'So heavenly love shall outdo hellish hate.' — Par.
Lost. ; ' Wherein the graver had a strife With nature, to outdo the life.' — Jonson.
In Chambers's Household Sh. is the following note : ' We have adopted " oft subdue "
[for " of a doubt "], suggested by Mr Swynfen Jervis, and thus supported :— Son. iii,
6; and AWs Well, V, iii, 217.' Bailey (ii, 2): For 'eale' read evil ; for 'of a
doubt ' read oft weigh down. ' Weigh, in some of the old copies of Hamlet, is
spelt way.' Compare Rich. Ill : V, iii, 153 ; Timon V, i, 154. Corson (Jottings, &c.
p. 13, 1874) : All the difficulty of the passage is removed, I think, by understanding
' noble,' not as an adjective, as all the commentators have understood it, qualifying
' substance,' but as a noun opposed to ' eale,' and the object of ' substance,' a verb
of which ' doth ' is its auxiliary. Thus : ' the dram of eale doth all the noble, sub-
stance of (z. e. ' with,' a sense common in the English of the time) ' a doubt (which
works) ' to his own scandal.' ' Substance ' is used in the sense of ' imbue with a cer-
tain essence;' 'his' is a neuter genitive, standing for 'noble,' and = ' its.' The
dram of ill transubstantiates the noble, essences it to its own scandal. (In regard to
the uses of 'of and 'to,' see Abbott, \\ 171, 186.) The use of 'substance,' in
the sense of ' essence,' was, of course, sufficiently common, and had been for more
than two centuries, to justify the interpretation given. In Macb. I, v, 48, we have
' sightless substances ' = ' invisible essences,' ' sightless ' being used objectively. ' Be-
ing of one substance with the Father.' — Book of Common Prayer. Chaucer, in The
Prologe of the Nonne Prestes Tale (1. 14S09 of Tyrwhitt's edition, 1. 16289 of
Wright's), uses the word to express the essential character or nature of a man. The
Host objects to the Monk's Tale, as being too dull for the occasion; and, that the
fault may not be thought to lie in himself, says, ' And wel I wot the substance is in
me, If eny thing schal wel reported be.' That is, I am so substanced, so constituted,
so tempered, such is my cast of spirit, that I can appreciate and enjoy, as well as the
next man, a good story well told. Whether ' substance ' can be found, in this sense,
as a verb, matters not. The free functional application of words which character-
ized the Elizabethan English, allowed, as every English scholar knows, of the use
of any noun, adjective, or neuter verb, as an active verb. This interpretation I
communicated in the main to N. &* Qu. [4 Oct. 7.862] ; but I did not then recog-
nize an important element in it, that the pronoun ' his ' is a neuter genitive, standing
for 'noble' used as a noun. Arrowsmith (Shakespeare's Editors, &c. 1865, p. 6)
thus quote; the passage : ' The dram of base Doth all the noble substance often
iCTi.sc. iv.j HAMLET 87

[36. ■ The dram of eale,' &c]

draw To,' Sec. Halliwell : This passage appears to be hopelessly corrupt, no
emendation yet proposed being in the least degree satisfactory, nor have I any plausi-
ble suggestion of my own to offer. Dyce (ed. ii) : The dram of evil Doth all the
noble substance oft debase To &c. For this reading, now inserted in the text, I
alone am answerable. Clarke : That doubt and ' dout ' were often printed the one
for the other, and that the two words afforded scope for quibbling play upon them,
is seen by ths opening jest in A C. Merry Talys, 1567 : ' I never harde tell of more
doutes but twayn, that is to say, dout the candell and dout the fyre.' II. D. (Atke-
naum, 18 Aug. 1866) : Hamlet so emphatically insists that one little drop always
corrupts the whole mass that he would not wind up by saying it often does so. Read,
therefore, * The dram of ill Doth... overdout? Elze (Athenaum, 1 1 Aug. 1866) thinks
a very near approach to the text, together with an unobjectionable sense, may be had
by reading • the dram of evil... often daub To ' &c. J. D. M. {Athenaeum, 24 Nov.
1866) : The sentence is simply incomplete. I would put a dash after ' scandal.' If
completed, it might read ' To his own scandal taint? Keightley {Expositor, 288) :
I read evil for ' eale,' and for ' of a doubt ' out 0' doubt, or perhaps, ' out of a doubt.'
The sentence, we may see, is not complete, and it should also be recollected that
the language of the whole speech is involved, as if the speaker were thinking of
something else, and merely talking against time. Cartwright {New Readings in
Sh., &c. 1866, p. 37) : For ' eale ' read leaven, for ' of a doubt,' of a dough. Prow-
ett (.A/, & Qu. 25 Sept. 1869) : Is it not possible that there was such a word as
' eale,' and that it was identical with the ' esil ' in V, i, 264, meaning vinegar ? In that
case Sh. may perhaps have written ' Doth all the noble substance over-clout.' In the
next scene, the posseting of the blood by poison is described like • eager droppings
into milk.' Thus Sh. here means that the small quantity of vinegar or other acid
matter over-clouts, or curdles over, the whole of the substance to which it is added,
so as to impart its own scandalous character to that substance. He has just used
the word ' o'erleavens.' Clout, to clot or curdle, is a well-known provincial expres-
sion. The unfamiliar word, clout, was mistaken by the eye for dout, and over, by
the ear for ' of a.' The Writer of the Article on Shakespearian Glos-
saries in the Edinburgh Review {N. &> Qu. 23 Oct. 1869) : Evil is used by
Elizabethan writers, and by Sh. himself, as a monosyllable, and it might, then, by a
mistake of the ear, easily have been written as pronounced : eale. Again, the verb
dout is used not only in its literal sense of do out, but in the secondary meaning of
obscure, eclipse, prevent the manifestation of, as by Laertes in IV, vii, 192. This
secondary sense very much does away with the force of Lettsom's objection to dout.
Read, then, ' The dram of e'il Doth all the noble substance often dout To ' &c. W.
M. Rossetti [N. & Qu. 30 Oct. 1869) : Maplett, in his Green Forest, 1567, says:
' The ele being killed and addressed in wine, whosoever chaunceth to drinke of that
wine so used shall ever afterward lothe wine.' May not wine thus treated have
been technically termed eel (eale)? Read, then: The dram of eel Doth,' &c, i.e.
the dram of eel-dressing (vitiated wine) doth often doubt (bring into suspicion and
disrepute) the noble substance (of pure wine) to the scandal of the said substance.
On further reflection (N. 6° Qu. 4 Dec. 1869), a simpler meaning for 'the dram of
eale ' may be assigned, viz. : ' An extremely small weight, or quantity, even the six-
teenth part of an ounce, of the eel-fish,' taking dram in its quantitative sense. J.
Wetherill [Athenczum, 20 Nov. 1869) suggests 'The dram of eHl Doth all the
88 HAMLET [act i, sc. iv

[36. ' The dram of eale,' &c]

noble substance oft traduce To his own scandal,' because Bacon, in his Ninth Essay,
says that ' as infection spreadeth upon that which is sound and tainteth it, so this
evil eye traduceth even the best actions thereof, and turneth them into an ill odour.*
Rushton {Shakespeare'' s Euphuism, p. 93, 187 1 ) : • Dram of eale ' may be a misprint,
or abbreviation, of dram of hellebore, or ' <?/k-bore,' which old authors speak of as being
very poisonous ; Gosson, Schoole of Abuse, 1579, says: 'One dramme of Eleborus
ransackes every vein.' DANIEL {Notes, &c. 1870, p. 73) : I propose — ' the bran of
meal Doth all the noble substance of it doubt : So this one scandal....' If the four
mysterious letters, eale, may be formed by the addition of an m into the word
meale (the old spelling of meal), the change of the preceding word, ' dram,' to bran
is obvious, and we have a sentence singularly in accordance with the argument of
Hamlet's speech, which he illustrates by the homely simile of bran doubting or dis
crediting all the noble substance of the meal. If the bran of meal be accepted, the
change of ' of a ' to of it hardly needs apology. In So, the S being next the T in the
printer's ' case,' the error would be easily accounted for. His and this are so fre-
quently confounded in the old copies, that no one would hesitate to correct wnere the
sense of a passage required the change. The corruption of one into ' own ' probably
arose from the similarity in sound of the two words. The simile of bran and meal
seems to have been a favorite one with Elizabethan writers. Sh. uses it twice else-
where, in Cym. IV, ii, 27 ; Cor. Ill, i, 322. Hudson (1870) : ' The dram of vile Doth
all the noble substance oft abate To,' &c. I prefer vile as more likely to have been mis-
printedeale,'
' and I have ventured to change ' of into oft, and • a doubt' into abate,
which was often used by old writers in the sense of cast down or depress. Perhaps
attaint would give a slightly more congruous sense. Miles {Review of Hamlet, p.
16, 1870) : • The dram of ill Doth all the noble substance throw in doubt ' seems to
be the meaning of the line. Robert Roaster {Sunday Dispatch, Phila. 12 Jan.
1873) : For 'often dout' read oft endow, the final / of ' dout' was inserted by the
printer, misled by the occurrence of the letter at the beginning of the next line.
Endow was often used in Shakespeare's time for endue, which is rendered by Bailey
' to supply,' ' to qualify.' The meaning then is The dram of base doth often qualify
all the noble substance To its own scandal. Moberly : The passage must surely be
read : ' The dram of ill Doth all the noble substance ever dout To,' &c. Hudson's
forthcoming edition will read, ' The dram of leaven Doth all the noble substance
of 'em sour To,' &c, a reading suggested by a passage in Bacon's Henry the Seventh :
* And as a little leaven of new distaste doth commonly soure the whole lumpe of
former merites, the King's wit,' &c. F. J. Furnivall suggests oft adote in place
of ' of a doubt,' because adote meant both to grow silly and to drive silly. For the
latter sense, see Gower's Confessio Amantis, III, ii, as quoted in Matzner's Worter-
buch, ' The most wise ben otherwhile of love adoted,' i. e. made fools, besotted.
John Davies {N 6° Qu. 11 Mar. 1876) repeats Dyce's remark, that 'eale,' with
' the meaning of reproach, is still used in the western counties.'
Strachey (p. 44) : Hamlet's generalizations are really drawn from the excessive
brooding over his own character and circumstances, and only afterwards applied to
the men and things about him. It is plainly he himself who is the original of this
his description of the man in whom either nature or circumstances have unduly
developed some one tendency of the character, to the injury of the proper and
rational balance and harmony of the whole ; and who, in consequence of this one
kct i, sc. iv.] HAMLET 89
Enter Ghost.

Hor. Look, my lord, it comes !

Ham. Angels and ministers of grace defend us !—
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, 40
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,

Enter Ghost.] After line 38, Dyce, 38. it] where it Q'76.
Sta. Clark, Huds ii. ...armed as before. 42. intents] events Ff, Rowe. advent
Coll. (MS). Warb.
defect, for which he is not responsible, and should rather be pitied than blamed, is
looked on with disparagement by the world, however excellent all his other qualities
may be.
39. In Davies's Dram. Misc. (iii, 29) an account is given from Cibber of Better-
ton's acting in this scene; Betterton was taught by Sir William Davenant, who had
seen Taylor, one of the original performers of Hamlet [see V, ii, 274] : ' He opened
the scene with a pause of mute amazement; then, rising slowly to a solemn, trem-
bling voice, he made the Ghost equally terrible to the spectator and himself; and,
in the descriptive part of the natural emotions which the ghastly vision gave him,
the boldness of his expostulation was still governed by decency ; manly, but not
braving ; his voice never rising to that seeming outrage or wild defiance of what he
naturally revered.' Booth said : ' When I acted the Ghost with Betterton, instead
of my awing him, he terrified me. But divinity hung round that man.' On the
other hand, Macklin, after the first line, spoke the rest of the address calmly but re-
spectfully, and with a firm tone of voice, as from one who had subdued his timidity
and apprehension. Booth, says Davies, has never been surpassed in his acting of
the Ghost; his slow, solemn, and undertone of voice, his noiseless tread, as if he had
been composed of air, created a powerful impression. Hunter (ii, 222) : ■ The idea
of surprise predominates over the idea of apprehension. He did not mean that he
needed protection in the presence of so gracious a figure, and the exclamation must
be understood to escape him almost involuntarily. A pretty long pause should ensue
after it is spoken, to allow him to recollect himself.' A stage direction [Pause~\ is
added after this line by Collier (ed. ii), with the note : This minute stage direction,
showing the particular manner of the old actor of the character of Hamlet, ought to
be preserved, and is from the (MS). It seems natural that the performer should
' pause ' to recover breath after this exclamation, and before he tremblingly proceeds
to question the Ghost. We believe that the modern practice on our stage has been
uniform in this respect, — possibly from the oldest tradition. [See Lichtenberg's
account of Garrick, in the Appendix. Ed.]
40. health] Clarendon : A healed or saved spirit.
42. intents] Nichols (i, 27) advocates ' events ' of Ff, in the sense of ' coming
forth.' * The Ghost had already appeared twice, — this was the third time of hi*
coming forth? Corson : The reading of the Ff is better than that of the Qq.
Events is equivalent to issues. The meaning is, not that Hamlet attributes any
intents ' to the Ghost, but that the Ghost's appearance is to him prognostic of cer-
tain issues or events; 'thy' is the personal, and not the possessive, adjective pro-
noun; in other words, it is used objectively.

8*
90 HAMLET [act i, sc. iv.

Thou comest in such a questionable shape

That I will speak to thee ; I'll call thee Hamlet,
King, Father ; Royal Dane, O, answer me ! 45
Let me not burst in ignorance ; but tell
Why thy canoniz'd bones, hearsed in death
Have burst their cerements ; why the sepulchre,

45. Father ; Royal Dane, O] Anon. 47. canonized... death] bones hears' d
father, royal Dane, o Qq. Father, in canonized earth Han.
Royal Dane: OYi et cet. 48. cerements'] cerments FT. Cear-
0] Oh, oh Ff, Rowe, Cald. merits F2F3F4, Rowe + , Cap.
47. canoniz 'd] canonized Glo. + ,Mob.
43. questionable] Theobald : That is, to be conversed with, inviting question,
as in Macb. I, iii, 43. Caldecott: ' So doubtful, that I will at least make inquiry
to obtain a solution.'
45. Royal Dane] Pye (p. 312) : The change of punctuation proposed in the
following anonymous observation, published in the St. James's Chronicle, 15 Oct.
1 76 1, is so convincing that I shall without hesitation adopt it: '[To put a colon
after " Dane"] seems to be a strange climax (if not an anti-climax). But a slight
alteration in the pointing will remove all objections, preserve the beauty of the
climax, and perhaps give an additional force to the whole passage. Thus, " I'll call
thee Hamlet, King, Father, — Royal Dane, O answer me." The climax naturally
and beautifully ends with the endearing appellation of " Father." He then addresses
the Ghost by the general appellation, " Royal Dane, O answer me." ' This seems
the criticism of no mean critic, [ivlr Edwin Booth has informed me that his father
always spoke the line thus, and that he himself has always so spoken it. I believe
Mr Irving has also adopted it. To me it is unquestionably the true reading, and I
have not hesitated to punctuate the text accordingly. Ed.]
47. canoniz'd] Warburton : Bones over which the rites of sepulture have been
performed, or which were buried according to the canon. Blakeway : The accent
is on the second syllable. [See Walker, Vers. 197 ; Abbott, g 491.]
47-50. Johnson has a long note on these lines, called forth by Warburton's
superfluous change of ' hearsed in earth' and sums up the whole sentence in :
' Why dost thou appear, whom we know to be dead ?' Heath (p. 531) : By the ex-
pression hearsed in death is meant, shut up and secured with all those precautions
which are usually practised in preparing dead bodies for sepulture, such as the wind-
ing-sheet, shroud, coffin, &c. So that death is here used, by a metonymy of the
antecedent for the consequent, for the rites of death, such as are generally esteemed
due, and practised with regard to dead bodies.
48. cerements] Clarendon : Qt here reads ' ceremonies.' As this copy is prob-
ably derived from short-hand notes taken at the play, it would seem to show that
' cerements ' was pronounced as a trisyllable. [Does it not rather show that ' cere-
monies 'was pronounced as a trisyllable : • cer'monies ?' and is it not an additional
proof of what Staunton and Walker affirm in reference to the monosyllabic pro-
nunciation ofcere in ceremony, ceremonious, ceremonials ? See Macb. Ill, iv, 36.
Ed.] See Cotgrave : • Cerat : A Plaister made of Waxe, Gummes, <&c, and cei-
taine oyles wee also, call it, a Cerot or Searecloth.'
act i, sc. iv.] HAMLET 91

Wherein we saw thee quietly in-urn'd,

Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws, 50
To cast thee up again. What may this mean,
That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel,
Revisits thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous ; and we fools of nature

49. in-urn'd] enur/i'd Fs. interred Revifitjl FaF . Revisifst F et cet.

Qq, Cap. Jen. El. inmured Anon.* 53. glimpses'] glimfes QaQ3Q4»
53. Revisits] Fx, Cald. Reuifites Qq. 54. we] us Theob. Pope ii+, Jen.

49. in-urn'd] Dyce: In my Few Notes, &c, p. 137, I remarked: 'Perhaps the
reading of the Qq is preferable, because in-urn'd implies that the body had been re-
duced to ashes,' — a remark which I now wish to recall. Compare Cor. V, vi, 145,
146. Clarendon : ■ Urn ' is used for 'grave ' in Hen. V : I, ii, 228.
52. complete] Accented on the first syllable. See Walker, Vers. 292; Crit.
ii, 21 : Abbott, \ 492. Douce : It is accented on the second syllable in King John,
II, i, 433, 434.
52. steel] Steevens : Probably Sh. introduced the Ghost in armour for the sake
of greater solemnity ; though it was really the custom of the Danish kings to be
buried in that manner. Vide Olaus Wormius, cap. vii : ' . . . postquam . . . rex collem
sibi . . . extruxisset, cui post obitum regio diademate exornatum, armis indutum, in-
ferendum esset cadaver.'
53. Revisits] Walker [Crit. ii, 128) : Quare, in cases where st would produce
extreme harshness, and where at the same time the old copies have s, whether we
ought not to write the latter? [The text which I have adopted is my answer. Ed.]
53. glimpses] Hunter (ii, 223) : The scene is thus made more picturesque by
introducing the moon sending forth her beams on the platform, either through in-
terstices ofdark clouds, or, what is more probable, through the openings among the
battlements.
54. we] Theobald, Caldecott, and Clarendon say that in strict grammar us
should be here used; but Walker [Crit. i, 58) evidently, as Lettsom notes, con-
nectswe
' fools ' with ' That,' and so does Moberly in his excellent paraphrase :
* What may it mean that we with our blind nature (are made) so horribly to shake
our composure of spirit with thoughts beyond the reach of our souls ?' adding ; ' This
random connexion of the clause suits well with the headlong impetuosity of the
speech.' On the same grammatical grounds Tschischwitz reads, ' So horridly do
shake.' Abbott, \ 216, thus explains 'and we ' : After a conjunction and before an
infinitive we often find /, thou, &c, where in Latin we should have ' me,' ' te,' &c.
The conjunction seems to be regarded as introducing a new sentence, instead of
connecting one clause with another. Hence the pronoun is put in the nominative,
and a verb is, perhaps, to be supplied from the context. So, too, we have ' we ' for
us in III, ii, 231, since it stands quasi-independently at some distance from the gov-
erning word, ' touches.'
54. fools] Warburton : Intimating that we are only kept (as formerly fools in
a great family) to make sport for nature, who lies hid only to mock and laugh at uz
for our vain searches into her mysteries. Mason (p. 378) : A paraphrase of the
92 HAMLET [act i, sc. iv.

So horridly to shake our disposition 55

With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls ?
Say, why is this ? wherefore ? what should we do ?
\Ghost beckons Hamleu
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 60
It waves you to a more removed ground ;
But do not go with it.
Hor. No, by no means.
Ham. It will not speak ; then I will follow it.
Hor. Do not, my lord.
Ham. Why, what should be the fear ?

55. horridly] horribly Theob + . 61. waves'] wafts Ff, Rowe, Cald.
56. the reaches] thee ; reaches Ff. Knt.
57. [Ghost beckons Hamlet.] Ghofl to a more] off to a Johns,
beckens Hamlet. Ff. Beckins. Q3Q^ more removed] remote Q'76.
Beckons. Q4QS« Om. Cap. Steev. Knt. 62. [Holding Hamlet. Rowe + , Jen.
58. beckons] beckins Q2Q3- beckens 63. / will] will I Ff, Rowe, Knt,
F8F3F4. Coll. Dyce i, White, Sta.
60. courteous] curteous Q2Q3Q4F .

common expression, natural fools. Clarendon : Playthings of nature, completely

under her influence. See Meas. for Meas. Ill, i, II.
55. disposition] Mood. See Macb. Ill, iv, 113.
57. wherefore] See Walker, Vers. 1 11, for instances where the accent in this
word is shifted at pleasure from one syllable to another; see Rom. <5^ Jul. II, ii,
62. Also Abbott, \ 75, for the use of • why.'
61. waves] Dyce: Although the Ff here and in line 78 have 'wafts,5 but
' waves ' in line 68, yet undoubtedly Sh. in these three places used the same form of
the word ; and as the Qq in all three places have * waues,' they surely are to be fol-
lowed. Clarendon : Either word means * beckon,' and both are used by Sh. So
we have a double form of ' graff ' and ' graft.'
61. removed] Cambridge Editors : Steevens says, ' Fx reads remote.'' We have
not been able to find this reading in any copy of that edition which we have con-
sulted. Sir Frederic Madden has kindly collated for us the four copies in the British
Museum, all of which have ' removed.' This is also the reading of Capell's copy,
of Malone's, and of two others to which we have had access, and it is the reading
in Mr Booth's reprint. [It is also the reading in my copy of F,. Ed.]
64. should] See Abbott, \ 328, for instances of ' should ' denoting a statement
not made by the speaker, like sollen in German. Clarendon refers to Alacb. I, iii,
45, as a parallel instance, but Abbott, \ 323, seems to interpret the use of 'should'
it that line more correctly, and is so cited in the Var. ed.
act I, sc. iv.] HAMLET 93

I do not set my life at a pin's fee ; 65

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 70
That beetles o'er his base into the sea,
And there assume some other horrible form,
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason

65. set. ..fee'] value my life Q'76. 72. assume-] affumes Ff.
fee;] fee, Qq. fee? F3F4. horrible] horrable Q3Q3- Ora.
69. toward] towards Q.Q-- Q'76.
flood] floods Q'76. 73. deprive] deprave Warb. Han.
70. summit] Rowe. fomnet Qq. Son- your. ..reason] you of your sove-
net Ff. border Q'76. raign reason Coll. (MS), of sovereignty
cliff] cleefe Qq. Cliffe FIF2F . your reason Hunter.
71. beetles] bellies Q2Q3. bellels Q4QS-
73. deprive] Johnson : In this place it signifies simply to take away. So alsc
Dyce interprets it in ' deprives our own sight.' — Beau. & Fl. The Maid in the Mill,
IV, iii, 8. Walker (Crit. iii, 261): That is, depose reason from her throne in
your mind. ' Deprive ' is here synonymous with depose. Lettsom [Foot-note to
the foregoing) : I have observed two examples of this use of the word in R. of L.
1 186 and 1752. Again, ' And join together to deprive my breath.' — Woman KilPd
with Kindness, Dodsley vii, p. 261 ; • What son, what comfort that she [Fortune)
can deprive ?' — Marston, Antonio &> Mellida, Part i, III, i. Abbott, \ 200 : ' De-
prive,' meaning to ' take away a thing from a person,' like ' rid/ can dispense with
* of before the impersonal object. This explains the present passage : ' which might
take away your controlling principle of reason.' Compare also the tendency (§ 290)
to convert neuter verbs into active verbs. See also I, iii, 51.
73. sovereignty of reason] Warburton : The same as sovereign or supreme
reason. Thus, 'At once to betray the sovereignty of reason in my soul.' — King Charles,
Ikon Basilike. Capell (i, 126) : Deprive you of the command of your reason, of
that sovereignty which you now exercise over it. Steevens : The phrase does not
signify, to deprive your princely mind of rational powers, but to take away from you
the command of reason, by which man is governed. Gifford (Jonson's New Inn,
p. 352, ed. 1816) : • Sovereignty' here is merely a title of respect, and the whole
phrase means neither more nor lts*s than to deprive your lordship, or your honour,
or your highness, of reason. [Aliquando dormitat, &c. As Hunter says, Hamlet
was no sovereign. Ed.] Caldecott : Dispossess the sovereignty of your reason.
So that he throws his image forcibly before his reader, Sh. leaves it to him to arrange
his pronouns and articles, and grammatically thread his meaning. Compare ' nobility
of love,' I, ii, no. For instances where pronominal and other adjectives are placed
before a whole compound noun instead of, as they strictly should be, before the
second of the two nouns, see Abbott, g 423. So ' your cause of distemper,' III.
ii, 321 ; ' H;s means of death,' i. e. * the means of his death.' — IV, v, 207. * My
better part of man.' — Macb. V, viii, 18.
94 HAMLET [act i, sc. iv.

And draw you into madness ? think of it ;

The very place puts toys of desperation, 75
Without more motive, into every brain
That looks so many fathoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath.
Ham. It waves me still. —
Go on ; I'll follow thee.
Mar. You shall not go, my lord.
Ham. Hold off your hands ! 80
Hor. Be ruled ; 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 beckom.
Still am I call'd ?— Unhand me, gentlemen ;
[Breaking from them.
By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me ; 85
74. draw] drive Walker (Crit. iii, 81. [They struggle. Coll. (MS).
262). 82. artery] Q'76. arture Q2Q3- ar
it;] Cap. it, Qq. it? Fx. it. tyre Q4< attire QSF4> Artire FXF2F3.
F2F3F4, Rowe + . this] his F3F4.
75-78. The very. ..beneath.] Om. Ff, 83. As hardy] Hardy Cap.
Rowe. Nemean] Nemeon Q2Q3. Nemian
78, 79. It.. .thee.] One line, Ff, Rowe FfFa.
+ , Jen. Sing. El. Ktly, Del. Huds. [Ghost beckons.] Mai. Om. Qq,
78. waves] wafts Ff, Rowe, Cald. Ff, Glo. -f , Mob.
Knt. 84. am I] I am Q'76.
And. ..Go on] One line, Coll. i, calPd?] F2F3F4, Rowe, Pope,
White. Han. Cap. Cald. cald, Qq. caVd? Fx.
So. of] of Q2Q3Q4. calPd. Johns. Jen. Coll. White, Glo.
hands] hand Ff, Rowe, Pope, Cla. Mob. calVd : or calTd ; The rest.
Han. Breaking....] Rowe. Om. Qq,
81. Hor.] Mar. Theob. Warb. Johns. Ff, Cap. Glo. + , Mob.

75. toys] Freaks. See 'inconstant toy,' Rom. 6° Jul. IV, i, 119. Hunter (11,
223) : An allusion to what many persons feel when on lofty heights, a desire of
throwing themselves headlong.
75-76. The . . . beneath] Delius (Sh. Lex. p. 182) : The substance of these
lines Sh. afterwards introduced, much enlarged and elaborated, into King Lear, just
as he introduced into yul. Cces. a passage that had been erased from the first scene
of Hamlet. This probably accounts for the omission of these lines in the Ff.
83. Nemean] Capell (i, 126) : This accentuation has its examples, and in Sh.
himself, see Love's Lab. IV, i, 90.
85. lets] Steevens: Among our old writers, 'let' signifies to prevent or hinder.
It is still current in the law. Clarendon: Compare Romans, i, 13, and 2 Thessa
lontans, ii, 7.
 HAMLET 95
ACT I, SC. V.J

I say, away! — Go on; I'll follow thee. 06

[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. 0-<a^l)

Scene V. Another part of the platform.

Enter Ghost and Hamlet.

Ham. Whither wilt thou lead me? speak; I'll go no

further.
Ghost. Mark me. 90
Ham. I will.
Ghost. My hour is almost come,

56. on] one Q.QS- Another part....] Cap. (substan-

[Exeunt....] Exit... Qq. tial y.) Amore remote part... Theob.
87. waxes] grows Q'76. Enter...] Re-enter... Pope + .
imagination] imagion Q2Q,. 1. Whither] Q'76. Whether Qq,
Where Ff, Rowe + , Cald. Knt, Sing. ii,
91. Heaven] Heaven's Coll. (MS).
direct it] difcover it Q'76. de- Dyce, White, Del. Huds. Glo. Mob.
tect it Farmer. further] farther Coll. El. White.
Scene v.] Cap. Scene viii. Pope+, 2. hour] houre Qq.
our F„. hower F.. non-

Jen.
89. Have after] Clarendon: Like 'have with you.' See Rich. Ill : 111, 11,
92. In Foxe's narrative, Latimer said to Ridley on their way to the stake, ' Have
after, as fast as I can follow.'
91. it] Clarendon: That is, the issue.
91. Nay] Clarendon : That is, let us not leave it to Heaven, but do something
ourselves.
Stage Direction] Owing to the length of time that elapses before the companions
of Ham. rejoin him, Delius thinks it unlikely that the dialogue with the Ghost took
place on the same Platform where Ham. broke loose from his friends. TscmscHWlTZ
changes the scene to 'A Wilderness,' because • Ham. must have followed the Ghost
a long distance, since he refuses to go farther. His question also, " Whither wilt
thou lead me?" shows that, despite his courage, horror is beginning to creep over
him ; and at the close of the scene the Ghost speaks from under the ground.' The
earliest change in this stage direction that I can find is in Schroeder's adaptation
of the play for the Hamburg theatre, in 178 1. Here the scene is laid in ' A Grave-
yard with th4 Church in the background?
96 HAMLET | act I, SC v.

When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames 3

Must render up myself.
Ham. Alas, poor ghost !
Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing 5
To what I shall unfold.
Ham. Speak ; I am bound to hear.
Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.
Ham. What ?
Ghost. I am thy father's spirit ;
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, 10
And for the day confined to fast in fires,

3. sulphurous'] fulphrus Q2Q3- ful- Seymour. What ! Sta. Hear what t

phrous Q4Q5- fulpherous F . Ktly.
5,6. Pity... unfold.] Prose, Q4Q5- II. to fast in] too fast in Warb. to
5. thy] my Qg. lasting Heath, Sing, ii, Coll. ii (MS).
6. Speak] Om. Seymour. to fasting Jackson, fast in Ingleby
hear.] here, Q4. [Once a Week, 30 Aug. '64).
7. when] what Q'76. fires] fire Cald.
8. What ?] Revenge ! what ? how ?

6, 7. Speak . . . hear] Douce : These words are turned into ridicule in The
Woman Hater, Beau, and Fl. vol. i, p. 37, ed. Dyce.
6. bound] Delius : Hamlet uses the word in the sense of ready addressed [past
part, of Old Norse buinn, — see Wedgwood], the Ghost uses it as the past participle
of the verb to bind.
11. to fast in] Theobald (Sh. Rest. p. 45) conjectured that we should read
roast, but afterwards in his correspondence with his ' most affectionate friend,'
Warburton (see Nichols, Lit. Hist. vol. ii, p. 559), he said, ' sed facti pcenitet? and
suggested instead, confined fast ; presumably he withdrew them both, since he does
not allude to them in his ed., where he says: The expression is purely metaphorical,
for fasting could be no great punishment for a Spirit. According to the Roman
Ca^olic religion, fasting purifies the soul here, as the fire does in the Purgatory here
alluded to ; the soul must be purged either by fasting here or by burning hereafter.
Heath and Johnson both conjectured to lasting, which the former considered jus
tified by the next line, the meaning being : fires which were to last till the purgation
was completed ; and which the latter interpreted as unremitted and unconsumed.
Collier's (MS) has the same. Smith [cited by Steevens] : Chaucer has a similar
passage with regard to the punishments of hell, Persones Tale, p. 291, ed. Tyrwhitt,
4to : ' And moreover the misese of helle shall be in defaute of mete and drink.'
Steevens: Nash, m Pierce Penniless his Supplication to the Devil, 1595, has the
same idea : • Whether it be a place of horror, stench and darkness, where men
see meat, but can get none, or are ever thirsty,' &c. So likewise at the conclusion
of an ancient pamphlet called The Wyll of the Devyll, bl. 1. no date : ' Thou shalt
lye in frost and fire With sicknesse and hunger? &c. But for the foregoing ex-
amples Ishould have supposed we ought to read, ' to 7vaste in fires.' Mason : As
spirits were supposed to feel tht same desires and appetites that they had on earth,
act I, sc. v.] HAMLET gy

Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature

Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word 15
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
.Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand an end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine : 20
But this eternal blazon must not be

13. that I am] being Seymour. 20. fretful] fretfullY 'IFaF3. fearefull
18. knotted] knotty Ff, Rowe, Pope, Qq, Jen. Tsch.
Theob. Han. Warb. Cap. Cald. porpentine] porcupine Q1 76, Rowe
19. an end] on end Pope + , Jen. Mai. + , Cap. Jen. Steev.Var. Cald. Knt, Coll.
Steev. Cald. White, Dyce ii, Huds. Sing. El. Sta. Clarke, Hal.
an-end Bos. Coll. El. Del.

to fast might be considered as one of the punishments inflicted on the wicked. Dyce
(ed. i. ): If the old text be wrong, and certainly the passages in Chaucer, &c, as
given above, do not fully establish it, Steevens's conj. of waste in is perhaps the
most probable alteration yet proposed. [This remark about Steevens's conj. is
omitted in Dyce (ed. ii), and citations from Chaucer, &c. alone are given.] White :
These fires were those of Purgatory, in which the Ghost was confined for the day
only, and so were not lasting in any sense. ' Fast' may be used here in its radical
sense of religious observance, and without any allusion to abstinence from food, or
there may be a reference to the old notion contained in the extract from Chaucer.
Tschischwitz : Lasting cannot be right, because the Ghost was in Purgatory, nor
is to fast in any better, since the old king wanders about outside his 'prison-house,'
and could, if he chose, satisfy his hunger. Clearly, the true opposite to ' walk '
is what I have adopted in my text, 'confined fast.' [See Theobald supra. Ed.]
14. burnt and purged] Farmer : Thus Gawain Douglas, in his translation of
ALn. vi, 740, says that ' it is a nedeful thing to suffer panis and torment, . . . some
in the wyndis, sum under the watter, and in the fire uthir sum. Till the mony vices
Contrakkit in the corpis be done away And purgit.'
17, 18. Make . . . start . . . to] For the omission and insertion of ' to ' in the
same sentence, see Abbott, § 350, and I, v, 178.
19. an end] For instances of nouns, adjectives, and participles with the prefix a,
see Abbott, § 24, where it is shown that a represents some preposition, as 'in,' ' on,'
'of,' &c, contracted by rapidity of pronunciation, and takes an n before a vowel for
euphony. See also \ 182, and of this play, I, iii, 119 ; II, ii, 466 ; III, i, 165 ; III,
iv, 122 ; and Macb. V, v, 49. Eastwood and Wright {Bible Word-Book, p. 2):
This prefix a- or an- is generally said to be a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon particle
on-, but more probably the two are essentially identical, and only different dialectical
forms of the same. In many instances the two forms remain side by side, as in aboard
and on-board, aground and on ground.
21. eternal] Walker (Crit. i, 62) proposes infernal, and cites it among instances
9 G
9S HAMLET [act I, sc
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list ! 22
If thou didst ever thy dear father love —
Ham. O God !
Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. 25
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
As meditation or the thoughts of love, 30
May sweep to my revenge.
Ghost. I find thee apt ;
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed

22. List, list"] list Hamlet Ff (Hamle Haft, haft me Ft. Hafte, hafte me Y%
F3), Rowe, Cald. Knt, White, Del. F3F4.
23. love — ] Rowe. loue. QqFf. 29. Haste... swift'] Two lines, Ff.
24. God] Heaven FfQ'76, Rowe + , know't] know it Ff, Rowe 4, Jen,
Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt. know Pope.
26. murder ?] Murther ? Ff. Mur- that] what Pope ii.
ther. Qq. murder ! Q6* Sing, ii, Dyce, /] Om. Ff.
Sta. Ktly, Glo. + , Huds. Mob. 31. sweep] Jlye Q'76.
29. Haste me] Q5. Haft me Q2Q3Q4. 32. shouldst] ftwuldeft Q4Q5-

of ' an inaccurate use of words in Sh., some of them owing to his imperfect scholar-
ship (imperfect, I say, for he was not an ignorant man, even on this point), and
others common to him with his contemporaries.'
21. blazon] Caldecott: * Such promulgation of the mysteries of eternity must
not be made to beings of a day.' Wedgwood: i. To blow abroad, to spread
news, to publish. 2. To portray armorial bearings in their proper colours. Moberly :
' A blaze ' is a white mark upon a horse ; whence to blaze trees is to notch them with
an axe, so as to mark the way back. To c blazon,' therefore, means properly to
mark out ; hence • to reveal.'
24. O God!] Seymour (ii, 159) considers this as an unnecessary interpolation of
some actors; so also the Ghost's repetition of • Murder' in line 27.
27. For this line Tschischwitz substitutes the two corresponding lines of Qr.
30. meditation] Warburton : This word is consecrated by the mysticks to sig-
nify that flight of mind which aspires to the enjoyment of the supreme Good. Sc
that the two most rapid things in nature are here employed : the ardency of divine
and human passion in an enthusiast and a lover. Johnson : This is so ingenious
that I hope it is just. Caldecott : That is, * as the course and process of thought
generally.' We have ' I'll make him fly swifter than meditation,' in the Prologue ta
Wily Beguiled. It was not improbably, therefore, a common saying.
31. sweep] Theobald (Sh. Rest. p. 50) conjectured swoop, not only from the
fitness of the word, but from its use in Macb. IV, iii, 219. He did not repeat the
conj. in his edition.
32. shouldst] For instances of ' should ' where we now use would, see Abbott,
$32* or Macb ITI, vi, 19.
mt i, sc. v.] HAMLET 99

That roots itself in ease on Letrte wharf,

Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear:
Tis given out, that, sleeping in my orchard, 35
A serpent stung me ; so the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abused; but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father's life
33. roots'] rootes Qq. rots Ff, Rowe, Coll. Sing. Dyce i, White, Sta. Ktly,
Pope, Han. Cap. Steev. Cald. Knt, Dyce Del. Huds.
i, Sta. Del. Clarke. 35. orchard] garden Q'76.
Lethe] Lethe's Q'76, Rowe+, 36. so] Om. Pope.
Jen. 38. know, thou] knowe thou QqFxFa
35- 'Tis] Q'76. Tis Qq. It's Ff, F3. know thou, Q'76.
Rowe. 39. life] heart Q'76.
my] mine Ff, Bos. Cald. Knt,
32. fat weed] Tschischwitz: If Sh. had any particular plant in mind, it must
have been the asphodel, with its numerous bulbs, thick sown over the meadows of
the lower regions. Lucian (nepl nevOovc, 5) thus introduces this plant in connection
with the Lethean draft : nepaiuOevrac d£ rijv Xluvtjv be to elauf 2.eifio>v VTrodexrrai
fieyacf ro aaQocttlUf) Karatyvroc, nal ttotov iivi/fiye iroMfiLov.
32,34. shouldst.. .Wouldst] Anon. {Misc. Obs. 1752, p. 17): As the passage
stands, we must read it with a note of interrogation, and even then it is scarce passa-
ble. Transpose the ' shouldst ' and the ' Wouldst :' • And duller wouldst thou be,' &c.
This is pertinent and natural, and we find the Ghost speaks a little more to the purpose.
33. roots] Capell (i, 127) : The moderns have sunk a great beauty by not
following the Ff; for in * roots' is an idea of action that diminishes the compari-
son's beauty, which consists in maction. Steevens (quoted by Dyce in his ed. i)
paraphrases Capell, and adds: This dull root pluck'd from Lethe flood.' — The
Humorous Lieutenant, IV, iii, Beau. & Fl. vol. vi, ed. Dyce. Caldecott : We have
the phrase ['rot'] again in Ant. 6° Cleo. I, iv, 47 : 'To rot itself with motion.'
Knight: Whiter, in his Etymological Diet., speaking of this passage, in connection
with the theory of ease belonging to the idea of being earthed — fixed, resting —
says, ' It is curious that Sh. uses ease as connected with a term which most strongly
expresses the idea of being fixed in a certain spot, or earth.' White : The Qq are
confirmed by the passage from Ant. 6° Cleo. If in the one case the flag rots itself
with motion, it seems clear that in the other it must root itself with ease. The oppo-
sition of ' roots ' to ' stir ' in the next line also supports this reading. Staunton •
It is difficult to determine which expression deserves the preference.
33. Lethe] For instances of the conversion of one part of speech into another,
especially in the case of rivers, see Abbott, \ 22. [See ' moment's leisure,' I, iii,
133.] For the omission of the article before the names of rivers, see Koch, ii, \
169; Matzner, iii, 158.
37. process] Clarendon : This has here, perhaps, the sense of an official nar-
rative, coming nearly to the meaning of the French prods verbal. By a proclama-
tion, dated 18 Aug. 1553, it was forbidden, without licence, 'to prynte any bookes,
matter, ballet, ryme, interlude, processe, or treatyse.' — The English Drama and
Stage (Roxburghe Library), p. 17.
roo HAMLET
[act i, sc. v.
Now wears his crown.
Ham. Omy prophetic soul !
My uncle ?
Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, — 45
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 ;
0 Hamlet, what a falling-off was there ! ^
40
From me, whose love was of that dignity
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
1 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 moved,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,

40, 41. O my. ..uncle ?] Walker ( Vers. gifts. F2. gifts Y^.
290), Sing, ii, Dyce,White, Glo. + , Mob. 44, 45. O... seduce] In parenthesis F .
One line, QqFf, et cet.
41. My] mine Ff, Rowe, Knt, Sing, 44. seduce
45. wit] wits
!] fQ'76.
educe ? FxF2F3.
ii, Dyce i, White, Sta. Ktly, Del. to his] to to this Ft. to this F2.
uncle?] Q2Q3Ff, Rowe + , Cap. 46. seeming-virtuous] Hyphen,Theob.
Jen. Vncle : Q. Vncle. Q. uncle I [seeming) virtuous Jen.
47. a] Om. Qq.
So
Qg * et cet.
Ay... adulterate] Incestuous, adul- 50. marriage; and to] marriage, to
terate Seymour. Ingleby.
43. witchcraft] witchraft Q.F2. 52,53. To those... moved,] Pope. One
wit] Pope. wits QqFf, Rowe, line, QqFf, Rowe.
Jen. Cald. 52. mine I] mine, surpasses, almost,
with] hath FXF2F . rtWF4,Rowe. thinking. Seymour.
43- gift**—] gifts* QqF3- gutffs. Fs.

40. prophetic] Hudson : Hamlet has divined the truth before. Moberly : My
very soul abhorred the murderer, even when I knew not the crime.
42. Ay] Walker (Crit. iii, 262) thinks this ' Ay ' should be duplicated, and the
first should end line 41. See also Art. lxxix, vol. ii.
42. adulterate] Clarendon : Like ' emulate,' I, i, 83, for emulous. See Lover's
Com. 175.

48. that] See Abbott, \ 277, for other instances of • that' used for such.
52. To] Clarendon: Compared to. See I, ii, 140 ; III, i, 52.
52. those of mine] Clarendon: An inaccurate construction, like one found in
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, i, 7, § 6, p. 55, ed. Wright: 'And for his gov-
ernment civil, though he did not attain to that of Trajan's,' &c.
53. virtue] For instances of the noun absolute (' virtue ' has here no verb), see
Abbott, \ 417
\CT I, SC. V.] HAMLET IOI

55
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,
Will sate itself in a celestial bed,
And prey on garbage.
But, soft ! methinks I scent the morning air ;
Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard, 60
My custom always in the afternoon,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
55. lust,] but Qq. 58. morning air] morning-air Ktly.
angel] Angell F,F3F3. Angle Qq. 59. within my orchard] in my Gar
56, 57. Will.. .garbage.] One line, Ff, den Q'76.
Rowe.
my] Qq, Cap. Jen. Dyce ii, Glo.
+ , Mob. mine The rest.
56. sate] fort Qq, Tsch. feat sink
F '3F\.to 60. in] of Qq, Theob. Warb. Johns.
56. 57. bed. And] bed, Then
misery, and Seymour. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Glo. + , Mob.
57. prey] pray Qf±Q. 61. secure] secret Johns.
on] in F3F4. hour] hower Ft. how re Fa.
garbage.] garbage — Pope, Theob. stole] to meflole Q'76.
Han. Warb. 62. hebenon] Hebona Qq. heben Tsch.
58. scent] fentQQF^. vial] viall Qq. Violl FXF2. vioi
morning] mornings Ff, Rowe, FF .
Knt. 3 4

56. sate] Tschischwitz : The reading of Qq makes excellent sense, even with-
out changing * in ' to from. ' Even in a celestial bed lust will separate, detach
itself, &c.? Not only ' link'd,' but also ' prey,' shows sort to be the emphatic word.
It is small wonder if German commentators prefer • sate ' to sort, but Englishmen,
before whose vision the enormous breadth of their own almost square beds must have
instantly arisen, ought to have conceived the right idea of separation in bed.
Moreover, * sate itself cannot be connected with • prey on garbage ' on physiological
grounds.
59. orchard] See Rom. &° Jul. II, i, 5.
60. custom] Instances are given in the Var. '21 to show that an • after-dinner
sleep' [Meas.for Meas. Ill, i, 33) was in general customary.
60. in] Clarendon : A somewhat similar use of the preposition of in the Qq,
occurs in Lovers Lab. I, i, 43. For the use of of, see Abbott, § 176.
61. secure] Walker ( Vers. 292) : Accent on the first syllable, as in Oth. IV, i,
72, and as 'complete' in Ham. I, iv, 52. Staunton (Note on Lear, IV, i, 20) :
Careless, unguarded. Thus, in Sir T. More's Life of Edward V : l When this lord
was most afraid, he was most secure; and when he was secure, danger was over his
head.' Again, Judges, viii, II : ' And Gideon . . . smote the host: for the host was
secure.'
62. hebenon] Grey (ii, 287) : This stands, by metathesis, for henebon, that is,
henbane, of which fhe most common kind (Hyoscyamus niger) is certainly narcotic,
and perhaps if taken in a considerable quantity might prove poisonous. Pliny [Nat.
Hist. lib. xxv, cap. 4) states that the oil made from the seeds of this plant, instilled
into the ears, will injure the understanding. Steevens : So, in Drayton, Barons
Wars, p. 51 : 'The pois'ning henbane and the mandrake drad.' Again, in the

9*
IO 2 HAMLE T [act i, sc. v .

And in the porches of my ears did pour

The leperous distilment ; whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man 65
That swift as quicksilver it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body ;
And with a sudden vigour it doth posset
63. my] Qq, Jen. Glo. + , Mob. mine Rowe.
The rest. 64,65. effect Holds] eff'eels Hold Q'76.
64. leperous] leaprous Q2Q3QA. leaper- 67. alleys] Han. allies QqFf.
ous FXF2. leaporous F3> leprous Q-F4, 68. posset] poffeffe Qq.

Philosopher 's Fourth Satire of Mars, by Anton, 1616 : * The poison' d henbane, whose
cold juice doth kill.' The word is written differently in Marlowe's Jew of Malta
( Works, p. 164, ed. Dyce) : ' the blood of Hydra, Lerna's bane, The juice of
hebon, and Cocytus' breath.' Douce : In the English edition by Batman on Bar
tholom&us de Proprietatibus Rebus, the article for the wood ebony is entitled, * Of
Ebeno, cap. 52.' It is not surprising that the dropping into the ears should occur,
because Sh. was perfectly well acquainted with the supposed properties of the hen-
bane, as recorded in Holland's translation of Pliny, and elsewhere, and might apply
this mode of use to any other poison. Caldecott : The medical professors of
Shakespeare's day believed that poison might be introduced into the system through
the ears ; the eminent surgeon, Ambroise Pare, Shakespeare's contemporary, was
suspected of having, when he dressed the ear of Francis II, infused poison into it.
Dr Sherwen informs us that in Gower's Confessio Amantis the couch of the god of
sleep was made ' Of Hebenus, that sleepie tree.' Singer : The French word
hebenin, applied to anything made from ebony, comes indeed very close to the
hebenon of Sh. Elze : If the citation from Marlowe be correct, it might be better
to read the line : ' With juice of cursed hebon in a phial.' Or perhaps should we
not conjecture that hemlock was intended here? Beisley (Sh.'s Garden, p. 4) :
' Hebenon' might have been originally written enoron, one of the names at that time
of Solanum maniacum , called also deadly nightshade, a more powerful poison than
henbane. Tschischwitz : The hebona of the Qq can be only a mistaken substitu-
tion of the Spanish and Italian, ebano ; French, ebene ; Latin, ebenus and hebenus.
Probably the -on of ' hebenon ' was caused by the following ' in,' so that we may
suppose that originally the word here was heben, the only correct etymological form,
although it was sometimes incorrectly written hebon. Moberly : Not surely ebony
(Diospyros), the fruit of which is often edible; but henbane, or Hyoscyamus, which
is a strong narcotic poison. It does not indeed produce any leprous symptoms ; but
the belief of its doing so would, on the theory of signatures, be founded on the
clammy appearance of the plant.
65. with blood] An instance of the absorption of the definite article; see I,
iv, 21.
66. courses] Hudson : Sh. here implies as much as was then known touching
the circulation of the blood.
68. vigour] Staunton : This may be right ; but rigour seems more suitable to
the context, and more accordant with the supposed effects of narcotics formerly.
68. posset] Clarendon : The only instance in Sh. of its use as a verb.
fcCI I, sc. v.] HAMLET

And curd, like eager droppings into milk,

The thin and wholesome blood ; so did it mine ;
And a most instant tetter bark'd about,
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 dispatch'd ; 75
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhousel'd, disappointed, unaneled;
69. eager~\ Aygre Ff. aigre Knt. QiQy Vnnuzled Q4Q5- Vnhouzzled
Ff, Rowe, Pope. 70
71. Ff,
bakd bark'd']
Rowe,barckt
Knt Q3Q3>
i. barhtQQ.
77. disappointed] nnanointed Pope,
72. lazar-like] Lazerlike Qq. Han. Warb. Cap. unappointed Theob.
75. of queen] and QueeneYi (Queen
unaneled] Pope, vnanueld Q2
F3F4), Rowe, Knt, Del.
dispatch'd] despotfd Co\\. (MS). Q . vn-anueld Q4C» • vnnaneld Ff,
76. blossoms] blossom White ; Dyce, Rowe. nn-aneaVd Q'76. unaneaTd
and Ktly conj. Jen.
Theob. Han. Johns. Cap. andunknelVd
sin] sins Ktly conj. Juvenis (Gent. Mag. xlvi, 267).
77. Unhousel'd] Theob. Vnhuzled

69. eager] Clarendon : Cotgrave gives : • Aigre : Eagre, sharpe, tart, biting,
sower.' Earl of Rochester (1761, cited by C E. Browne, Athenaum, 3 April,
1875): The word egar is a substantive, and not an adjective: it being a general
English name for acids of all kinds. Had the original words been ' eager drop-
pings into milk,' alluding to the making of sillibubs, the thought would have been
inverted ; for the milk does not curdle, but is curdled by the acid it is milked upon.
Read, therefore, ' like egar, dropping into milk.''
71. instant] Hudson: Used in the Latin sense of instans, urgent, importunate,
itching. Clarendon : Instantaneous, as in II, ii, 493.
75. dispatch'd] Warburton : In the sense of bereft. Dyce (Few Notes, &c,
p. 139) : DespoiPd of Coll. (MS) conveys merely the idea of deprivation, while
'dispatch'd' expresses the suddenness of the bereavement. Clarendon: Sh. would
scarcely have used this word with • crown ' and ' queen ' if he had not first used it
with 'life.' The phrase 'dispatch of life' does not occur again; we have, how-
ever, 'dispatch his nighted life,' in Lear, IV, v, 12.
77. Unhousel'd] Pope : That is, without the sacrament being taken. Theo-
bald :From the old Saxon word for the sacrament : husel. Spenser calls the sac-
ramental fire the housling fire.
77. disappointed] Theobald : Read unappointed, i. e. no reconciliation to
Heaven, no appointment of penance by the Church. As in Meas. for Meas. Ill, i,
60. Johnson : ' Disappointed ' is the same as unappointed, and may be properly
explained unprepared ; a man well furnished with things necessary for any enter-
prise is said to be well appointed. Boucher (Gloss, of Archaic and Provincial
Words, s. v. Anyeal) [cited by B. J. S. N. &> Qu. 1 Jan. 1853] : A clear and
consistent meaning consonant with Shakespeare's manner will be given to the
passage if, instead of ' disappointed,' we substitute unassoiled, i. e. without absolu
104 HAMLET [act i, sc. v.

No reckoning made, but sent to my account

With all my imperfections on my head ;
Oh, horrible ! oh, horrible ! most horrible ! 8q
Y
78. reckoning] reckmng Qq. 80. Given to Ham. Rann, Verp.
79. With all] Withall Q2Q3< Huds. Sing, ii, El. Ktly.
80. Oh... oh] Ff. 0...3 Q2Q3.

Hon. It must be allowed that no instance can be given of the word unassoiled, but
neither does any other instance occur to me of ■ unhouseled ' except here. Hunter
(ii, 224) : Perhaps unassoiled may have been the word, which is equivalent to un-
absolved.
77. unaneled] Pope: No knell rung. Theobald: According to Skinner,
AneaFd is unctus, so that ' unaneal'd ' must signify unanointed, not having the ex-
treme unction. Jennens : It can hardly be doubted that Sh. wrote here unanoiPd.
To anoil was a phrase in common use, meaning to anoint. See James, v, 14, in the
Rhemish Test. 1582, and the notes on the passage, which prove that anoil and
anoint were words indifferently used at that time. Tyrwhitt : ' So when hee was
howseled and eneled, and had all that a christian man ought to have.' — Morte
c? Arthur, vol. iii, p. 350 (ed. T. Wright). Nares : 'The extreme unction or
anelynge, and confirmacion, he sayed, be no sacraments of the church.' — Sir Thomas
Morels Works, p. 345. Caldecott : In the advertisement to his notes, Stephen
Weston quotes Sophocles, Antigone, 107 1: hjioipov, ciK-epiCTov, avdoiov vekvv, and
adds, h[ioipov} disappointed or unprovided, unportioned, unprepared with sacrifices
for the infernal gods ; avooiov, unhouseled, without the sacrament or holy rites ;
mcrepicrovf unaneled, without the holy oil or the honours of burial.
80. Johnson : It was ingeniously hinted to me by a very learned lady [' probably
Mrs Montagu' — Cam. Edd.] that this line seems to belong to Hamlet, in whose
mouth it is a proper and natural exclamation ; and .who, according to the practice of
the stage, may be supposed to interrupt so long a speech. Knight : It was always
spoken by Garrick, in his character of Hamlet, as belonging to the Prince, according
to stage tradition. Collier (ed. ii) : The (MS), who was usually very attentive to
such matters, made no change. White, Staunton, and Dyce think it probable
that this line should be given to Hamlet, but do not venture to change the text of
all the old copies. Keightley says, ' beyond question ' it belongs to Hamlet.
Clarke thinks that it • markedly belongs to the Ghost, if it were only on account
of their triple iteration, which is so completely consistent with the previous threefold
" List, list, oh, list !" and the subsequent solemn repetition of " Swear !" '
80. Oh] Corson : A distinction should be made between the emotional interjec-
tion,Oh,'
' and the ' O,' vocative. It can be seen, I think, that the distinction was
intended in the Ff, although it is not invariable. But in a modernized text consist-
ency requires that the distinction should be made, as it is one that is observed in
modern orthography. It is a distinction, too, not merely factitious, as might be sup-
posed, but based on good ground. • There is a difference between " O sir !" " O
King!" and " Oh ! sir," '• Oh ! Lord," both in sense and pronunciation. As to the
■sense, the O prefixed merely imparts to the title a vocative effect ; while the Oh
conveys some particular sentiment. And as to the sound, the O is enclitic ; that is
In say, it has no accent of its own, but is pronounced with the word to which it is
 85

ACT I, SC. V.] HAMLET

If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;

81
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,
Taint not thy rnjjid, 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 ;
Cap.
86. aught] ought QqFf, Rowe, Pope,
84. horvsoever] hmvfomeuer Qq.
pursuest] purfues Qq.
85. Taint] Tain't Q3Q3Q4. 89. matin] matine QqFf. morning
contrive] defign Q'76.
Q'76.
attached, as if it were its unaccented first syllable. The term Enclitic signifies " re-
clining on," and so the interjection O in " O Lord " reclines on the support afforded
to it by the accentual elevation of the word "Lord." So that "O Lord" is pro
nounced like such a dissyllable as alight, alike, away ; in which words the metrical
stroke could never fall on the first syllable. Oh! on the contrary, is one of the
fullest of monosyllables, and it would be hard to place it in a verse except with the
90
stress upon it. Thus, in Wordsworth : " But she is in her grave, — and oh, The dif-
ference to me!" '— Earle's Philology of the English Tongue, 2d ed. pp. 191, 192.
83. luxury] Dyce (Gloss.) : Lasciviousness, its only sense in Sh.
89. matin] Elze: Drake in his Sh. and his Times, ii, 414, prints matins in his
citation of this passage. The rare occurrence elsewhere of 'matin' is sufficient to
arouse suspicion, and one is tempted to change it to matins here. Clarendon : We
can find no other instance of its use in the present sense.
90. his] Halliwell: Strictly speaking, 'his' should be her, the female only
giving the light.
90. uneffectual] Warburton : Shining without heat. Steevens : Rather, fire
that is no longer seen when the light of morning approaches. Compare Per. II, iii,
43. Dyce (Gloss.) : The former explanation is, I apprehend, the true one. Com-
pare Nash : • the ostrich, the most burning-sighted hud of all others, insomuch
as the female of them hatcheth not hir egs by covering them, but by the effectual
raies of hir eies,' &c. — The Vnfortunate Traveller, &c, 1594, sig. II 4. See
Abbott, \ 442, for the use of un- and in- ; and Macb. IV, iii, 123.
90. fire] Douce (ii, 224) : It was the popular belief that ghosts could not endure
the light, and consequently disappeared at the dawn of day. This superstition is
derived from our northern ancestors, who held that the sun and everything that con-
tained light ox fire had the property of expelling demons and spirits of all kinds.
With them it seems to have originated in the stories that are related in the Edda
concerning the battles of Thor against the giants and evil demons, wherein he made
use of his dreadful mallet of iron. . . . Many of the transparent precious stones
were supposed to have the power of expelling evil spirits, and the flint and othei
stones found in the tombs of the northern nations, and from which fire might be ex
I06 HAMLET
[act I, SC. V
Adieu, adieu, adieu ! remember me. [Exit.
Ham. O all you host of heaven ! 0 earth ! what else ?
And shall I couple hell ? Oh, fie ! Hold, hold, my heart ;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee ?
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat 95
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, IOO

91. Adieu, adieu, adieu !] Adiew, 93. Hold, hold, my] hold, hold mv
adiew, adiew, Qq. Adue, adue, Ham- ■Q2Q3- hold, my Q4. hold my QgFf.
let: Ff (Adieu,adieu,FF). Farewel,
95. stiffly] fwiftly Qq. fironglyQ'jS.
Q'76. Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, Rowe, Warb.
95, 97. thee?] thee, Qq. thee ! Q'76,
Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing, ii, Dyce i, White,
Sta. Ktly, Glo. Del. Clarke. 96. while] whiles Qq.
[Exit.] Om. Qq. 100. saws] fawe Q . faw Q . reg
93. Oh, fie ! Hold, hold, my] Oh, hold
ijlers Q'76.
my Pope, Theob. Han. Johns. 0 fie ! all pressures] and prejfures Q' 70.
Hold, Rowe,Warb. Cald. Knt, Dyce, Sta. pressures] prefures Fv
Coll. (MS). Hold, hold, my Cap.

tracted, were imagined to be efficacious in confining the manes of the dead to their
proper habitations. They were called Thor's hammers.
91. Adieu] Clarke: The reading of the Qq confirms our view of the triple
iteration with which the Ghost's diction was marked in Shakespeare's conception of
it, although he may have seen fit to modify it on revisal. Corson : The addressing
his sod by name at the conclusion of his speech is more effective from its familiarity
than the third repetition of ' adieu.'
92. Coleridge : I remember nothing equal to this burst unless it be the first speech
of Prometheus, in the Greek drama, after the exit of Vulcan and the two Afrites.
But Sh. alone could have produced the vow of Ham. to make his memory a blank
of all maxims and generalized truths, that ' observation had copied there,' — followed
immediately by the speaker noting down the generalized fact, line 108.
93. Oh, fie] Capell omitted these words, * as impertinent in the highest degree.'
Steevens suspected that they were an interpolation, because they hurt the measure,
and were of an almost ludicrous turn. MlTFORD, also [Gent. Maga. 1845, p. 583),
believed that they should be removed, and Dyce (ed. ii) pronounced their omission
as probably right. Boswell defended them because they occur again in II, ii, 564.
97. globe] Clarendon : Here Hamlet puts his hand upon his head.
98. table] Clarendon : That is, tablet. Compare All's Well, I, i, 106.
99. fond] That is, foolish. See Rom. 6° Jul. Ill, iii, 52.
99. records] Walker, Vers. 133, shows by examples that the accent in the verb
is variable, but in the noun it is on the last syllable. In recorder it is on the first.
See also Abbott, g 490.
100. saws] Dyce (Gloss.) : Sayings, maxims.
100. pressures] Dyce (Gloss.) : Impressions, — as of a seal; see III, ii, 23. —
ACT I, SC.V.] HAMLE1 107

That youth and observation copied there; 1CI

And thy commandment all alone shall live
\\ [thin the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter; yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman ! 10$
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain !
My tables, meet it is I set it down,

104. yes] yes, jw Ff. Rowe, Cald. Knt, 107. My tables,'] My Tables, my
Sing. Ktly. Tables : Ff, Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly.
105. pernicious] prenicious Q4. per set if\fet Q'76.
nicious and perfidious Coll. ii (MS).

Clarendon. Bailey (ii, 9) : Postures or some other word ought to be substituted

for * pressures.' We cannot consistently speak of impressions on the mind being
copied in the mind.
105. pernicious] Collier (ed. 2): The (MS) adds and perfidious. The two
words, ' pernicious ' and perfidious, looking like each other, perhaps the old printer,
having composed the first, fancied he had composed both, and thus omitted a very
striking and appropriate epithet.
107. tables] Farmer : ' See, — and in the midst of the sermon pulles out his
tables in haste, as if he feared to loose that note.' — Hall, in his character of The
Hypocrite. Steevens : So, in the Induction to The Malcontent, 1604: 'I have
most of the jists of it [a play] here in my table-book.' Again, in Antonio 's Revenge,
Bulardo draws out his writing-tables, and writes — 'Retort and obtuse, good words,
very good words.' Boswell: See 2 Hen. IV: IV, i, 201. Douce : These tables
were sometimes made of slate, in the form of a small portable book, with leaves and
clasps. ... In the Middle Ages, the leaves of these table-books were made of ivory.
Hunter (ii, 225) : This expression is the first in which we have anything like the
unsettling of the intellect, and what follows, to the end of the scene, can scarcely be
reconciled to an opinion of the perfect sanity of Hamlet, except on the supposition
that even now he began to put on the appearance of madness, which is not likely.
At the same time, it is to be observed that the light and sportive sallies which follow
are not absolutely out of nature, even if we suppose him sane, very powerful events
not producing their natural effect at once. Some hours commonly intervene before
the mind is awakened, as it were, to a sense of the change which has taken place,
and during the interval men do act, not unfrequently, strangely and fantastically.
When, they begin to consider, then they begin to act in a manner correspondent to
their situation and character. Brae (JV. <5t° Qu. 13 Mar. 1852) denies, what Cole-
ridge asserts (see line 92), that Ham. noted down in his tables ' that one may smile,
and smile, and be a villain.' « This jotting down by Ham., upon a real, substantial
table, of one of those " generalized truths," which he had just excluded from the
table of his memory, would be too great a literalizing of the metaphor? It is not
this most trite reflection : ' That one may smile,' &c. that Ham. wishes to set down.
No, it is the all-absorbing commandment contained in the last line of the Ghost's
speech. There is one continued apostrophe from line 105 to • So, uncle, there you
are,' line tio, broken only parenthetically by line 107 while Ham. is getting forth
io8 HAMLET
[ACT I, SC. V
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain ;
At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark. — \_Writing. 1 10
So, uncle, there you are. — Now to my word ;
It is : ' Adieu, adieu ! remember me.'
I have sworn't.
Hor.
[withiti] My lord, my lord !
Mar.
Mar. [wit/iiit] Lord Hamlet !
Hor. \withhi\ Heaven secure him !
Ham. So be it !

109. Pm] I am Qq, Steev. Cald.Var. 113. Scene ix. Pope + ,Jen.
Coll. Sing. El. White. Hor. Mar. [Within] Ff. Bora.
[Writing.] Rowe. Om. QqFf. Qq, Pope + . Hor. [within] Cap. Steev.
Opposite line III, Sing, ii, Ktly. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Dyce,
Ill, 112. It... sworn 't.] One in Ff, White. Hor. [without] Sta.
Rowe. Mar. [within] Cap. Mar. Qq
III. It is~\ Separate line, Cap. Ff, Rowe+, Jen. Mar. [without] Sta.
111, 112. ' Adieu... sworn 7] One line, Hor. [within] Cap. Hor. Qq
Cap.
Ff, Rowe-f, Jen. Hor. [without] Sta.
Heaven] Heauens Qq.
112. 1 have sworn '/.] Pve sworn it—
Pope 4- , Jen. Pve sworn't, as a separate 114. Ham.] Mar. Ff, Rowe-f, Cald.
line, Walker. Mar. [within] Knt, Coll. Dyce, El.
White, Del. Huds. Mar. [without] Sta.
sworn't"] sworn it Mai.

and preparing the tables. Line 108 is an admirative comment upon line 106, and
1 So, uncle, there you are,' is equivalent to the common exclamation, even at the
present day, expressive of misdeeds, or intentions, unexpectedly brought to light.
It is by no means uncommon for a sentence expressive of wonder or incredulity to
begin with That, as in line 108; we have, in Cym. I, i, 63, ' That a king's children
should be so convey' d !' The best possible stage-direction is given by Sh. himself
when he makes Ham. exclaim ' Now to my word,' or, now to my memorandum,
alluding to the purpose for which he had to get his tables forth. Wherefore punc-
tuate thus : after 'set it down,' a full stop; after ' and be a villain,' a note of ad-
miration ;the stage-direction [ Writing] to be removed two lines lower down.
To this emendation of Brae's, Ingleby added the stage-direction • Having kissed
the tables,' after ' sworn't,' line 112. White thinks that waxen tables were used as
late as the Elizabethan period; see Janua Linguarum, 1650 : ' now-a-daies
we write . . . with a writing pin in table-books, that it may be cancelled and blotted
out by turning the pin the wrong end downward.' Elze : Hamlet is hereby repre-
sented as a thinker and a scholar in opposition to the man of action.
108. smile] Moberly : As the king had recently done, when he called Hamlet
his son.
no. word] Steevens: An allusion to the watch-word, given every day in mili-
tary service. QuiNCY {MS Corrections in F4, p. 31): Ward is substituted for
• word,' referring probably to the solemn duty which Ham. had just undertaken.
114. So be it] Capell (i, 128) upholds the distribution of speeches according to
act I, sc. v.J HAMLET TO9

Hor. [within] Illo, ho, ho, my lord! 115

Ham. Hillo, ho, ho, boy ! come, bird, come.
Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS.

Mar. How is't, my noble lord ?

115. Hor. [within.] Cald. Hor. Ff, 1 16. bird] and Qq. boy Pope.
Rowo + . Mar.] Qq, Cam. Mar. [with- Enter...] Cap. After sworn' 7
vi] Cap. Steev. Var. Sing. Ktly. I/or. line 1 12, QqFf, Jen. After lord ! line
[without] Sta. 113, Ff, Rowe + , Cam.

the Qq, ' for the best reasons possible,' as he says, because • Illo, ho,' ' is too light for
Hor., who is a man of education and gravity ; and there is something highly solemn
and proper in making Ham. say the amen to a benediction pronounc'd on himself.
Having done it, he assumes in an instant the levity that was proper to cover him, and
answers to the call of Mar. in his own falconer's language.' Corson, on the other
hand, advocates the distribution of the Ff : ' Mar. seconds Horatio's prayer with his
" So be it ;" Hor. then, as Hamlet's bosom friend, uses the falconer's call, which
would have been too familiar on the part of Mar., and Ham., in his excitement,
responds in the same language.' Tschischwitz believes that this refers to Hamlet's
decision to assume an antic disposition, which is immediately put in practice in his
hawking answers. [If the exclamation be Hamlet's, which is doubtful, is it neces-
sary to suppose that it is a response to Marcellus's benediction ? May it not refer
to the conclusion of Hamlet's writing in his tables ? Ed.]
115. Coleridge: This part of the scene after Hamlet's interview with the Ghost
nas been charged with an improbable eccentricity. But the truth is, after the mind
has been stretched beyond its usual pitch and tone, it must either sink into exhaus-
tion and inanity, or seek relief by change. It is thus well known that persons con-
versant with deeds of cruelty contrive to escape from conscience by connecting
something of the ludicrous with them, and by inventing grotesque terms and a certain
technical phraseology to disguise the horror of their practices. Indeed, paradoxical
as it may appear, the terrible, by a law of the human mind, always touches on the
verge of the ludicrous. Both arise from a perception of something out of the com-
mon order of things — something, in fact, out of its place ; and if from this we can
abstract danger, the uncommonness will alone remain, and the sense of the ridicu-
lous be excited. The close alliance of these opposites, — they are not contraries, —
appears from the circumstance, that laughter is equally the expression of extreme
anguish, and horror, as of joy ; as there aie tears of sorrow and tears of joy, so there
is a laugh of terror and a laugh of merriment. These complex causes will naturally
have produced in Ham. the disposition to escape from his own feelings of the over-
whelming and supernatural by a wild transition to the ludicrous, — a sort of cunning
bravado, bordering on the flights of delirium. For you may, perhaps, observe
Hamlet's wildness is but half false ; he plays that subtle trick of pretending to act
only when he is very near really being what he acts.
116. ho] Clarendon: See Latham's Falconry, p. 47 (ed. 1615), ' Crying with a
lowd voice, Howe, howe, howe.'
116. come, bird, come] Hanmer : This is the call which falconers use to their
hawk in the air, when they would have him come down to them.
10
no HAMLET [act I, sc. v.
Hor. What news, my lord ? 117
Ham. 0, wonderful !
Hor. Good my lord, tell it.
Ham. No ; you will reveal it.
Hor. Not I, my lord, by heaven.
Mar. Nor I, my lord. 120
Ham. How say you, then ; would heart of man once
think it ?
But you'll be secret?
' > 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 125
To tell us this.
Ham. Why, right ; you areKtly.i' the right ;

Om.117. Hor.
Q4Q5. What news, my lord?~\ 122. Hor. Mar.] Booth. QO. Both.
118. Ham.] Hora. Q4QS.
118, 119. 0,...No ;] One line, Steev. Ay, lord.]
by heaven] As death Q'76.
Bos. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. White, my Om. Qq.
Ktly. 0...tell it. One line, Dyce, Sta. 123. There 's... Denmark] Two lines,
Q4Q5Ff.
Glo. Mob.

119. you will~\ you1 1 Fx. you'' 11 F2F F . ne'er]

neuer Qq, F8.
Jen. nere Fs. ne're F
F4, Rowe + , Jen. Cald. Knt, Coll. El.
Dyce, White, Sta. Huds. Glo. 125, 126. There... this] Prose, Ff.
121, 122. How... secret] Prose, Mob. 126. you are] you're Dyce ii.
121. it?] it, Qq. Qq. V the] Cap. r U? Ff, Pope + ,
122. secret?] fecret. Qq, Coll. El. White, in the Qq, Rowe, Jen. Steev.
White, secret — Theob. Warb. Johns. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly.
Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing.

121. once] Clarendon: Ever. See Ant. &* Geo. V, ii, 50.
123. Denmark] Seymour (ii, 162) : Hamlet begins these words in the ardour
of sincerity and confidence ; but, suddenly alarmed at the magnitude of the dis-
closure he is going to make, not only to Horatio, but to another besides, he breaks
off hastily : 'There's ne'er a villain in all Denmark' that can match (perhaps he
would have said) my uncle in villainy; and then recollecting the danger of such a
declaration, he pauses for a moment and then abruptly concludes : « but he's an
arrant knave.' Moberly : Hamlet turns his words off into a strange and baffling
jest, as a kind of refuge from the horror which would else overmaster him, with a
feeling, at the same time, that this will be the best way to defeat enquiry.
125. needs. .. come] For instances of the omission of to before the infinitive,
see Abbott, \ 349.
act I, sc. v.] HAMLET 111

And so, without more circumstance at all, 127

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, 130
Such as it is ; and for my own poor part,
Look you, I'll go pray.
Hor. These are but wild and whirling words, my lord
Ham. I'm sorry they offend you, heartily ;
Yes, faith, heartily.
Hor. There's no offence, my lord. 135
Ham. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,

129. desire] defires Ff, Rowe+, Jen. Coll. (MS).

130. hath] hds F,. has F3F3F4, 134, 135. Pm... Yes] One line, Steev.
Rowe-f, Jen. Cald. Knt, Dyce i, Sta. Bos. Cald. Coll. Sing. El. White, Del.
Glo. Mob. Huds.
131. my] mine Ff, Rowe, Knt, Coll. 134. Pm] lam Qq, Steev. Var. Cald.
Dyce, Sta. White, Glo. Del. Huds. Mob. Coll. Sing. El. White, Del.
132. Look you, Pll] I will Qq, Pope offend] offended F ' F 4, Rowe.
+ , Jen. El. Look you, I will Cap. 135. Yes, faith,] Yes, Pope + . ' Faith ,
Steev. Var. Cap.
133. whirling] Theob. zuhttrling Qq, 136. Horatio] my Lord Ff, Rowe + ,
Warb. hurling Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. Cald. Knt.
Cald. Knt, Sing, windy Q'76. hurting

127. circumstance] Dyce (Gloss.) : Detail. Clarke: Circumlocution. See III,

i, 1 ; Mer. of Ven. I, i, 154.
132. go pray] Clarendon: Compare the phrases, 'go seek,' II, i, 101 ; 'go
sleep,' Temp. II, i, 190 ; 'go kindle,' Two Gent. II, vi, 19; 'go watch,' Merry
Wives, I, iv, 7 ; ' come view,' Mer. of Ven. II, vi, 43.
136. Saint Patrick] Warburton : At this time all the whole northern world
had their learning from Ireland ; to which place it had retired, and there flourished
under the auspices of this saint. But it was, I suppose, only said at random. Cal-
DECOTT: As Sh. gave the living manners, customs, and habits of thinking of his
own country to those of all ages and countries that he introduced upon the stage, he
would little hesitate to make any stranger invoke the name of a saint familiar and
popular in his own. Tschischwitz : If Sh. had wished to be historically correct,
he would have made a Dane swear by St. Ansgarius. But since the subject con-
cerned an inexpiated crime, he naturally thought of St Patrick, who kept a Purga-
tory of his own. See The Honest Whore [pt. 2, I, i, p. 330, Dodsley ed. 1825,
where the text reads, * St. Patrick, you know, keeps Purgatory,' and not as the learned
German quotes : ' keeps his Purgatory.' Ed.] Moberly : Saint Patrick, the patron
saint of all blunders and confusion.
136. Horatio] Corson: The 'my lord' (of the Ff) in Hamlet's speech :s a re-
ort to the ' my lord ' in Horatio's speech, and has an effect which is lost in the Qq
ext.
112 HAMLET [act i, sc. v

And much offence too. Touching this vision here, 137

It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you ;
For your desire to know what is between us,
O'ermaster't as you may. And now, good friends, 140
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
' \ My lord, we will not.
Mar. / y
Ham. Nay, but swear't.
Hor. In faith, 145
My lord, not I.
Mar. Nor I, my lord, in faith.
Ham. Upon my sword.
Mar. We have sworn, my lord, already.

137. too. Touching] Rowe. too: 142, 143. Give. ..lord '/] One line,
touching Q'76. too, touching Ff, Knt. Steev. Cald. Knt, Sing.
to, touching Qq. 143. we wilt] Ora. Pope + . Mar. We
here,] heere, or here, Qq. heere : will Coll. (MS).
oxhere:¥i. here — Rowe, Pope, Theob. 145. Hor. Mar.] Booth. Q2Q3. Both.
Han. Warb. Cap. Steev.Var. Sing. Dyce, Q4Q5Ff.
Sta. White, here. Knt. 145, 146. In faith,...!.] Cap. One
140. O'ermaster't] Oremaflret Q2Q. line, QqFf, Rowe +, Jen. Mai. Sta. Huds.
O'er-master, Rowe ii. Overmaster it 147. We have] We've Pope, Han.
Theob. Warb. Johns. Steev. Var. Knt. Dyce ii, Huds.

137. offence] Delius: Hamlet purposely misunderstands his friends' words, in

order to evade their enquiries. At first he pretends that his words have given offence,
whereas his friends have merely found them vague; and when they reply that there
is no offence, he takes • offence ' in a wider sense as a ' crime,' and refers it to the
ciime of his uncle that had just been divulged to him.
137. too] Capell (i, 128) : The most emphaticall word in this sentence is
' too.' Corson : There should be only a comma after this word. Hamlet re-
fers to the wrong which, he has just learned, had been done his father: 'Yes, by
Saint Patrick, but there is, my Lord, And much offence too, touching this Vision

here.'
138. honest] Hudson : Hamlet means that it is a real Ghost, just what it ap-
pears to be, and not ' the Devil ' in ' a pleasing shape,' as Horatio had apprehended
it to be.

141. soldiers] Walker {Vers. 175): Pronounced dissolute*.

147. sword] Upton (p. 61, n.) : He swears them on his sword, very soldier-like,
Xbrl agreeable to the ancient custom of his country. Jordanes in his Gothic History
act I, sc. v.| HAMLET H3

Ham. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. 148

Ghost. [Beneath"] Swear.

148. Indeed... indeed.} In deed. ..in Ghoft cries vnder the Stage. Ghoft.
deed Sta. Sweare. Qq. Gho. Sweare. Ghofl cries
149. Ghost. [Beneath] Swear.'] Cap. under the Stage. Ff, Rowe + ,Jen.

mentions this custom. Ammianus Marcellinus relates the same ceremony among
the Huns. Johnson : Garrick produced me a passage, I think, in Brantdme, from
which it appeared that it was common to swear upon the cross which the old swords
always had upon the hilt. Douce (ii, 229) : In consequence of this practice, the
name of Jesus was sometimes inscribed on the handle or some other part. Nares :
The singular mixture of religious and military fanaticism which arose from the
Crusades gave rise to the extraordinary custom of taking a solemn oath upon a
sword. In a plain, unenriched sword, the separation between the blade and the
hilt was usually a straight transverse bar, which, suggesting the idea of a cross,
added to the devotion which every true knight felt for his favorite weapon, and evi-
dently led to this practice; of which the instances are too numerous to be collected.
The sword or the blade were often mentioned in this ceremony without reference to
the cross. It is ludicrously referred to in 1 Hen. IV: II, iv, 371. Dyce [Gloss.) :
The custom of swearing by a sword prevailed even among the barbarous worshippers
of Odin : ' The Scythians commonly substituted a sword as the most proper symbol
to represent the supreme god. It was by planting a spear in the middle of a field
that they usually marked out the place set apart for prayers and sacrifices ; and when
they had relaxed from their primitive strictness, so far as to build temples and set up
idols in them, they yet preserved some traces of the ancient custom by putting a
sword in the hands of Odin's statues. The respect they had for their arms made
them also swear by instruments so valuable and so useful, as being the most sacred
things they knew. Accordingly, in an ancient Icelandic poem, a Scandinavian, to
assure himself of a person's good faith, requires him to swear, " by the shoulder of
a horse, and the edge of a sword." This oath was usual more especially on the eve
of some great engagement ; the soldiers engaged themselves by an oath of this kind
not to flee, though their enemies should be never so superior in number.' — Mallet's
Northern Antiquities, &c, transl. by Percy, vol. i, p. 216, ed. 1770. [For many
instances of oaths taken upon swords, see Farmer, Steevens and Caldecott. Ed.]
Knight : We have little doubt that Sh. was aware of the peculiar custom of the
Gothic nations, and did not make Hamlet propose the oath merely as a practice of
chivalry.

147. already] Hudson: The oath they have already sworn is ' in faith.'' But
this has not enough of ritual solemnity in it to satisfy Hamlet.
148. Indeed] Staunton : The meaning of Hamlet unquestiona'bly is, Not
in words only, but in act, in form; upon the cross of my sword, pledge your-
selves.
149. Coleridge : These subterraneous speeches of the Ghost are hardly defen-
sible but
; I would call your attention to the characteristic difference between the
Ghost, as a superstition connected with the most mysterious truths of revealed re-
ligion,— and Shakespeare's consequent reverence in his treatment of it,— and the
foul earthy witcheries and wild language in Macbeth.
10* H
114 HAMLET [act i, so v.

Ham. Ah, ha, boy ! say'st thou so ? art thou there,

true-penny? — 1 50
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. [Bencatli] Swear. 155
Ham. Hie et ubique ? then we'll shift our ground. —

Ff,150, 151. Ah, ha, ...cellar age. ~\ Prose, feene.

Rowe. 153. FXF2.
seen.~\ feene
FgF4, Q2Q,.
Walker,
feene,Corson.
Q.Q..
150. Ah] Ha Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. seen, Rowe et cet.
Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Ktly, 155, 161, 182. [Beneath] Cap. Om.
Del. Huds. QqFf.
so?] Q'76. fo, Qq. fo. Ff. 156. Hie] Hie Qg.
151. on; you hear] one you here Yx. et] est Rowe ii.
cellarage"] Sellerige Qq. feller- ubique ?] vbique, Qq.
edge Fx. felleridge F2F . Celleridge F , our] for Ff, Rowe. Om. Sey-
Rowe, Pope, Theob. Han. mour, reading then... gentlemen, as one
152. the oath] my oath F3F4, Rowe. line.

150. true-penny] Steevens : This word, as well as some of Hamlet's former

exclamations, we find in The Malcontent, 1604. Collier : This word is also found
in Nash's Almond for a Parrot. It is (as I learn from some Sheffield authorities)
a mining term, and signifies a particular indication in the soil of the direction in
which ore is to be found. Hence Hamlet may with propriety address the Ghost
under ground by that name. Forby ( Vocab. of East Anglia) : Hearty old fellow ;
staunch and trusty; true to his purpose or pledge. Halliwell suspects that it
was sometimes applied to a sexton, therefore very appropriate here. Upton (p.
9, note) : ' The Vice,' in our old Moralities, was used to make fun with the Devil,
and he had several trite expressions, as, ' I'll be with you in a trice,' 'Ah, ha, boy,
are you there ?' &c. And it was great entertainment to the audience, to see their
old enemy belaboured in effigy. Now, Ham. is resolved to break the subject of
the discourse to none but Hor. ; to others he intends to appear as a sort of madman,
he therefore now addresses the Ghost as The Vice does the Devil, at the same time he
wishes the sentinels to imagine that this was a shape the Devil had put on ; and in
H> "j 575, he is somewhat of this opinion himself. This manner of speech was what
the audience were well acquainted with ; and it takes off in some measure from
the horror of the scene.
153. seen] Walker (Crit. iii, 263) : The inversion [by putting only a comma
after 'seen'] is anti-Shakespearian. Corson : Horatio asks Hamlet to propose the
oath, which he does, namely : ' Never to speak of this that you have seen,' and then,
having done so, he tells them to swear by his sword, which is additional.
156. Hie et ubique] Tschischwitz : The repetition of the oath, the shifting of
the ground, and the Latin phrase are taken from the ceremonies of conjurors. SlL-
BERSCHLAO (Aforgenblatt,^o. 47, i860, p. 1 1 13): It is highly probable the conclu-
act i, sc. v.] HAMLET 115

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 60
Ghost. \Bencat1i\ Swear.
Ham. Well said, old mole ! canst work i' the earth so fast ?
A worthy pioner !— Once more remove, good friends.
Hor. O day and night, but this is wondrous strange !
Ham. And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. 165
157-160. Come. ..sword] As in Ff. 161. Swear.] Sweare by his sword.
End lines, hands. ..speak. ..sword. Cam. Qq, Theob. Warb. Johns. Cap. Jen.
Ecld. conj. Steev. Cald. Var. Sta.
158,159. sword... hear d ;~\ Fx, Walker, 162. canst] canst thou Q'76.
Corson, /word. . ..heard : FaF F . sword. earth] ground Ff, Rowe + , Cald.
...heard, Rowe+. sword .-...heard, Cald. Knt, Sing. White, Huds.
et cet. 163. pioner !] Dyce, El. White, Sta.
159, 160. Never... sword] These lines Del. Glo. + . Pioner, Q2Q FxFaF . Pi-
are transposed in Qq, Jen. Steev, Var. oner Q4QS- Pioneer, F4, Rowe. pioneer t
and Sing. In Cap. also, but lines 157 Pope et cet.
-160 end: hands... by my szvord... heard, good friends] Om. Seymour.
Cap. is followed by Ktly. friends] friend F2F F , Rowe.
159. this that] this which Rowe ii+. 1 65. give] bid FF, Rowe.
heard] heard to-night Seymour.
sion of this scene is a remnant, word for word, of the earlier tragedy by Shake-
speare's predecessor ; and this little snatch of Latinity upholds this view. The
dramatic predecessors of Shakespeare were very fond of interlarding their pieces
with such little snatches of Latin, and Shakespeare yielded to the practice only in
his very earliest plays, not in his later ones. Therefore, from the use of these little
phrases alone we might infer that Shakespeare retained all of these concluding lines
from the earlier drama, perhaps from no other reason than that the scene had become
a popular favorite.
158. upon my sword,] Walker (Crit. iii, 263) was the first to advocate this
punctuation of Fx ; and Corson says : ' The true meaning is indicated by the
comma after " sword." The " swear by my sword" is but a repetition of the same
idea.' Walker adds : • The Ghost's " Swear by his sword " — if this reading bs
correct — is, as it were, an echo of Hamlet's words.' In the textual notes the punc-
tuation ofthose editors alone is given who have followed the arrangement of the Ff.
163. pioner] Nares: A pioneer; an attendant on an army, whose office is to
dig, level, remove obstructions, form trenches, and do all works executed with un-
warlike tools, as spades, &c. Dyce [Gloss.) : They are generally soldiers who, on
account of misconduct, had been degraded to the office. [For the spelling, see
Walker, Vers. 217 ; Crit. iii, 263 ; Abbott, \ 492. Also I, ii, 172 ; III, iv, 206. Ed.]
165. welcome] Warburton : Receive it to yourself; take it under your own roof;
as much as to say : Keep it secret. Alluding to the laws of hospitality. Mason :
Hamlet means merely to request that they would seem not to know it,— to be unac-
quainted with it. Caldecott : Receive it courteously and compliantly. Claren
DON : Receive without doubt or question.
n6 HAMLET
[ACT I, SC. V,

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 166

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
But come ;
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, 170
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, 175
As ' Well, well, we know,' or ' We could, an if we would,'
107. your] our Ff, Rowe, Han. Cald. 173. times] time Ff, Rowe+, Cap.
Cap.
Knt, White, Dyce ii. 174-178. With. ..out] In parenthesis,
167. 168. Than... come ;] Han. One
line, QqFf, Rowe + , Jen.Coll. El. White. 174. this head-shake] Theob this
head JJiake Qq, Pope, thus, headjhake
168. 169. come ; Here~\ Om. Seymour.
169. Here~\ Swear Pope ii, Bailey. Ff, Rowe. head thus Jliak't Q'76, Jen.
swear here Ktly, reading But.. . mercy . thus head shake Cald. Knt.
as one line.
!75- Or] Nor Mai. (Var. '85) conj.
170-172. How. ..on] In parenthesis, (withdrawn).
Pope i. 176, 177. As. ..might] Prose, Cap.
Steev. Var. Cald. Sing. Huds.
170-178. How...note~\ In parenthesis,
176. Well, well,] well, Ff, Rowe + ,
Cald. Knt.
170. soe* er] fo ere Ff. Jo mere Qq.
Qq.
1 71-172. As... on] In parenthesis, Ff, 176, 177. an if. ..an if] Han. and
Pope + . if.. .and if QqFf, Rowe + , Jen. and if...
171. meet] Jit So quoted by Theob. orifQ,rj6. an. .. those ; An if Seymour.
(Sh. Best. p. 59).

167. your] Walker (Crit. ii, 7; iii, 264) prefers our. White : This reading of
the Qq is the poorer, but commoner. Clarendon : For this colloquial and familiar
use, see III, ii, 3; III, ii, 117; IV, iii, 21-24; Ant' & Cleo. II, vii, 29. Corson:
Hamlet and Horatio had been fellow-students at the University ; this may explain
the use of ' our.' Or it would be better, perhaps, to understand Hamlet as using it
in the general sense of human philosophy, which is limited in its scope. Why he
should say 'your,' does not appear. [It is used ethically. See 'me,' II, ii, 414. Ed.]
172. antic] Clarendon: Disguised, as in Rom. & Jul. I, v, 54. Moberly:
A counterfeit madness such as Hamlet afterwards uses. The word ' antic ' means
first 'old-fashioned;' then ' quaint,' 'capricious,' and the like. In much the same
way ' modern ' means ' ordinary.'
173. such] Corson :' Such times seeing ' is harsh. The Ff text is better. Abbott,
\ 470, in scanning this line contracts ' seeing' rather than 'never.'
174. encumber'd] Moberly: Folded thus in s gn of wisdom.
174. head-shake] Corson: According to the Ff, 'shake' is a verb, having
* shall ' as its auxiliary ' — with arms encumbered thus, or thus (suiting the action to
tiie wcrds), head shake.'
175. of] For instances of 'of following verbal nouns, see Abbott, \ 178.
ACT I, SC. V.] HAMLET

Or ' If we list to speak,' or ' There be, an if they might' 177

Or such ambiguous giving out, to note
That you know aught of me ; this not to do,
So grace and mercy at your most need help you, 180
Swear.
Ghost. \_Be)icatJi\ 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 185
May do, to 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,

177. they] there Ff, Rowe + , Jen. This do you swear, So... you ! Cap. Jen.
Cald. Knt. Steev. This not to do, swear ; So. ..you f
178. giving] givings Warb.
out, to note] Mai. conj. (Var. 182.
sword.
Bos. '[They kiss
White, Huds.the hilt of Hamlet's
'85). Steev. out, to note) [See line
170] Qq. out to note, Ff, Rowe, Pope 183.Rest, rest,] Rest, Seymour.
i. out to note Mai. [They swear.] Glo. + , Mob.
to note] denote Theob. Pope ii 184. I do] Om. F2F3F4. do /Theob.
+ , Cap. Jen. El. to-note Porson conj. Warb. Johns.
186. friending] friend/hip Q'76.
MS.*
1 79-1 81. this... Swear.] Knt. this... 187. God. ..lack.] Shall never fail
doe : So. ..you : Sweare. Ff. this doe
fweare, So. ..you. Qq, Mai. this you Q'76. Let us go in] Lefs go Anon.*
m ust five a r. So... you Q ' 7 6 . this do ye together] Om. Han.
swear. So. ..you! Swear. Pope + , Cald. 188. pray.] Rowe. pray, QqFf.

177. There be] Dyce: Hamlet means, ' There be persons, who, if they were at
liberty to speak.'
178. giving out] Clarendon: Profession. See Meas.for Meas. I, iv, 54.
178. to note] Caldecott : The grammar here is defective, and its construction
embarrassed : [Swear] here as before, never, — that you never shall, — by pronouncing
some doubtful phrase or the like, [do aught] to mark or denote, &c Clarendon :
The ' to ' is superfluous in the construction, which follows ' never shall.' Compare
Cor. V, iii, 123 ; and Merry Wives, IV, iv, 57.
180. most] See Macb. V, iv, 12, and Abbott, $ 17, for instances of more and
most used for great and greatest.
183. perturbed] Clarke: There is an effect of pathos in these few murmured
soothing words, coming as a climax and close to the scene.
185. Hamlet] Clarke: It is noteworthy that Hamlet frequently speaks of him-
self in the third person ; which is characteristic of the philosophic man, — reflective,
thoughtful, given to moralize and speak in the abstract.
186. friending] Clarendon: Friendliness. Not found elsewhere in Sh.
1 18 HAMLET [act ii, sc. i.

That ever I was born to set it right !— 190

Nay, come, let's go together. \Exeunt.

ACT II

Scene I. A room in Polonius's house.

Enter Polonius and Reynaldo.

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,
Jy.
190. set] fee FF. uelons Q. maruels Fx. marvels Y 2t
Act 11. Scene i.] Q'76. Actus Se- F4. marvelous Sing, ii, Ktly. marvelPs
cundus. Ff. Dyce.
A room...] An Apartment... Rowe. 3. wisely,] wifely Qq. wifely : FXF9F .
Enter.. .Reynaldo.] Cap. Enter old 4. to make inquiry] Q'76. to make
Polonius, with his man or two. Qq. inquire Qq, Glo. + , Mob. you make in-
Enter.. .Reynoldo. Ff+. quiry Ff, Cald. make you inquiry.
1. this"] his Ff, Rowe, Knt. Rowe.
these~\ these two Q4Q5» those ¥ J? 6. Marry... sir,] Two lines, Ff, Rowe.
F4, Rowe. Marry,~\ Mary Q2Q3Q4-
1, 3, 15. Reynaldo] Reynoldo Ff, 7- Danskers] Dantz 'ckers Cap. (cor-
Rowe + , Cald. reded in MS*).
3. marvellous'] meruiles Q2Qv mar-
190. right] Seymour (ii, 164) : Ham. does not lament that the disjointed time
is to be set right by him, but that he, . . . whose duty it of necessity becomes to set
the time right, should have been born.
3. shall] For instances of * shall' for will, see III, h, 317; Macb. Ill, iv, 57,
and Abbott, § 315.
3. marvellous] For instances of adjectives used as adverbs, see I, iii, 116; III,
ii, 288, and Abbott, \ 1.
4. inquiry] Clarendon adopts the Qq reading, and justifies it on the thoroughly
Shakespearian usage of various parts of speech as nouns, such as ' avouch,' I, i, 57;
' disclose,' III, i, 166. For many other examples, see Abbott, $ 451.
7. Danskers] Capell (i, 128) : Danske, for Denmark, occurs often in Albion'
England
act ii. sc. i.] HAMLET 1 19

And how, and who ; what means, and where they keep ;
What company, at what expense ; and finding
By this encompassment and drift of question 10
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 ? 15
Rcy. 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 20
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.

9. at] Om. F , Rowe i. and Cald. i. 14. As] And Ff.

11,12. nearer Than] Cap. neerer 14, 15, 17-19. Quotation first indicated
Then QqFt. neere Than F2. near by Cap.
Then F. near Then Q'76. near, 17. him; but,' you] Cap. him, but
Then F , Rowe. near; Then Pope + . yott QqFf. him — but you Rowe+.
nearer; Then Jen. Ktly. 18. ift] y'ft Qq. if it Q'76.
12. particular... touch] perticuler... 19. Addicted' so and so] Sta. Huds.
tuck. Q2Q3Q,. Addicted so and so' Cap. et cet.
12. touch] vouch Seymour.

8. keep] Dyce {Gloss.) : To live, to dwell.

10. encompassment and drift] Caldecott : Winding and circuitous course.
11. more nearer] For instances of double comparatives, see Abbott, §11.
Clarendon : • Neere ' of F2 shows that the double comparative was growing obso-
lete in 1632. Keightly believes all difficulty to be removed by following Jennens*
reading. Moberly : By these natural and circuitous inquiries you will get nearer
the point than you possibly could by a direct question. [Pol. repeats this same
idea in lines 65, 66. For other instances of double comparatives, see III, ii, 291 ;
III, iv, 157; V, ii, 121. Ed.]
12. it] See Abbott, $ 226, for instances of 'it' used indefinitely, as the object of
a verb, without referring to anything previously mentioned, and seeming to indicate
a pre-existing object in the mind of the person spoken of, • or in the mind of the
speaker, as in this instance,' Clarendon adds.
13. Take] Delius : Assume the appearance of having some distant, &c.
22. slips] Clarendon: Compare Oth. IV, i, 9. Perhaps Sh. had the other
sense of the word in his mind, as in 2 Hen. IV: III, ii, 214: 'graft with crab-tree

Blip.'
24. To youth] Delius : This qualifies ' companions.'
1 20 HAMLET [act ii, sc. i.

Rey. As gaming, my lord.

Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling, 25
Drabbing ; you may go so far.
Rey. My lord, that would dishonour him.
Pol. Faith, no ; as you may season it in the charge.
You must not put another scandal on him,
That he is open to incontinency ; 30
That's not my meaning ; but breathe his faults so quaintly
That they may seem the taints of liberty,
The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind,
A savageness in unreclaimed blood,
Of general assault.
Rey. But, my good lord, — 35
Pol. Wherefore should you do this ?

24. lord.] lord — Rowe + , Jen. 31. faults'] fauls Q .

25, 26. Ay. ..far.'] Cap. The first line quaintly] quently Qq.
ends at swearing, in QqFf, Rowe-f, Jen. 34, 35. A savageness. ..assault.] One
Dyce ii, Huds. At drabbing ; Ktly. line, Ff.
28. no] Om. Qq. 34. unreclaimed ] vnreclamed QaQ,
30. That] Than Ktly. Q4. unreclaimed Ff.
31. breathe] breath QqF^F^, Rowe, 35. lord, — ] lord — Pope. Lord. Qq
Cap. Ff, Rowe.

25. fencing] This is bracketed by Warburton as ' an interpolation.' Johnson :

A too diligent frequentation of the fencing-school, a resort of violent and lawless
young men. Malone: I suppose it means piquing himself on his skill in the
use of the sword, and consequently quarrelling and brawling. • The cunning of
Fencers [is now] applied to quarrelling.' — Gosson, Schoole of Abuse, 1579, p. 46,
ed. Arber.
28. season] See I, ii, 192.
29. another] Theobald (Sh. Restored, p. 61), on the ground that there could
be no second scandal without a first (and Polonius implies that ' Drabbing ' is no
scandal), conjectured an utter for ' another.' And this emendation was adopted by
Han. Warb. Johns, and Elze. But Theobald, in his edition, withdrew it, because
Sh. uses ' other ' in the same way elsewhere ; as in Rich. II: I, i, 33, and Macb.
IV, iii, 90. Malone: That is, a very different and more scandalous failing: ha-
bitual incontinency. Moberly : A deeper kind of scandal ; much as aXkaq means
* particularly,' and aXkog bdirtjg, in the Odyssey, ' an out-of-the-way or foreign
traveller.'
31. breathe] Dyce (Gloss.) : To utter, to speak; see also line 44.
31. quaintly] Dyce (Gloss.): Ingeniously, cleverly, artfully.
34. unreclaimed] Clarendon : Cotgrave has ' Adomestiquer : To tame, reclaim,
make gentle.' A term of falconry.
34. savageness . . . assault] Dyce (Gloss.) : A wildness in untamed blood, to
which all young men are liable.
4CTII, sc. i.] HAMLET 121

Rev. Ay, my lord, 36

I would know that.
Pol. Marry, sir, here's my drift,
And I believe it is a fetch of warrant ;
You laying these slight sullies on my son,
As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i' the working, 40
Mark you,
Your party in converse, him you would sound,
Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes
The youth you breathe of guilty, be assured
He closes with you in this consequence : 45
1 Good sir,' or so, or ' friend,' or ' gentleman,'
According to the phrase or the addition
36, 37. Ay,.. .that."] Arranged as in Warb. Johns.
Cap. One line, QqFf, Rowe + , Jen. 42. you would] you1 Id Johns.
Huds. 43. seen in] feene. In FIFa. feen
36. lord] good lord Cap. In F3F4.
38. warrant] witQq, Pope + , Jen. El. prenominate] prenominat Q2Q,
39. sullies] /allies Q3Q3, Pope, ful- Q4.
leyes FfF2F . 44. breathe] Rowe ii. breath QqFf,
40. Vthe] VtK' Ff, Rowe + , Jen. with Rowe i, Theob. i, Cap. speak Pope, Han.
Qq. 45. He closes] Will strait close Seym.
41. 42. Mark... sound,] Mai. One consequence] cofequence Q .
line, QqFf, Rowe + , Cap. Jen. Sta. 46. or so] In parenthesis, Qq, Jen.
Mark you added to line 40 by Ktly. or so, or] or Sir, or Han. or sire,
41. you,] you Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. or Warb. forsooth, or Johns, conj. or so
Jen. forth,Steev. (Var.'78) conj. (withdrawn).
42. converse,] converfe ; Ff, Rowe, 'gentleman,'] Gentleman. Ff.
Pope. 47. or] and Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt.
him] he Q'76, Pope ii, Theob. addition] addijlion Q2Q3*
36. Ay] For instances of monosyllabic exclamations taking the place of a whole
foot, see Abbott, g 482, and IV, vii, 60; ' O,' IV, iv, 65 ; III, i, 49.
38. fetch of warrant] Dyce (Gloss.): A warranted, sanctioned, or approved
artifice or device. Clarendon : The fetch of wit of the Qq is • a cunning con-
trivance,' and makes as good sense as the reading of the Ff, with which compare
•passages of proof,' IV, vii, 113. In Lear, II, iv, 90, 'fetches' mean pretexts,
excuses.
40. As . . . working] Caldecott : As having in his commerce with the world
unavoidably contracted some small blemishes.
42. converse] Clarendon : Conversation. See Oth. Ill, i, 40, where it is ac-
cented as here.
42. him] For instances where 'him' is put for he, by attraction to whom under-
stood, for he whom, see Abbott, \ 208.
45. closes . . . consequence] Caldecott: Falls in with you into this con
elusion.
47. addition] TrtK See I, iv, 20; Macb. I, iii, 106.
11
122 HAMLET
[act ii, sc. i

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, I was about to say something ;
where did I leave? 51
Rey. At ' closes in the consequence,' at t friend or so,' and
'gentleman.'
Pol. At ' closes in the consequence,' ay, marry ;
He closes with you thus : ' I know the gentleman ; 55
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 I saw him enter such a house of sale,' 60
Videlicet, a brothel, or so forth.
See you now;

49-51. And then. ..leave ?] Prose first Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. El.
by Mai. Three lines, ending fay ?... 54. Pol.] Reynol. F,. Pelon. F^
fomething,...leaue ? Qq. Three lines,
55- closes with you thus~\ 'to
closes thus
ther¥¥
ending this ? ...fay ? ...leave ? Ff. End- Qq, Pope + , Jen. Coll. El. Glo. Cla. A.
ing was I. . .say. ..leave? Cap. Ending this ; th' 56.
other
t'other]
Qq. tother ¥z¥,
3 4
...say ?'...something,.. .leave f'Jen. Ending
he does. ..say ?... leave ? Knt. Ending he 57. Or then, or then,] Or then,
does... I was. .. leave ? Coll. El. Dyce, Pope + .
White, Ktly, Del. Ending he does.. .mass or such] andfuch Ff,Rowe + ,Knt.
...leave ? Sta.
58. he] Ff. a Qq. a' Glo. + , Mob.
49. does he this — he does] does he this ? gaming, there] gaming there, Qq.
o'ertook] or too he Qq.
He does: Ff {do's FF). doos a this, Ktly.
a doos, Q2Q,. doos a this, a doos : Q.Q.' in's] in his Cap. Steev. Var. Knt,
50. By the mass] Om. Ff, Rowe + , 61,
Cap. Knt. There] Their F2F .
59 stcch] fuch or fuch Q.Q.-
something] nothing ¥2¥ ' F ' , Rowe. 60 sale] faile FXF2. fail Y^^.
52, 53. At... gentleman.'] Prose, Glo. 62 . Videlicet. . . now] Cap.
Two lines, the first ending consequence :
One
in Ff, Cald. Knt, Sing. Coll. Dyce, line, QqFf. Rowe + , Jen. Mai.
61. Videlicet] Videlizet Q2Q3QV
White, Sta. The first ending/V-zWz^Ktly.
at' friend... gentleman.'] Om. Qq, so forth] so forsooth Warb.

50. mass] Collier : Omitted in the Ff, because it is an oath. The Ff are fai
from consistent in this particular.
51. leave] Clarendon : Leave off. So in 2 Hen. VI; III, ii, 333. [See III, iv, 66.]
52. 53. friend . . . gentleman] Elze : For this unmistakable interpolation we
are probably indebted to some actor who wished to repeat the laughable gestures
which accompanied it.
58. o'ertook] Ciarendon • That is, by intoxication. One of the many euphem-
isms f ' drunk.'
a. i ii. sc. i.] HAMLET I 23

Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth ;

And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,
With windlasses and with assays of bias, 65
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.
63. falsehood takes] faijlwod takes 67. advice"] aduife Qq.
Q'76. faljhood, takes Ff. falfltovd take 69. be wV you] Cap. buy ye Qq(yee
Q2Q3- Jal/hood: takeQQ. QQ}' hty you Y t¥ JP r V w' you F4,
carp] carpe Qq. cape Ff. Rowef. b 'w you Jen. V wV you
65. windlasses] windleffes QqFxF2F . Sing. Dyce, White, Ktly. hew? ye Cam.
windlaces F , Rowe+. Jare you] far ye Qq (yee Q4Q5).
assays] ejfays Q'76. fare ye Q'76, Cam.
66. indirections] indirecls Q.Q.-

64. of reach] Clarendon : Far-sighted. See I, iv, 56. Compare ' we of taste and
feeling.' — Love's Lab. Lost, IV, ii, 30. Abbott, \ 168 : 'Of here means by means of.
65. windlasses] Nares: Metaphorically, art and contrivance, subtleties; e.g.
' Which, by slie drifts, and windlaces aloof, They brought about.' — Mirror for
Magistrates, p. 336. Windlaies is used by Fairfax, for sudden turns; whether he
meant this word or another, is not quite clear : perhaps, rather, windings: — ' The
beauties faire of shepherd's daughters bold, With wanton windlaies runne, turne,
play, and passe.' — Tasso, xiv, 34. Hunter (ii, 226) : Windlaces is used in a sense
now forgotten. We find it in Golding's Ovid, the seventh book, the book in which
Sh. was so well read : ' — like a wily fox he runs not forth directly out, Nor makes a
windlasse over all the champion fields about,' &c. It is also used by Bishop Hacket.
Edinburgh Review [Shakespearian Glossaries, July, 1869) : In Shakespeare's
day, windlace, literally, a winding, was used to express taking a circuitous course,
fetching a compass, making an indirect advance, or, more colloquially, beating about
the bush instead of going directly to a place or object; and in this sense it exactly
harmonizes with the other phrase used by Polonius to express the same thing, —
1 assays of bias,' — attempts in which, instead of going straight to the object, we seek
to reach it by a curved or winding course, the bias gradually bringing the ball round
to the Jack. Thus, in Golding's Ovid : ' The winged God . . . Continued not directly
forth, but gan me down to stoupe, And fetched a windlasse round about.' Claren-
don :Also Lily's Euphues and his England (ed. Arber), p. 270: 'I now fetching
a windlesse, that I myght better haue a shoote, was preuented with ready game.'
65. assays of bias] Clarendon: A metaphor from the game of bowls, in
which the player does not aim at the Jack (or * mistress,' as it was called in Shake-
speare's time) directly, but in a curve, so that the bias brings the ball round. 'Assays
of bias ' are therefore indirect attempts.
66. indirections] Clarendon : Indirect methods. We find out indirectly, says
Polonius, what we wish to know directly. See Jul. Ca?s. IV, iii, 75.
69. God be wi' you] See Macb. Ill, i, 43, or Walker ( Vers. 228).
69. fare you well] Tschischwitz : Although the double leave-taking is quite
\ 24 HAMLET , [act 11, sc. i

Key. Good my lord ! 70

Pol. Observe his inclination in yourself.
Rey. I shall, my lord.
Pol. And let him ply his music.
Rey. Well, my lord.
Pol. Farew ell ! [Exit Reynaldo.
Enter Ophelia.

How now, Ophelia ! what's the matter ?

uOph. Oh, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted ! 75
o. Good my lord
70. lord !] Dyce. Good my [Entei
[Enter Ophelia.] Sing. ii. Be
Lord. QqFf, Coll. White.
■d. QqFf, Coll. White. Good my
Good my fore Farewell!
fore Farewel QqFf. Enter Ophelia,
Lord — Rowe+. But, my good lord, — hastily. Cap.
Cap. conj. [Notes, i, 19). 74. How. ..matter] One line, Ff.
71. in] e'en Han. Warb. 75. O, my lord,] Alas, Ff, Rowe + ,
74. [Exit Reynaldo.] Exit Rey. Qq Knt, Coll. Sing. Dyce, Sta. White, Ktly,
(after lord). Exit Ff (after lord). Del. Huds. Alas, my lord. Cald.
Scene ii.] Pope + , Jen.

in keeping with the loquacity of Polonius, we are justified, nevertheless, in expecting

a reply from the departing servant. I have therefore given the words ' God be wi'
you ' (which, by the contraction of with into ' wi',' express a certain condescension)
to Polonius, and ' fare you well ' to Reynaldo.
70. Good my lord] Dyce : Reynaldo has previously said ' Very good, my lord,'
and he afterwards says, * Well, my lord,' but the present speech is not therefore to
be pointed « Good, my lord.' Compare II, ii, 521.
7 1 . in yourself] Johnson : Perhaps this means, in your own person, not by
spies. Capell (i, 129) : ' In yourself is put for — observe of yourself, or with your
own eyes ; for he had been lesson'd before to pick up his ' inclination ' from others.
C. (in Var. 1821) : The temptations you feel, suspect in him. Caldecott : It seems
no more than • of or by yourself,' and as if the word ' in ' had been altogether
omitted. He was at first to discover Laertes's inclination by enquiry from others ;
but now to find them out by personal observation. Tschischwitz : I find it hard
to persuade myself that ' in ' is anything more than a misprint, which arose from the
last syllable of the preceding word. A change of 'in' into then could be easily
made except for the uniformity of the old copies. CLARENDON : Possibly it means,
Conform your own conduct to his inclinations.
73. music] Clarke : Let him go on, to what tune he pleases ; let him conduct
himself in any style and at any rate he chooses. Hudson : Eye him sharply, but
do it slyly, and let him fiddle his secrets all out. Vischer (Sh. Jahrbuch, ii, p.
149) : Here we have the key to the whole scene. His son may gamble, drink,
swear, quarrel, drab, enter houses of sale, videlicet, brothels, only — let him ply his
music : true cavalier-breeding !
74. matter] Moberly : There is a wonderfully fine contrast between the prolix
slyness of Polonius's attempt to find out what had better be unknown, and the scene
of distracting and passionate misery which shows how Hamlet's soul has been shat-
ered by an unsought-for revelation.
75. affrighted] Eckhardt {Vorlesungen tiber Hamlet. Aarau, 1853, p. 96):
ACT II, SC. i.J HAMLET

Pol. With what, i' the name of God ?

Oph. My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced;
y
No hat upon his head ; his stockings foul'd, 80
Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle ;
76. i'the] Cap. ft/i Qq, Jen. in the 78. Lord] Prince Q'76.
Ff, Rowe + , Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. 79. stockings] Jlockins Qq.
Sing. White, Ktly.
Theob. fourd]
+ . fouled Qq. loofe Q'76,
i' thc.God ?] Om. Q'76.
God] Heaven Ff, Rowe-f, Cap. 80. down-gyved] downe gyued QaQ-
Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly. downe gyred Q4Q^ downe giued FI# 76
77. seiving] Warb. /owing QqFf. downe-gyved Fa. down-gyred Theob.
reading Q'76. Warb. Johns. Cap. El. down-hided
closet] clojfet Qq. chamber Ff, Petri [Archivf. n. Sprachen, 1849, v°l
vi, p. 93)-
Rowe, Cald. Knt, Coll. Dyce, Sta.White,
Huds.

The supposition that Hamlet went to Ophelia directly after the interview with the
Ghost is incorrect, and for the following reasons : first, the interview between Po
lonius and Reynaldo implies that some little time has elapsed since the departure ol
Laertes for Paris ; secondly, during this time Ophelia has returned Hamlet's letters,
and denied him access ; her father asks her, ' Have you given him any hard words
of late ?' The letter which Polonius reads to the King must, therefore, have belonged
to a period before the opening of the drama. Ophelia had strictly obeyed her father's
commands, and returned all Hamlet's letters. Thirdly, Polonius goes at once to the
King, and yet, when he speaks to him of Hamlet, the King already knew of Ham-
let's (feigned) insanity, and therefore must himself have seen the Prince before
Ophelia saw him. Fourthly, between the close of the first act and the present
scene, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern must have been summoned on account of
Hamlet's changed demeanor, and of the King's suspicions which that demeanor
had aroused.
77. closet] Clarendon : A private apartment. Hence the King's private secre-
tary was called ' clerk of the closet.' See III, ii, 315; and King John, IV, ii, 267.
78. unbraced] Clarendon : Unfastened. Compare Jul. Cces. I, iii, 48 ; and
II, i, 262.
79. foul'd] Cambridge Editors : Theobald reads loose on the authority, as he
says, ■ of the elder Qq.' It is not the reading of any of the first six, but of those
of 1676, 1683, 1695, and 1703. Had Capell been aware of this, he would scarcly
have designated Theobald's mistake as a ' downright falsehood.' Theobald at the
time of writing his Sh. Restored knew of no Quarto earlier than that of 1637 (Sh.
Rest. p. 70), and it is just possible that some copy of this edition (Q6) from which
that of 1676 was printed may have had the reading 'loose.' [The Cam. Edd. refer
to a note on III, iv, 59, where they give two different readings in two different copies
of Q^ 'a heaven-kissing' in Ingleby's copy, and 'a heaue, a kissing,' in Capell's
copy. This variation in copies of the same date has long been known to exist in
the older Qq, but, 1 confess, I was not prepared to find much variation in later Qq of
the same date- In no less than twenty-four instances, however, I have found that
x£\y copy ui K£ 70 ditters trom that of the Cam. Edd., as recorded in their notes. Ed.]

ii*
 1 26 HAMLET [act h. sc. i

Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; 81

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, 8;
But truly I do fear it.
Pol. What said he i
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 90
As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so;
At last, a little shaking of mine arm,
82. piteous] pittious Qq. pitious FXF4. 87. and held me hard] Om. FaF t ,
pitteous F2F . Rowe.
84. horrors, he~\ horrors: he Ff,Rowe, 91. As he] As a Qq.
Jen. horrors; thus he Pope + . horrors Long] Longtime Pope + , Cap.
there, he Anon.* Ktly.
85, 86. My lord. ..it.'] One line, Ff, Han.
Rowe. 92. mine] my ii.
his Pope FaF3F4, Rowe, Pope i.

80. Ungarter'd] Nares : It was the regular amorous etiquette, in the reign of
Elizabeth, for a man professing himself deeply in love to assume a certain negligence
in dress. His garters, in particular, were not to be tied up. See As You Like Zt,
HI, ii, 398.
80. down-gyved] Theobald interprets his reading, down-gyred, as 'rolled
down to the ancle,' and derives gyred from yvpti, to bend, to round. Heath gives
the true definition of ' down-gyved ' : fallen down to the ancle, after the fashion of
gyves, or fetters.
82. purport] Walker (iii, 264) : Pronounce ' purport,' not ' piteous.'
82, 83. so . . . As] See Abbott, § 275; and II, ii, 177; or Macb. I, ii, 43.
84. Keightley completed the rhythm of this line by the insertion of in aftei
« comes.' Abbott, \ 478, makes the second syllable of * horrors ' a foot by itself on
the principle that ' er [or or] final seems to have been sometimes pronounced with a
kind of " burr," which produced the effect of an additional syllable.' A process
which neither my tongue nor my imagination can compass. Why not let Ophelia's
strong emotion shudderingly fill up the gap ?
90. perusal] Clarendon: Examination. See Rom. <5r» Jul. V, iii, 74; Rich.
II; III, iii, 53; Tro. &> Cres. IV, v, 232. [Also, Ham. IV, vii, 137.]
91, 95. As] See I, ii, 217.
91. stay'd] Abbott, \ 507 : As ed is pronounced after i and u, so it might be
after y in ' stayed,' but the effect would be painful. The pause after • it f must supply
ibt extra syllable.
92. shaking] Tschischwitz : A verbal s ibstantive; is made is understood.
ACTii.sc. i.J HAMLET i*7

And thrice his head thus waving up and down,

He raised a sigh so piteous and profound
As it did seem to shatter all his bulk 9.5
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. IO0
Pol. Come, go with me ; 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 105
That does afflict our natures. I am sorry, —
94. piteous'] pittious QqFx. hideous adoors F3F4, Rowe.
F3F3F4, Rowe. 99- help] helpe FfF,. helps Q2Q3Q4,
95. As] That Ff, Rowe + , Cald. Knt, Cap. Jen. Mai. Steev. Cald. i, Cam
Coll. Dyce, El. Sta. White, Del. Huds. helpes Q$.
96. that done,] Then Pope + . 101. Come] Om. Ff, Cald. Knt.
me] Om. FaF F . 103. fordoes] forgoes Q4QS, Warb.
97. shoulder]fhoulders Q4QsFf, Rowe. 105. passion] paffions Qq.
99. <? doors] Theob. adoores Q2Q3« 106. sorry, — ] Cap. forrie, QqFf.
a doores Q . of doores Q . adoresFtF3. sorry ; Rowe + . sorry. Glo. + , Mob.
95. bulk] BoswELL: This is not, I think, all the body, but the breast. Pettorata,
in Florio, is explained, 'a shock against the breast or bulk.1 [Dyce (Gloss.) also
cites this definition of Pettorata from Florio, but neither the word nor definition is
in my copy of Florio, 1598. Malone cites R. of Lucrece, 467, * her heart Beating
her bulk,1 and Rich. Ill: I, iv, 40, ' my panting bulk,' but defines ' bulk ' by ' all
the body.' Ed.] Singer : ' The Bulke or breast of a man.' — Baret's Alvearie.
Dyce (Gloss.) : ' The Bulke of the bodie. Tronc, buste.' — Cotgrave. Clarendon
also cites Cotgrave : ' Buste, the whole bulke or bodie of a man, from his face to his
middle.' [Minsheu gives : ' Pechuguera, the whole bulke of the breast.' Ed.]
ioo. Miles (Review of Hamlet, p. 28) : We are not permitted to see Hamlet in
this ecstasy of love, but what a picture ! How he must have loved her, that love
should bring him to such a pass !— his knees knocking each other !— knees that had
firmly followed a beckoning ghost ! There is more than the love of forty thousand
brothers in that hard grasp of the wrist, — in that long gaze at arm's length, — in the
force that might, but will not, draw her nearer ! And never a word from this king
uf words ! His first great silence, — the second is death !
102. ecstasy] Alienation of mind, madness. See III, i, 160 ; III, iv, 74; 138,
139; Macb. Ill, ii, 22; IV, iii, 170.
103. fordoes] Steevens : To destroy. Nares: For has here its negative power.
Clarendon : Like the German ver, it is also sometimes intensive, as in ' forgive,'
* forwearied,' ' forspent.' [It is so used in the past participle of this very verb «o
Mid. I7, D. V, i, 381, 'with weary task fordone.' — Ed.]
128 HAMLET [act ii, SC. t

What, have you given him any hard words of late ? 107
Opli. 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. 1 10
I am sony that with better heed and judgement
I had not quoted him. I fear'd he did but trifle
4jsxeant to wreck thee ; but beshrew my jealousy !
By heaven, it is as proper to our age
To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions] 115
As it is common for the younger soi
To lack discretion.] Come, go we to the king;

111. lam] /'w Pope + , Dyce iijluds. 113. wreck] Han. wrack QaQ3F3F4<
heed] heede Q2Q3Q4. /peed Ff, Rowe, Pope, Theob. Cap. Jen. Sing,
Rowe, Theob. Warb. Johns. White, wracke Q4Q5FtF2.
112. quoted"] coted Qq. coated Q1*] 6. beshrew] bejhrow Qq, Cap.
noted Warb. quoited W. & D. (Gent. 1 14. By heaven?] It seemes FxFa It
Mag. xlvi, p. 512). seems F3F4, Rowe + , Steev. Var. Cald.
fear'd] feare FXF9. fear F3F4. Knt, Sing. Dyce, Sta. Del.
did but trifle] trifTd Pope + . 117. we] with me Q'76.

no. access] Clarendon: Accented on the second syllable in Macb. I, v, 42.

in. heed] Theobald preferred speed oi the Ff, in the sense either of success,
fortune (frequent in Sh.), or of celerity.
112. quoted] M. Mason: Invariably used by Sh. in the sense of to observe.
Malone : ' Quoter, To quote, or marke in the margent, to note by the way.' — Cot-
grave. Dyce [Gloss.) : To note, to mark, — formerly pronounced, and often written.
cote. See Rom. &> Jul. I, iv, 31.
113. wreck] Collier (ed. 2) : This is one of the places where the old spelling
of ' wreck,' wrack (observed by some modern editors, as if we ought to return to
the loose and uncertain orthography of our ancestors), produces confusion. It is
not quite clear whether Pol. means wrack, in the sense of cast away, or rack, in
the sense of tortured ; we have taken it in the former, as the most probable. Upton
(p. 209) : Read : ' rack thee,' i. e. vex and grieve thee.
113. beshrew] Dyce (Gloss): To curse, — but a mild form of imprecation, ==' a
mischief on.'
114. proper] Clarendon: Appropriate. Compare 2 Hen. IV: I, iii, 32.
115. cast] Johnson: This is not the remark of a weak man. The vice of age
is too much suspicion. Men long accustomed to the wiles of life cast commonly
beyond themselves, let their cunning go farther than reason can attend it. This is
always the fault of a little mind, made artful by long commerce with the world.
Moberly : To forecast more than we ought for our own interests. CLARENDON :
To * contrive,' ' design,' ' plan.' Compare Spenser's Fairy Queen, i, 5,12: • Of ail
attonce he cast avengd to be.' Cotgrave translates Fr. minuter, l to deuise, cast, 01
lay the first project of a designe.'
ACT II, SC. ii.] HAMLET

This must be known ; which, being kept close, might move

More grief to hide than hate to utter love.
Come. [Exeimt. 120

Scene II. A room in the castle.

Flourish. Enter Kinc, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Attendants.

King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern !

Rosincrantz, Theob.
118. which'] w Fx.
119. than hats'] hate, than Han', than Guildenstern] Q'76. Guylden-
haste Anon.* fterne Qq^. Guildenfterne Fx. Guil-
120. Come.] Om. Ff. Rowe+, Knt, denltare F,F F .
Coll. Sing. Dyce i, El. Sta. White, Ktly, and Attendants.] Om. Qq. Cum-
Glo. Huds. Mob. alijs. FjFjj. cum aliis. FF. Lords and
Scene ii.] Scena secunda. Ff (Scaena other Attendants. Rov/e + .
FJ. Scene hi. Pope + , Jen. I, 33, 34. Rosencrantz] Mai. Rofen>
A room...] Cap. The Palace. craus Qq. Rofincrance Fx. Rofincros
Rowe. F2. Rofincrofs F3F4. Roseneraus
Flourish.] Om. Ff, Rowe + . Rowe.
Rosencrantz,] Mai. Rofencraus Guildenstern] Q'76. Guylden-
Qq. Rofincrane, Fx. Rofmcroffe, FaF3, Jlerne Qq. Guildenjlerne Fx. Guilden*
Pope. Rofmcrofs,F . Roseneraus,Rowe. Jlare F3F3F4.

Il8, 119. WARBURTON: That is, this must be made known to the King, for (being
kept secret) the hiding of Hamlet's love might occasion more mischief to us from him
and the Queen, than the uttering or revealing of it will occasion hate and resent-
ment from Hamlet. The poet's obscure expression seems to have been caused by
his affectation of concluding the scene v/ith a couplet. Heath : The concealment
of it may be attended with consequences productive of greater calamity than the
displeasure can possibly be with which the disclosing it may be received. Calde-
COTT : At the close of an act, or when the scene is shifted, and there is a pause in
the action of the drama, it was the usage of our dramatists, down to the middle of
the last century, not simply to divert attention from the main object, as here, by the
introduction of a couplet or rhymes, but to make the subject of such couplet foreign
altogether to the interests of the drama, an unconnected flourish, and that, not un-
frequently, a labored and florid simile. Such a custom in Sh., so far from being
what Warburton calls it, was the very opposite of ' affectation ;' not to have done it
occasionally would have been an affectation of singularity. Clarendon : In the
couplets which conclude scenes the sense is frequently sacrificed to the rhyme. The
sense here seems to be — Hamlet's mad conduct might cause more grief if it were
hidden than the revelation of his love for Ophelia would cause hatred, /. e. on the
part of the King and Queen. Yet the Queen afterwards expresses her approval of
the match, III, i, 38. Compare also, V, i, 231-234. -Tschischwitz cannot per-
suade himself that the author of the Sonnets and of Venus 6° Adonis could have
composed lines so faulty in logic and style as these, and he therefore thinks that even,
sticklers for the authorized text will pardon him for changing line 119 into ' More
grief to him, than hate to us their love.' He also marks * Ophelia exit' after line 117.
I. Rosencrantz] Thornbury {JV. cV Qu. 5 Aug. 187 1) : A Danish nobleman
I
1 30 HAMLET [act ii, SC. ii.

Moreover that we much did long to see you, 2

The need we have to use you did provoke
Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
Of Hamlet's transformation ; so I call it, J
Sith nor the 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 th' understanding of himself,
I cannot dream of. I entreat you both, 10
That, being of so young days brought up with him

2. Moreover. ..much] Besides that we 6. Sith nor] Since riot Ff, Rowe +
Q'76. Jen. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Sta. Ktly,
4. have you] you have Q'76, Theob. Del. Since nor Steev. Mai. Dyce, Huds.
Warb. Johns. 10. dream] deeme FXF2. deem FF,
5. I call] call Qq, Glo. + , Mob. Rowe, Cald. Knt, Sing, ii, Ktly.

of this name attended the Danish ambassador into England on the ascension of
James I. [Steevens says it was an ambassador. Ed.]
2. Moreover that] Moberly : Over and above that we longed to see you. On
the other hand, 'more above,' in line 125, means 'moreover.' Clarendon: Besides
that. Hudson : I do not recollect another instance of these words thus used.
5. transformation] On the pronunciation of the final ion as a dissyllabic, see
Walker, Vers. 230; Abbott, § 479, and V, ii, 217.
6. Sith] Moberly : The oldest meaning of this difficult word may be seen from
the Fairy Queen (iii, io, 33), * he humbly thanked him a thousand sith,' literally,
«a thousand steps' (Matzner, i, p. 390 [? 410]). Hence, apparently, 'sithen the
fathers died,' in Wickliffe's Bible, means ' from the time when ;' the preposition
being omitted, as in many English phrases even now. Then come the absolutes
* sith, sithence, since,' as in line 12 below. Lastly, the adverb becomes a causative
conjunction; on the principle that ' propter hoc ' may be practically, though loosely,
expressed by ' post hoc' That is, ' Sin thou are righteous judge ' means • following
on the fact that thou art a righteous judge.' Clarendon : Marsh [Lectures on the
English Language, pp. 584-5S6) says, that in the latter half of the sixteenth century
* good authors established a distinction between the forms, and used sith only as a
logical word, an illative, while sithence and since, whether as prepositions or as
adverbs, remained mere narrative words confined to the signification of time a/ter.y
Sh., it is clear, did not observe this distinction, whether we take the quartos or the
folios to represent his exact text. [See IV, iv, 45.]
8, 9. put. ..from] Clarendon: Compare Rom. 6° Jul. Ill, v, 107.
10. dream of] Caldecott : Deem of, that is, the just estimate of himself I
cannot judge of, or comprehend. White : Sh. not improbably wrote as it stands
in the Ff. Clarendon : The of is superfluous, as in Rich. Ill : I, iii, 6.
11. of so young] Abbott, § 167 : • Of,' applied to time, in cases like the present,
means from. So still * of late.' Compare ' Of long time he had bewitched them.'
'—Acts, viii, 11. [See also Matzner, ii, 221. — Ed.]
ACT II, SC. ii.] HAMLET 13*

And sith so neighboured to his youth and humour, 12

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 1$
So much as from occasion you may glean,
Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus,
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 20
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 awhile
For the supply and profit of our hope,
Your visitation shall receive such thanks 25
As fits a king's remembrance.
Ros. Both your majesties
Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,
12. silh] Qq, Jen. Glo. + , Mob. fince 17. Whether. .. thus ^ Um. Ff. If.,.
Ff, Rowc et cet. thus, Rowe + .
aught] Han. ought Qq.
neighboured] nabored Q3Q3'
neighbored Q . neighboured Q$. 20.
18. are] is QaQ3.
open'd] Om. Q'76.
humour] havour Q . hauior Q7
Q . hau r Q4 (hauer Ashbee's facs.). 22. gentry] gentleness Q'76.
'havour Warb. haviourjen. El. Glo. + , 23. expend] extend QAQ5, Pope,
Mob. Theob. Han. Warb. employ Q'76.
13. vouchsafe] voutfafe Q3Q3QA> 27. sovereign] foveraigin F .
16. occasion] occafions Ff, Rowe+,
Cald. Knt, Sta. Del. Mason. of us] over us Q'76. o'er us

12. humour] Corson : There is more force in this word than in haviour. It
must be taken in its earlier sense of ' temper of mind/ * disposition.'
13. That] Delius : « That' is redundant.
13. rest] Caldecott: That you please to reside.
14. companies] See I, i, 173.
17. Whether] To be pronounced as a monosyllable. See Walker, Vers. 103;
and Abbott, § 466; Macb. I, iii, in ; Ham. Ill, ii, 193.
22. gentry] Warburton : Complaisance. Singer : ' Gentlemanlinesse, or gen-
trie, kindelinesse, naturall goodnesse. Generositas.' — Baret's Alvearie. See V,
li, 109.
24. supply and profit] Caldecott: In aid and furtherance. Hudson: The
feeding and realizing.
24. hope] Johnson : That the hope which your arrival has made may be com-
pleted bythe desired effect.
27. of] Abbott, § 174 : •Of* here means over; as in line 283 it means on, and
in III, ii, 59, about.
132 HAMLET
[act ii, sc. il.
Put your dread pleasures more into command 28
Than to entreaty.
GiriL But we both obey,
And here give up ourselves, in the full bent 30
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 35
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 !
[Exeunt Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and some Attendants.
Enter Polonius.
Pol. The ambassadors from Norway, my good lord.
joyfully return'd.
AreKing. 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,
29. to] into Ktly. 37. these] the Ff, Rowe, Knt. 40
But we] We Ff, Cald. Knt, Dyce . 39. Ay,]Cap. /Qq. Om.Ff,Rowe+,
i, Del. Cald. Knt. Sta. Amen, Ktly.
[Exeunt Rosencrantz...] Exeunt
31. service"] fervices Ff, Cald. Knt,
Del. Ros. and Gui., Attendants with them.
Cap. Exeunt Ros. and Guyld. Qq.
32.+ To
Pope . be commanded."] Om. Q4QS, Exeunt. Ff (after him. Exit. Fx).
36. Two lines, Ff. 40. The] TV QqF„ Pope +, Jen. Coll.
too much] too-much FaF3, Pope. Sing. White, Ktly, Dyce ii.
too much changed] Hyphens in- 43. Assure
[Aside to the King. AnonQq,* Jen.
serted byCap. Dyce, Ktly, Huds. you] I ajfure
^«]^Ff,Ro\ve+ Jen. Sing. Ktly. Glo. + , Mob.

29. But] Delius: This 'but* is redundant; there is no opposition here to what
Rosencrantz has said. It is needless to retain it for the sake of rhythm, because the
time of an extra syllable is made up by the pause between the speeches.
30. bent] Johnson {Much Ado, IV, i, 188): 'Bent* is used by Sh. for the
utmost degree of any passion or mental quality. The expression is derived from
archery ; the bow has its bent when it is drawn as far as it can be. [See Ham. Ill,
ii, 3&7-1
38 Heavens] Clarendon: Compare Ant. 6° Cleo. I, ii, 64.
42 still] See I, i, 122.

J
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 133

Both to my God and to my gracious king; 45

And I do think, or else this brain of mine
Hunts not the trail of policy so sure
As it hath used to do, that I have found
The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.
King. Oh, speak of that ; that do I long to hear. 50
Pol. Give first admittance to the ambassadors ;
My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in. —
[Exit Polonius.
He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found
The head and source of all your son's distemper. 55
Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main, —
His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage.
45. and] one Ff, Cald. Knt, Coll. newes FtTr news F3F4, Rowe, Cal<Ji
47. sure] be/ure F3F4> 52. to] of Johns.
48. it hath] I have Ff, Rowe + , Knt. 53. [Exit Polonius.] Rowe. Om.
it has
50. Q'76. '
that; that] Cap. that, that QqFf, QqFf.
54. my dear Gertrude] Cap. mydeere
Rowe + , Jen. Gertrard Q2Q3- my decree: Gertrud
do I] doe I Q2Q3Q5. I do FXF3F4, QQ. myfweet Queene, that Ff (Queen
R.owe, Pope, Han. Johns. Jen. Knt. / ^3^4)' Rowe + , Cald. Knt, /Dyce i, Sta,
doe Fa. White, Del. Huds.
52. fruit] fruite QaQy frute Q4- 57- o'erhasty] haflie Qq {hafly Q4).

45. and] Knight : The reading of the Ff means that Polonius holds that his
duty to his king is an obligation as imperative as his duty to his God, to whom his
soul is subject. Dyce {Strictures, &c., 187) truly says that the attempts to explain
the error, one, of the Ff, have proved unsuccessful. HUDSON : I hold my duty both
to my God and to my king, as I do my soul.
47. trail] Johnson : The course of an animal pursued by the scent.
51. first] Moberly: Thus Polonius gains the opportunity of studying a brief and
pointed exordium, the only fault in which is its being altogether needless and mis-
placed.
52. fruit] Johnson : The dessert after the meat. Caldecott (see Textual Notes) :
By news must be meant the talk or leading topic at, &c. Hunter (ii, 227) : The Ff
may suggest the true reading : nuts. We still say, ' It will be nuts to him,' where a
person has to hear something that will please him. The allusion to a banquet is
kept up. Tschischwitz adopts this emendation of Hunter's.
54. Gertrude] White: This smacks less of the honeymoon than the text of
the Ff.
56. main] Caldecott : The chief point. See Tro. cV Cres. II, iii, 273. • These
flaws, Are to the main as inconsiderable,' &c. — Par. Reg. iv, 454. Staunton : An
ellipsis, — in being understood :— ' no other but in the main.' Clarendon : ' Main '
is used without a substantive following in 2 Hen. VI: I, i, 208.
12
1 34 HAMLET [act II. sc. ii

King. Well, we shall sift him. — 58

Re-enter Polonius, with Voltimand and Cornelius.
Welcome, my good friends I
Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway ?
Volt. Most fair return of greetings and desires. 60
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
His nephew's levies, which to him appeared
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack,
But better look'd into, he truly found
It was against your highness ; whereat, grieved 65
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 70
To give the assay of arms against your majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee
58. Scene iv. Pope+, Jen. 58. my] Om. Ff, Rowe.
Re-enter....] Theob. Enter Po- 59. Voltimand] Voltemand Qq. Vol-
lonius, Voltimand, and Cornelius. Ff tu??iand Fx.
(Voltumand, Fx). Enter Embaffadors. 63, 75. Polack] Pollacke Qq. Poleak
Qq. After line 57,— QqFf and the rest, Fx. Polak F2F3F4.
except Dyce, Sta. Glo. + , Del. Huds. 73. three] three/core Qq,Theob. Johns.
Mob. Jen. Tsch.

58. Welcome] Walker, (ii, 254, Omissions in Consequence of Absorption) : He

is addressing the ambassadors for the first time after their return from Norway. I
think the occasion absolutely demands, ' Welcome home? &c. And [thus it is] in
line 85.
60. desires] Delius : The kind wishes for the health of the Norwegian king.
61. first] Caldecott: Audience, or opening of our business. Clarendon: At
the first expression of the ambassadors' request.
64. truly] Clarendon : This adverb belongs in sense to ' was,' not to * found.'
See Mid. N. D. I, i, 126.
65. It] Delius : This, as well as * look'd into/ refers to * levies, but the singular
is used through attraction to the nearer noun : * preparation.'
67. borne in hand] Deceived, deluded. See Macb. Ill, i, 80. Dyce (Gloss.) i
Amused with false pretences.
67. sends] For ellipsis of nominative, see Abbott, § 399; and III, i, 8.
71. assay of arms] Proof, trial. See 'assay of art,' Macb. IV, iiiy 143.
73. three thousand] Theobald preferred the Qq because the larger sum
seems a much more suitable gift from a king to his own nephew than so poor a pit-
tance as three thousand crowns. Heath adduces in favor of the Ff the greater
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 135

And his commission to employ those soldiers,

So levied as before, against the Polack ; 75
With an entreaty, herein further shown, [Gives a paper.
That it might please you to give quiet pass
Through your dominions for this enterprise,
On such regards of safety and allowance
As therein are set down.
King, It likes us well, 80
And at our more consider'd time we'll read,
Answer, and think upon this business.
Meantime we thank you for your well-took labour;
76. shown]JJione Qq. think upon an answer to Han.
[Gives a paper.] Mai. Om. Qq S3, thank] take Ff. (Sic in Cam. Ed.
Ft. Letter. Coll. (MS). thanke in my Fx, Booth's Rep., and Sta.
78. this] his Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt. Fhotolith.)
80. therein] herein Q'76. well-took] well-look' t FaF3F4,
81. consider'd] conftdered Qq. Kowe.
82. Answer, and think upon] And
commercial value of money in those earlier ages, and thinks it probable that in the
poor kingdom of Norway, in Hamlet's time, the king's whole revenue might scarce
amount to so large a sum. Hunter (ii, 228) : The reading of Qx is one proof,
amongst others, either that the editors of Fx did not disdain the assistance of QJf im-
perfect as it is, or that Qx has preserved readings which the editors of Fx had other
reasons for knowing to be genuine.
773/ fee] RlTSON: The king gave his nephew a. feud, or fee (in land), of that
yeany value.
ffgj safety and allowance] Clarendon : Terms securing the safety of the
country and regulating the passage of the troops through it.
5^# It likes] Abbott (§ 297) : An abundance of impersonal verbs is a mark of
an early stage in a language, denoting that a speaker has not yet arrived so far in
development as to trace his own actions and feelings to his own agency. There are
many more impersonal verbs in Early English than in Elizabethan, and many more
in Elizabethan than in modern English. See 'Well be (it) with you,' II, ii, 362,
III. iv, 173; V, ii, 63. Matzner (iii, 174) gives the same phrase: 'It likes us
well,' from King John, II, i, 533, with the following explanation : ' The dative in
Germanic verbs passes completely into the accusative where the consciousness of
the language abandons the substitute for the dative by the periphrasis with /<?.'
fi^ounds ! I was never so bethumped with words since first I called my brother's
lather, dad.'— Ed.]
BlJ consider'd] Caldecott : When we have more time for considering. For
Instances of an indefinite and apparently not passive use of passive participles, see
Abbott, § 374.
B2/ Answer] Anon. {Misc. Obs. 1752, p. 19) : The king is here made to say
that he would give an answer to an affair before he had considered it. Read : "And
think^upon and answer to, this business.' [See Hanmer, in Textual Notes.]
^3 well-took] The reading of F3F3F4 suggested to Theobald (Sh. Rest. j>. 191)
136 HAMLET
[ACT II, sc. &

Go to your rest; at night we'll feast together;

Most welcome home ! \Excunt Voltimand and Cornelius.
Pol. This business is well ended. — 85
My liege, and madam, to expostulate
85. [Exeunt Vol. and Cor.] Cap. 85. welt\ very well Ff, Rowe, Cald.
Exeunt Embaffadors. Qq. Exit Am- Knt
baf. Ff.

■well-luck' d as passing a sort of compliment on the address, skill, and good-fortune

of Cor. and Volt. But he did not repeat the conjecture in his edition.
84. feast] Johnson : The king's intemperance is never suffered to be forgotten.
86. Johnson : Polonius is a man bred in courts, exercised in business, stored with
observation, confident in his knowledge, proud of his eloquence, and declining into
dotage. His mode of oratory is truly represented as designed to ridicule the prac-
tice of those times, of prefaces that made no introduction, and of method that em-
barrassed rather than explained. This part of his character is accidental, the rest is
natural. Such a man is positive and confident, because lie knows that his mind was
once strong, and knows not that it is become weak. Such a man excels in general
principles, but fails in the particular application. He is knowing in retrospect, and
ignorant in foresight. While he depends upon his memory, and can draw from his
repositories of knowledge, he utters weighty sentences, and gives useful counsel ;
but as the mind in its enfeebled state cannot be kept long busy and intent, the old
man is subject to sudden dereliction of his faculties; he loses the order of his ideas,
and entangles himself in his own thoughts, till he recovers the leading principle, and
falls again into his former train. This idea of dotage encroaching upon wisdom will
solve all the phenomena of the character of Polonius. Caldecott : Nothing can
be more easily conceivable or intelligible than the ' idea of dotage encroaching upon
wisdom'; but does this apply to Polonius? To be extinguished, talent or faculty
must first have existence. Now we have nothing that directly goes to establish the
fact of his having at any time a clear and commanding intellect. Almost everything
has, on the contrary, an opposite bearing ; for the very quality relied upon by Dr
Johnson appears to us to be that which most strongly indicates imbecility of mind,
viz. having the memory stored with sage rules and maxims, fit for every turn and
occasion, without the faculty of making effective use of them upon any. In Polo-
nius's general conduct, unmixed folly or dotage is visible at every turn. Moeerly :
In estimating this character we should do well to remember that the use of language
like that of Polonius would not in Shakespeare's euphuistic days argue the complete
folly that it would at the present time. [See also I, iii, 59. Ed.]
86. expostulate] Caldecott : To show by discussion, to put the pros and cons,
to answer demands upon the question. * Pausanias had now opportunity to visit her
and to expostulate the favorable deceit, whereby she had caused his jealousie.'—
Stanley's Aurore, 1650, p. 44. Hunter (ii, 228) : « Expostulate ' is of rare occur-
rence. Itoccurs in A Brief Relation of the Shipwreck of Henry May, 1593, in-
corporated inCaptain Smith's book on Virginia : * How these isles came by the
name of the Bermudas, ... I will not expostulate, nor trouble your patience with
these uncertain antiquities/ p. 172. It means, to inquire, and when it is an inquiry
from a superior in a state of displeasure, we get at once to what is the present sig-
nification ofthe world. Thus, in the manuscript book of Anecdotes collected by Sir
act ii. sc. ii.] HAMLET 137

What majesty should be, what duty is, 87

Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, 90
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. 95
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 IOO
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.

6. since] Ora. Qq. 97. he is] hee>s Q7Q3Q+' &''* Qs«

brevity is] brevity's Pope + . mad, 'tis] mad, is Cap.
91. limbs] lines Theob. conj. (with- 98. 'tis 'tis] it is Ff, Rovve, Pope,
drawn). is, 'tis Han.
93^ iff] it? Q'76. 99. farewell it] farewell, wit Anon *
94. mad?] mad, QaQr mad. Ff, 101. the] the the ¥ 9.
Rowe, Pope, Ktly. mad: Cap. Knt, 104. thus.] thus Qq, Rowe, Pope,
Coll. White. Han. Jen.

Nicholas L' Estrange, there is one, No. 77, in which the master of the house, hearing
a noise and disturbance, ' comes and expostulates the cause.' Clarendon : So in
Two Gent. Ill, i, 251. Sh. also uses the word in its modern and legitimate sense.
90. wit] Johnson [Note on line 382) : 'Wit' was not in Shakespeare's time taken
either for imagination or acuteness, or both together, but for understanding, for the
faculty by which we apprehend and judge. Those who wrote of the human mind
distinguished its primary powers into wit and will. STAUNTON : Wisdom. Clar-
endon: Knowledge. So Mer. of Ven. II, i, 18.
91. flourishes] Walker {Vers. 66) : A dissyllable.
93. Mad call I it] Moberly : ' It is of no use to explain how? This shrewd
remark is one of many that Polonius draws from his repositories of knowledge, and
from that former wisdom on which dotage is rapidly encroaching.
96. art] Delius: The Queen uses « art ' in reference to Polonius's stilted style;
the latter uses it as opposed to truth and nature.
100. and now] For ellipses of there, see Abbctt, § 404.

12*
1 38 HAMLET [act ir, sc. ii.
Perpend. 105
I have a daughter,— have while she is mine, —
Who in her duty and obedience, mark,
Hath given me this ; now gather and surmise. {Reads,
1 To the celestial, and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia} —
105. Perpend.] Separate line, Qq, 108. [Reads.] Q'76. The Letter.
Han. Ending line 104 in Ff, Rowe+, Ff. Om. Qq, Cap. He opens a Letter,
Jen. Sta. confcder. Q'76. and reads. Rowe+.
105,106. Perpend. ...mine] One line, 109-112. ' To.. .these,' &c] In Italics,
Ktly. Qq.
106. while] whirjl FXF3F4. whilfl 109. 'To.. .Ophelia.'] Italics, Ff.
F2, Rowe+, Knt, Dyce, White, Del. beautified] beatified Theob.
Huds. Warb. Cap.

104, 105. Thus . . . Perpend] Maginn (p. 240) : The metre would be right, and
the technical arrangement of the style more in character, if we read : ' Thus it re-
mains : remainder thus perpend.'
105. Perpend] Clarendon: Like 'gather and surmise,' this is used in accord-
ance with Polonius's pedantic style. See As You Like It, III, ii, 69.
109. Alfred Roffe (N. 6° Qu. 5 Oct. 1861) gives a list of no less than nine
metrical and musical adaptations of this letter of Hamlet's. One of them, in date
about 1800, ' Composed for and dedicated to Miss Abrams by Michael Kelly,' is as
follows : ' Doubt (O most beautified), that the stars are fire, Doubt (my soul's idol), that
the sun doth move, Doubt that eternal Truth may prove a liar, But, sweet Ophelia,
never doubt I love. My mind no skill in these fond numbers owns, Yet these de-
clare Ilove thee best, most best, And though no Muses reckon up my groans, These
lines may shelter in thy snowy breast.'
109. beautified] Theobald objected to this word, because of its two meanings,
viz. artificial and natural beauty ; the first would be manifestly inappropriate here,
and the second Sh. has used in Two Gent. IV, i, 55, and would not, therefore, here
call it a ' vile phrase.' He therefore substituted beatified, which is less of an anti-
climax than ' beautified,' after ' Celestial and soul's idol,' and which, moreover,
would be the more likely to excite the Roman Catholic Polonius to anger, since it is
almost peculiarly applied to the Virgin Mary. Capell (i, 130) prefers beatified, be-
cause of ' its concordance with " celestial" and " idol," and because the passage de-
mands it,which is certainly verse.' Accordingly, he reads lines 109 to 112, inclu-
sive, as verse, dividing at ' idol' (which, metri gratis, he reads ' fair idol '), ' Ophelia,'
'beautified' (which he reads ' that beatify'd'), 'these.' Johnson: 'Beautified'
seems to be a vile phrase for the ambiguity of its meaning. Steevens : Nash dedi-
cates his Christ's Tears over Jerusalem, 1594, ' To the most beautified lady, the lady
Elizabeth Carey.' Nares: A common word in those times, particularly in the
addresses of letters. The examples wherein a person is said to be • beautified ' with
various endowments seem hardly apposite. Caldecott: That is, accomplished,
• metricall speach ... by Art bewtified and adorned, and brought far from the
primitiue rudenesse.' — Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, 1589 [p. 39, ed. Arber].
DYCE (Gloss.) : By 'beautified' (which, however 'vile a phrase,' is common enough
in oui early writers) I believe Hamlet meant beautiful, and not accotnplished,
act n, sc. ii.] HAMLET 139

That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; beautified1 is a vile 1 10

phrase ; but you shall hear. Thus :
[Reads.'] * In her excellent white bosom, these1 &c.
Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her ?
Pol. Good madam, stay awhile ; I will be faithful.
[Reads."] * Doubt
Doubtthouthatthethestars
sun are firemove
doth ; ; 11$
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, 0 most 120
best, believe it. Adieu.
* Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this
machine is to him, Hamlet/

HO. vile] vilde FxFaF3. 112. [Reads.] Dyce. Om. QqFf.

111. phrase ; but] phrafe, but Qq. excellent white] excellent-white
but. ..Thus] Separate line, Ktly. Walker, Dyce ii, Del.
in, 112. hear. Thus; ' In] Mai. &c] Om. Ff, Rowe + , Knt.
from Jen. substantially, heare : thus in 1 15. [Reads.] Reading, Rowe. Let
Qq. heare thefe in Ff. hear — These ter. Qq. Om. Ff.
/oRo\ve+. hear; — TheseinCap. hear. 115,123. In Italics, Ft.
These. InKnt. hear this ; TwTsch. conj. 115,118. In Italics, Qq.

in. Thus] Corson : It would seem that the first ' these' in theFf is right, the
second being a mere repetition for emphasis ; so that all that is wanting in the F is
a colon after ' heare.' ' These in her excellent white bosom, these :' The expres-
sion is evidently directive or optative, and given as an introduction to * Doubt thou,
the Starres are, etc. There is a studied oddness in the letter, as is shown by the
subscription. Malone : I have never met with ' these ' both at the beginning and
the end of the superscription of letters.
112. In] Abbott, § 159 : * In,' like the kindred preposition on (Chaucer uses ' in
a hill ' for * on a hill '), was used with verbs of motion as well as rest. We still say
< he fell in love,' &c. See V, ii, 70. See Storffrich, Appendix, Vol. II.
112. bosom] Steevens {Two Gent. III. i, 250) : Women anciently had a pocket
in the fore part of their stays, in which they not only carried love-letters and love-
tokens, but even their money and materials for needle-work.
118. doubt] Clarke: In the first three lines 'doubt' is used in the sense of
have a misgiving, have a half-belief, and in the fourth line, in the sense of disbelieve,
120. reckon] Delius: To number metrically, or scan.
123. to him] Caldecott : That is, belongs to, obeys his impulse; so long as he
Is a 'sensible, warm motion,' Meas. for Meas. Ill, i, 120. Clarendon : Hamlet's
letter is written in the affected language of euphuism. Compare Cym. V, v, 2^3'
124. Hamlet] Cambridge Editors : In Q4 and Q this word is by mistake
printed not at the end of the letter, but opposite to the first line of Polonius's speech.
[A proof that Q4 was printed from Qa or Q . In these, the line : ' Thine euermore
140 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii

This in obedience hath my daughter shown me ;

And more above, hath his solicitings, 125
As they fell out by time, by means, and place,
All given to mine ear.
King. But how hath she
Received 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, 1 30
When I had seen this hot love on the wing, —
As I perceived 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, 135
124. Knt,
Rowe, shown]Dyce
JJiowne
i, Sta.Qq.
Del. JhewydYi, think?
130. think,"] Cap. Jen.
Ff, Rowe+, thinke Qq, Johns.
125. above] aboue Y v about Qq. 131. this] hisY3YA, Rowe, Pope, Han.
above, hath] concerning Q'76. wing, — ] wing, QaQ Ff. wing?
solicitings] foliciting Ff. Q^Qs*
127, 128. But. .. love ?] Cap. One 132. I must.. .that] In parenthesis,Qq.
line, QqFf. 134. your] you Fa.

mod deere Lady, whilft this machine is to him,' filled up the breadth of the page,
and ' Hamlet ' was forced into the line below : [Hamlet. In Q4 the last line of the
letter is merely 'machine is to him/ and although there was abundance of room for
the insertion of ' Hamlet,' yet the printer followed copy and retained it in the line
below. Q was printed from Q , and kept up the blunder. Ed.]
125. more above] Johnson: Moreover, besides.
125. solicitings] Caldecott perceives a difficulty in the grammar or construe*
tion in the reading both of Ff and Qq. It is strange that he failed to see that ' hath '
in this line is in the same construction as 'hath' in the preceding line.
126. by] Abbott, § 145: From meaning near, 'by* here seems to mean with.
See II, ii, 186.
133. perceived] Moeerly : There is much humor in the old man's inveterate
foible for omniscience. He absurdly imagines that he had discerned for himself
all the steps of Hamlet's love and madness ; while of the former he had been
unaware till warned by some friends ; and the latter did not exist at all.
135. play'd] Keightley: Perhaps ptyd, as pretending to be occupied.
135-137. Warburton: If either I had conveyed intelligence between them and
been the confident of their amours ; or had connived at it, only observed them in
secret, without acquainting my daughter with my discovery; or, lastly, been negligent
in observing the intrigue, and overlooked it; what would you have thought of me?
Malone: The first line may mean, if I had locked up this secret in my own breast,
as closely as it were confined in a desk or table-book. Moberly paraphrases this
same line 5 If I had just minuted the matter down in my own mind.
135. table-book] Nares : The same as table ; memorandum-book.
ACT II, sc. ii.] HAMLET 14*

Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb, 1 36

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:
1 Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star; 140
This must not be ;' and then I prescripts 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 talc to make, 145
Fell into a sadness, then into a fast,
136. a winking] a working Qq, above thy fphere Q'76.
Theob. + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. -work- 141. prescripts] Qq, Cap. Jen. Var.
ing Pope. El. Cam. Cla. precepts Ff et cet.
139. my young mistress] In parenthe- 142. his] her Q2Q3.
sis, Fj. 144, 145. she took. ..And he] see too..,
thus] this Q^QS. For, he Warb.
did bespeak] charg'dQ'jS. 1 45. repulsed ', a] repulfcd. A Ff.
140. prince, out] prince : — out Steev. repelPd, a Q2Q3. repeFd. a Q4. reperd,
'85. a Q . repelled, a Jen. El. repulsed, a
cut of thy star] out of thy Dyce. repulsed, a White.
Jlarre Q4Q5FX. out of thy fphere I46. Fell into] Fell to Pope + .
FaF F , Rowe + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var.

136. winking] Clarendon: Connivance, as in Hen. V: V, ii, 332. In Cym.

II, iv, 89, ' two winking Cupids ' mean two blind Cupids, two Cupids with their eyes
shut. So Acts, xvii, 30.
138. round] Steevens: Roundly, without reserve, as in III, i, 183; III, iv, 5.
Caldecott: As here used, it cannot be more correctly interpreted than by the re-
verse of its literal meaning, i. e. without circuity. In this sense, and senses nearly
allied to it, this word is used with great latitude. Dyce (Gloss.) gives eight different
uses of round. Clarendon: The adjective is here used for the adverb, as in
Bacon's Essay, vi : 'A shew of fearfulnesse, which in any businesse doth spoile the
feathers, of round flying up to the mark.' See Abbott, § 60.
139. bespeak] For the use of the prefix be-, see Abbott, § 438.
140. star] Boswell: 'Out of thy star' is 'placed above thee by fortune.' We
have ' fortune's star,' I, iv, 32. Collier : ' Star' is probably to be taken as destiny.
Sincer : In Twelfth Night, II, v, 156, we have 'in my stars I am above thee.'
White : Sphere is at once a plausible reading and a gloss. Staunton : Lord
Hamlet is a prince beyond the influence of the star which governs your fortunes.
Bailey (ii, 6): Substitute 0 for t, and you have 'out of thy soar.' It is not to be
concealed that Sh. does not elsewhere employ soar as a noun.
141. prescripts] Malone: He had ordered, charged, Ophelia to lock herself up
from Hamlet; see I, iii, 135.
144. fruits] Johnson: She took the fruits of advice, when she obeyed advice;
the advice was then made fruitful.
146-150. Warburton : The ridicule of this character is here admirably sustained*
 7

142 HAMLET
[act 11, SC. ii.
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 mourn for. 150

King. Do you think 'tis this ?

Queen. It may be, very likely.
Pol. Hath there been such a time, I 'Id fain know that,
That I have positively said ' 'tis so,'
147. watch] ivaih QSQ3- watching Rowe+, Cap. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing.
Pope + , Cap. watch ; and Ktly. Dyce i, White, Del. Huds. we all wail
Coll.(MS), Ktly.
thence into] then into Q'76. and
thence into Maginn. 151. 'tis this] this Qq, Pope + , Jen.
148. a] Om. Qq. Cam. Cla.
149. wherein] whereon Ff, Cald. Knt. lively] like Qq, Jen. Cam. Cla.
150. all we mourn] all we wail Ff, 152. Pld] Pde Ff. / would Qq.

He would not only be thought to have discovered this intrigue by his own sagacity,
but to have remarked all the stages of Hamlet's disorder, from his sadness to his
raving, as regularly as his .physician could have done; when all the while the mad-
ness was only feigned. The humor of this is exquisite from a man who tells us, with
a confidence peculiar to small politicians, that he could find : « Where truth was hid,
though it were hid indeed Within the centre.'
147. watch] Caldecott: A sleepless state.
147. 148. thence into . . . lightness] Although Walker ( Vers. 20) suggests
that here « weakness ' and * lightness ' be pronounced as trisyllables, yet he adds : I
rather suspect that we should write, ' thence to a weakness, thence Into a lightness.*
Abbott, § 483, while conceding the possibility that ' weakness ' is a trisyllable, yet
thinks that ' the repeated " thence " may require a pause after it, which might excuse
the absence of an unaccented syllable.'
148. lightness] Clarendon : Lightheadedness. Compare Oth. IV, i, 280.
149. madness] Clarke: Sh. intended Hamlet should be deeply moved by
Ophelia's unexplained repulse of him, coming immediately upon the shock he re-
ceives from the Ghost's revelation, and he seizes upon the one as affording apparent
cause for his disturbance of mind arising out of the other, and as giving plausible
and ostensible ground for the madness which he assumes, and by which he wishes
to be believed to have been seized. Polonius's deduction and his report to the King
and Queen of that, and Hamlet's condition, are precisely what the prince desired
should successively accrue from his own behaviour. This all appears to us to be in
favor of our opinion with regard to Hamlet's feigned insanity.
150. all we] Abbott, § 240: A feeling of the unemphatic nature of the nomi-
natives we and they prevents us from saying * all we.' [For another instance of a
transposed pronoun, see V, ii, 14. Ed.]
150. for] Delius : The relative which must be supplied from the foregoing
* wherein.'
151. this] Corson: The reading of F,, ' 'tis this,' suits better what precedes, and
the reply of the Queen that follows.
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 43

When it proved otherwise ?

King, Not that I know.

Pol. [Pointing to hisbehead and shoulder'] Take this from

this, if this otherwise. 155
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 further?
Pol. You know, sometimes he walks four hours together
Here in the lobby.
Queen. So he does, indeed. 160

155. [Pointing...] Theob. Pope ii. ending fometimes...hecrc...lobby. Ff,

Om. QqFf, Cap. Bel. Rowe.
this, if... otherwise ;] this; if... 159. four] foure QqFxFa. for Han.
otherwife, Fx. this, if..otherwifc, F3F Cap. Jen. Coll. ii (MS).
F4, Rowe, Pope. 160. docs] dooes Q3Q3> hays F,. has
158. further] farther Coll. White. FaF3F4» Rowe, Cald. Knt.
159, 160. You.. lobby.] Three lines,

156, 157. will. ..were] For instances of the irregular sequence of tenses, see
Abbott, § 371, and ' did see.. .Would have made,' II, ii, 490-495 ; also, * I know.. .my
joys were,' IV, iii, 66-67.
158. centre] Tschischwitz : Despite the reading of Qx, I nevertheless believe
that by ' centre ' is meant the middle of the palm of the hand, a point important in
palmistry. Clarendon: Sh., like Bacon, held to the Ptolemaic system of astron-
omy. See Tro. & Cres. I, iii, 85. Compare Tit. And. IV, iii, 12.
159. four] M alone: I formerly was inclined to adopt Tyrwhitt's proposed
emendation of for [anticipated by Hanmer], but have now no doubt that the text is
right. The expressions, • four hours together,' 'two hours together,' &c, appear to
have been common. So in Lear, I, ii, 170; Wint. T. V, ii, 148. Again in Web-
ster's Duchess of Malfi [ed. Dyce i, 260] : ' She will muse four hours together.'
Collier (ed. 2) : It is not likely that Polonius would specify precisely how long
Hamlet walked in the lobby, and the (MS) reads for. White : The obvious read-
ingfor has occurred to many critical readers; and to modern taste this would seem
an improvement. But similar phrases are of common occurrence in old books.
Staunton : ' Four ' here, as in Cor. I, vi, 84, and elsewhere, appears a mere collo-
quialism, tosignify some, or a limited number, as forty is frequently used to express
a great number. Clarendon : So in Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie (p. 307,
ed. Arber) : ' laughing and gibing with their familiars foure houres by the clocke/
Elze {Shakespeare- Jahrbuch, Bd. xi.) has collected many instances from Elizabethan
writers of the use of four and forty, and forty thousand to express an indefinite
number, and probably, with his unwearied industry, he could find forty more. Pie
also shows that this usage is not confined to England, but is common in German.
Hamlet says he loved Ophelia more than ' forty thousand brothers,' V, i, 257.
160. does] Knight: The Ft means has done.
144
HAMLET
[act ii, sc. ii.

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 fall'n thereon,
Let me be no assistant for a state, 1 65
But keep a farm and carters.
King. We will try it.
Queen. But look where sadly the poor wretch comes
reading.
Pol. Away, I do beseech you, both away ;
I'll board him presently.—
[Exeunt Ki?ig, Queen> and Attendants.
Enter HAMLET, reading.

Oh, give me leave; 170

How does my good Lord Hamlet ?

162. Be"] Let Quincy (MS), Anon. bothy

{Misc. Obs.). 169.Anon.*
board] bord Q2QiQa* hoard F,
an arras] an Arrs Fa. the
Arras Q'76. F2F3QS, Exeunt...]
Cald. Knt. Ff, Rowe + , Jen,
162, 163. arras then; Mark] arras White, Glo. + , Mob. After away ; line
then, Marke QqFf {Mark F4). arras ; 168, Qq. After leave; Cap. et cet. (Exit...
then Mark Sta. arras then To mark
Ktly. Enter...] Dyce, Coll. ii, Sta.
QqFf).
Glo. + , Mob. Del. Huds. After try it,
1 66. Bnf\ And Ff, Rowe, Pope, Cald.
Knt. line 166, QqFf, et cet.
167. Scene v. Pope + , Jen. reading] reading on a Booke. Ff.
169, 170. Oh,.. .Hamlet] One line, Ff,
But. ..wretch"] One line, Ff.
168. you, both] you both Qq. you Rowe + , Jen. Cam.

161. loose] Tschischwitz : Polonius had forbidden his daughter to have any
intercourse with Hamlet.
162. arras] Nares : The tapestry hangings of rooms, so called from the town of
Arras, where the principal manufactory of such stuffs was. There was often a very
large space between the arras and the walls.
167. wretch] Dyce [Gloss.) : A term of endearment.
169. board] Reed: Accost, ad.dress him, as in Twelfth Night, I, iii, 60.
169. presently] Dyce (Gloss.) : Immediately. See Rom. &■» Jul. IV, i, 95.
169. Oh, give me leave] Cambridge Editors: Capell supposed these words to
be addressed, not to Hamlet, but to the King and Queen, whose Exeunt he placed
after these words. His arrangement has been followed by all subsequent editors,
till we ventured, in the Globe edition [anticipated by Grant White. Ed.] to recur to
the old order. These words are more naturally addressed to Hamlet than to the
King and Queen, with whom Polonius had been previously conversing. Dyce
transferred the entrance of Hamlet to follow the Examt of the King and Queen.
act ir, sc. ii.] HAMLET 145

Ham. Well, God-a-mcrcy. 171

Pol. Do you know me, my lord ?
Ham. Excellent well ; you are a fishmonger.
Pol. Not I, my lord.
Ham. Then I would you were so honest a man. 175
Pol. Honest, my lord ?
Ham. Ay, sir ; to be honest, as this world goes, is to
be one man picked out of ten thousand.
17X. Well, God-a-mercy] Excellent 1 76. lord?] lord. Qq. lord I Dyce,
well Q'76. Well, Godo" mercy Theob. Sta. Glo. + , Mob.
Warb. Johns. 177, 178. Ay, sir... thousand.] Two
173. Excellent] Excellent, excellent lines, the first ending goes, Qq, Jen.
Ff, Rowe, Cald. Dyce i, Sta. White. 178. man] Om. F3F4, Rowe, Pope,
you are] y^are Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han.
White, you're Dyce i, Sta. Huds. ten] tenne Q2Q3Q4. two Ff,
you... fishmonger] One line, Cap. Rowe, Cald. Knt.

line 169. As in Qx, he is made to enter earlier, it is possible that he was in sight of
the audience, though so intent on his book as not to observe the presence of others.
173. fishmonger] Whiter (p. 152, foot-note) cites a passage from Jonson's
Masque at Christmas (vol. vii, p. 277, ed. Gifford), where Venus, who is represented
as a deaf tire-woman, says that she was ' a fishmonger's daughter.' ' Probably, it
was supposed,' adds Whiter, • that the daughters of these tradesmen, who dealt in so
nourishing a species of food, v/ere blessed with extraordinary powers of conception.'
Hence he infers some such allusion by Hamlet. Gifford, in his note on this pas*
sage in Jonson, says: 'This alludes to the prolific nature of fish. The jest, which,
such as it is, is not unfrequent in our old dramatists, needs no further illustration.'
Malone: Perhaps a joke was here intended. * Fishmonger' was a cant term for a
tuencher. In Barnabe Rich's Irish Hubbub : * Senex fornicator, an old fishmonger.'
Coleridge : That is, you are sent to fish out this secret. This is Hamlet's own
meaning. G. M. Zornlin (Sh. Soc. Papers, vol. iii, p. 157) supposes this word to
have been used in a figurative sense, perhaps somewhat as we should now apply the
word ferret, or as a dealer in baits, and that it contains an intimation that Hamlet
was aware of Polonius's being engaged in some underhand policy, • and that he
knew Ophelia v/as to play her part in it is evident from the caution which follows
respecting her, which the old man loses sight of in his joy at hearing his daughter
alluded to.' Moberly : Probably the meaning may be : * You deal in wares that
will not bear the sun;' that is, that Polonius has a daughter, and that all women are
as faithless and unchaste as his mother, so that the least trial overthrows them.
TlECK {Kritische Schriften, iii, 262) : When this word is spoken the sense may be
made so obvious that one can hardly miss it : * I would you were so honest a man-
but — you are a fleshmonger.' You are a pander, not so honest a man as a fish*
monger. Hamlet casts in the teeth of Polonius that he made opportunities for him
and his daughter, and the following speech : ' For if the sun,' &c. is only a continu-
ation of the expression of Hamlet's contempt for both father and daughter. Friesen
{Briefe uber Hamlet, 1864, p. 287) supposes that this rather refers to Polonius's
share in providing opportunities for Claudius and the Queen, during the old king's
13 K
 146 HAMLET [act ii, SC. ii.

Pol. That's very true, my lord.

Ham. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, 180
being a good kissing carrion, — Have you a daughter ?
iSo. Ham.] Ham. [reads] Sta.White. et cet.
Pretending to read. Huds. 181. carrion, — ] carrion. Qq.
181. good
Rowe, Pope, kissing carrion~\Knt, QqFf,
Theob. Cald. Coll. Ff, RoweHave. ..daughter?] Separate line,
+ , Jen.
El. Heussi. God, kissing carrion^Nzxb.

lifetime. Doering [Shakespeare'' s Hamlet, &c. 1 865, p. 51) refers it to Polonius's

aid in promoting the marriage of Claudius and the Queen. See, also, Gerth's
extraordinary proverb in his note on this passage in Appendix, Vol. II.
180. sun] Tschischwitz (Sh. Forsch. i, 63) finds a parallel to this thought ia
Giordano Bruno (vol. ii, 246), where the philosophy is taught that, 'sol et homo
generant hominem.' Ingleby (Sh. Hermeneutics, p. 159) gives, as a curious illustra-
tion of Hamlet's simile, a passage from St Augustine, De fide et symbolo, § 10:
Debent igitur intueri qui hoc putant, solis huius radios, quern certe non tanquam
creaturam Dei laudant sed tanquam Deum adorant, per cloacarum foetores et quae*
cumque horribilia usquequaque diffundi et in his operari secundum naturam suam,
nee tamen inde aliqua contaminatione sordescere, cum visibilis lux visibilibus sordi-
bus sit natura coniunctior.
181. good kissing carrion] Warburton : This strange passage, when set right,
will be seen to contain as great and sublime a reflection as any the poet puts into his
hero's mouth throughout the whole play. We will first give the true reading, which
is this : For if the Sun breed maggots in a dead dog, Being a God, kissing carrion—.
As to the sense, we may observe that the illative particle [for] shows the speaker to
be reasoning from something he had said before ; what that was we learn in these
words, to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one picked out often thousand. Having
said this, the chain of ideas led him to reflect upon the argument which libertines
bring against Providence from the circumstance of abounding evil. In the next
speech, therefore, he endeavors to answer that objection, and vindicate Providence,
even on a supposition of the fact, that almost all men were wicked. His argument
in the two lines in question is to this purpose : But why need we wonder at this
abounding of evil? For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, which, though a
God, yet shedding its heat and influe?tce upon carrion — . Here he stops short, lest
talking too consequentially the hearer should suspect his madness to be feigned, and
so turns him off from the subject by enquiring of his daughter. But the inference
which he intended to make was a very noble one, and to this purpose. If this (says
he) be the case that the effect fellows the thing operated upon \carrion~\, and not
the thing operating [a God"], why need we wonder that the supreme cause of all
things diffusing its blessings on mankind, who is, as it were, a dead carrion, dead in
original sin, man, instead of a proper return of duty, should breed only corruption
and vices ? This is the argument at length, and is as noble a one in behalf of
Providence as could Come from the schools of divinity. But this wonderful man
had an art not only of acquainting the audience with what his actors say, but with
what they think. The sentiment, too, is altogether in character, for Hamlet is per-
petually moralizing, and his circumstances make this reflection very natural. The
same thought, something diversified, as on a different occasion, Sh. uses again in
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 47

[181. 'good kissing carrion.']

Mms. for Mens. II, ii, 163-168, which will serve to confirm these observations.
And the same kind of expression is in Cymb. Ill, iv, 164, ' Common-kissing Titan.'
Johnson : This is a noble emendation, which almost sets the critic on a level with
the author. Malone: Hamlet has just remarked that honesty is very rare in the
world. To this Polonius assents. The prince then adds, that since there is so little
virtue in the world, since corruption abounds everywhere, and maggots are bred by
the sun, even in a dead dog, Polonius ought to take care to prevent his daughter
from walking in the sun, lest she should prove a breeder of sinners ; for, though con
ception in general be a blessing, yet as Ophelia (whom Hamlet supposes to be as
frail as the rest of the world) might chance to conceive, it might be a calamity. The
maggots breeding in a dead dog seem to have been mentioned merely to introduce
the word conception, on which word, as Steevens has observed, Sh. has played in
King Lear ; and probably a similar quibble was intended here. The word, how-
ever, may have been used in its ordinary sense, for pregnancy, without any double
meaning. The slight connection between this and the preceding passage and Ham-
let's abrupt question, ' Have you a daughter ?' were manifestly intended more strongly
to impress Polonius with the belief of the prince's madness. Perhaps this passage
ought rather to be regulated thus : ' being a god-kissing carrion? i. e. a carrion that
kisses the sun. The participle being naturally refers to the last antecedent, dog.
Had Sh. intended that it should be referred to sun, he would probably have written,
* he being a god,' &c. We have many similar compound epithets in these plays.
Thus, in Lear, II, i, 9, Curan speaks of ' ear-kissing arguments.' Again, more ap-
positely, in the play before us, III, iv, 59, ■ heaven-kissing.' Again, in R. of L.
1370, 'cloud-kissing.' However, the instance quoted from Cymb. by Warburton
seems in favor of the regulation that has been hitherto made; for here we find the
poet considered the sun as kissing the carrion, not the carrion as kissing the sun.
So, also, in I Hen. IV: II, iv, 113, 'Didst thou never see Titan kiss a dish of
butter?' The following lines, also, in the historical play of King Edward III, 1596,
which Sh. had certainly seen, are, it must be acknowledged, adverse to the regula-
tion IHave suggested : ' The freshest summer's day doth soonest taint The loathed
carrion, that it seems to kiss.' Whiter, whose opinions deserve respect, fails to
make a clear explanation of the text of QqFf, which he upholds. He says (p. 149)
that Sh. considers the ' blessed breeding sun ' as the Good principle in the fecundity
of the earth, and that in the present passage the train of thought in Hamlet's mind
is somev/hat thus : There is so little honesty left in the world, the world has become
so degenerate, that even what is bad becomes worse by contact with what is good.
The Sun itself, though a Good, and in general the source of what is excellent, be
comes the origin of corruption ; we find this Good, by contact with carrion, breeding
maggots. Why, therefore, may not Ophelia herself become tainted, and become a
hreeder of sinners ? Let her not walk in the sun, — keep her removed from all possi-
bility of contamination, — even from communication with those natures which in gen-
eral appear possessed of good and virtuous principles. Dread the consequences of ex-
posing her to the temptation of the world. Coleridge : These purposely obscure lines,
I rather think, refer to some thought in Hamlet's mind, contrasting the lovely daughter
with such a tedious old fool, her father, as he, Hamlet, represents Polonius to himself:
' Why, fool as he is, he is some degrees in rank above a dead dog's carcass j and if
* 48 HAMLET [act ii, SC. ii.

[181. 'good kissing carrion.']

the sun, being a god that kisses carrion, can raise life out of a dead dog, why may
not good fortune, that favors fools, have raised a lovely girl out of this dead-alive
old fool ?' The subsequent passage, line 384, is confirmatory of my view of these
lines. CALDECOTT : As it would be too forced a sense to say that Sh. calls the sun
* a good kissing carrion,' we have nothing better to offer than that this passage may
mean that the dead dog is good for the sun, the breeder of maggots, to kiss for the
purpose of causing putrefaction, and so conceiving or generating anything carrion-
like, anything apt quickly to contract taint in the sunshine ; good at catching or
drawing the rays or kisses of 'common kissing Titan.' Mitford (Gent. Maga,
1845): Read 'carrion-kissing god,' formed like heaven- kissing, cloud-kissing, &c.
Knight : The carrion is good at kissing, ready to return the kiss of the sun, — ' com-
mon kissing Titan,' — and in the bitterness of his satire Hamlet associates the idea
with the daughter of Polonius. Collier : ' Good ' could hardly have been a mis-
print for Cod, as in the latter case it would most likely have been written with a cap-
ital letter. Delius (ed. i) : Hamlet calls the dog, in which the sun breeds maggots,
a good, kissing carrion, alluding to the confiding, fawning manner of the dog towards
his master. If the sun breed maggots in the dead dog, which, when alive, was so
trusting, what, says Hamlet in his bitterness and to annoy Polonius, — what could net
the sun breed in the delicate Ophelia? who, therefore, ought not to expose herself to
it. [This is omitted in the ed. of 1871. Ed.] Dyce: I give Warburton's emen-
dation, which, if overpraised by Johnson, at least has the merit of conveying some-
thing like a meaning. That not even a tolerable sense can be tortured out of the
original reading we have proof positive in the various explanations of it by its ad-
vocates. Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) evidently gave up the passage as inexplicable,
and put his pen through the lines 1S0-185. Maginn (p. 246) : Hamlet, in his affec-
tation' of craziness, proceeds to hint that the consequences of exposing a young lady
to the temptations of persons in high rank, or of warm blood, may be dangerous, and
couples the outr'e assertion that the sun can breed maggots with a reference to Polo-
nius's daughter. Let her not put herself in the peculiar danger to which I allude,
and to which her father's performing the part of a fishmonger \i. e. a purveyor of
loose fish] may lead. The sun is a good-kissing carrion, — (carogne — it is a word
which occurs elsewhere in Sh. Quickly, in the Merry Wives, is called a carrion,
&c), — a baggage fond of kissing. In Hen. IV, Prince Hal compares the sun to a
fair hot wench in flame-colored taffeta ; and if the sun can breed maggots in a dead
dog, who knows what may happen elsewhere ? White : The correction, which is
almost of the obvious sort, was made by Warburton, who improved the occasion in
a small sermon. This speech of Hamlet's has an intimate connection in thought
and in expression with his next ; the thought being one which his madness, real or
affected, may excuse, but upon which it is not pleasant to dwell, much less to expa-
tiate. Staunton : We adopt the now almost universally accepted correction of War-
burton. At the same time we dissent, toto ccelo, from the reasoning by which he and
other commentators have sought to connect the sentence in which it occurs with
what Hamlet had previously said. The circumstance of the prince coming in read-
ing, that he evinces the utmost intolerance of the old courtier's interruptions, and
rejoices in his departure, serve, in our opinion, to show that Sh. intended the actor
should manifest his wish to be alone, after the lines 177, 178, in the most unmis-
takable manner, by walking away and appearing to resume his study j that then,
ACT II, SC. ii.] HAMLET 1 49

[1S1. * good kissing carrion.']

finding Polonius still watching him, he should turn sharply round with the abrupt
question, ' Have you a daughter?' It is this view of the stage business which
prompted us to print the passage above [line 1S0. For . . . carrioti\ as something
read, or affected to be read, by Hamlet, — an innovation — if it be one (for we are
ignorant whether it has been suggested previously) — that will the more readily be
pardoned, since the passage, as usually exhibited, has hitherto defied solution.
Heussi : * Kissing ' is used in a passive Sense; a contrast is drawn between carrion
and bad men. The former is praised, because the dead dog is a carrion that fulfils
all requirement of carrion, whereas men are inferior to that which they should be,
Tschischwitz: The meaning is clear. If the sun, a good being, condescends so far as
to kiss, &c. [He therefore transposes the words in the text, ' being a good/ and reads a
good being. Ed.] Hudson : God is probably right. A great deal of ink has been spent
in trying to explain the passage; but the true explanation is, that it is not meant to
be understood. Hamlet is merely bantering and tantalizing the old man. Moberly :
Warburton's explanation is excellent. Clarendon: There can be little doubt of
the truth of Warburton's emendation. Corson : The defect in this passage is due
to one thing, and one thing only, and that is, to the understanding of 'kissing' as
the present active participle, and not as the verbal noun. In the following passages
the present active participle is used : ■ Life's but a walking shadow,' Macb. V, v, 24;
'Look, here comes a walking fire,' Lear, III, iv, no; 'the dancing banners of the
French,' King John, II, i, 308; 'my dancing soul doth celebrate This feast,' Rich.
II: I, iii, 91 ; 'laboring art can never ransom nature,' AWs Well, II, i, 116; 'more
busy than the laboring spider,' 2 Hen. VI; III, i, 339; 'And let the laboring bark
climb hills of seas,' Oth. II, i, 184; 'thy parting soul,' 1 Hen. VI : II, v, 115; 'parting
guest,' Tro. cV Cres. Ill, iii, 166; 'a falling fabric,' Cor. Ill, i, 247; 'this breathing
world,' Rich. Ill; I, i, 21; 'O blessed breeding sun,' Tim. of Ath. IV, iii, I. But
in the following passages the same words are verbal nouns used adjectively: 'a
palmer's walking-staff,' Rich. II: III, iii, 151; 'you and I are past our dancing
days,' Rom. 6° Jul. I, v, 29 ; ' you ought not walk Upon a laboring day,' Jul. Cces.
I, i, 4; 'Give him that parting kiss,' Cymb. I, iii, 34; 'what store of parting tears
were shed?' Rich. II: I, iv, 5; 'the falling sickness,' Jul. Cces. I, ii, 252; 'scarce
a breathing while,' Rich. Ill: I, iii, 60; 'it is the breathing time of day with me,'
Ham. V, ii, 165. And now we are all ready for ' kissing.' In the following passages
it is the participle: 'A kissing traitor,' Love's L. L. V, ii, 592; Cymb. Ill, iv, 164;
' O, how ripe in show Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow,' Mid. N. D,
III, ii, 140. ' Kissing,' in the last passage, might be taken for the verbal noun,
meaning, for kissing, or, to be kissed; but it must here be understood as the parti-
ciple. Demetrius speaks of the lips of Helena as two ripe cherries that kiss, or
lightly touch each other. But to say of a pair of beautiful lips, that they are good
kissing lips, would convey quite a different meaning, — a meaning, however, which
nobody would mistake; 'kissing,' in such expression, is the verbal noun used adjec-
tively, and equivalent to 'for kissing.' And so the word is used in the present pas-
sage in Hamlet. That is, a dead dog being, not a carrion good at kissing (which
would be the sense of the word as a present active participle), but a carrion goo& for
kissing, or, to be kissed, by the sun, that thus breeds a plentiful crop of maggots
therein, the agency of 'breed' being implied in 'kissing.' In reading this speech,
the emphasis should be upon 'kissing,' and not upon 'carrion,' the idea of which

13 *
 185
«50 HAMLET
[act ii, sc. ii.
Pol. I have, my lord.
Ham. Let her not walk i* the sun; conception is a
blessing ; but not as your daughter may conceive :— Friend,
look to 't.
Pol. How say you by that ? [Aside] 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
184. but not as] Ff, Rowe+, Cap.
186-190.
Cap. How...
Bos. Coll. El.again."] * Aside'
Sta. White, Glo. +by,
Steev. '85, Cald. Knt, Coll. Dyce, Sta.
White, Clarke, Del. Glo. Mob. but as
Dyce ii.Still. ..again.]
'Aside' First marked as
Qq, Mai. et cet. by Jen.
conceive: — ] Coll. Dyce, Sta.
White, conceaue, Qq. conceive. Ff, 187, 188. he said. ..he] a /aid. ..a Qq.
Rowe + , Jen. Glo. Mob. conceive:
but /aid. ..he Q'76.
Cap. Steev. '85. conceive, — Mai. Steev. 187-190. yet he. ..again.] 'Aside' by
Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Cam. Cla. Pope + .
186-190. How. ..lord] Verse, ending 188. far gone, far gone,] farre gone
daughter ...fishmonger ...youth ... love ...
Qq, Pope-f , Jen. Cam. Cla.
again. ..lord. Pope + , Jen.

last word is anticipated in 'dead dog;' in other words, 'kissing carrion' should be
read as a compound noun, which, in fact, it is, the stress of sound falling on the
member of the compound which bears the burden of the moaning. The two words
might, indeed, be hyphened, like ' Kissing-comfits,' in Merry PVives,V, v, 19. The
life-awakening power of the sun is expressed in the following passages, which com-
mentators have not quoted, I believe, in illustration of the passage in Hamlet : ' By
the fire That quickens Nilus' slime,' Ant. &> Cleo. I, iii, 69 ; ' Your serpent of Egypt
is bred now of your mud by the operation of the sun : so is your crocodile,' II, vii,
26. [This note is so exhaustive and so conclusive that, although the interpretation
which it offers has been anticipated by Caldecott, I have nevertheless given it almost
at full length. Ed.]
183. sun] Petri (Archivf. n. Sprachen, vol. vi, 1849, p. 94) : This phrase must
not be taken too literally; it means merely in solem et pulverem prodire, i. e. mingle
with the world, without any special reference to the sun-god.
183. conception] Steevens: There is a quibble here, similar to that in Lear,
I, i, 12, between 'conception,' understanding, and 'conceive,' to be pregnant.
Mcberly: Understanding is a blessing; but if you leave your daughter unre-
strained, she will understand what you would not like. Corson : He says what
he does to make the old- man uneasy, meaning that though conception is a bless-
ing in the legitimate way, it wouldn't be as his daughter might conceive, — out of
wedlock.
186. by that] For instances of 'by,' meaning ' about,' ' concerning,' see Abbott,
$145.
186-190. Still . . . again] Maginn (p. 244) : Is not this dialogue in blank verse ?
This speech of Polonius's certainly is. [Maginn then divides the lines at 'on,'
« first,' * is,' reading the next two lines, 'Far gone, far gone; and truly in my youth
I suffered much extremity for love.']
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 151

I suffered much extremity for love; very near this. I'll

speak to him again. — What do you read, my lord? 190
Ham. Words, words, words.
Pol. What is the matter, my lord ?
Ham. Between who ?
Pol. I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.
Ham. Slanders, sir ; for the satirical rogue says here that 195
old men have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled,
their eyes purging thick amber .and plum-tree gum, and
that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most
weak hams ; all which, sir, though I most powerfully and
potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus 200
set down ; for you yourself, sir, should be old as I am, if like
a crab you could go backward.
190, 192. lord?] Lord. Qq. lock F3F4.
193. who?'] who. Qq. whom ? Yj?% 198. mosf] Om. Ff, Rowe, Knt.
F4, Ro\ve + , Coll. White. 201. you yourself] Rowe, Cald. Knt.
194. that you read] you meane FjF2. Coil. Dyce, Sta White, Huds. you your
you mean FF, Cald. you read Rowe. felfe Ff {'/elf F F^). your f elfe Qq.
195. rogue] flave Ff, Rowe + , Cald. yourself Pope et cet.
Knt, Dyce i, Del. should be old] /hall grow old Qq,
197. and plum-tree] &•* plum-tree Qa Cap. Jen. Cam. shall be as old Rowe+,
Q3QA* or Plum-Tree Ff, Rowe, Knt. Steev. Cald. shall be but as old Han.
White. shall grow as old Mai. should grow Sta.
198. lack] lacke Qq. locke FxFa.

189. extremity] Moberly: It may have been so; but one rather suspects that
Polonius's love-reminiscences are like those of Touchstone in As You Like It,
II, iv.
192. matter] Clarendon : See line 95. Hamlet purposely misunderstands the
word to mean * cause of dispute,' as in Twelfth Night, III, iv, 172.
193. who] For instances of neglect in the inflection of who, 9ee Macb. Ill, iv,
42 ; and Abbott, § 274.
195. satirical rogue] Warburton : He refers to Juvenal, Sat. x, 188. Farmer :
There was a translation of this satire by Sir John Beaumont, elder brother of the
famous Francis; but I cannot tell whether it was printed in Shakespeare's time.
Clarendon : It is at least as probable, without attributing to Sh. any unusual amount
of originality, that he invented this speech for himself.
201. for yourself] Moberly : The natural reason would have been, ' For some
time I shall be as old as you arcnow' (and, therefore, I take such sayings as prolep-
tically personal). But Hamlet turns it to the opposite. Corson: It is not likely
that Sh. meant that Hamlet should talk nonsense here, but rather that he should,
express himself in a way to puzzle the old man. It would seem that * old ' is used,,
not as opposed to ' young,' but as denoting age in general. So that the expression!
re;tlly means, ' you yourself, sir, should be young as I am, if,' &c.
201. should] Clarendon: For would, as in III, ii, 291. See Abbott, § 322-.
* 52 HAMLET [ACTii,sc.fi.

Pol. [Aside] Though this be madness, yet there is

method in't. — Will you walk out of the air, my lord ?
Ham. Into my grave ? 205
Pol. Indeed, that is out o' the air. — [Aside] 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. — M}' 210
honourable lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you.
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.
203. [Aside] First marked by Johns. 207. often madness] madness <iflen
203,204. Though.. . lord ?] Prose, Qq. Jen.
Three lines, ending madneffe...walke... 208. reason and sanity] Reafon and
lord?, Ff. Two lines, the first ending Sanitie Fx. reafon and fanclily Qq.
in't Rowe+, Jen. sanity and reason Pope + .
203. there is] there's Rowe+, Mai. 208,209. so prosperously be] so hap-
Steev. Cald. Sing. Ktly, Huds. pily be Q'76. be So prosperously Pope+.
204. in't] in it Steev. Cald. Knt. 209 I wilt] Til Pope + .
205. grave ?] grave. Qq,Theob.Warb. 209, 210. and suddenly. .Mm] Om.Qq.
Johns. Glo. + . 209. suddenly] fodainely FtF a.
206-211. Indeed. ..you.] Prose, Qq. 210, 211. My. ..humbly] My lord, I
Eleven irregular lines, ending ayre,... will Qq.
are?...happinejre...on,...not...of...him,.., 21 1. most humbly] humbly Knt.
meeting.. .daughter.. .humbly. ..you* Ff. 212. sir] Orii. Qq.
Nine, Rowe + , Jen. 213. will] will not Qq.
206. Pol.] Pol. [Aside] White. 213, 214* except my life] Three times,.
that is] thafs Qq, Jen.Cam. Cla. Qq. except my life, my life. Ff, Rowe,
d the] oth' Ff (0' th' Fx) of the Knt. except my life. Pope + . except
Qq, Cap. Jen. Cam. Cla. my life, except my life, my life Cald.
[Aside] Marked first by Cap. [Aside] except. ..life. White, Huds.

205. grave] Corson;. Hamlet's replies to those persons whom he dislikes or

despises, the King, Polonius, and the courtiers, are characterized by their literalness.
206. pregnant] Steevens : Ready, dexterous, apt. Nares : Ingenious, full of
art or intelligence. Caldecott : Big with meaning. * Quick and pregnant capaci-
ties.'— Puttenham's Arte of Poesie, p. 154.
213. withal] For instances of the emphatic form of with at the end of a sentence,
see Abbott, § 196.
213. except my life] Coleridge : This repetition strikes me as most admirable.
Collier (ed. 2) : Perhaps these repetitions sometimes originated merely with the
actors. Staunton : To us it is evident that here, as in other places, the iteration,
—a well-known symptom of intellectual derangement, — is purposely adopted by
Hamlet to encourage the belief of his insanity. He never indulges in this cuckoo*
note unless with those whom he distrusts. Clarke : Not only is this iteration a
part of Hamlet's feigned insanity, but it is profoundly pathetic, as conveying that im»
 21S

ACT XI, SC. ii.] HAMLET

Pol. Fare you well, my lord.

Ham. These tedious old fools!
Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN.

Pol. You go to seek the Lord Hamlet ; there he is.

Ros. [To Polonius'] God save you, sir ! [Exit Polonius.
Guil. My honoured lord !
Ros. My most dear lord ! 220
Ham. My excellent good friends ! How dost thou, Guild-
enstern ?— Ah, Rosencrantz ? Good lads, how do ye both ?
Ros. As the indifferent children of the earth.
Guil. Happy, in that we are not over-happy;
On Fortune's cap we are not the very button. 225
Ham. Nor the soles of her shoe ?
Ros. Neither, my lord.

216. Enter...] As in Cap. Enter 221. excellent] extent QgQ? exelent Q4.
Guylderfterne,and Rofencraus. Qq (after 222. Ah] Q'76. A Qq. Oh Ff,
Rowe+.
line 214). Enter Rofincran and Guil-
denflerne. Ft. Enter Rofincros and
ye] you Qq, Cap. Cam. Cla.
Guildenftar. F3F3F, (Guildenftare. FJ. 224. 225. Happy... button.] Arranged
After line 217, Ff, Rowe + , Jen. as by Han. Two lines, the first ending
217. the Lord] my Lord Ff, Rowe, top, Q°i' Prose, Ff, Rowe + , Sta.
Knt. lord Pope + .
over-happy ; On Fortune's cap
218. Scene vi. Pope +, Jen. we] Han. over-happy : on Fortune's
[To Polonius] Mai. Cap, we Ff, Rowe+. euer happy on
[Exit Polonius.] Cap. Exit. Fortunes lap, We Qq {cap Q'76).
Pope + , Jen. (after line 217). Ora. QqFf.
225. On] Of Anon .*
219. My] Mine Ff, Rowe + , Knt, 226. soles] Soales F,FaF3. Soals F4.
Coll. Dyce i, El. Sta. White, Del. shoe /] Shoo ? Fs. Shooe ? F3F3
221, 222. My. ..both'] Verse, first line F^, Rowe. Jhooe. Qq. shooes ? Coll.
ending Guildenstem, Qq, Pope + , Jen.
(MS).
pression of utter life-weariness which besets Hamlet throughout. Miles (p. 31) :
This triple wail arrests our sympathy just as it is about to side with Polonius, by
reminding us of the insignificance of the pain Hamlet inflicts when weighed against
the torture he endures.
216. Maginn: Would it not be better, 'Thou tedious old fool!' — it is plain
that Hamlet is thinking only of the troublesome old man who has been pestering
him.

217. there he is] Miles (p. 31): The Premier's advance of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern to cover his own retreat is exceedingly humorous. This speech is
accented just as if he had said,. • You go to seek the devil ; there he is /' [Exit.
222. ye] Corson : There seems to be a certain playfulness in ' ye/ which is not
\n you of Qq.
223. indifferent] Capell (i, 131) : Middling. Staunton : Medium, average.
'54
HAMLET
[act 12, sc. ii.
Ham, Then you live about her waist, or in the middle
of her favours?
Guil. 'Faith, her privates we. 230
Ham. In the secret parts of Fortune? Oh, most true;
she is a strumpet. What's the news ?
Ros. None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest.
Ham. Then is Doomsday near; but your news is not
true. Let me question more in particular; what have you, 23$
my good friends, deserved at the hands of Fortune, that she
sends you to prison hither ?
Guil. Prison, my lord ?
Ham. Denmark's a prison.
Ros, Then is the world one. 240
Ham* A goodly one; in which there are many confines,
wards, and dungeons ; Denmark being one o' the worst.
Ros. We think not so, my lord.
Ham. Why, then 'tis none to you ; for there is nothing
either good or bad, but thinking makes it so ; to me it is a 245
prison.
Ros. Why, then your ambition makes it one; 'tis too
narrow for your mind.
Ham. O God, I could be bounded in a nut-shell, and
count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I 250
have bad dreams.
228. waist] Johns, wafl Qq. ivajle 235-263. Letme...attended.]¥i. Om.
Ff, Rowe+, Cap.
229. favours ?] Pope, fauors. Qqt 238. lord?] Ff, Rowe, Jen. Knt.
favour ? Ff, Rowe, Knt, White. lord! Pope, et cet.
230. her] in her Pope ii + . 242. <?' the] Dyce. o' th' Ff. of the
232. What's the] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing,
Knt, Dyce, Sta. White, Glo. + . What El. Qq.
Sta. Ktly, Del.
244, 245. Why. ..so;] Two lines of
Qq, et cet.
news ?] newes P QqFg. newes. verse, the first ending nothing? Walker
F„F,>
2 3news. F.. 4 (Crit. i, 19).
233. that] Om. Qq. 251. dad] had Mai,
234. but] fure Q'76.
229. favours] White: Considering the context, there can be no doubt that the
s of the Qq is a mere superfluity. * Favour ' has here two senses, one of which is
person, figure, to express which it was used in the singular, never in the pluraL
241. confines] Clarendon: Places of confinement. See L i, 155. The word
generally means boundaries, limits.
251. bad] Nowhere, I believe, is there any allusion to Malone's reading: had.
There is none in his First, or Second Appendix, nor in the Variorum of 1821. It even
act ii. sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 55
Guil. Which dreams, indeed, are ambition ; for the very
substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.
Ham. A dream itself is but a shadow.
Ros. Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a 255
quality that it is but a shadow's shadow.
Ham. Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs
and outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. Shall we to
the court ? for, by my fay, I cannot reason.
Ros. Guil. We'll wait upon you. 260
Ham. No such matter ; I will not sort you with the rest
of my servants ; for, to speak to you like an honest man, I
am most dreadfully attended. But, in the beaten way of
friendship, what make you at Elsinore ?
259. the court'] Cap. th* Court Ff. 264, 352. Elsinore] Mai. Elfonoure
fay] Pope, fey Ff. Qq. Elfonower Fx. Elfinooer F2. El-
260. Ros. Guil.] Cap. Both. Ff. ftnoore F3F4.
264. friendship,] friendfliip^ FaF F4.
escaped the almost unerring scrutiny of the Cam. Edd., who recorded it, it is true,
but as the conjecture of an anonymous critic. It is probably a typographical error,
—a happy one, it must be confessed; much can be said in its favor. Ed.
253. shadow of a dream] Johnson: Sh. has accidentally inverted the ex-
pression of Pindar, that the state of humanity is CKtae bvap, the dream of a
shadow. ['E:rd/zcpo4 ■ ri 5s rtg; ri <F ov rict onia$ bvap avdpunoQ. — Pythia, viii, 135
(ed. Schneidewin). But, as Collier says, Sh. applies it only to the * ambitious.' Ed.]
257. beggars bodies] Coleridge: I do not understand this; and Sh. seems to
have intended the meaning to be not more than snatched at. — • By my fay, I cannot
reason.' Caldecott : At this rate, and if it be true that lofty aims are no more than
air, our beggars only have the nature of substance ; and our monarchs and those who
are blazoned so far abroad as to be thought materially to fill so much space, are, in
fact, shadows, and in imagination only gigantic. Hudson : Hamlet loses himself in
the riddles he is making. The meaning, however, seems to be : our beggars can at
least dream of being kings and heroes ; and if the substance of such ambitious men
is but a dream, and if a dream is but a shadow, then our kings and heroes are but
the shadows of our beggars. BUCKNILL (p. 76) : If ambition is but a shadow, some-
thing beyond ambition must be the substance from which it is thrown. If ambition,
represented by a king, is a shadow, the antitype of ambition, represented by a beggar,
must be the opposite of the shadow, that is, the substance. Moberly : If ambition
is the shadow of pomp, and pomp the shadow of a man, then the only true substantial
men are beggars, who are strict of all pomp and of all ambition.
258. outstretched] Delius : Hamlet is thinking of the strutting stage heroes.
259. fay] Clarendon : A corruption probably of the French foi, which in its
earlier forms was feid,feit, fey, fe. Or it may be an abbreviation of • faith.* Corn-.
pare Rom. 6° Jul. I, v, 124.
263. attended] Delius: My retinue, my service, is detestable. Hudson: Prob-
ably referring to the ' bad dreams ' already spoken of.
156 HAMLET
[ACT II, sc. ii.
Ros. To visit you, my lord ; no other occasion. 265
Ham. Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks ; but
I thank you ; and sure, dear friends, my thanks are too dear
a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it your own
inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come, deal justly with
me ; come, come ; nay, speak. 270
Guil. What should we say, my lord ?
Ham. Why, any thing, but to the purpose. You were
sent for ; and there is a kind of confession in your looks,
which your modesties have not craft enough to colour. I
know the good king and queen have sent for ycu. 275
Ros. To what end, my lord ?
Ham. That you must teach me. But let me conjure you,
by the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy of our
266. even] euer Qq. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Ktly.
268. a halfpenny] of a halfpenny 272. any thing, but] Q'76. anything
Theob. Warb. Johns, at a halfpenny but Qq. any thing. But Ff, Knt.
Han. Cap.
purpose. You] purpofe you Q' 7 6.
269. Come, deaf] come, come, deale Qq, 273. of] Om. FtF2.
Jen. Steev.Var. Cald. Coll. Sing. El. 278. our fellowship] your felloufhip
White, Ktly, Del.
F3F4. our fellowfJiips Q'76.
272. Why] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap.

263. beaten] CaldecotT: The plain track, the open and unceremonious
course.
266. Beggar] Elze : Hamlet likes to represent himself as a very poor, insignifi-
cant, and uninfluential person.
267. thanks] Tschischwitz : My thanks, which are insincere, are worth no
more than your false protestations of friendship ; nevertheless, in thanking you, I
give you too much, since you deserve to be treated as rogues. Moberlv : You
have had to buy my * beggarly thanks ' too dear by taking so much trouble as to
come here.
268. a halfpenny] Walker (Crit. ii, 259) : Until it can be shown that « dear &
halfpenny ' is English, I should certainly prefer * dear at a halfpenny.' Claren-
don :There is no need of change. Compare Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 8875 : « dere
y-nough a jane ' (/. e. a coin of Genoa) ; and 12723, * deere y-nough a leeke.' Also,
« too late a week,' As You Like It, II, iii, 74.
272. but] Staunton : That is, only to the purpose. Clarke : It here signifies
' only let it be ;' while it includes the effect of ' except,' and therefore conveys the
covert sarcasm felt by Hamlet.
274. modesties] Delius : A jocose style of address, like « your majesties.'
Elze : It is simply the plural of the abstract noun, in accordance with a usage com-
mon to Sh. and all English writers. See ' I am doubtful of your modesties.' — Tarn,
of Sh., Ind., i. 94. [See I, i, 173.]
278. consonancy] Clarendon: See line n of this scene.
ACT XI. sail] 0Uy^ HAMLET \tf

youth, bv the obligation of our ever-preserved love, and by

what more dear a better proposer could charge you withal, be 280
even and direct with me, whether you were sent for, or no.
Ros. [Aside to Giiili] What say you ?
Ham. [Aside] Nay, then I have an eye of you. — If you
love me, hold not off.
Guil. My lord, we were sent for. 285
/Heat!.. I .wilt-tell you why ; so shall my anticipation pre-
279. ever-preserved] ever preferred 282. [Aside to Guil.] Glo. + , Dyce
Q'76. ii, Huds. To Guildcn. Theob. et cet.
280. could] can Qq. Om. Del.
charge] change Qj. 283, 284. Ham. Nay. ..off.] Om. Jen.
you withal] youth withal White. 283. [Aside] Steev. Om. Del.
281. no.] QqFf, Rowe, Han. Jen. of you. — ] Coll. of you : FfQ2.
Ktly, Cam. Del. Huds. no ? Fopc, et of you ? Q,. cfyou,Q4Q-
cet.

279,280. by... withal] Tschisckwitz : The addition of * withal' ought to have

revealed to modern editors the error of the old text ; no explanation is offered by
them of the use of two prepositions for one object. It is evident that, after using
« by* -three times, the climax is reached only by using it as a substantive in the last
clause; the sense therefore is : « with what more dear " by" a better proposer could
charge you.' [Thus the pure English of William Shakespeare is amended by Benno
Tschischwitz ! Ed.]
280. proposer] Caldecott : An advocate of more address in shaping his aims,
who could make a stronger appeal.
282. What say you ?] Delius : Perhaps this question is addressed to Hamlet,
in order to gain time and evade, if possible, a direct answer. Furthermore, I doubt
if Sh. intended Hamlet's reply to be spoken as an Aside. Nowhere does Hamlet
take much pains to conceal the distrust with which he regards these false friends,
and he does not hesitate here to let them see that he has an eye on them.
283. an eye of you] Steevens : A glimpse of your meaning. Caldecott :
An eye upon or after you; a sharp lookout. ['OP is used for on. See II, ii,
27. Ed.]
286. prevent] Caldecott: That is, be beforehand with your discovery, and the
plume and gloss of your secret pledge be in no feather shed or tarnished. Claren-
don :That is, anticipate, and so stop. Hudson : Hamlet's fine sense of honor is
well shown in this. He will not tempt them to any breach of confidence ; by telling
them the reason, he will forestall and prevent their disclosure of it.
286. Straciiey (p. 53) : This speech, like all others of the same kind throughout
the rest of the play, is in prose. That the inferior interlocutors in the dialogue
speak in prose also is, of course, sufficiently explained by the natural tendency of
every man to carry on a conversation in the tone which the chief speaker gives it.
But why Hamlet himself speaks prose is explained by comparing his prose with his
verse speeches. We then find that he always returns to verse as the language of
his practical life, whether in relation to feeling or to action ; whereas, while he
speaks prose, he is uttering the thoughts of the bystander and looker-on, contemplat*
H
1 58 HAMLET [ACT 11, SC. ii.

vent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king and queen 287
moult no feather. I have of late, — but wherefore I know not,
— lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises ; and in-
deed itgoes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly 290
frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory ; this most
excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging
firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, — why,
287 ,288. discovery ; and... queen moult] Cap. (Corrected in Errata).
'ifcovery of"...Queen : moult Yi. discovery 290. heavily'] heavenly Ff.
of.. .queen. Moult Knt. 292. overhanging] ore-hanged Q,Q-»
288. feather. I] Pope, feather : J derchanging Jen.
Q'76, Rowe. feather ; I QqFf. 293. firmament] Om. Ff, Rowe, Cald.
289. exercises] exercife Ff, Rowe + , Knt i.

ing, or aiming at contemplating, the world, with the cold passionless eye of the
intellect. I say aiming at contemplating, for Hamlet is too young and ardent, and
his griefs are too fresh, for his skepticism to become the real habit of his soul ; and,
accordingly, we see a bitter self-consciousness working up through it at every mo-
ment. Still, in as far as it is the looking on of a spectator, and not the participa-
tion of an actor, it is passionless, at least in form, — the reading out of a book, rather
than the utterance of living speech.
287. discovery] Abbott, § 439 : This is often used for uncovering, i. e. unfold,
whether literally or metaphorically. Here * render your ^-closure needless by
anticipation.'
289. lost] Warburton : This is artfully imagined to hide the true cause of his
disorder from the penetration of these spies.
289. exercises] Tieck {Krit. Schriften, iii, 280) : We must not take too liter-
ally what Hamlet says here, else it contradicts what he says to Horatio, V, ii, 198,
that he had been in continual practice since Laertes went into France.
291. promontory] Moberly : Thrust out into the dread ocean of the unknown,
and as barren as the waves themselves.
292. brave o'erhanging] Walker (Crit. i, 38) thinks these words should be
hyphened. The Folio's omission of * firmament' probably originated in the similar
commencements firmament, fretted.
293. firmament] Knight : Using ' o'erhanging ' as a substantive, and omitting
1 firmament,' the sentence is, perhaps, less eloquent, but more coherent. The air is
the canopy; the o'erhanging; the majestical roof. Here there are three distinct
references to the common belief of the three regions of air. Ben Jonson, in his
description of the scenery of the Masque of Hymen, has this passage : 'A cortine of
painted clouds . . . opening, revealed the three regions of air; in the highest of
which sat Juno, . . . her feet reaching to the lowest, where was a rainbow, and within
it airy spirits, their habits . . . resembling the several colours caused in that part of the
air by reflection. The midst was all of dark and condensed clouds? &c. The ' canopy,'
%ve believe, is the lowest region of ' colors caused by reflection;' the 'o'erhanging,'
the midst of 'dark and condensed clouds;' the 'majestical roof fretted,' &c., the
highest, where Juno sat. The air, in its three regions, appears to Hamlet no other
thing ' than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.' If this interpretation be
ACT II, SC. ii.] HAMLET

it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent ,

congregation of vapours. What, 3J2J£C^ Cj£jy°rk fc P^" ! ?95
how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in form and
moving, how express and admirable ! in action, how like an
angel ! in apprehension, how like a god ! the beauty of the
world ! the paragon of animals ! And yet, to me, what is this
quintessence of dust ? man delights not me ; no, nor woman 300
neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.
Ros. My lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts.

294. appears] appeares Fx. appeared ...apprehenfion,...God :... world ;...Anni-

F2F3F4. appeareth Q3Q3, Jen. Coll. El. males ; In the Ff, — Reaf on ? ...faculty f
appearth Q4QS» ...admirable ? ...Aclion,...Angel ?... appre-
no other thing to me than] no- henfion,.. .God P. ..world,.. .Animals ;
thing to me but Qq, Jen. Coll. El. 298. apprehension] apprehensions] en,
295. What a piece] What peece Qq. how... god] Om. Q'76.
300. no] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen.
man] Q^Q'76, Dyce ii. a man Mai. Steev. Cald.
QqFf et cet. woman] women Q2Q3>
296. faculty] Ff, Rowe, Bos. Knt,
Dyce i, Sta. Glo. + , Del. Mob. faculties 301. seem] fee me F2 (a manifest mis-
Qq et cet. print).
296-299. The only punctuation in Qq [Ros. smiles] Coll. ii.
is reaf on,., facuities,.. .moouing,...ac?ion,

correct, the word 'firmament,' which is applied to the heavens generally, was
rejected by Sh. as conveying an image unsuited to that idea of a part which is con-
veyed bythe substantive, ' overhanging?
293. fretted] Malone : See Son. xxi. Clarendon : From A. S. frcetwian, to
adorn. Compare Cymb. II, iv, $8. l Fret ' is an architectural term, which Sh. em-
ploys in a looser sense. Bacon, in the following passage, uses it more strictly : * For
if that great workmaster had been of an human disposition, he would have cast the
stars into some pleasant and beautiful works and orders, like the frets in the roofs of
houses ; whereas one can scarce find a posture in square, or triangle, or straight line,
amongst such an infinite number.' — Adv. of Learning, ii, 14, § 9.
295. man] Walker (Cril. i, 91) gives this, amongst others, as an instance of
the interpolation of a in Fx. Dyce (ed. 2) : The Qq have: ' What peece of worke
is a man,' — the ' a' having been shuffled out of its place. In the Ff, instead of the
proper transposition, a second 'a' was inserted : * What a piece of worke is a man.*
The Quarto of 1637 has, « What a piece a worke is man 1' [See line 386.]
297. express] Clarendon : Exact, fitted to its purpose, as the seal fits the stamp.
In Hebrews, i, 3, * express image ' is the rendering of xaPaKT^lP'
299. paragon] Clarendon : Cotgrave renders the French word by ' A paragon,
or peereless one; the perfection, or flower of; the most complete, most absolute, most
excellent peece, in any kind whatsoeuer.' See Two Gent. II* iv, 146.
300. quintessence] Clarendon : A term in alchemy, signifying the subtle es-
sence which remained after the four elements, earth, air, (ire, and water, had been
removed from any substance.
*\

V
V
1 60 HAMLET [act ix, sc ii

Ham. Why did you laugh, then, when 1 said 'man

delights not me ' ?
Ros. To think, my lord, if you delight not in man, what 305
lenten entertainment the players shall receive from you;
we coted them on the way ; and hither are they coming, to
offer you service.
Ham. He that plays the king shall be welcome; his
majesty shall have tribute of me; the adventurous knight 3 10
303. you'] yes Qq. quoted Jen. conj.
then] Om. Ff, Rowe-K 307. hither] /tether Qq.
306. lenten] Q'76. Lent on QqFf. are they] are the Q.QS^
307. coted] coated Ff,Ca\d. met Qrj6, 3 JO. of me] on me Qq.
accosted Rowe + , Jen. 'costed Cap.
306. lenten] Steevens: Sparing, like the entertainments given in Lent.
Collier : Such entertainment as players met with in Lent, when they were
often not allowed to perform. This explanation Dyce (Gloss.) pronounces erro-
neous. Halliwell: Our ancestors seem to have used this adjective constantly in
a sense of deterioration. Cotgrave defines ' Amoureux de caresme : A Lenten louer ;
a bashfull, modest, or maidenly woer; one thats afraid to touch his mistresse.'
307. coted] Steevens: Overtook. In The Return from Parnassus, 1606: * marry
we presently coted and outstript them.' * In the laws of coursing,' says Toilet, * a
cote is when a greyhound goes endways by the side of his fellow, and gives the
hare a turn.' Nares : To pass by, to pass the side of another. It was a common
sporting term. ' Each man . . . notes "Which dog first turns the hare, which first
the other coats.' — Drayton, Polyolb. xxiii, p. 11 15. Caldecott- cites from Golding's
translation of Ovid, Met. B, x : '"With that Hippomenes coted her' (where the
original has 'preterit'). Dyce (Gloss.)'. Compare what Rosencrantz afterwards
says of these players, III, i, 17: * certain players. We o'er-raught (overtook, over-
passed) on the way.' Anonymous (New Shakespearian Interpretations. Edin.
Rev. Oct. 1872) : Cote, in the language of venery, is applied to a brace of grey-
hounds slipped together at the stag or hare, and means that one of the dogs outstrips
the other and reaches the game first. Thus we find in Turbervile : * In coursing at
a Deare, if one Greyhound go endwayes by [that is beyond] another, it is accoumpted
a Cote.' Again, ' In coursing at the Hare, it is not materiall which dog kylleth her
(which hunters call bearing of an Hare), but he that giveth most Cotes, or most
tumes, winneth the wager. A Cote is when a Greyhound goeth endwayes by his
fellow and giveth the Hare a turn (which is called setting a Hare about), but if he
coast and so come by his fellow, that is no Cote. Likewise, if one Greyhound doe
go by another, and then be not able to reach the Hare himselfe and turne her, this
is but stripping, and no Cote.' To cote is thus not simply to overtake, but to over-
pass, to outstrip, this being the distinctive meaning of the term. Going beyond is
the essential point, the term being usually applied under circumstances where over-
taking isimpossible, — to dogs who start together and run abreast until the cote takes
place. So Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, having coted the players in their way,
reach the palace first, and have been for some time in conversation with Hamlet
before the strolling company arrives.
act II, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 6l

shall use his foil and target; the lover shall not sigh gratis; 311
the humorous man shall end his part in peace; the clown
shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickle o* the sere,
311, sigh\ ftng QQ. 313. tickle] Sta. conj. Nicholson, Cla.
312, 313. the clown. ..sere,] Om. Qq, Mob. tickled Ff et cet.
Pope, Theob. Han. Johns. J the] a' th' Fx. atV FaF3F4.
312. humorous] Caldecott: The fretful or capricious man shall vent the whole
of his spleen undisturbed. Staunton : Not the funny man, or jester, — he was termed
' the clown,' — but the actor who personated the fantastic characters, known in Shake-
speare's time as ' humourists,' and who, for the most part, were represented as
capricious and quarrelsome. Delius : Such characters as Faiilconbridge, Jaques,
and Mercutio. The ■ clown ' is next referred to.
313. tickle o' the sere] Capell [Gloss, s. v. sere): Tickled, or delighted with the
dry jokes of the character spoken of. Steevens : That is, those who are asthmatical,
and to whom laughter is most uneasy. This is the case (I am told) with those
whose lungs are tickled by the sere or serum. Malone : The word ' sere ' I am
unable to explain, and suspect it to be corrupt. Perhaps we should read : • tickled
o' the scene,1 i. e. by the scene. Douce : The same expression occurs m Howard's
Defensative against the poyson of supposed prophecies, 1620: 'Discovering the
moods and humors of the vulgar sort to be so loose and tickle of the seare,' &c,
fol. 31. Every one has felt that dry tickling in the throat and lungs which excites
coughing. Hamlet's meaning may be, ' the clown shall convert even their coughing
into laughter.' White : The whole speech is ironical, and here, as in his famous
directions to the players, Hamlet is severest upon the Clown, who, he says, will have
to be content with such semblance of laughter as comes from those who are tickled
not by his jokes, but by a dry cough, — ' o' the sere.' Staunton : Correctly, per-
haps, tickle
• o' the sere.' It appears to signify those easily moved to the expression
of mirth. Halliwell : Light of the seare is equivalent to light-heeled, loose in
character. Tickle of the sear, wanton, immodest. In the present passage it means
those whose lungs are wanton, or excited to laughter by coarse ribaldry. See the
following (cited by Steevens) : ' She that . . . wyll abyde whysperynge in the eare,
Thynke ye her tayle is not lyght of the seare.' — Commune Secretary and Jalowsye,
n.'d. [ed. Hindley, vol. i, p. 41]. Nicholson {N. &> Qu. 22 July, 1871) : The
sere, or, as it is now spelt, sear (or scear) of a gun-lock is the bar or balance-level
interposed between the trigger on the one side, and the tumbler and other mechanism
on the other, and is so called from its acting the part of a serre, or talon, in gripping
that mechanism and preventing its action. It is, in fact, a paul or stop-catch. When
the trigger is made to act on one end of it, the other end releases the tumbler, the
mainspring acts, and the hammer, rlint, or match falls. Hence Lombard (1596), as
quoted in Halliwell'.'j Archaic Diet., says, ' Even as a pistole that is ready charged
and bent will flie off by-and-by, if a man do but touch the seare? Now if the lock
be so made of purpose, or be worn, or be faulty in construction, this sear, or grip,
may be so tickle or ticklish in its adjustment that a slight touch or even jar may dis-
place it,and then, of course, the gun goes off. Hence ' light,' or ' tickle of the
sear' (equivalent to, like a hair-trigger), applied metaphorically, means that which
can be started into action at a mere touch, or on the slightest provocation, or on
what ought to be no provocation at all. Clarendon : The real meaning is just the re-
14* L
162 HAMLET [act ii, so it

and the lady shall say her mind freely, or the blank verse
shall halt for 't. What players are they ? 315
Ros. Even those you were wont to take such delight
in, the tragedians of the city.
Ham. How chances it they travel ? their residence, both
in reputation and profit, was better both ways.
Ros. I think their inhibition comes by the means of the 320
late innovation.

314. blank~\ black Q2Q3- 318. travel] trauaile QqF,F?.

316. such] Om. Ff, Rowe + , Cap. Knt, 319. was] were Anon.*
Dyce i, Glo. 320. the means'] means Johns.
317. in, the] in the FXF2F . 321. innovation.] innovation? Ft,
318. they] the Q4Q5- Rowe.

verse of ' those to whom laughter is most uneasy.' In old matchlock muskets the sear
and trigger were in one piece. This is proved by a passage from Barret's Theorike
and Practike of Modern Warres, 1598, p. 33 [35] : ' drawing down the serre with
the other three fingers.' He has given directions for holding the stock between the
thumb and forefinger. It is clear that Hamlet did not anticipate much from the wit
of the clown, or from the players generally.
314. lady] Johnson: The lady shall have no obstruction, unless from the lame-
ness of the verse. Henderson : The lady shall mar the measure of the verse rather
than not express herself freely or fully. Seymour: If the lady, through affectation
of delicacy, should suppress anything, her omission will be detected in the lameness
of the metre.
317. city] Delius : By «city' Shakespeare's public at once understood London.
318. travel] Malone: A technical word, for which we have substituted stroll.
320. inhibition] ' What " inhibition " ?' asks Theobald {Nichols, Lit. Hist, ii,
562). 'If Rosencrans meant to answer Hamlet's question closely, methinks it
should be itineration.'' This is not repeated in Theobald's ed. Johnson : Hamlet
inquires not about an ' inhibition,' but an ' innovation ;' the answer probably was :
— ' I think their innovation,' that is, their new practice of strolling, ' comes by
means of the late inhibition.' Steevens : Any change in the order of the words
is quite unnecessary. Rosencrantz means that their permission to act any longer at
an established house is taken away in consequence of the new custom of introdu-
cing personal abuse into their comedies. Several companies of actors in the time
of Sh. were silenced on account of this licentious practice. Malone : Sh. could
not mean to charge his friends, the old tragedians, with the new custom of introdu-
cing personal abuse, but rather must have meant, that the old tragedians were in-
hibited from performing in the city and obliged to travel on account of the miscon-
duct of the younger company. And he could not have directed his satire at those
young men who played occasionally at his own theatre. Jonson's Cynthia's Reveh
and Poetaster were performed there by the Children of Queen Elizabeth's chapel in
1600 and 1601 ; and Eastward Hoe by the Children of the Revels in 1604 or 1605.
I have no doubt, therefore, that the present dialogue was pointed at the choir boys
of St Paul's, whc in 1601 acted two of Marston's plays: Antonio and Mellida, and
*ct li, sc. ii.J HAMLET 1 63

[320. ■ inhibition.']
Antonio's Revenge. Many of Lyly's plays were represented by them about the same
time; and, in 1607, Chapman's Bussy d'Ambois was performed by them with great
applause. It was probably in this and some other noisy tragedies of the same kind
that they ' cried out on the top of question, and were most tyrannically clapped for it.'
The licentiousness of the stage is noticed in a letter from Mr Samuel Calvert to Mr
Winwood, 28 March, 1605, which might lead us to infer that the words found only
in the Folio were added at that time : ' The plays do not forbear to present upon the
stage the whole course of this present time, not sparing the king, state, or religion,
in so great absurdity and with such liberty that any would be afraid to hear them.' —
Memorials, ii, 54. Or the words in the Folio might have been added in 1612, in
which year Heywood's Apologie for Actors was published, containing the following
passage, which leads us to infer that the little eyases were the persons guilty of the
late innovation, or practice of introducing personal abuse on the stage : ' Now to
speake of some abuse lately crept into the quality, as an inueighing against the State,
the Court, the Law, the Citty, and their gouernements, with the particularizing of
priuate mens humors (yet alive) Noble-men & others. I know it distastes many ;
neither do I any way approue it, nor dare I by any meanes excuse it. The liberty
which some arrogate to themselues, committing their bitternesse, and liberall inuec-
tiues against all estates, to the mouthes of Children, supposing their iuniority to be a
priuiledge for any rayling, be it neuer so violent, I could aduise all such, to curbe
and limit this presumed liberty within the bands of discretion and gouernment. But
wise and iuditial Censurers, before whom such complaints shall at any time hereafter
come, wil not (I hope) impute these abuses to any transgression in vs, who haue
euer been carefull and prouident to shun the like.' Caldecott thinks that they
were obliged to travel because of the license granted to a new description of actors,
who had met with the most extravagant applauses and success. Collier says,
that this passage probably refers to the limiting of public theatrical performances
to the two theatres, the Globe on the Bankside, and the Fortune in Golden Lane,
in 1600 and 1601. The players, by a 'late innovation,' were 'inhibited,' or for-
bidden, to act if» or near ' the city,' and therefore travelled,' or strolled, into the
country. See Collier's Hist, of Engl. Dram. Poetry and the Stage, i, 311.
Clarendon doubts the validity of Steevens's explanation of the ' inhibition,' and
thinks that the ' late innovation ' does not clearly refer to the introduction of per-
sonal abuse on the stage, and adds the following conclusive note : For a very long
period there had been a strong opposition in the city to theatrical performances. In
March, 1 573-4, the Lord Mayor and Corporation declined to license a place for
them within the city. In 1575 players were again forbidden to act there, and in
consequence, in 1576, the Blackfriars Theatre was built without the limits of the
jurisdiction of the city. In 1581 the Lord Mayor was ordered to allow performances
in the city by certain companies of actors on week days only, being holidays ; but
his inhibition must have remained still in force, because in the following year, 1582,
the Lords of the Council pray the Lord Mayor to revoke his inhibition against play-
ing on holidays. In 1589 Lord Burleigh appears to have directed the Lord Mayor
to silence the players of the Lord Admiral's and the Lord Strange's companies for
introducing matters of state and religion upon the stage. To this apparently Nash
alludes in his Return of the renowned Cavaliero Pasquile of England, published in
1589. In this year, also, proposals were made to appoint two commissioners to act
* 64 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.

Ham. Do they hold the same estimation they did when 322
I was in the city ? are they so followed ?
Ros. No, indeed, they are not.

322. Do they'] Do the Q4QS- 324. they are] are they Qq, Cap. Jen. Glo. + .

with the Master of the Revels for the purpose of examining and licensing every
play, and so restraining the abuses of the actors. About the year 1590 the Children
of St Paul's were silenced, and the interdict was apparently not removed till about
1600. In 1597 the Lord Admiral's players were restrained for a time from playing
in consequence of having brought out Nash's Isle of Dogs, a play in which per-
sonal satire was probably introduced, and for which the author was imprisoned. In
1 601 a letter was addressed by the Lords of the Council to certain Justices of the
Peace in the county of Middlesex in which the actors at the Curtain Theatre, Shore
ditch, are charged with satirising living persons and introducing personalities into
their plays. It is difficult, therefore, to see at what precise period the explanation
offered by Steevens could be true. In 1604 the indulgence of the actors in personal
abuse could hardly be called an • innovation ;' on the contrary, it was a practice
from which the stage had never been entirely free. If we were to add to the con-
jectures upon this point, we should be disposed to suggest that the ' innovation' re-
ferred to was the license which had been given on 30 Jan. 1603-4 to the Children of
the Queen's Revels to play at the Blackfriars Theatre and other convenient places.
The Blackfriars Theatre belonged to the company of which Sh. was a member,
formerly the Lord Chamberlain's and at this time His Majesty's servants. The
popularity of the Children may well have driven the older actors into the country
and so have operated as an ' inhibition,' though in the strict sense of the word no
formal ' inhibition ' was issued. If by • inhibition ' Sh. merely meant, as we think
most probable, that the actors were practically thrown out of employment, it seems
also likely that by ' innovation ' he meant the authority given to the Children to act at
the xegularly licensed theatres. It must be borne in mind, in reference to this, that
nothing is said either of ' inhibition ' or ' innovation ' in Qx, 1603, but that the sentence
containing both is first introduced in Q2, 1604. It is to the interval, therefore, that
we must look for the explanation. In offering this conjecture we have not lost sight
of the fact that, after all, remembering how chary Sh. is of contemporary allusions,
no special occurrence may be hinted at, although in what follows in the Folio edition
a satire upon the Children's performances was clearly intended. In Chalmers's
Farther Account of the Early English Stage (Var.'2l, iii, 423-429) will be found
a list of payments, at sundry times during the reign of Elizabeth, to the Children of
Paul's, Westminster, Windsor, and the Chapel Royal, and an enumeration of the
plays performed by them and by the Children of the Revels from 1571 to 1633.
The quotation cited by Malone from Heywood shows, indeed, that the Children
indulged in personalities, but not that any ' inhibition ' was the consequence. Be-
sides, it refers to a subsequent date. Fleay (Sh. Manual, p. 41): This is not
necessarily to be applied to the first order of the Privy Council for the restraint
of the immoderate use of playhouses (made 22 June, 1600), for this order proved
meffectual; but rather to their second order, made 31 Dec, 1601. The Fortune
and The Globe were allowed to remain open ; the others were closed, owing to the
personal allusions indulged in by some of the companies. [See note III, ii, 267. Ed.]
 act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 1>5

I Ham, How comes it? do they grow rusty? 325

j^r Ros. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace;
XO^ but there is, sir, an aerie of children, little eyases, that cry
yout on the top of question and are most tyrannically clapped 328

325-345. Ham. How... load too. ~\ Om. 327. eyases] Theob. Yafes Ff, Rowe,
Qq. Pope, Cald.
327. aerie] ayrie Ft. ayry Fa. airy 328. question] the question Cap.
F.F , Rowe, Pope. Aiery Theob. -f, truncheon or cushion Bell (Sh.'s Puck,
Cap. Jen. Mai. Steev. Knt. iii, 163).

327. aerie] Steevens : This refers to the young singing men of the chapel royal,
or St Paul's, of the former of whom perhaps the earliest mention occurs in an
anonymous Puritanical pamphlet, 1569, entitled The Children of the Chapel Stript
and Whipt : 4 Plaies will neuer be supprest, while her maiesties unfledged minions
flaunt it in silkes and sattens. They had as well be at their popish seruice in the
deuils garments,' &c. Again, ibid : * Euen in her maiesties chapel do these pretty
upstart youthes profane the Lordes day by the lasciuious writhing of their tender
limbes, and gorgeous decking of their apparell, in feigning bawdie fables gathered
from the idolatrous heathen poets,' &c. Concerning the performances and success
of the latter in attracting the best company, I also find the following passage in fack
Drum's Entertainment, or Pasquil and /Catherine, 1 60 1 :
' I saw the children of Pozules last night ;
And troth they pleas'd me pretty, pretty well,
The apes, in time, will do it handsomely.
I like the audience that frequenteth there
With much applause: a man shall not be choak'd
With the stench of garlick, nor be pasted
To the balmy jacket of a beer-brewer.
Tis a good gentle audience,' &c.

It is said in Richard Flecknoe's Short Discourse of the English Stage, 1664, tnat
1 both the children of the chappel and St Paul's, acted playes, the one in White-
Frier's, the other behinde the Convocation-house in Paul's ; till people growing more
precise, and playes more licentious, the theatre of Paul's was quite supprest, and that
of the children of the chappel converted to the use of the children of the revels.'
Wedgwood : An eagle's nest. From French aire, an airie, or nest of haukes. —
Cotgrave.
327. eyases] Dyce {Gloss.) : Young hawks, just taken from the nest. * Niais :
A neastling, a young bird taken out of a neast ; hence a youngling, nouice,' &c. —
Cotgrave. Capell: These children were so called from their eagerness, and their
flying at game above them.
328. top of question] Johnson : They ask a common question in the highest
note of the voice. Steevens : Question here signifies conversation, dialogue. The
meaning therefore is : Children that perpetually recite in the highest notes of voice
that can be uttered. M. Mason : When we ask a question, we generally end the
sentence with a high note. These children, therefore, declaim, through the whole
of their parts, in the high note commonly used at the end of a question, and are ap-
plauded for it. Elze : • Question,' as Steevens has said, means frequently in Sh
conve- ration, dialogue. The ' top of the question' therefore means the top of con
 106 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.

for't; these are now the fashion, and so berattle the com-
mon stages — so they call them — that many wearing rapiers 330
iare afraid of goose-quills, and dare scarce come th ither. A.

329. berattle'] be-rattle F3F4. be ratle Fa. be-ratled

versation ; namely, that point where the dialogue is most lively, where question and
answer follow each other stroke on stroke, and the speakers are the most excited.
These ' little eyases,' therefore, continually cry out as though they were at the very
height of conversation. STAUNTON : The phrase, derived perhaps from the defiant
crowing of a cock upon his midden, really meant, we believe, like — ' Stood chal-
lenger on mount of all the age,' to crow over or challenge all comers to a conten-
tion. In line 424, Hamlet uses the phrase, ' cried in the top,' where it evidently
means crowed over. Again, in Armin's Nest of Ninnies, the author, alluding to
fencers or players at single stick, talks of ' making them expert till they cry it up in
the top of question.' [p. 55, Sh. Soc. vol. x.] White: To ' cry in the top ' seems
rather to mean to assume superiority ;— as afterwards Hamlet, speaking of people
who set him down about the play from which he quotes, says their judgments ' cried
in the top ' of his. I can conjecture no specific origin of the phrase. It might well
have been formed on the mere general force of the words which compose it. Wel-
LESLEY [Stray Notes, 6°r., 1865, p. 33) : ' Question ' is not conversation, dialogue, but
the old word, still in use in other languages, for the rack. The pulleys were strained,
and the witnesses hoisted to the utmost height, till the desired confession was elicited ;
and so the phrase, ' top of question,' came to be metaphorically applied ; as, for in-
stance, to the highest stretch of the voice or the utmost force of an argument. The
top of the bent [III, ii, 367] was a phrase of the same kind, borrowed from those bows
which were not bent by hand, but by a rack. • These bows . . . were bent only by a
man's immediate strength, without the help of any bender or rack that are used with
others.' — Wilkins's Mathematical Magick. Dyce (Gloss.) : Recite at the very highest
pitch of the voice. Wellesley's explanation is wrong. Tschischwitz : I am con-
vinced that this phrase in the MS was : that cry on the top, out of question? that is,
iftey cry at the highest pitch of the voice, where it is wholly inappropriate. [And
even so is the text amended. Ed.] Clarke: That is, pipe out their parts at the top
of their shrill infantine voices. Clarendon : Probably, to speak in a high key,
dominating conversation. For ' question ' in this sense, see Mer. of Ven. IV, i, 70.
328. tyrannically] Caldecott : That is, receive outrageous, extravagant ap-
plause. Clarendon : The tyrant's part in the old plays was a noisy one. See
Mid. N. D. I, ii, 31. Compare Beau, and Fl., The Knight of the Burning Pestle.
V, i, ' And thou hadst but seen little Ned of Aldgate, drum Ned, how he made it
roar again, and laid on like a tyrant.'
329. fashion] Theobald (Sh. Rest. 67) : The emendation of faction we owe to
Mr Hughs; it implies that those children were not only in fashion, but had a faction
made by the town in their favor. [Has a copy of the edition by ' the accurate Mr
Hughs' ever been found? See Vol. II, p. 35. Ed.]
330. stages] Theobald (Sh. Rest. 67) conjectured stagers, that is, professed
Actors, to whom a degree of cowardice might be imputed, which Sh. would never
have imputed to gentlemen spectators. Heath thought highly of this emendation
alth-ugh Theobald did not adopt it in his text.
331. goose-quills] Caldecott: Lampoons. Elze : This refers to * the writers,
act ii, sc. ii.J HAMLET 1 67

Ham. What, are they children? who maintains 'em?

how are they escoted ? Will they pursue the quality no
longer than they can sing ? will they not say afterwards, if
they should grow themselves to common players, — as it is 335
most like, if their means are no better, — their writers do them
wrong, to make them exclaim against their own succession ?
Ros. Faith, there has been much to-do on both sides,
332. "em] them Cap. Steev.Var. Cald. Rovve, Knt. like, most, Cap. like most
K.nt, Coll. El. Sta. Del. will, Anon.* like-most Corson.
334. sing ?~\ In Italics, Johns. 336. no] not Fa, Cap. Cald. Coll.
say afterwards,] say afterwards ? White.
Johns. 337. succession ?] Pope ii, Theob.
335. players,] players ? Pope i. Succeffion. Ff, Rowe, Pope i, Johns. Jen.
336. most like,] Pope, like mofl Ff, 338. to-do] Huds. to do Ff et cet.

in line 336. Moberly : These young hawks make such a noise on the common
stage, that true dramatists, whose wit is as strong and keen as a rapier, are afraid to
encounter these chits, who fight, as it were, with a goose-quill.
^^^. escoted] Dyce (Gloss.) : Paid. ' Escot, A shot. . . . Escotter, Euery one to
pay his shot, &c. — Cotgrave. Tschischwitz : It is very doubtful whether Sh. used
so uncommon a word as • escoted ' when the common one, maintains, was ready to
his use. 'I therefore believe that the true word is escorted? Theobald (Sh. Rest.
p. 68) calls attention to what he calls the ' self-contradiction ' here, in making Ham-
let show a knowledge of their singing after ' he had professed himself a stranger ' to
them.
333- quality] Johnson : Will they follow the profession of players no longer
than they can keep the voices of boys? So also in line 412. Malone : So in Gos-
son's Schoole of Abuse (p. 39, ed. Arber), 1579 : ' I speake not this, as though euerye
one [of our players] that professeth the qualitie so abused him selfe.' Gifford
(Ma^singer's Roman Actor, Works ii, 339) : ' Quality,' though used in a general
sense for any occupation, calling, or condition of life, yet seems more peculiarly ap-
propriated, byour old writers, to that of a player. See also The Picture, vol. iii, p.
141. Clarendon: So in Two Gent. IV, i. 58, ' in our quality,' i.e. in our profes-
sion of brigands.
335 common players] Staunton : As we now term them, • strolling players.'
• I prefix an epithite of common^ to distinguish the base and artlesse appendants of
our Citty companies, which often times start away into rusticall wanderers, and then
(like Proteus) start backe again into the Citty number.' — J. Stephens, Essayes and
Characters, 1 61 5, p. 301. n?>
338. to-do] Hudson : This is the same as ado. Corson : ' In place of this to-
do, the King's English accepted a composition, part French, part English, and hence
the substantive ado? — Earle's Philology of the Engl. Tongue, ed. 2, p. 420.
338. both sides] Tschischwitz finds this speech obscure, because it seems as
though it were a reply to what Hamlet has just said, whereas, so he says, it merely
resumes the connection of thought which was broken by Hamlet's questions about
the childr~~. He therefore thinks that logic demands the insertion of Hamlet's
speech, lines 332-337, after ' clapped for 't.'
1 68 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.

and the nation holds it no sin to tarre them to controversy ;

there was for a while no money bid for argument, unless 340
the poet and the player went to cuffs in the question.
Ham. Is't possible ?
Giril. Oh, there has been much throwing about of brains.
Ham. Do the boys carry it away ?
Ros. Ay, that they do, my lord; Hercules and his load too. 345
Ham. It is not very strange ; for my uncle is king of
Denmark, and those that would make mows at him while
my father lived give twenty, forty, fifty, a hundred ducats
a-piece, for his picture in little. 'Sblood, there is something
339. them] them on Theob. conj. Pope Dyce i, Sta. Glo. Mob.
ii + , Jen. Steev. Var. 347. mows] mowes Ff. mouths Qq,
345. load] club Theob. conj. (with- Cap. Jen. Steev. Var.
drawn). 348. fifty] Om. Ff, Rowe, Knt, Sta.
346. very strange ; for] Q'76. very a] Qq, Cap. Cam. Cla. an Ff
Jlrange,for Qq. flrange:for Ff, Pope + , et cet.
Cald. Knt, Dyce i, Sta. White, Del. 349. 'Sblood] s'bloud Qq. Om. Ff,
flrange for F 2F . flrange, for F4, Rowe. Rowe + , Knt.
my] mine Ff. Rowe+, Knt,
339. tarre] Nares : To set on, and encourage in an attack, particularly in
reference to dogs. Wedgwood : The origin seems to be an imitation of the sound
of a dog snarling, used for the purpose of setting the animal on to fight.
340. argument] Delius : That is, the plot of the drama, which must be selected
and treated in reference to the taste of the public, if the stage-directors are to bid
money for it ; the public in the meanwhile only caring to see those dramas wherein
the dialogue (the ' question ') is well seasoned with warfare, i cuffs'
343. brains.] Caldecott : Sharp and nice discussion.
345. Hercules] Warburton: They not only carry away the world, but the
world-bearer too; alluding to the story of Hercules relieving Atlas. Steevens:
The allusion may be to the Globe theatre, the sign of which was Hercules carrying
the Globe. Malone : I suppose Sh. meant that the boys drew greater audiences
than the elder players of the Globe theatre. Collier (ed. 2) : In Qt there are suf-
ficient traces of this part of the scene to enable us to be certain that it was acted
when the play was originally produced ; it was omitted, therefore, for some unex-
plained reason in 1604, and restored entire in 1623.
346. strange] Johnson : I do not wonder that the new players have so suddenly
risen to reputation ; my uncle supplies another example of the facility with which
honor is conferred upon new claimants.
347. mows] Nares : A distortion of the face, made in ridicule. See Cymb. 1,
vi, 41, and Psalm xxv, 15, old ed. [now erroneously changed to 'mouths.' — Claren-
don]. Clarendon: In Mid. N. D. Ill, ii, 238, we have 'mouths.' In fact, in
the phrase ' to make mouths,' ' mouths ' is a corruption of ' mows,' the original word.
See also IV, iv, 50.
349. in little] Steevens : In miniature.
349. 'Sblood] Clarendon : God's blood ; one of the many forms of oath bv
ACT II, sc. ii.] HAMLET I O9

in this more than natural, if philosophy could find it out. 350

\_Flouris1i of trumpets within.
Guil. There are the players.
Ham. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. Your
hands, come ; the appurtenance of welcome is fashion
and ceremony ; let me comply with you in this garb, lest
my extent to the players, which, I tell you, must show 355
fairly outwards, should more appear like entertainment

350. [Flourish...] Cap. A Florifli. 353. appurtenance] apportenance '^

Qq. Flourifh for the Players. Ff. Qg.
351. There. ..players.] Shall we call 354. comply] complement Han.
the players? Q'76. this] the Ff, Rowe, Cap. Cald.
353. hands,] hands. Johns. Jen. Steev. Knt, Sta.
Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Sta. Ktly, 354, 355. lest my] let me Q3Q3- let
Del. hands Q2Q3. my QQ.
come] Ff, Rowe, Cap. Knt, Dyce, 356. outwards] Qq, Cam. Cla. out
Sta. White, Huds. come then Qq et cet. ward Ff, Rowe et cet.

the elements of the Eucharist. See II, ii, 505, and ' God's bread,' Rom. <5r» yul.
Ill, v, 175.
353. appurtenance] Clarendon : Proper accompaniment.
354. comply with] Steevens : This is again apparently used in the sense of to
compliment in V, ii, 178. Caldecott: That is, compliantly assume this dress and
fashion of behaviour. Singer : Hamlet has received his old school-fellows with
somewhat of the coldness of suspicion hitherto, but he now remembers that this is
not courteous. He, therefore, rouses himself to give them a proper reception :
* Come, then, the appurtenance of welcome is fashion and ceremony ; let me EMBRACE
you in this fashion, lest,' &c. That to comply with was to embrace will appear from
the following passages in Herrick : ' witty Ovid, by Whom faire Corinna sits ;
and doth comply With Yvorie wrists, his Laureat Head,' &c. — [Hesperides, p. 279,
ed. 1846] ; also, 'And then a Rug of carded wooll, Which, . . . seem'd to comply,
Cloudlike the daintie Deitie.' — [/#. p. 224.] White: In my judgement 'comply
with' (not • comply' alone) has here, and in V, ii, 178, merely the sense of « com-
pliment.' Staunton : Let me fraternize or conjoin with you in the customary
mode; not ' Let me compliment.^ To comply literally means to enfold. CLAREN-
DON: Use ceremony with you in this fashion. [An interpretation which applies
equally well to V, ii, 178.]
354. this garb] Corson : The reading of the Ff makes the better sense, where
1 the ' is used generically.
355. extent] Caldecott : The degree of courtesy dealt out. Collier (ed. 2) :
Is there not room to doubt here whether ' extent ' has not been misprinted for ostentt
a word Sh. not unfrequently uses in the sense of external show ? We have no
is change, but the word ■ extent ' is not very intelligible here, though
authority for the
it may be reconciled to a meaning. Clarendon : Condescension ; the behaviour
of a superior to an inferior when he makes the first advances. See ' extend ' in AW .
Well, III, vi, 73.
I JO HAMLET [act ii, sc. n.

than yours. You are welcome; but my uncle-father and 357

aunt-mother are deceived.
Guil. In what, my dear lord ?
Ham. I am but mad north-north-west ; when the wind 360
is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.

361. hawk\ Hauke Q2Q3Q4- Hawke hand-faw Q/X- hernshaw Han. Cap.
Q-Ff. heronsew Anon.*
handsaw] hand faw Q2Q3-

358. aunt-mother] Daniel (p. 75) : Read mother-aunt. Hamlet's mother had
become his aunt, just as his uncle had become his father.
360. north-north-west] Francke: Perhaps the meaning is: Great, powerful
tempests in the moral world, apparitions from the mysterious Hereafter, can make
me mad, can crush my reason ; but such people as you are, who come around me
with sweet phrases and mock friendship, I have yet wit enough to elude.
361. handsaw] WARBURTON: Hanmer's alteration serves to show us the origin
of the proverb which was a common one in Shakespeare's day. Capell (i, 133) :
The speaker's meaning is that opportunity did not serve for his purpose ; when it
did, it would be seen he had his right senses. Nares : Hernshaw, heronshaw, or
hernshew is a heron or hern. 'As when a cast of falcons make their flight, At an
hernshaw, that lyes aloft on wing.' — Spenser, Fairie Queene, VI, vii, 9. ' To know
a hawk from a hernshaw? was certainly the original form of the proverb. But the
corruption had taken place before the time of Sh. It is handsaw in Ray's Proverbs,
p. 196, ed. 1768. White: I suspect that in Shakespeare's time the corrupted phrase
had, to general acceptation, lost its original meaning, and that the comparison was
supposed to be between the tool called a hawk and a handsaw. There was, and I
believe there still is, a hooked cutting tool called a hawk. Halliwell : No evi-
dence in support of the supposition that ' handsaw ' is a corruption of hernshaw has
been produced ; the phrase always occurs in this form. It is not necessary to believe
that the supposition is correct, the wildest incongruities being often found in pro-
verbial phrases of this description. It is suggested by C. W. H. in the Athenaum
(30 December, 1865), that Sh. might have become acquainted, through North's Plu-
tarch, with the significations attached by the ^Egyptians to the hawk and heron re-
spectively,— the former was the emblem of the North wind, and the latter of the South
wind. ' Hamlet, though feigning madness, yet claims sufficient sanity to distinguish
a hawk from a hernshaw when the wind is southerly ; that is, in the time of the
migration of the latter to the north, when the former is not to be seen.' J. A. G.
(iV. &° Qu. 6 July, 1867) suggests anser, 'the generic name for our domestic water-
fowl.' J.A. Picton {N. 6° Qu. 30 Nov. 1872) suggests that ' hawk ' may refer, not
only to the bill-hook, mentioned by White, but also to a plasterer's instrument so
named. Clarendon : In Suffolk and Norfolk ' hernsew is pronounced ' harnsa,'
from which to ' handsaw ' is but a single step. For the following explanation of the
earlier part of this obscure passage, we are indebted to Mr J. C. Heath, formerly
Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge : ' The expression obviously refers to the sport
of hawking. Most birds, especially one of heavy flight like the heron, when roused
by the falconer or his dog, would fly down or with the wind, in order to escape.
When the wind is from the north, the heron flies towards the south, and the spectator
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 71
Enter Polonius.

Pol. Well be with you, gentlemen !

Ham. Hark you, Guildenstern ;— and you too ;— at each
ear a hearer : that great baby you see there is not yet out
of his swaddling clouts. 365
Ros. Happily he's the second time come to them ; for,
they say, an old man is twice a child.
Haui. I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the
players ; mark it. — You say right, sir; o' Monday morning;
'twas so, indeed. 370
Pol. My lord, I have news to tell you.
Ham. My lord, I have news to tell you. When Roscius
was an actor in Rome, —
362. Scene VII. Pope + . Players. Ff, Rowe + , Jen.
363. too;— at] FsFaF3. to,atQ,Q3F4. 369. it.— You] Johns, it: You Q' 76.
to,areQAQ5. too, at Q'76, Rowe+, Jen. it, You Q2Q3. it, you Q4Q5Ff, Rowe,
364. you see there is~\ as you fee is Pope, Cald.
Q4Q5. *'] Cap. a Qq. for a F.F.F,.
365. swaddling] fwathing Ff, Rowe for on F4> Rowe + . for o' Cald. Sta.
i, Cald. Knt, Coll. El. Dyce i, Sta. White, White, Del.
Del. swathling Rowe ii + . morning;] Cap. morning QQ?
366. Happily] Haply F, Rowe+, Jen. morning Q4Q5Ff, Rowe + , Cald.
Jen. Cald. Coll. Sing. El. White, Ktly, Sta.
Huds. 370. so] then Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev.
he's] he is Qq, Cap. Var. Coll. Sing. El. Ktly, Dyce ii, Huds.
368. prophesy he] prophecy, he Q2Q3- 372, 373. Ham. My. ..Rome] Two
prophecy that he Q . prophecie that he lines, Ff, Rowe+.
Qg. Prophefte. Hee Fv Knt. Prophefie, 372. Roscius] Roffius Qq, Ff.
He F2F3F4, Rowe + . prophesy : he Cap. 373. was] Om. Ff, Cald.
Sing. Rome, — ] Rome — Ff. Rome
369. players ;] players, Q2Q3, Han. Qq.
may be dazzled by the sun, and be unable to distinguish the hawk from the heron.
On the other hand, when the wind is southerly, the heron flies towards the north,
and it and the pursuing hawk are clearly seen by the sportsman, who then has his
back to the sun, and without difficulty knows the hawk from the hernsew. A curious
reader may further observe that a wind from the precise point north-north-we3t
would be in the eye of the sun at half-past ten in the forenoon, a likely time for
hawking, whereas " southerly '''' includes a wider range of wind for a good view.'
[I have heard the emendation suggested of handschuh, the German for glove, but
cannot remember that I have ever seen it in print. Heath's explanation sets the
question at rest, if ' handsaw ' be a corruption of hernsew. Ed.]
366. Happily] Abbott, § 42 : This word, which now means ' by good hap,' was
sometimes used for * haply,' i. e, ' by hap,' just as ' success ' was sometimes * good,' at
other times, ' ill.'
369, 370. You . . . indeed] Hudson : This is spoken in order to blind Pclonius
as to what they have been talking about.
I72 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.

Pol. The actors are come hither, my lord.

Ham. Buz, buz ! 375
Pol. Upon my honour, —
Ham. Then came each actor on his ass, —
Pol. The best actors in the world, either for tragedy,
comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pas-
toral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, 380
scene individable, or poem unlimited ; Seneca cannot be too

376. my] mine Ff, Rowe + , Knt, pastoral] Pajlorall Comicall, Hijloricall
Dyce, Sta. Pajlorall Q2Q3. Pajloricall-Comicall-
honour, — ] honour — Rowe. Hijloricall- Pajlorall Ff, Rowe.
honor. QaQ^Q^F^. honour. QFF. 380. tragical-historical, tragical-corn'
377. Then. ..ass, — ] As a quotation, ical-historical-flastoral]Om.Qq,Tope + t
Johns. Cap. Steev. Var. Sing. Ktly. Cap. Jen.
came] can Ff. 381. scene] ft erne QAQ5- Scane FaF .
ass, — ] AJfe — Ff. AJfe. Qq. individable] Jen. indeuidible Qa
378. The best] — the best Huds. Q . indeuidable Q4QS« indivible Ff. un-
379. 380. pastoral-comical, historical- dividable Rowe + ,Cap. indivisible Cald.

373. actor] Tschischwitz : The fun here consists in Hamlet's mentioning an

actor before the officious Polonius can utter the word.
375. Buz] Johnson : Mere idle talk, the buz of the vulgar. Steevens : Only
interjections employed to interrupt Polonius. Jonson uses them often for the same
purpose, as well as Middleton in A Mad World, my Masters. Blackstone : It
was an interjection used at Oxford, when any one began a story that was generally
known before. Douce (ii, 231) : This expression may continue to exercise the skill
of the critics, if they are disposed to pursue the game through the following mazes :
'Anno DCCCXL Ludovicus imperator ad mortem infirmatur, cujus cibus per XL
dies solummodo die dominica dominicum corpus fecit. Cum vidisset dsemonem
astare, dixit buez, buez, quod sigmftczt foras, foras.' — Alberici monachi trium fontium
Chronicon, Leips. 1698. Ducange, under the article Buzi, says, ' Interpretatur
despectus vel contemptus. Papias (Ab Hebraico Bus vel bouz, sprevit).'
377. Then . . . ass] Johnson : This seems to be the line of a ballad. Elze : At
all events, it contams biting ridicule of Polonius, who has just said that ' The actors
are come hither — upon my honour !'
381. individable] Delius : This refers to dramas that carefully observed the
Unity of Place ; ' poem unlimited ' refers to those that disregarded such restrictions.
Tschischwitz : In the license granted in 1603 to the Globe Company, permission is
given ' freely to use and exercise the Arte and facultie of playing Comedies, Trage-
dies, Histories, Enterludes, Moralls, Pastoralls, Stage plaies & such other like.' To
this last description, ' stage plaies,' I suppose the ' poem unlimited ' belonged, which,
I presume, was an extemporised piece.
381. Seneca . . . Plautus] Steevens: The tragedies of Seneca were translated
into English by Thomas Newton and others, and published first separate, at different
times, and afterwards all together in 1 581. One comedy of Plautus, viz. the Me~
ncchtiP wa> likewise translated and published in 1595. Prefixed to a map of Cam
act li, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 7$

heavy, nor Plautus too light. For the law of writ and the 382
liberty, these are the only men.
Ham. O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure
hadst thou ! 385

382, 383, light. For. ..liberty, these] 384. O Jephthah. ..Israel] As a quo-
Theob. light for. .. liberty : thefe Qq. tation, Pope + , Cap. Steev. Var. Cald
light, for.. .liberty. Thefe Ff, Rowe, Sing. Ktly, Del.
Pope, light for. ..liberty ; thefe Q'76. 384, &c. Jephthah} Cald. Jephtha
382. writ] wit Q'76, Rowe, Pope, Han. Ieptha Qq. Jephta FIF2. Jephta
Theob. Han. Warb. F3F4, Rowe+.
382, 383. the liberty] liberty Q'95.
bridge, in the Second Part of Brannii Civitates, &c., is an account of the Univer-
sity, by Gulielmus Soonus, 1575. In this curious memoir we have the following
passage: 'Januarium, Februarium, et Martium menses, ut noctis toedix fallant in
spectaculis populo exhibendis ponunt tanta elegantia, tanta actionis dignitate, ea
vocis et vultus moderatione, ea magnificentia, ut si Plautus, aut Terentius, aut Seneca
revivisceret mirarentur suas ipsi fabulas, majoremque quam cum inspectante popul.
Rom. agerentur, voluptatem credo caperent. [See III, ii, 93.]
382. writ . . . liberty] Capell (i, 133) : This means, pieces written in rule, and
pieces out of rule. Malone: ' Writ' is used for writing by Shakespeare's contem-
poraries. Thus, in 77/1? Apologie of Pierce Pennilesse, by Nashe, 1593: 'For the
lowsie circumstance of his poverty before his death, and sending that miserable writte
to his wife,' &c. Again, in Bishop Earle's Character of a mere dull Physician, 1638 :
1 Then follows a writ to his drugger in a strange tongue,' &c. Caldecott: ' For the
observance of the rules of the drama, while they take such liberties as are allowable,
they are the only men.' Collier : The meaning probably is, that the players were good,
whether at written productions or at extemporal plays, where liberty was allowed to the
performers to invent the dialogue, in imitation of the Italian commedie al improviso.
See Hist, of Engl. Dram. Poetry, iii, 393. Walker (Crit. iii, 265): Read wit.
' Writ ' for composition is not English. It is as if we should say, the laws of poem
for the laws of poetry, or talk of so and so being contrary to the genius of ode, mean-
ing the genius of lyrical composition. The passages quoted by the Var. commenta-
tors are utterly irrelevant. The same erratum occurs, Jul. Cas. Ill, ii, 225 : ' For
I haue neyther writ nor words, nor worth.' Clarendon : Probably the author did
not intend that we should find a distinct meaning in Polonius's words. Corson :
The Qq and Ff connect in construction, * for the law of writ and the liberty,' with
Seneca and Plautus, and not with ' these are the only men/ which evidently refers to
the actors he's talking about. • Liberty ' should be construed with ' law ;' the law
and the liberty of writ [writing]. And 'law' and 'liberty' seem to refer, respec-
tively, to ' heavy ' and ' light.' This respective construction is frequent in Sh. See
Macb. I, iii, 60, 61 ; Ham. Ill, i, 151 ; Wint. Tale, III, ii, 160-162; Ant. b* Cleo.
Ill, ii, 15-18; IV, xv, 25, 26; Com. of Err. II, ii, 11 2-1 17; Temp. I, ii, 335, 336;
Mid. N. D. Ill, i, 98-101.
384. Jephthah] Steevens communicated to Dr Percy the old song from which
Hamlet quotes, and it appeared in the second edition of Percy's Reliques in 1757.
There are two entries of this ballad on the Registers of the Stationers' Company : in 1567
-6a, • Alexandre lacye ' was licensed to print ' a ballet intituled the songe of Jesphas

15*
1 74 HAMLET [act II, sc. ii.

Pol. What treasure had he, my lord ? 386

Ham. Why,
1 One fair daughter, and no more,
The which he loved passing well.'
Pol. [Aside] Still on my daughter. 390
Hani. Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah ?
Pol. If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a daughter
that I love passing well.
Ham. Nay, that follows not.
Pol. What follows, then, my lord? 395
Ham. Why,
'As by lot, God wot/
and then, you know,
386. What treasure] Walker, Dyce 390. [Aside] Cap.
ii, Huds. What a treafure QqFf et cet. 392-394. Pol. If... not. J Om. Q.Q-.
387-389. Why... we 7/.'] Cap. (subs.) 392. you] thou Jen.
Prose, Qq. Two lines, Ff, Rowe + . As 396,397. Why. ..wot,'] Mai. (subs.)
a quotation, Pope + . Prose, QqFf, Jen. by. ..wot, as a quota-
387. Why, 'One] Cap. Why one Qq tion, Pope+, Cap.
Ff, Rowe, Pope. 398, 399. know, 'It] know it Qq.

Dowg*her at his death.' [Arber's Transcript, i, 355. *His death ' is a clerical error
for 'her death.' Collier, in vol. xiii, p. 169, Sh. Soc. Publications, seems to doubt
if this be the same ballad as that quoted by Hamlet. Ed.] The second entry is
1 Jeffa Judge of Israel,' p. 93, vol. iii, Dec. 14, 1624. Halliwell gives a facsimile
of ' A proper new ballad, intituled, Jepha yudge of Jfrael? of which the first stanza
runs as follows :
' I read that many yeare agoe,
When Jepha Judge of Jsrael,
Had one fair Daughter and no more,
whom he loved so passing well.
And as by lot God wot,
It came to passe most like it was,
Great warrs there thould be,
and who should be the chiefe, but he, but he.'
Copies of this ballad differ slightly from each other, says Halliwell. Malone refers
to Latin tragedies on this subject by Christopherson, 1546, and by Buchanan, 1554,
and thinks it had probably been introduced on the English stage. Ccllier shows
from Henslowe's Diary (pp. 220, 221, 222, and 223) that, in 1602, Dekker and
Chettle were paid for a tragedy they were writing on the story of Jephthah, and that
the subject, therefore, was popularly known by means of ballads and the stage.
386. What treasure] Walker (Crit. i, 89) cites Fx as containing another in-
stance, like II, ii, 295, of a interpolated: 'What treasure,' surely for grammar's
Bake.
394. Nay . . . not] Zornlin (Sh. Soc. Tapers, vol. iii, p. 157) : It follows not
that you are lika Jephthah, ir loving your daughter, — but in your shameful sacri-
fice of her.
ACT II, SC. ii.] HAMLET 1 75

1 It came to pass, as most like it was,' — 399

the first row of the pious chanson will show you more ;
for look, where my abridgements come. —

Enter four or five Players.

You are welcome, masters ; welcome all. I am glad to see

399. 'It. .was?] As a quotation, Pope. 401. abridgements comt] Ff, Rowe + ,
400. pious chanson'] Qq, Jen. Pons Cald. Knt. abridgement comes Qq et
Ck mfon Ff> Cald. Pans Chanfon FF cet.
F. Kubrick Q'76, Rowef. Pont-chan- Enter...] Enter the Players. Qq. Ei>-
sons Han. Cap. ter certain players, usher'd. Cap.
401. where] Om. Mai. Steev. Var. 402. You are] Y'are Ff, Rowe + .

399. It came to pass] Mouerly : ' As he had a daughter, of course he got

into a scrape,' is the inference suggested.
400. pious chanson] Pope explained the reading of Ff as the name of ' old
ballads sung on bridges.' Steevens defines 'pious chansons' as ballads containing
some scriptural history, sung about the streets, and the ' first row ' is the first column
of the roughly printed sheet. Nares thinks the reading of the Ff apparently non-
sense. Shakespeare intended, perhaps, to mix French and English, but both seem to
have been corrupted by the players and printers. Singer (ed. 1) really decides the
question by an appeal to Qt, where the corresponding phrase is ' the firft verfe of the
godly Ballet' [line 1016]. But Hunter {New Illust. ii, 232) opened the question
again by advocating the reading of the F , on the score of its being the latest intention
of the poet, and the proper one. * In fact, in France, the trivial ballad, such as that re-
ferred to, is called in ordinary discourse a pons chanson, or a chanson du Pont Neuf
" Vaudevilles, ou Chanson du Pont Neuf, les chansons communes qui se chantent
parmi le peuple avec une grande facilite, et sans art : Trivialis cantilena" — Dic-
tionnaire de Trevoux, s. v. Chanson.'' In reply to Hunter, Knight [ap. Dyce] perti-
nently asks : ' A popular ballad is called even in modern dictionaries a chanson du
Pont Neuf, — but where is the authority for Pons Chanson ?' [According to Littre,
the secondary meaning of Pont- Neuf is : ' Chanson populaire sur un air tres-connu,
e. g. II sait tous les ponts-neufs qui courent les rues.' (In this sense it is not
printed with capital letters.) But nowhere does he give such a phrase as pons
chansons nor chanson, used absolutely when meaning the specific chansons du pont-
neuf Ed.]
401. myj *Iunter [New Illust. ii, 233) : 'My' does not necessarily refer back
to the speaker, but may be used ethically. Corson : It is so used in the Ff read-
ing; in that of the Qq it is used objectively.
401. abridgements] Johnson: He calls the players afterwards [line 507] the
brief chronicles of the time; but I think he now means: those who will shorten
my talk. Steevens (Note on Mid. N. D. V, i, 39) : By abridgement Sh. may mean
a dramatic performance, which crowds the events of years into a few hours. Dyce
(Gloss.) : In this place it is applied to the players, as being, I presume, the persons
wno represent an abridgement. Clarendon: Hamlet uses the word in a double
sense. The players by entering abridge his talk.
176 ' HAMLET [act 11, sc. it

ye well. Welcome, good friends. — O, my old friend !

Thy face is valanced since I saw thee last ; comest thou to
beard me in Denmark ?— What, my young lady and mis- 405
tress ! By 'r lady, your ladyship is nearer to heaven than
when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine. Pray
403. ye] Dyce ii. Huds. you Han. 406. ByW Lady] Byrlady Fx. Ber-
thee QqFf et cet. lady F2F3F4, Rowe, Pope, Han. by lady
my] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen. Q2Q3Q4- my Ladie Q . Ferlady Theob.
Steev. Var. Coll. Sing. El. White, Ktly. Warb. Johns.
404. Thy] Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Dyce, ladyship] LordJJiip F3F4, Rowe.
Sta. Huds. Glo. Cla. Mob. Why, thy to heaven] heaven Ff, Rowe + ,
Qq et cet. Knt, Dyce i.
valanced] valancl Q3Q,. va- 407. chopine] Choppine Ff. chioppine
lanc'd Q4QS« valiant Ff, Rowe, Cald. Pope + . chapin Jen.
Knt, Sta.
404. valanced] M alone : That is, fringed with a beard. The valance is the
fringes or drapery hanging round the tester of a bed. Caldecott : That is, is be-
come manly and fierce, as in As You Like It, II, vii, 150, 'bearded like the pard.'
STAUNTON : Compare the advice of Iago to Roderigo ;— • Follow thou the wars ; defeat
thy favour with an usurped beard,' i. e. assume a martial aspect ; and also the context
in Hamlet's speech, • comest thou to beard me in Denmark ?' where the point is lost
without the fierceness implied by ' valiant.' Clarendon : • Valiant ' is probably a mere
misprint. Wedgwood : Supposed to be from the stuff having been made at Valencia
or Valence.
406. By'r] Pronounced beer (Walker, Vers. p. 191).
406. ladyship] Clarendon : In Shakespeare's time, and till after the restoration
of Charles II, female parts were played by boys. (Compare Two Gent. IV, iv, 165.)
Probably the first woman who ever appeared on the English stage played Desde-
mona, on Saturday, 6 December, 1660. [Who that actress was has not been ascer-
tained;a Mrs Hughs acted this part, in this company, in 1663, and to her may
belong the honour; although the received tradition is that it is due to Mrs Saunder-
son, afterwards Mrs Betterton. The gross absurdity of entrusting to boys, and even
to men, the r6les of women is well hit off in the doggerel ' Prologue, to introduce the
first woman that came to act on the stage :'
' Our women are defective, and so sized
You'd think they were some of the guard disguised :
For, to speak truth, men act, that are between
Forty and fifty, wenches of fifteen ;
With bone so large, and nerve so incompliant,
When you call Desdemona, enter Giant.'
iTie apology was once made to Charles II for unpunctuality in beginning a play,
tl.at 'the queen was not shaved.' See Var. of 1821, vol. iii, p. 129. Ed.]
407. chopine] Thelwall (Grey's Notes, &c, ii, 291) thinks this is the Scotch
w »rd for a quart measure. Vide Jamieson, s. v. Chapin. Reed: Tom Coryat, in
hii. Crudities, 161 1, p. 262, calls them chapineys, and gives the following account
of them : • There is one thing used of the Venetian women, and some others dwell
ing in the cities and townes subject to the signiory of Venice, that is not to bo
cbserved (I thinke) amongst any other women in Christendome : which is common
 act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET I 77

God, your voice, like a piece of uncurrent gold, be not 408

cracked within the ring. — Masters, you are all welcome.

in Venice, that no woman whatsoever goeth without it, either in her house or abroad,
a thing made of wood and covered with leather of sundry colors \ some with white,
some redde, some yellow. It is called 'a chapiney, which they wear under their shoes.
Many of them are curiously painted ; some also of them I have seen fairely gilt : so
uncomely a thing (in my opinion) that it is pitty this foolish custom is not cleane
banished and exterminated out of the citie. There are many of these chapineys of a
great height, even half a yard high, which maketh many of their women that are very
short, seeme much taller than the tallest women we have in England. Also I have
heard it observed among them, that by how much the nobler a woman is, by so much
the higher are her chapineys. All their gentlewomen and most of their wives and
widowes that are of any wealth, are assisted and supported eyther by men or women,
when they walke abroad, to the end they may not fall. They are borne up most com-
monly bythe left arme, otherwise they might quickly take a fall.' Malone : Minsheu
defines ' Chapin de muger, a womans shooes, such as they use in Spaine, mules, or high
corke shooes? There is no synonymous word in the Italian. Boswell said that ciop-
pino is in Veneroni's Dictionary, but Dyce (Gloss.) says that none of the Italian Dic-
tionaries inhis possession contain the word. [It is not in Baretti. Singer says that it is
recorded under the title of zoccolo, which, however, means simply a sandal, or patten.]
Douce : In Raymond's Voyage through Italy, 1648, we find: 'This place [Venice]
is much frequented by the walking may poles, I meane the women. They weare
their coats halfe too long for their bodies, being mounted on their chippeens, (which
are as high as a man's leg), they walke between two handmaids, majestickly delibe-
rating of every step they take. This fashion was invented and appropriated to the
noble Venitian wives, to bee constant to distinguish them from the courtesans, who
goe covered in a vaile of white taffety.' The choppine, or some kind of high shoe,
was occasionally used in England. Bulwer, in his Artificial Changeling [1653],
complains of this fashion as a monstrous affectation, and says that his countrywomen
therein imitated the Venetian and Persian ladies. In Sandys's travels, 1615, there is
a figure of a Turkish lady with chopines ; it is not improbable that the Venetians
borrowed them from the Greek Islands. Singer : Perhaps Hamlet may have some
allusion to the boy having grown so as to fill the place of a tragedy heroine, and so
assumed the cothurnus ; which Puttenham described as 'high corked shoes, or pan-
tofles, which now they call in Spaine and Italy Shoppini.1 [Singer misunderstood
the passage in Puttenham (see Arber's Rep. p. 49), which is as follows : ' the actors
[of the parts of great Princes] ware vpon their legges buskins of leather called
Cothurni, and other solemne habits, and for a speciall preheminence did walke vpon
those high corked shoes or pantofles, which,' &c. At a Jewish wedding in Jerusa-
lem at which I was present, in 1856, the young bride, aged twelve, wore chopines
at least ten inches high. Ed.]
409. ring] Johnson : Cracked too much for use. Douce : There was a ring on
the coin, within which the sovereign's head was placed ; if the crack extended from
the edge beyond this ring, the coin was rendered unfit for currency. [To the same
effect, also, Gifford, note on Jonson's The Magnetic Lady, Works, vol. vi, p. 76.]
Such pieces were hoarded by the usurers of the time and lent out as lawful money.
TVus, Roger Fenton, in his Treatise of Usury, 161 1, p. 23 : A poore man desireth a
M
I 78 HAMLET [act 11, sc. it

We'll e'en to 't like French falconers, fly at any thing we 410
see ; we'll have a speech straight ; come, give us a taste of
your quality ; come, a passionate speech.
First Play. What speech, my good lord ?
Ham. I heard thee speak me a speech once, but it was
never acted ; or, if it was, not above once ; for the play, I re- 415
member, pleased not the million; 'twas caviare to the general ;
410. e'en td't\ Ro we. ento't Qq. e'ne 413. good\ Om. Ff, Rowe, Steev.
toU Ff. Bos. Cald. Knt, Sing. Dyce, Sta. White,
French] friendly Qq, Pope, Glo. Ktly, Mob.
Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. 416. caviare] Johns, cauiary Qq, Jen.
falconers'] Fankners Q2Q. Fauk- El. Cauiarie Fx. Cavitary F2F F . a
ners Q4Q5- Faulconers Ff, Rowe+. caviary Q'76. Caviar Rowe+. ca-
413, 446, &c. First Play.] 1 Play. viarie Cald. Knt i.
Ff. Player. Qq.

goldsmith to lend him such a summe, but he is not able to pay him interest. If such
as I can spare (saith the goldsmith) will pleasure you, you shall have it for three or
foure moneths. Now, hee hath a number of light, dipt, crackt peeces (for such he
useth to take in change with consideration for their defects :) this summe of money
is repaid by the poore man at the time appointed in good and lawfull money. This
is usurie.' And again, 'It is a common custome of his [the usurer's] to buy up
crackt angels at nine shillings the piece. Now sir, if a gentleman (on good assur-
ance) request him of mony, Good sir, (saith hee, with a counterfait sigh) I would
be glad to please your worship, but my good mony is abroad, and that I have, I dare
not put in your hands. The gentleman thinking this conscience, where it is subtilty,
and being beside that in some necessity, ventures on the crackt angels, some oi
which cannot flie, for soldering, and paies double interest to the miser under the
cloake of honesty.' — Lodge's WifsMiserie, 1596. Caldecott : Another sense is
also meant : a voice broken in consequence of licentious indulgence.
410. French] Capell (i, 133) : The French are remarkably irregular in all feats
of sporting even at this day. Steevens : Toilet mentions that Sir Thomas Browne
{Miscellany Tracts, p. 1 16) says that 'the French seem to have been the first and
noblest falconers in the western part of Europe,' and afterwards (p. 1 18), adds
Clarendon, he (Sir Thomas Browne) mentions a falcon of Henry of Navarre,
' which Scaliger saith, he saw strike down a buzzard, two wild geese, divers kites, a
crane and a swan.' * The phrase here, " fly at any thing we see," may not, therefore,
*»ave been intended to express contempt.'
414. me] An ethical dative, like 'inquire me first what Danskers,' &c, II, i, 6;
also compare Rom. <Sr» Jul. Ill, i, 6 : 'he claps me his sword.' Schmidt {Lex.
5. v. 'I') says of this dative, that although superfluous as to the general sense, it
imparts a lively color to the expression. Matzner (ii, 211), with keener analysis,
defines it as a personal pronoun of the first or second person, used, in familiar or
jocose style, to denote the subjective interest which the speaker or the person ad-
dressed feels in some allusion to a circumstance which objectively is regarded as
accomplished independently of that interest. See also V, i, 157.
416. caviare] Reed: Giles Fletcher, in his Russe Commonwealth, 1591, says, in
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 79

but it was, — as I received it, and others, whose judgements 417

in such matters cried in the top of mine, — an excellent play,
well digested in the scenes, set down with as much modesty
as cunning. I remember, one said there were no sallets in 420

417. received} conceived Coll. (MS). Ff, Rowe, White, was no ialts Pope i.
judgements'] judgement Ff, Rowe was no salt Pope ii + , Jen. El. Coll. ii
4-, Cald. Sta. (MS), were no salts Cap.
420. were no sallets] was no Sallets

Russia they have ' divers kinds of fish : the Bellouga and Bellougina, . . . the Osi-
trina and Sturgeon. ... Of the roes of these four kinds they make very great store
of Icary or Caviary.' Ritson {Remarks, &c., p. 199) : Hamlet means that the play,
like the pickled sturgeon, was a delicacy for which the multitude has no relish.
Douce (Illust. &c, ii, 236) : This word has been frequently mispronounced caveer
on the stage; but the following line from Sir J. Harrington's 33d Epigram, book iii,
leaves no uncertainty in the matter : ' And caveare, but it little boots. . . .' Caviar
was formerly a considerable article of commerce between England and Russia.
Nares : In Shakespeare's time it was a new and fashionable delicacy, not obtained
nor relished by the vulgar, and therefore used by him to signify anything above their
comprehension.
416. the general] Malone: Lord Clarendon (Book v, p. 530) uses this word to
signify ' the people' in the same manner it is used here. Caldecott : In Galateo
of Manners, p. 29, 1576, we have the moste used in the same sense.
418. cried in the top] Warburton : That is, whose judgement I had the highest
opinion of. JOHNSON : I think it means only, that were higher than mine. Heath :
Whose judgement, in such matters, was in much higher vogue than mine. Steevens :
Perhaps it means only : whose judgement was more clamorously delivered than mine.
We still say of a bawling actor, that he speaks on the top of his voice. Henley :
To over-top is a hunting term applied to a dog when he gives more tongue than the
rest of the cry. To this, I believe, Hamlet refers, and he afterwards mentions a cry
of players. CALDECOTT : Proclaimed not merely in addition to my voice and cen-
sure, but with a tone of authority that mine could not sound. Clarendon : Hen-
ley's explanation of the metaphor is probably right. But it is the superior authority
or value of the judgements, not the greater loudness with which they were delivered,
that is indicated here.
419 modesty] Warburton : Simplicity. Dyce (Gloss.): Moderation. Tschisch-
witz: In rhetorical phraseology, 'modesty' is evrafjia. Cic. De Off. lib. I, xl, 142,
ed. Orelli : ' Sed ilia est evrai-ia, in qua intelligitur ordinis conservatio. Itaque, ean-
dem nos modestiam apellemus, sed definitur a Stoicis, ut modestia sit scientia rerum
earum quce agerentur aut dicentur, loco suo collocandarum.^ Thus, also, 'modesty
of nature' [III, ii. 18] means that symmetrical harmony by which the acts of every-
day life are made to fit the situation, that ' temperance and smoothness in the very
torrent, tempest, and the whirlwind of passion ' to which ' modesty' can be applied,
as in Pliny, vi, 20, 71 : modestia qusedam aquarum. Did Sh. really not understand
Latin ?
420. sallets] Heath : This is spoken in approbation, not in disparagement, ol
the play. The sense is : it wanted the high seasoning of loose ribaldry and luscious
l8o HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.
the lines to make the matter savoury, nor no matter in the 421
phrase that might indict the author of affection ; but called
it an honest method, as wholesome as sweet, and by very
much more handsome than fine. One speech in it I chiefly
loved ; 'twas ^Eneas's tale to Dido ; and thereabout of it es- 425

422. indict'] Coll. Dyce, Sta. White, 424. speech] cheefe Speech F,. chieft
Glo. + , Huds. Mob. indite QqFf et cet. fpeech Fa. chief fpeech F3F4, Rowe,
affection] affeclation Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt.
Han. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. Dyce i, Sta. in it] in't Qq.
White, Ktly, Glo. Del. Huds. 425. Mneas's] Theob. Warb. Johns.
but] but /Johns, conj. Aeneas Q2Q. ^Eneas Q Q Ff. Apneas'
423. 424. as wholesome... fine] Om. Pope et cet.
Ff, Rowe, Pope, Theob. Han. Warb. tale] talke Qq, Cap.

double meanings. GiFFORD defends Pope's reading, on the strength of a line in

one of Jonson's Epigrams ( Works, vol. viii, p. 177) : ' I have no salt, no bawdry he
doth mean ;' and pronounces ' sallets ' as akin to nonsense. Singer : ' Salt ' was
probably intended. ' Salt, a pleasaunt and merrie word, that maketh folks to laugh,
and sometimes pricketh.' — Baret. Dyce : In spite of Gifford's note, I think the
alteration to salt a hasty one — ' sallets,' i. e. salt (ribald) words and allusions (see
Richardson's Dictionary for the etymology of salad or sallet). Collier (ed. 2) :
The (MS) has 'salt,' perhaps wrongly, though sallets or salads seems not easily un-
derstood. The allusion may have been particular and temporary. Clarendon :
Pope was probably not aware that fragrant and piquant herbs were mixed with the
salad.
422. indict . . . affection] Steevens : That is, convict the author of being a fan
tastical, affected writer. In Love's Lab. V, i, 4, * witty without affection' i. e. affec-
tation. Malvolio is called 'an affectioned ass' in Twelfth Night, II, iii, 160. Cal-
decott : From the use of the Latin, it seems that the English word was first intro-
duced.Thy
• maner of wrytynge is dark with over moche curyosyte. Stylus tuus
affectione obscuratur nimia.' — Horman's Vulgaria, I53°«
424. handsome than fine] Delius : « Handsome ' denotes genuine, natural
beauty — * fine,' artistic, labored beauty. Clarke : In this passage [from line 420]
Sh. is, in his own subtle vein of quiet hum:*, satirising the foppery of give-and-take
criticism.

425. thereabout] Clarendon: A substantive, like 'whereabout,' in Macb. II,

i, 58.
425. Theobald (Sh. Rest. p. 72) : I should suspect this play referred to by
Hamlet to be Shakespeare's from one reason only; and that is, from its subject.
There is scarce a play throughout all his works, in which it was possible to introduce
the mention of them, where he has not by simile, allusion, or otherwise, hinted at
the Trojan affairs ; so fond was he of that story. Pope (ed. 2) : This whole speech
of Hamlet is purely ironical ; he seems to commend this play to expose the bombast
of it. Who was its author is not come to my knowledge. Warburton : I think
that Hamlet spoke with commendation to upbraid the false taste of the audience of
that time, wl'.:/. would not suffer them to do justice to the simplicity and the sublime
:>f this production. And I reason, first, from the character Hamlet gives of tbe
ACT II, sc. ii.] HAMLET l8l

[425. /Eneas's tale to Dido.]

play from whence the passage is taken. Secondly, from the passage itself. And,
thirdly, from the effect it had on the audience. Firsts they who suppose the passage
was given in order to be ridiculed must needs suppose that what Hamlet says in
lines 418-426 was purely ironical, and the strangest irony ever was written. ' It
pleased not the multitude.' This we must conclude to be true, however ironical the
rest be. Now the reason given of the designed ridicule is the supposed bombast.
Whereas bombast, we know, at that time took with the multitude. But Hamlet tells
why it displeased them : that there was no salt in the lines, nor affected style. Now
it could not be, if this play displeased on account of the bombast, that they whom
it displeased should give this reason for their dislike. All these inconsistencies dis-
appear ifwe take Hamlet as speaking his genuine sentiments, as thus: The play, I
remember, pleased not the multitude, and the reason was its being written on the
rules of the ancient drama; to which they were entire strangers. But in my opinion
and in that of others of better judgement than mine, it was an excellent play, well
digested in the scenes, i. e. where the three unities were well preserved. Set down
with as much modesty as cunning, i. e. where not only the art of composition, but
the simplicity of nature, was carefully attended to. But these qualities, which gained
my esteem, lost the public's. For / remember, one said, There was no salt in the
lines to make the matter savory, i. e. there was not, according to the mode of that
time, a fool or clown, to joke, quibble, and talk freely. Nor no matter in the phrase
that might indite the author of affection, i. e. nor none of those passionate, pathetic
love-scenes, so essential to modern tragedy. But he called it an honest method, i. e.
he owned, however tasteless this method of writing, on the ancient plan, was to our
times, yet it was chaste and pure ; the distinguishing character of the Greek drama.
I need only make one observation on all this; that, thus interpreted, it is the justest
picture of a good tragedy, wrote on the ancient rules. 2. A second proof that this
speech was given to be admired is from the intrinsic merit of the speech itself, which
contains the description of a circumstance very happily imagined, namely : Ilium and
Priam's falling together, with the effect it had on the destroyer. Now this circum-
stance, illustrated with the fine similitude of the storm, is so highly worked up as to
have well deserved a place in Virgil's second book of the ALneid, even though the
work had been carried on to that perfection which the Roman poet had conceived.
3. The third proof is, from the effects which followed on the recital. Hamlet, his
best character, approves it ; the player is deeply affected in repeating it ; and only
the foolish Polonius tired with it. The player changes color, and the tears start from
his eyes. But our author was too good a judge of nature to make bombast and un-
natural sentiment produce such an effect. But if any one will still say that Sh. in-
tended to represent a player unnaturally and fantastically affected, we must appeal
to Hamlet, that is, to Sh. himself in this matter; who, on the reflection he makes
upon the player's emotion, in order to excite his own revenge, gives not the least hint
that the player was unnaturally or injudiciously moved. On the contrary, his fine
description of the actor's emotion shows he thought just otherwise. And indeed
had Hamlet esteemed this emotion anything unnatural, it had been a very improper
circumstance to spur him to his purpose. That which supports the common opinion
concerning this passage is the turgid expression in some parts of it, which, they
think, could never be given by the poet to be commended. We shall, therefore, in
the nert place examine the lines most obnoxious to censure, and see how much,
16
1 82 HAMLE1 [act II, sc. S

[425. i^Eneas's tale to Dido.]

illowing the charge, this will make for the induction of their conclusion. [See
lines 451 and 473.] Now whether these be bombast or not is not the question ; but
whether Sh. esteemed them so. That he did not so esteem them appears from his
having used the very same thoughts in the same expressions in his best plays, and
given them to his principal characters, where he aims at the sublime ; as in the fol-
lowing passages: Troilus ( Tro. <5r» Cres.V, iii, 40-42) far outstrains the execution
of Pyrrhus's sword in the character he gives of Hector's. Cleopatra {Ant. 6° Cleo.
IV, xv, 44) rails at fortune in the same manner. But another use may be made of
these quotations ; a discovery of this recited play, which, letting us into a circum-
stance of our author's life (as a writer) hitherto unknown, was the reason I have
been so large upon this question. I think, then, it appears from what has been said
that the play in dispute was Shakespeare's own, and that this was the occasion of
writing it. He was desirous, as soon as he had found his strength, of restoring the
chasteness and regularity of the ancient stage, and therefore composed this tragedy
on the model of the Greek drama, as may be seen by throwing so much action into
relation. But his attempt proved fruitless, and the raw, unnatural taste, then preva-
lent, forced him back again into his old Gothic manner. For which he took this
revenge upon his audience. Capell : Among the very few plays of that time that
have not been seen by the editor is one that bears the title, ' Dido, queen of Carthage?
in which one might be apt to expect the speech in question ; the cast of Thomas
Nash's production is widely different. Malone : I formerly thought that these lines
were extracted from some old play, of which it appeared to me probable that Mar-
lowe was the author ; but whatever Shakespeare's view in producing them may have
been, I am now decidedly of opinion they were written by himself, not in any former
unsuccessful piece, but expressly for the play of Hamlet. It is observable that what
Warburton calls « the fine similitude of the storm,' is likewise found in our poet's
Venus 6° Adonis. Steevens : The praise which Hamlet bestows on this piece is
certainly dissembled, and agrees very well with the character of madness, which,
before witnesses, he thought it necessary to support. The speeches before us have
so little merit that nothing but an affectation of singularity could have influenced
Warburton to undertake their defence. The poet, perhaps, meant to exhibit a just
resemblance of some of the plays of his own age, in which the faults were too gen-
eral and too glaring to permit a few splendid passages to atone for them. The
player knew his trade, and spoke the lines in an affecting manner, because Hamlet
had declared them to be pathetic, or might be in reality a little moved by them.
The mind of the prince, it must be confessed, was fitted for the reception of gloomy
ideas, and his tears were ready at a slight solicitation. It is by no means proved
that Sh. has employed the same thoughts clothed in the same expressions in his best
plays. If he bids the false huswife Fortune break her wheel, he does not desire her
to break all its spokes ; nay, even its periphery, and make use of the nave afterwards
for such an imvieasurable cast. Though if what Warburton has said should be
found in any instance to be exactly true, what can we infer from thence but that
Sh. was sometimes wrong in spite of conviction, and in the hurry of writing com-
mitted those very faults which his judgement could detect in others? Warburton is
inconsistent in his assertions concerning the literature of Sh. In a note on Tro. &*
Cres. he affirms that Shakespeare's want of learning kept him from being acquainted
with Homer; and yet in this instance would suppose him capable of producing a
act ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 83

[425. JEneas's tale to Dido.]

complete tragedy written on the ancient rules ; and that the speech before us had
sufficient merit to entitle it to a place in the second book of Virgil "s sl'lneid.
Steevens afterwards discovered a copy of this play of Dido, queen of Carthage,
referred to by Capell, and asserted that it did not furnish Sh. with more than a gen-
eral hint for his description of the death of Priam, &c, unless a correspondence be
perceived to Shakespeare's line 451 in 'And with the wind thereof the king fell
down,' and to line 458 in ' So leaning on his sword he stood stone still.' The ex-
tracts which Steevens gives will be found in Fleay's note, further on ; of them
Steevens says that surely the greater part is more ridiculous than even Shakespeare's
happiest vein of burlesque and parody could have made it. Ritson believes that the
admiration of the play expressed by Hamlet was genuine, and that this is probably
an extract from one of Shakespeare's early productions. He then adds : The verses
recited are far superior to those of any coeval writer ; the parallel passage in Mar-
lowe and Nash's Dido will not bear the comparison. Possibly, indeed, it might
have been his first attempt, before the divinity that lodg'd ivithin him had instructed
him to despise the tumid and unnatural style so much and so unjustly admired in his
predecessors or contemporaries, and which he afterwards so happily ridiculed in ' the
swaggering vaine of Ancient Pistol.' Seymour (ii, 172) agrees with Ritson, and
Pye (p. 314) agrees with Seymour. Coleridge: This admirable substitution of
the epic for the dramatic diction of Shakespeare's own dialogue, and authorized
too, by the actual style of the tragedies before his time (Porrex <5r» Ferrex, Til.
And., &c), is well worthy of notice. The fancy that a burlesque was intended
sinks below criticism ; the lines, as epic narrative, are superb. In the thoughts, and
even in the separate parts of the diction, this description is highly poetical; in truth,
taken by itself, that is its fault that it is too poetical !— the language of lyric vehe-
mence and epic pomp, and not of the drama. But if Sh. had made the diction
truly dramatic, where would have been the contrast between Hamlet and the play in
Hamlet ? Schlegel {Led. on Dram. Lit. ii, 197) : This extract must not be judged
of by itself, but in connection with the place where it is introduced. To distinguish
it as dramatic poetry in the play itself, it was necessary that it should rise above its
dignified poetry in the same proportion that the theatrical elevation does above
simple nature. Hence Sh. has composed the play in Hamlet altogether in senten-
tious rhymes full of antitheses. But this solemn and measured tone did not suit a
speech in which violent emotion ought to prevail, and the poet had no other expe-
dient than the one of which he made choice : overcharging the pathos. The lan-
guage of the speech in question is falsely emphatical ; but yet this fault is so mixed
up with true grandeur that a player, practised in calling forth in himself artificially
the imitated emotions, may certainly be carried away with it. Besides, it will nardly
be believed that Sh. knew so little of his art as not to be aware that a tragedy in which
iEneas had to make a lengthened epic relation of a transaction that happened so
long before as the destruction of Troy could neither be dramatical nor theatrical.
Caldecott : These warm commendations of Hamlet cannot be other than the real
sentiment of Sh. From whatever quarter the fragment came, it affords a decisive
proof of Shakespeare's taste in this department of the drama. He may here have
chosen to give his conception of the true and just swell of tragedy. Hunter (ii,
234) : Is it possible that Sh., who knew so well what belongs to poetry and the
dramatic art, can have approved of a wearisome speech like this, its bombast phrases,
1 84 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.

[425. jEneas's tale to Dido.]

Its empty declamation, and with at least two anti-climaxes as palpable as can any-
where be found ? There is but one redeeming clause [lines 461-465]. But even
this, as the reader cannot but perceive, sinks «is it proceeds, and becomes common-
place and inharmonious. His objection to the phrase, * mobled queen,' might of
itself prove that the poet, if he seemed /a anything which he said to commend, spoke
ironically, for a more unhappy expression could scarcely have occurred. Probably
it was the play of Dido *-b<at he meant to ridicule. Strachey (p. 55), speaking of
the extracts from Dido, Queen of Carthage, given by Steevens, says : ' Though there
is not a line, hardly a thought of them, the same as the passage which the player
recites, and which is of course Shakespeare's own, still the style is so like, that the
audience would probably have been reminded of Marlowe's play, and so have ex-
perienced the sensation of hearing real men quoting a real play ; nay, if they re-
tained only a general recollection of the original, might have supposed that the
quotation was actually from Marlowe's tragedy.' Elze : From all that we know
of Shakespeare's treatment of his own works, it seems in the highest degree im-
probable, not only that he should have introduced here his own composition, but
that he should have praised it also. Rightly to understand this passage, it is essen-
tial that we should lose sight of the person of the poet, and separate his opinion
from the praise of Hamlet. It is clear that in this speech the keynote of that school
of learned poets is struck that was hostile to Shakespeare's naturalistic style. . . .
By making Hamlet so enthusiastic in his admiration of a drama that was moulded
on the learned, pathetic, and classic model, Sh. evidently wished to give us an insight
into his hero's studious and pre-eminently ideal character. A side-thrust is at the
same time unmistakably given to Shakespeare's opponents ; in effect he thus appeals
to them : ■ Behold, it is such folk as my Hamlet that admire you ; such folk is it that
you educate with your poetry.' Delius : This drama, if there really were such a
one, and if it had not been composed for the nonce to suit Hamlet's purpose, could
have been written by no one but Sh. himself, and the praise of ' modesty ' and ' cun-
ning 'must have been meant in seriousness. Fleay ( On the Extract from an Old
Play in Hamlet. Macmillan's Maga. Dec. 1874, p. 135) : Marlowe's play was finished
by Nash, after Marlowe's death in 1593, and published in 1594. It is for the most
part written in Marlowe's style, with some minor interpolations by Nash. In Act
II, sc. i, which is far the weakest in the play, and does least to advance the plot,
there are several peculiarities. 1. Priamus is used for the name of the king of Troy
eight times, Priam three times only. Elsewhere in the play the form of Priam is
used exclusively. 2. The name Alexander is given to Helen's lover ; in other parts
of this play, and in Marlowe's other works, he is called Paris. 3. At the end of
y^Eneas's tale there is a stage-direction [Exeunt omnes\, although Ascanius remains
on the stage and talks to Venus and Cupid, who then come in. This double ending
to a scene implies double authorship, or one author working at two distinct times.
It is a common phenomenon ; in Sh., for instance, we find it in Tro. 6° Cres. and in
Macb. 4. The whole of the scene is inferior in workmanship, in characterization,
in theatrical requirements, in poetical power. All the ' iEneas's tale ' part could be
cut out and not missed. This scene, then, for the above reasons, is unlike Marlowe's
work in the rest of the play ; it is equally unlike the other plays of his writing. We
may confidently assign the greater part of it to Nash, if not the whole. But it was
in 1594 that Sh. revised the Her VJt in which Marlowe had written a great part,
act ii. sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 85

[425. iEneas's tale to Dido.]

and ne might naturally expect to have the revision of this play also committed to
him. He was on indifferent terms with Nash at this time. What could be more
likely than that he should write a scene, or a portion of one, to show how much better
tie would have done the editing of the play? He chooses, naturally enough, that
scene in which Nash has shown the greatest weakness, and writes as nearly in the
Marlowe rhythm as he can [Page 136.] I hold, then, that the object which
Sh. had in view in introducing this speech into Hamlet was to expose the weakness
ii his opponent Nash as a playwright, and to utilize a piece of work which he had
lying idle by him. When he wrote Hamlet he seems to have been just entering that
cynical state which has been noted by Hallam as a characteristic of his third period.
... In considering this point it must not be forgotten that this speech is contained
in the earliest form of the published Hamlet, so that it was an integral part of the
play in its first state. This is important so far that when the revised Hamlet was
produced, Nash was certainly no longer alive, and Sh. was not the man to exult
over a dead enemy [Page 137.] We will now compare some parts of the tale
of ./Eneas as told by Sh. and by Nash, with a view to show that they are rival pro-
ductions. Nash describes Pyrrhus thus :
' At last came Pyrrhus, fell, and full of ire.
His harness dropping blood, and on his spear
The mangled head of Priam's youngest son.
And after him his band of myrmidons
With balls of wildfire in their murderous paws,
Which made the funeral flame which burnt fair Troy.'

Shakespeare's is more expanded. Compare lines 430-442. Nash gives this narra-
tive of Priam's death :
' And at Jove's altar finding Priamus,
About whose withered neck hung Hecuba
Folding his hand in hers, and joindy both
Beating their breasts and falling on the ground ;
He with his falchion's point raised up at once,
And with Megaera's eyes stared in their face,
Threatening a thousand deaths at every glance.
******
Not moved at all, but smiling at his tears,
The butcher while his hands were yet held up
Treading upon his breast, struck off his hands.
At which the frantic queen leapt on his face,
And in his eyelids hanging by the nails
A little while prolonged her husband's life.
At last the soldiers pulled her by the heels,
And swung her howling in the empty air,
Which sent an echo to the wounded king,
Whereat he lifted up his bed-rid limbs
And would have grappled with Achilles' son,
Forgetting both his strength and want of hands :
Which he disdaining whiskt his sword about,
And with the wind thereof the king fell down;
Then from the navel to the throat at once

He ripped old Priam.'

Compare Sh., lines 446-452. That these passages were written in direct rivalry »
manifest; the superior power and excellence of the Sh. portions is equally manifest;
*nd when we rrmember that the splendid simile of the storm and the description of

16*
 1 86 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.

pecially, where he speaks of Priam's slaughter. If it live in 426

your memory, begin at this line ; let me see, let me see ;
1 The rugged Pyrrhus, like th' Hyrcanian beast,' —
'tis not so ; it begins with ' Pyrrhus.'
' The rugged Pyrrhus, — he whose sable arms, 430
' Black as his purpose, did the night resemble
' When he lay couched in the ominous horse, —
' Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd
1 With heraldry more dismal ; head to foot
1 Now is he total gules; horridly trick'd 435
1 With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons,
1 Baked and impasted with the parching streets,
426. where] when Qq. 433. this] his Q'76, Rowe-t-, Jen.
427-429. see;... Pyrrhus'] Cap. Prose, Sing. El. Ktly.
QqFf, Rowe 4- , Jen. 434. heraldry"] heraldy Qq.
428. th? Hyrcanian] Th"1 ircanian dismal ; head to foot] difmall
Qq. the Hyrcanian F, Rowe, Cap. Steev. head to foole, Qq. difmall head to foot
Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Dyce i, Q'76.
Sta. Ktly, Glo. Del. Cla. 435. total gules] totall Gules Qq. to
429. 'tis not so] Cap. tis not fo QaQ3- take Geulles FIF2. to take Geules FF.
tis not Q4Qg. It is not so Ff, Rowe+, total geules Rowe, Pope, Theob.
Jen. Dyce i, Sta. Glo. + . trick'd] trickt QqF , Rowe+.
431. his] he F2F3. 437. Baked] Ba'k F4.
432. he] his FaF4. impasted] empafled Q2Q3, Jen.
the ominous] th1 omynous QaQ3. embafled Q4Q5-
th1 ominous Q.Q-- streets] fires Pope-f .
Hecuba are also in the Sh. speech, it is impossible to imagine that he meant these
lines for mere bombast. I do not quote the Hecuba part, as there is nothing corre-
sponding toit in Nash, and it is in every one's hands. The finest bit in Nash is the
picture of Pyrrhus :
' So leaning on his sword he stood stone still,
Viewing the fire wherewith rich Ilion burnt ;'
and this Sh. has capped with lines 458-466. There is a moral certainty that these
passages are competitors for popular favor On all grounds alike, then, I hold
that this scene was written by Sh. in 1594, as a supplement to Marlowe's unfinished
play, in competition with Nash, and that it was introduced by him into the first
draught of Hamlet in 1601 or thereabouts.
435. gules] Steevens: This signifies red in the barbarous jargon of heraldry.
Also in Timon, IV, iii, 59. Wedgwood : From the red color of the mouth.
Gzieule, the mouth, throat, gullet. GLOSSARY of Terms Used in British Heraldry :
Perhaps from the Persian ghul, a rose; if so, it was probably introduced by the
Crusaders.
435. trick'd] Malone : That is, • painted, smeared.' Clarendon : In heraldry
a 'trick' is a description in drawing, opposed to 'blazon,' a description in words.
Delius : ' Trick'd,' like the following participles, ' bak'd ' and ' impasted,' belongs to
gules,' not to ' he.'
437 impasted] Caldecott: See Rich. II: III, ii, 154. All terms and phrases
ACT II, sc. ii.] HAMLET

1 That lend a tyrannous and damned light

'To their lords' murder; roasted in wrath and fire,
* And thus o'er-sized with coagulate gore, 440
1 With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus
' Old grandsire Priam seeks.'
So, proceed you.
Pol. 'Fore God, my lord, well spoken, with good accent
and good discretion. 445
First Play. ' Anon he finds him
1 Striking too short at Greeks ; his antique sword,
' Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls,
' Repugnant to command ; unequal match'd,
' Pyrrhus at Priam drives; in rage strikes wide; 450
* But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword
1 The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium,
1 Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top
' Stoops to his base, and with a hideous crash
' Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear ; for, lo ! his sword, 455
438. That'] Than Q^$. + , Knt.
and] and a Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. 444. 'Fore God] Foregod Qq.
Var. Coll. Sing. El. Ktly, Del. Cam. 447. antique] Pope, anticke QqFxFa.
Huds. antick FF, Rowe.
439. their lords' murder] Cap. their 448. to his] in his Rowe ii.
Lords murther Qq. their vilde Murthers 449. match'd] matcht Qq. match Ff,
FIF3F3. their vile Murthers F, Cald. Rowe, Cald. match ! Theob. conj.
Knt, Dyce, Sta. Del. Huds. the vile (withdrawn).
Murthers Rowe. murthers vile Pope + . 452. falls... Ilium] falls down sense-
their lord's murder Jen. et cet. less. Ilium Theob. conj. (withdrawn).
in] in a Rowe i. Then senseless Ilium] Om. Qq.
440. o'er-sized] ore-cifed Qq, Pope. 453. this] his Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt.
442, 443. Old. ..you] Coll. One line, 454. hideous]
base] Bacehiddious
Ff.
Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev.Var.Cald. Sing. Ktly. Qq.
442. grandsire] gransire Pope,Theob.
455,465,469. Pyrrhus'] Apostrophe,
Pope.
443. So, proceed you.] Om. Ff, Rowe

in this fragment parallel with passages in Sh. tend to prove that it was Shakespeare's
own composition.
437-439. streets . . . murder] Anon {Misc. Obs. 1752, p. 21): Rather read,
* the parching fires That lend a treacherous and damned light To the vile murtherer*
i. e. the streets being in flames afford a treacherous light. Treacherous because they
betray their masters to the destroying Pyrrhus.
439. lords'] Delius : ' Lords' ' is better than lord's, since Priam's death is not
represented till afterwards, and should not be anticipated here.
440. o'er-sized] Caldecott : Covered as with glutinous matter
451. But] Delius: Here equivalent to merely.
1 88 HAMLET [act ii, sc. iL

1 Which was declining on the milky head 456

1 Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick;
' So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood,
' And, like a neutral to his will and matter,
* Did nothing. 460
1 But as we often see, against some storm,
'A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still,
' The bold winds speechless and the orb below
' As hush as death, anon the dreadful thunder
1 Doth rend the region; so after Pyrrhus' pause 465
' Aroused vengeance sets him new a-work ;
1 And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall
* On Mars his armour, forged for proof eterne,
457. reverend r] reuerent Qq. F2F3F4? Rowe+. A ro wfedYx. A
458. painted"] Om. FF, Rowe. roused Theob. ii,Warb. Johns. Cap. Jen.
459. And, like] Like Qq. And UVd
2 3
Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. El. Ktly,
FF. Huds.
neutral] Newtrall QqFxF2F . 466. a-work] a-worke Yx. a worke
459, 460. And., .nothing.] One line, Ff. QqF2. a work FF. a1 work Cap
462. rack] racks Q76. wrack Theob. 467. Cyclops''] Apostrophe, Theob.
conj. (withdrawn). 468. Mars his armour] Q'76, Pope + ,
463. winds] wind Q1 7 6. Jen. Dyce, Sta. Del. Mars his Armours
465. region; so] Theob. ii. region. Ff, Rowe. <Marses Armor Qq, Mai.
So Ff, Rowe, Pope, Theob. i. region, Mar's armours Knt. Mar's armout
so Qq, Glo. + , Mob. Cap. et cet.
466. Aroused] Coll. A rowfed Qq
456. declining] Caldecott: This use of the word, which is frequent in Sh.,
I have not observed in any contemporaiy. See also I, v, 50. [Elsewhere Caldecott
adduces this as an argument in favor of the belief that this extract is Shakespeare's
own composition. See his note on line 437.]
458. painted] Malone : Sh. was probably here thinking of the tremendous per-
sonages often represented in old tapestry, whose uplifted swords stick in the air, and
do nothing. Df.lius : The simile is amplified in Macb. V, viii, 25-27.
459. neutral] Clarendon : Not standing ' between his will and matter.' But
indifferent to both. So ' neutral ' is opposed to • loyal,' in Macb. II, iii, 106.
460. For single lines of two or three accents interspersed amid ordinary verses, see
Abbott (§§ 511, 512) ; so, too, II, ii, 540, 557, 563; III, iii, 78; and Macb. I, ii, 20.
462. rack] Dyce (Gloss.) : A mass of vapoury clouds. So Bacon's Sylva Sylva-
rum, § 115, p. 32, ed. 1658. 'The winds in the upper region, which move the
clcuds above (which we call the rack).'
464. hush] For other instances of the conversion of one part of speech into
another, see Abbott, § 22.
465. region] C ..arendon : Originally a division of the sky marked out by the
Roman augurs. In later times the atmosphere was divided into three regions, upper,
middle, and lower. By Sh. the word is used to denote the air generally.
466. a-work] See I, v, 19.
act II, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 89

1 With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword

* Now falls on Priam. 470
' Out, out, thou strumpet, Fortune ! All you gods,
* In general synod take away her power;
* Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel,
' And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven
1 As low as to the fiends !' 475
PoL This is too long.
Ham. It shall to the barber's, with your beard. — Prithee,
say on; he's for a jig or a tale of bawdry, or he sleeps;
say on ; come to Hecuba.

471. strumpet, Fortune'] Hyphened, 476. too] two Y .

Ff, Rowe, Pope. 477. to the] to yth FrFa. to th' F,J?i,
473. fellies] follies Q2Qr folles Q4< Rowe + , White.
fellowesQ$. Fallies FXF9F3. felloes Q'76.
471. Dryden {Preface to Troilus and Cressida, 1679) : What a pudder is here
kept in raising the expression of triffling thoughts. Would not a man have thought
that the Poet had been bound Prentice to a Wheel-wright for his first Rant? and had
followed a Ragman, for the clout and blanket, in the second ? Fortune is painted
on a wheel ; and therefore the writer in a rage, will have Poetical Justice done upon
every member of that Engin ; after this execution be bowls the Nave downhill,
from Heaven to the Fiends: (an unreasonable long mark a man would think;) 'tis
well there are no solid Orbs to stop it in the way, or no Element of fire to consume
it ; but when it came to the earth, it must be monstrous heavy, to break ground as
low as to the Center. His making milch the burning eyes of Heaven was a pretty
tollerable flight too ; and I think no man ever drew milk out of eyes before him : yet
to make the wonder greater, these eyes were burning. Such a sight indeed were
enough to have rais'd passion in the Gods, but to excuse the effects of it, he tells you
perhaps they did not see it. [This passage is criticised not as Shakespeare's, but as
1 written by some other poet.' Ed.]
473. fellies] Clarendon: * Iantes : The fellowes of a wheele; the peeces (of
wood) whereeof the ring, or the rime consists.' — Cotgrave.
478. jig] Steevens : A jig was not, in Shakespeare's time, only a dance, but a
ludicrous dialogue in metre, and of the lowest kind, like Hamlet's conversation
with Ophelia [III, ii, 105-115]. In The Hog hath lost his Pearl, 1614, one of the
players comes to solicit a gentleman to wri'e a jig for him. Many of these jigs are
entered in the Stationers' Company: — 'Philips his Jigg of the Slyppers,' 1595;
■ Kempe's Jigg ot the Kitchen-stuff Woman,' 1595. Malone: So, also, in the Pro-
logue to Fletcher's Love's Pilgrimage [misquoted; it should be the Fair Maid of the
Inn — Collier's Hist. Eng. Dram. Poetry, iii, 380] : * A jig shall be clapp'd at, and
every rhyme Prais'd and applauded,' &c. A jig was not always in the form of a
dialogue ; it signified a ludicrous metrical composition, as well as a dance. So in
Florio : ' Frottola, a countrie gigge, or round, or countrie song, or wanton verse.'
Collier (Hist. Eng. Dram. Poetry, iii, 380) : We have no extant specimen of any
such performance. It seems to have been a ludicrous composition in rhyme, sung, or
[90 HAMLET [act ii, sc. it

First Play. * But who, O, who had seen the mobled

queen, — ' 480
Ham. ' The mobled queen ?'
Pol. That's good ; ' mobled queen ' is good.
480. who, O, who] who, O who, Ff. Tsch. conj.
who, a woe, Qq. who alas Q'76. who, 480. queen, — ] Theob. Queene, Qf
a woe ! Cap. who, ah woe ! Jen. Q3Q.4' Queene. Q,F2. Queen. FXF .
Steev. Var. Queen ? F , Rowe, Pope.
480,481,482. mobled] Mobled F2F 481. queen?] queene. Qq. queene I
F4. inobled¥v mobbled Dry den,White. Q'76, Cap. Ktly.
ennobPd Cap. mabled Mai. ignobled 482. mobled. ..good.] Om. Qq.

said, by the clown, and accompanied by dancing and playing upon the pipe and
tabor. Singer: Giga, in Italian, was a fiddle or crowd. Hence jig (first written
gigge, though pronounced with g soft, after the Italian) was a ballad or ditty sung to
a fiddle. Dyce {Note on Prologue to Fair Maid of the Inn) : More persons than
one were sometimes employed in a jig; and there is reason to believe that the per-
formance was of considerable length, lasting even, on some occasions, for an hour.
Clarendon : See Cotgrave, ' Farce : f. A (fond and dissolute) Play, Comedie, or
Enterlude ; also, the Iyg at the end of an Enterlude, wherein some pretie knauerie
is acted.' [See Chappell {Popular Music of the Olden Time, p. 495), where the
tune is given of The King's Jig, which is supposed to have been one of the tunes
to which Charles II danced. Collier says that some of Tarleton's jigs, both music
and words, survive in MS.]
480. mobled] Warburton: That is veiled. Sandys [Travels, i, 69, ed. 1637 —
Clarendon], speaking of the Turkish women, says: 'their heads and faces are so
mabled m fine linen that nothing is to be seen of them but their eyes.' Upton (p.
299) : This designedly affected expression seems to be formed from Virg. sEn. ii, 40 :
MagnS. comitante caterva, i. e. mob-led Queen. Farmer : ' The moon does mobble
up herself.' — Shirley's Gentleman of Venice. Holt White : It is nothing but a
depravation of muffled. ' Mobbled nine days in my considering cap.' — Ogilby's
Fables. Malone: A few lines lower we are told that she had ' a clout' upon her
head. To mab (in the North pronounced mob), says Ray, in his Diet, of North
Country Words, is 'to dress carelessly. Mabs are slatterns? COLERIDGE: A mob-
cap is still a word in common use for a morning- cap, which conceals the whole head
of hair, and passes under the chin. It is nearly the same as the night-cap, that is, it
is an imitation of it, so as to answer the purpose (' I am not drest for company'), and
yet reconciling it with neatness and perfect purity. Delius : The real meaning
which Sh. attached to it here is still doubtful ; that an unusual word was intended is
plain, both from Hamlet's objection to it and Polonius's approval of it. G. H. of
S. (Ar. 6° Qu. 23 July, 1864) suggests maddled, a word in use in Yorkshire, mean-
ing not absolutely mad, but bewildered almost to madness.
482. good] Warburton : Sh. has judiciously chosen Polonius to represent the
false taste of that audience which has condemned the play here reciting. When the
actor comes to the finest and most pathetic part of the speech, Polonius cries out,
This is too long.' And yet this man of modern taste, who stood all this time perfectly
anmoved -with the forcible imager}' of the relator, no sooner tears, amongst many
 IQI
ACT II, SC. li.J HAMLET

First Play. 'Run barefoot up and down, threatening

the flames
* With bisson rheum ; a clout about that head
1 Where late the diadem stood ; and for a robe, 485
1 About her lank and all o'er-teemed loins,
1 A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up ;
1 Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd,
1 'Gainst Fortune's state would treason have pronounced ;
1 But if the gods themselves did see her then, 490
' When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport
1 In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs,
1 The instant burst of clamour that she made, —
1 Unless things mortal move them not at all, —
' Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven 495
1 And passion in the gods.'
483. Threatening the Jlames] One 489. state] State, Ff, Rowe.
line, Ff. pronounced :] pronounjl ; Q2Q3«
Jlames]Jlame Ff,Rowe,Cald. Knt. pronounc* d ; Q4Q5« pronounced ? Ff,
484. bisson rheum] F . Bifon rehume Rowe.
Q2Q . Bifon rhumeQ4Q . Bijfon Rheume 492. husband 's] husband Q2Q3-
123 Facs.).
494. things] thing; Q4 (Ashbee's
about'] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Sta.
vpon Qq et cet. move] meant FF, Dryden.
486. all 0' er-teemed] all-61 er-teemed at] Om. F3F4, Rowe.
Theob. ii, Warb. Johns. Jen. 495. milch] melt Pope, Han.
487. alarm] alarme Qq. alarum Ff, 496. passion in] passioned Han. Cap.
Rowe, Knt. passionate Coll. (MS) El.

good things, one quaint and fantastical word, put in, I suppose, purposely for this end,
than he professes his approbation of the propriety and dignity of it. Moberly:
Polonius praise^ the epithet to make up for his blunder in objecting to the length.
484. bisson] Wedgwood : Blind, properly near-sighted. Dutch, ' bij sien pro-
pius videre,' — Kilian. Clarendon: In Cor. II, i, 70, it means ' blind.' Here it is
rather, « blinding.' ' Beesen ' is given by Brogden, in Provincial Words, as still
current in Lincolnshire. [See also notes on its derivation by F. J. V. and John
Addis, in N. &■» Qu. 15 March, 1873; and 19 April, 1873. Ed.]
486. o'er-teemed] Clarendon : Exhausted by child-bearing.
495. milch] Steevens : Drayton has * exhaling the milch dew.' — Polyolbion,
xiii, 171. Douce: • Milche-hearted,' in Hulaet's Abecedarium, 1552, is rendered
lemosus ; and in Bibliotheca Eliota, I545> we ^n& * lemosi, they that wepe lyghtly.'
Staunton: Moist.
496. passion] Singer : Would have moved them to sympathy or compassion.
Elze: According to Mommsen [Perkins-Sh. p. 367), passionate had even in Shake-
speare's days an antiquated sound, and for this reason it would appear more appro-
priate here.
192 HAMLET
[act 11, sc. ii.
Pol. Look, whether he has not turned his colour and 497
has tears in 's eyes. — Pray you, no more.
Ham. Tis well ; I'll have thee speak out the rest soon.
— Good my lord, will you see the players well bestowed ? 50c
Do you hear, let them be well used, for they are the abstracts
and brief chronicles of the time ; after your death you were
better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live.
Pol. My lord, I will use them according to their desert.
Ham. God's bodykins, man, much better! Use every 505
man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping ? Use
them after your own honour and dignity ; the less they de-
serve, the more merit is in your bounty. Take them in.
Pol. Come, sirs.
Ham. Follow him, friends ; we'll hear a p)ay to-morrow. 5 10
[Exit Polonins with all the Players but the First.
497. whether] Mai. where QqFf, bodikins Johns. Gocfs-bodikin Cap.
Rowe. if Pope, Han. whe're Theob. God's bodikin Cald. Del. Odd's bodi-
kin Steev. Var. Knt.
Warb. Johns. whe'r Cap. Jen. Del.
whir Dyce, Sta. 505. much] Om. Ff, Rowe, Cald.
498. has tears] has not tears Han. Knt, Dyce, White.
in's] in 'his White, in his Ktly. God's. ..man] Om. Q'76.
Pray you] Ff, Rowe, Knt, Dyce. 506. should] Ff, Rowe, Knt, Coll.
prethee Qq. Prithee or Pr'ythee et cet. Sing. El. Dyce, Sta. White, Del. Glo
499. the rest] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Ktly. JJiall Qq et cet.
Dyce,White, Glo. Huds. the rejl of this 510. hear] here QQ.
[Exit...] Dyce, Sta. Del. Huds.
Qq et cet. Glo. + . Exit Polon. (after line 509) Ff,
501. you hear] ye heare FXF2. ye hear
F3F4, Rowe, White. Rowe + , Jen. White. Exeunt Pol. and
abstracts] Ff, Rowe, Knt, Coll. Players, (after Elsinore, line 520) Qq.
Sing. El. Dyce i, Sta. White, Ktly, Del. Exeunt Polonius,and Players, (after not,
Huds. abjlracl Qq et cet. line 519) Cap. Mai. Steev. Exit Pol.
503. live] lived Ff, Rowe + , Cald. with some of the Players, (after line
Knt, Del. 509) Bos. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Ktly.
504. 506. desert] defart FIF2. As they follow Pol., Ham. detains and
505. God's bodykins] Godsbodikins steps aside with 1 Player. White.
F2F3. Gods bodkin Qq, Coll. El. Odd's
498. no more] Caldecott : Then, when he exhibits the perfection of his art,
shows that he enters into and feels his character, — then to urge that the actor should
cease to exercise it, seems again to be in the character of a • great baby in swaddling
clouts.'
501. abstracts] Clarendon: Always used by Sh. as a substantive.
503, 504. you were better have] Clarendon: It were better that you had.
See King John, IV, iii, 94; Oth. V, ii, 161. Originally, doubtless, the pronouns
were datives, but from their position before the verb they slipped into nominatives,
as « Thou.'
ACT II, sc. ii.] HAMLET

— Dost thou hear me, old friend ; can you play The Murder 511
of Gonzago?
First Play. Ay, my lord.
Ham. We'll ha't to-morrow night. You could, for a
need, study a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines, which 515
I would set down and insert in't, could you not?
First Play. Ay, my lord.
Ham. Very well. Follow that lord; and look you
mock him not. [Exit First Player^] — My good friends, I'll
leave you till night; you are welcome to Elsinore. 520
Ros. Good my lord.
Ham. Ay, so, God be wi' ye ! [Exeunt Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern.~\ — Now I am alone.
Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I !
511, 514, 518. [Aside to Player. Sta. Dyce,
520. Sta. Ktly.
till] tell Q0Q3
512. Gonzago] Gonzaga Johns.
[Exeunt Players. Coll. (MS;.
514. ha't] hate QaQ3. hattt Q4Q,
Jen. have it Q 1703, Steev. Var. Cald. 521. Good my] Good, my Cap.
[Exeunt. Q2Q3Ff. Exit Q4Q5
Coll. Sing. El. Ktly, Del. haveU Q'76,
Knt, Sta. Huds. Manet Hamlet. Ff, Rowe+, Jen.
514. 515. for a need] for need Qq. 522. Scene viii. Pope + , Jen.
515. dozen] dofen FxFa. dofen lines God he wV ye] god f «/' ye F
Qq, Cap. God buy 'ye FTFaF3. God buy to you
or sixteen] Om. Q'76. Qq. God by w1 ye Rowe+, Jen. Dyce,
5 1 6. *«'/,] Qq,Coll. Dyce, Sta. Glo. + . White, Huds. {good Rowe). God be
irit ? Ff et cet. w? you Cap. Mai. Steev. Cald. Knt,
you] ye Ff, Rowe + , White. Sta. Ktly. Good bye to you Bos. Good
519. [Exit First Player.] Dyce. Exit bye you Coll.
Player. Reed (1803). Om. QqFf. [Exeunt...] Sta. Glo. + , Dyce ii,
[To Ros. and Guild. Johns. Jen. Del. Huds. After line 521, Cap.
Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El.
I am] am /Q'76.
515. dozen or sixteen lines] See III, ii, 178.
519. mock] Clarke: Hamlet, like the true gentleman that he is, feels that he
has been betrayed into treating the old courtier with something of impatience and
discourtesy ; therefore he bids the actor, whom he knows to be naturally and pro-
fessionally disposed to waggery, not forget himself to Polonius on the strength of
the example just given.
522. alone] Clarke: The eagerness shown by Hamlet to be left in peace by
himself appears to be a main evidence of his merely acting a part and assuming
madness ; he longs to get rid of the presence of persons before whom he has resolved
to wear a show of insanity. Alone, he is collected, coherent, full of introspection.
That he is neither dispassionate nor cool appears to be the result of his unhappy
source of thought, not the result of derangement ; he is morally afflicted, not men-
tally affected.
523. peasant slave] It is shown by Furnivall in N. 6° Qu. 12 April and 3
17 N
1 94 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ».

Is it not monstrous that this player here,

But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, 525
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann'd ;
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing ! 530
For Hecuba ?
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears 535

525. fction]fxion QqFr. 530. conceit?] conceit; Qq. conceit^

526. own] whole Ff, Rowe, Knt, Del. Q'76.
527. his visage~\ the vifage Qq. nothing/"] Cap. nothing? Ff,
wann'd'] wand Qq. warned Rowe + ,Jen. nothing, Qq. nothing:
Ff, Rowe, Pope, Theob. Han. Cald. Han.
Knt i. 531. For Hecuba ?] For Hecuba. Qq.
528. in's] ins F2. in his Qq, Pope+ , For Hecuba ! Cap. Om. Seymour.
Cap. Jen. Coll. El. Ktly. 532. to Hecuba] to her Qq, Jen.
529. and] an Q2Q3- 533' the cue for] that for Qq.

May, 1873, that it was possible for Sh. to have seen in the flesh some of the bond-
men or 4 peasant slaves ' of England.
527. wann'd] Steevens upheld warm'd, because the effort to shed tears and the
unusual exertion in a passionate speech would warm and flush the face ; no actor
can grow pale at will, and even if he could there is nothing in the fragment to make
him. Malone effectually silenced all this by referring to Polonius's speech, line
497. Clarendon : We have had an instance of a verb formed from an adjective
in ' pale,' I, v, 90, where it is transitive.
529. function] Caldecott: That is, each power and faculty, — the whole ener-
gies of soul and body. ' Nature within me seems In all her functions weary of her-
self.'— Sams. Agon. 596, i. e. using the term that imparts « performance or the doing
of a thing ' for ' the power or faculty by which the thing is done.' Clarendon :
The whole action of the body. See Macb. I, iii, 140.
530. conceit] Clarendon : Conception, idea (of the character he was person-
ating). [See also III, iv, 114; IV, v, 43.]
534. cue] Wedgwood : The last words of the preceding speech, prefixed to the
speech of an actor in order to let him know when he is to come on the stage. From
the letter Q, by which it was marked. • Q, a note of entrance for actors, because it
is the first letter of quando, when, showing when to enter and speak.' — C. Butler,
Eng. Gram, 1634, in N. &" Qu. 5 Aug. 1865. Minsheu explains it somewhat dif-
ferently :' A qu, a term used among stage-players, a Lat. qualis, i. e. at what manner
of word the actors are to begin to speak, one after another hath done his speech,
The French term is replique.
4CTIl,SC.ii.] HAMLET I 95

And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, 536

Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing ; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a.coward? 545
537- appaf\ appall Rowe. appale Q2 540,541. Yet. ..a nil] Yet I, a Seymour.
Q3. appeale Q4QS- apaleYi. 540,543. Yet... sal] Yet I say Pope,
539, 540. The... Yet I,] As in Johns. Han. (Pope gives /omitted passage in
One line, QqFf, Rowe, Theob. Warb. footnote.)
Jen. Bos. Coll. El. Sta. White, Ktly. 541. muddy-mettled'] Hyphen, F2F9F3.
539. facilities] faculty Ff, Rowe+, 542. yohn-a-dreams] yohn a-deames
Cald. F*F3F4' Rowe-
eyes and ears] ears and eyes 545-549- coward ?... this ?] Commas
Johns. throughout in Qq.

537. free] Caldecott: Free from offence, guiltless. [See ' free souls,' III, ii, 231.]
541. peak] Singer: To mope, to act foolishly and with irresolution.
542. John-a-dreams] STEEVENS: That is, John of dreams, which means only
yohn the dreamer ; a nickname for any ignorant, silly fellow. Thus the puppet
thrown at during Lent was called yack-a-lent. and the ignis-fatuus, yack-a-lanthorn.
yohn-a-droynes, however, if not a corruption of this nickname, seems to have been
some well-known character, as I have met with more than one allusion to him.
So, in Have with you to Saffron Walden, by Nash, 1596: 'The description of that
poor yohn-a-droynes his man, whom he had hired,' &c. yohn-a-Droynes is like-
wise afoolish character in Whetstone's Promos and Cassandra, 1578. Collier : It
is rather a nickname for a sleepy, apathetic fellow. The only mention yet met with
of John-a-dreams is in Armin's Nest of Ninnies, 1608 (see Sh. Soc. vol. x, p. 49) :
1 His name is John, indeede, saies the cinnick ; but neither John a nods, nor John a
dreames, yet either as you take it.' John-a-droynes was, in all probability, a different
person.
542. unpregnant] Johnson : Not quickened with a new desire of vengeance ;
not teeming with revenge. Clarendon : Having no living thoughts within relating
to my cause. In Meas. for Meas. I, i, 12, ' pregnant in ' is used for 'filled with
knowledge of.'
544. property] Clarendon : This appears here to be used in the sense of ' own
person.' Compare ' proper life,' in V, ii, 66. Or possibly it may mean his ' kingly
right.' The commentators, by their silence, seem to take it in the ordinary modern
sense, which can hardly be. [I suppose it refers to his crown, his wife, everything,
in short, which he might be said to be possessed of, except his life. 'Property' is
used in its ordinary modern sense in Merry Wives, III, iv, 10. Ed.]
545. defeat] Varburton: Destruction. Steevens : This word is very licen-
I 96 HAMLET [act ii, sc. ii.

Who calls me villain ? breaks my pate across ? 546

Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face ?
Tweaks me by the nose ? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs ? who does me this ?
Ha! 550
'Swounds, I should take it ; for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd, and lack gall
To make oppression bitter ; or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites

549, 550. this ? Ha /] this, ha ? Dyce, Sta. White, Ktly, Huds. Om. Pope-i .
Sta. 551. '*Swounds... it /] Why I... it ; Fx
550. Ha /] Separate line, Steev. It F2, Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing,
begins line 551, QqFf {Hah, Q3Qr Why should I take it? F3F4, Rowe.
Hah! Q4Q5. Ha? Ff), Rowe, Cap. Yet I should take it— Pope + .
Jen. Mai., and ends line 549, Coll. Dyce, 554. have"} a Q2Q3-
tiously used by the old writers. Thus, in Middleton's Anything for a Quiet Life :
' I have heard of your defeat made upon a mercer.' Chapman's Revenge for Hon*
our; ' he might meantime make a sure defeat On our good aged father's life.' Isle of
Gulls, 1606 : ' my late shipwreck has made a defeat both of my friends and treasure.'
Malone : See Ham. V, ii, 58, for the word used in the same sense. [See also I,
ii, 10.]

549. me] See Abbott, § 220, for instances of 'me' instead of for me, in virtue
of its representing the old dative.
550. Ha!] Elze ingeniously suggests that this was a substitution either by the
Censor or by the actors themselves, for the objectionable oath, ' 'Swounds;' and that
both exclamations in the same place cannot be right. The fact that Qf reads ' Sure,'
renders it not impossible that the coarser oath was substituted for the milder one by
the actors.
552. But] Abbott (g 122^: ' It cannot be (that I am otherwise than a coward),'
i.e. 'it cannot be that I am courageous; on the contrary [but adversative), I am

pigeon-liver'd.'
552. pigeon-liver'd] White: It was supposed that pigeons and doves owed
their gentleness to the absence of gall. ' A Milk-white Doue . . . About whose Necke
was in a Choller wrought " Only like me my mistress hath no gall." ' — Drayton's
Ninth Eclogue. Clarendon : ' Gall ' is here used metaphorically for ' courage ;'
so Tro. &■» Cres. I, iii, 237. [See Harting's Ornithology of Sh. p. 185.]
553. oppression] Collier (ed. 2) : It is transgression in the (MS), but ' oppres-
sion 'is no doubt the proper reading. Hamlet is alluding to his own lack of gall,
and to ' oppression ' being bitter to himself. The old annotator seems to have thought
that the hero was referring to transgression on the part of others, which he lacked
gall to make bitter to them. Dyce: Hamlet means he lacks gall to make him feel
the bitterness of oppression. Singer [Shakespeare 's Text Vindicated, p. 264) pro-
poses aggression, a conjecture which the Cam. Edd. mark as 'withdrawn.' I gladly
accept the fact on their testimony.
554. region] See line 465.
ACT II, SC. ii.] HAMLET

555
With this slave's offal ; bloody, bawdy villain !
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain
0, vengeance !
Why, what an ass am I ! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,
A scullion !

murthered FjF,. the dear murtherea

555. offal; bloody, ~\ off all : bloudy,
F3F4, Rowe, Cald. Knt, White, Hal. 560
Q'76. 0 fall, bloody, Qq. Offall, bloudy :
a Ff {bloody: F/J. 562-565. And fall... play] Cap. Three
556. Remorseless.. .villain !] Om. Jen. lines, ending foh. ...heard,... play, Qq
(a misprint?) Three lines, ending Drab,...Braine. ...
557. 0, vengeance /] Om. Qq, Pope + , Play, Ff, Rowe-K Four lines, ending
Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. El. drab,
El. ... foh I... heard t... play, Johns. Jen.
558. Why,] Why Qq. Who? Ff,
Cald. Om. Knt. 562, 563. drab, A scullion] drabbe ;
This] I fure, this Ff, Rowe. a flallyon QaQ3- drabbe ; a flallion
Ay, sure, this Cald. Knt, Del. Ktly. Q . drabbe; flallion Q . drab — A
559. a dear father murder'd] Johns. stallion Pope, Jen. drab — A cullion
a deere murthered Q2Q3, Jen. Cald. a Theob. Han.
deere father murthered Q4QS- « dear And. ..scullion] One line, Ktly.
father murthered Pope-K the Deere

554, 555. I . . . offal] Sievers (Archivf. n. Sprachen, vol. vi, 1849, p. 12) main-
tains that here Hamlet's plan is revealed, which is, not revenge, not murder, but to
bring Claudius to judgement and legal execution as a criminal, upon whose gibbeted
carcass the region kites can fatten.
556. kindless] Johnson: Unnatural. Singer: We have ' kindly ' for natural,
i. e. accordance with kind, elsewhere. Hudson : Observe how Hamlet checks him-
self in this strain of objurgation, and then, in mere shame of what he has done,
turns to ranting at himself for having ranted.
559. father] Jennens: There seems to be no necessity for this word here; or
rather it is tautology. Boswell: The dear murthered for the dear person murthered
is very far from being a harsh ellipsis. Knight pronounces the text of the Ff • a
beautiful reading,' and White declares it ' a fine form of speech, which needs no
support, and which we have had before in this play : I, iii, 67 ;' adding that the text
of Q2 is ' inferior in both thought and rhythm.' Halliwell : The ' dear departed '
is still a common phrase, and the ellipsis in the Ff was, I suspect, in consonance
with the phraseology of Shakespeare's time.
561. Must] Tschischwitz finds a profound meaning in this use of ' must,' where
he would expect do to be used. It indicates the necessity, so he affirms, that was
laid on Hamlet to act just as he does.
562. a-cursing] See Abbott, § 24, and Macb. V, v, 49.
563. scullion] Theobald was persuaded that Sh. wrote cullion, i. e. a stupid,
heartless, white-livered fellow; as in Lear, II, ii, 36; 2 Hen. VI: I, iii, 43.

17*
198 HAMLET
[act ii, sc. ii.

Fie upon 't ! foil ! About, my brain ! Hum, I have heard

That guilty creatures, sitting at a play, 565
Have, by the very cunning of the scene,
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions ;
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak
With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players 570
Play something like the murder of my father
Before mine uncle ; I'll observe his looks :
564. foh !] Om. Han. Seymour. Knt, Coll. i, Dyce, Sta. White, Dei.
About, my brain /] Theob. About Ktly, Glo. Huds.
my Braine. Ff {Brain. FF), Rowe. 564. I have] I've Pope + , Dyce ii,
Huds.
About my braines ; Q2. About my
braues ; Q . About my braines, Q4Q-' 565. sitting] Om. Pope, Theob. Han.
Warb.
about my brain — Pope i. about my
brain !— Pope ii, Coll. i. About, my 567. struck so to] Jlrooke fo to QqFx
brains. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, F2. struck unto Rowe ii.
Sing. Coll. ii, Sta. Ktly. 570. Til have these players] Pll ob-
Hum] Om. Ff, Rowe + , Cald. serve his looks, Pope i (a misprint).

564. About] Johnson : Wits, to your work ! Brain, go about the present busi
ness. Steevens, after citing ' My brain about again ! for thou hast found New
projects now to work on,' from Heywood, Second Part of The Iron Age, 1632,
strangely enough agrees with Monk Mason in thinking it to be a sea-phrase, mean-
ing, be
' my thoughts shifted into a contrary direction.' Hunter (ii, 235) : It should
be ' About 't, my brains !' that is, set about composing the lines which the players
were to add to The Murder of Gonzago.
564. brain] Cambridge Editors : Capell quotes ' braves ' as the reading of Q .
His own copy has ' braines.' That in the British Museum reads * braues.' [As does
also Ashbee's Facsimile. Ed.]
564. Hum] Hunter (ii, 235) : This is evidently intended to be the first con-
ception of the design to try the conscience of the King with the play. This inter-
jection of consideration, deliberation, shows it. Yet Hamlet had already settled
with the players that they should speak some verses interpolated in The Murder of
Gonzago. This inconsistency is not justified by alleging Hamlet's inconsistency of
character. In fact, the interjection ought not to be there, as it makes prospective what
is evidently retrospective.
565. play] Steevens : A number of these stories are collected together by Hey-
wood in his Apology for Actors. [See Sh. Soc. vol. vii, p. 57.] Todd gives one
from A Warning for Faire Women, 1599; and Clarendon refers to Massinger's
Roman Actor, II, i [vol. ii, p. 351, ed. Gifford, 1805], for a similar example there
cited.
567, presently] Clarendon: Immediately, as in line 169.
569. speak] Elze: See Macb. Ill, iv, 122-126. Clarendon: See Rich. II.
!, i, 104.
alt ii, sc. ii.] HAMLET 1 99

I'll tent him to the quick ; if he but blench,

I know my course. The spirit that I have seen
May be the devil ; and the devil hath power 575
To assume a pleasing shape ; yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me. I'll have grounds
More relative than this. The play's the thing 580
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. \Exit
573. tenf\ rent F2F F . Jen. Steev. Var. Sing. Ktly.
he but] a doe Qq. he do Q'76, 575. and the devil] and the dealeQ3Q3.
Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. 576. To assume] T' assume Rowe +
574. The] This Johns. Jen. Coll. El. White, Dyce ii, IIucls
575. be the devil] be the Diuell FfFa. 580. relative] relevant Mason.
be a deale Q2Q_. be a diuell Q4QS, Cap.

573. tent] Dyce (Gloss.) : To search with a tent, which was a roll of lint for
searching or cleansing a wound or sore.
573. blench] Steevens : Shrink, or start. Hunter (ii, 236) : Flinch. The
meaning is shown in Wase's translation of the Cynegeticon of Gratius, 1654 : 'if
one set up a piece of white paper, it will make the deer blench, and balk that way,'
p. 77. Halliwell: Sh. seems to use 'blench' in the sense of to wink, to glance.
'And thus thinkende I stonde still Without blenchinge of mine eie.' — Gower, ed.
1554, f. 128.
. 575. devil] Coleridge: See Sir Thomas Browne: — 'I believe . . . that these
apparitions and ghosts of departed persons are not the wandering souls of men, but
the unquiet walks of devils, prompting and suggesting us unto mischief, blood, and
villainy, instilling and stealing into our hearts, that the blessed spirits are not at rest
in their graves, but wander solicitous of the affairs of the world.' — Relig. Med. pt.
i, sec. 37.
579. Abuses] Dyce (Gloss.) : Deceives, imposes upon.
579. 58°- I'M • • • tnis] Marshall (A Study of Hamlet, p. 153) states that Ik
ving, before speaking this sentence, takes out the tablets wherein he had recorded
his uncle's guilt, and by a significant gesture indicates that ' this ' refers to them.
580. relative] Johnson : Nearly related, closely connected. Clarendon : To
the purpose. The word is not known to exist elsewhere in this sense.
200 HAMLET [act hi, sc. i

ACT III
Scene I. A room in the castle.

Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern,

King. And can you, by no drift of circumstance,

Get from him why he puts on this confusion,
Grating so harshly all his days of quiet
With turbulent and dangerous lunacy ?
Ros. He does confess he feels himself distracted, 5
But from what cause he will by no means speak.
Guil. Nor do we find him forward to be sounded ,
But, with a crafty madness, keeps aloof,
When we would bring him on to some confession
Of his true state.
Queen. Did he receive you well ? 10
Ros. Most like a gentleman.
Guil. But with much forcing of his disposition.
Ktly.
Act in. Scene i.] Q'76, Rowe. + , Cap. Jen. Steev.Var. Coll. Sing. El.
Om. QqFf.
A room in the castle] Mai. The 2. confusion] confesion Rowe ii. con-
Palace. Rowe + . Another room in the fession Pope (in margin).
same. Cap. 6. he wilt] a will Qq.
Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern.] Cap. 7-10. Nor. ..state.] Continued to Ros.
Rofencraus, Guyldenfterne, Lords. Qq.
Rofincrance, Guildenftern, and Lords.
by 10.
Jen.state] ejlate Q'76, Jen.
Fx. Rofincros, Guildenftar, and Lords. 11. like a gentleman] civilly Q' J 6.
F8F F (Guildenftare, F ). Roseneraus... Most] With courtesy most Sey-
Rowe. mour.
1. circumstance] conference Qq, Pope

I. circumstance] Caldecott: That is, introduction and shaping of topics and

facts. Clarendon : ' Drift of circumstance ' means roundabout method. * Drift '
occurs in II, i, 10, and • circumstance,' in this sense, in I, v, 127, and the two words
in Tro. &> Cres. Ill, iii, 113, 114.
3. Grating] Clarendon: Compare Ant. & Cleop. I, i, 18. Elsewhere in Sh.
\he verb is used intransitively.
7. forward] Caldecott: Disposed, inclinable.
8. keeps] For instances of the omission of the nominative, see Abbott, ^ 399,
and II, ii, 67; IV, i, 10.
8. crafty madness] Delius : Like 'mad in craft,' III, iv, 185.
12. disposition] Moberly : But with apparent unwillingness all the time. Thk
scene, as well as II, ii, shows that Guild, has more discrrnment than Ros.
ACT in, sc. I.] HAMLET 201

Ros. Niggard of question, but of our demands 13

Most free in his reply.
Queen. Did you assay him

13, 14. Niagara of... of our... Most Warb. Jen.

fne\ Unapt to... of our... Mojl free Q'76. 14, 15. Did... pastime ?~\ One line, Qq
Most free of. ..to our. ..Niggard Han. El. Ff, Rowe+, Jen. Sta. Huds.
Heussi. Most free of... of our... Niggard 14. assay] invite Q'76.

13. Niggard] WARBURTON : This is given as the description of the conversation

of a man whom the speaker found not forward to be sounded ; and who kept aloof
when they would bring him to confession : but such a description can never pass but at
cross purposes. Shakespeare certainly wrote it just the other way [see Textual Notes].
That this is the true reading, we need but to turn back to the preceding scene, for
Hamlet's conduct, to be satisfied. Mason : Warburton forgets that by question, Shake-
speare does not usually mean interrogatory, but discourse; yet in whichever sense the
word be taken, this account given by Ros. agrees but ill with the scene between him
and Ham. as actually represented. Malone : Slow to begin conversation, but free
enough in his answers to our demands. Guild, has just said that Ham. kept aloof
when they wished to bring him to confess the cause of his distraction : Ros. therefore
here must mean, that up to that point, till they touch'd on that, he was free enough in his
answers. Hunter (ii, 236) : According to Warburton's reading, the account is that
which the lords must have rendered of their interview with Hamlet, if they meant
to report it truly. Warburton's emendation has not had justice done to it by other
commentators, but we find it confirmed by Qx. Staunton : Unless ' question ' is
admitted to mean argument, Warburton's emendation yields a truer description of
Hamlet's bearing towards his schoolfellows than that afforded by the old text.
TsCHISCHWITZ finds an insuperable objection to Warburton's emendation because it
would represent Hamlet as not ' gentlemanlike ' in asking many questions and nig-
gard in replying. ■ It is manifest that Rosencrantz here merely gives utterance to a
rule of good manners.' Clarke : If it be borne in mind that Sh. employs ' of very
variously, and that he occasionally uses the word ' question ' to signify ' inquisition,'
« cross-examining,' it appears to be evident that here ' niggard of question ' ellipti-
cally expresses ' sparing of speech when we cross-examined him ;' and if it be
remembered how peculiarly Sh. sometimes employs the possessive case, we think it
will be. perceived that here ' of our demands ' is employed to express ' of demands
respecting ourselves.' Thus, then, we take the whole speech to mean — ' He was
sparing of speech when we questioned him : but of demands respecting ourselves
he was very free in return :' which interpretation completely tallies with the circum-
stances as they really occurred. Clarendon : Ros. and Guild, were completely
baffled, and Ham. had the talk almost to himself. Perhaps they did not intend to
give a correct account of the interview.
13. of our demands] Collier (ed. 2) : ■ Of ' is altered to to in the (MS), but
needlessly, because ' of has here the force of on. Clarendon : ' Of may be written
either by attraction from the previous ' of,' or it may be u:ed for ' on,' as in Marlowe'?
yew of Malta, IV, iv : 'Of that condition I will drink ii up.' [See Abbott, § 173,
which may perhaps apply to this use of ■ of.' Ed.]
14. as? ay] Caldecott: Try his disposition towards.
202 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. L
To any pastime ? 15
Ros. Madam, it so fell out that certain players
We o'er-raught on the way ; of these we told him,
And there did seem in him a kind of joy
To hear of it ; they are about the court
And, as I think, they have already order 20
This night to play before him.
Pol. 'Tis most true ;
And he beseech'd me to entreat your majesties
To hear and see the matter.
King. With all my heart ; and it doth much content me
To hear him so inclined. — 25
Good gentlemen, give him a further edge,
And drive his purpose on to th' se delights.
Ros. We shall, my lord.
\_Exeitnt Rosericrantz and Guildenstern.
King. Sweet Gertrude, leave us too ;
For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither,
That he, as 'twere by accident, may here 30
15. To] unto Han. Gentlemen, ...on... delights, Ff, Rowe.
1 6. Madam] Please your majesty Sey- Four lines, ending heart ;... inclined. —
mour, ending lines 15, 16, majesty,.. .we, ...edge,. ..delights. Cap. Ktly.
and reading upon for on, line 1 7. 27. drive. ..on to~\ driue...into Qq,
so] Om. Johns. Pope, Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. urge
17. d* er-raught] ore-raught Qq. ore- him to Q'76.
wrought FTF2. 0 ,re-took FF4, Rowe, 28. [Exeunt...] Cap. Exeunt Ros.
Pope, Theob. Han. o'er rode Warb. & Guyl. Qq. Exeunt. Ff.
19. about] heere about Qq. hereabout Gertrude']
too~\ two Qq.Gertrard Qq.
Q'76, Jen. El. 29. hither] hether Qq.
24. and...me~\ And much content Sey-
mour, reading 23, 25. To. ..inclined as 30. he] we Jen.
two lines, ending heart... inclined. here] heere Qq. there Ff, Rowe.
24-27. With. ..delights.] Pope. Five 30, 31. here Affront Ophelia] meet
lines, ending hart, ... me, ... inclin 'd... edge, Ophelia here Q'76.
...delights. Qq. Four lines, ending me

17, o'er-raught] Johnson: Over-reached, that is, overtook.

20 order] Clarendon : We should now use the plural.
23. matter] Delius : There is a tinge of contempt in the use of this word.
26. edge] Keightley {Expositor, p. 291) : Here * edge' seems used in a pecu
liar sense, as the substance of egg, to urge, incite.
27. on to] Although Theobald (Sh. Rest. p. 81) advocated this reading, yet in
both of his editions he followed the Qq.
29. closely] Dyce (Gloss. ) : Secretly, privately.
ACT ill, sc. i.] HAMLET

Affront Ophelia. 31
Her father and myself, lawful espials,
Will so bestow ourselves that, seeing unseen,
We may of their encounter frankly judge,
And gather by him, as he is behaved, 35
If 't be the affliction of his love or no
That thus he suffers for.
Queen. I shall obey you. —
And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish
That your good beauty be the happy cause
Of Hamlet's wildness ; so shall I hope, your virtue 40
Will bring him to his wonted way again,
To both your honours.
Oph. Madam, I wish it may. [Exit Queen.
Pol. Ophelia, walk you here. — Gracious, so please you,
We will bestow ourselves. [To Ophelia.'] Read on this book;
36. no] no, F4. no. FxFaF .
31. Affront Ophelia.'] Separate line,
Johns. Begins line 32, QqFf, Rowe+, 38. for your] for my Q.QS> Pope + ,
Cap. Jen. Mai. Coll. i, El. Ktly. Cap. El.
Ophelia. ] Ophelia, and join con- 39,40. beauty... virtue] Walker, beau-
verse with her. Seymour. ties...virtues QqFf et cet.
32. lawful espials] Om. Qq, Pope, 40. shall] Om. Pope, Han.
Theob. Han. Warb. Cap. Jen. Mai. El. 4 1 . Will] May Pope + .
Ktly.
[Exit Queen.] Theob. Om. QqFl.
33. Will] Wee'le Qq. 43, 44. here. ..ourselves] here, whilft
unseen] and unfeen Q'76. we {If fo your majefly Jliall pleafe) re-
34. frankly] franckly Q2Q3- franckely tire conceal* d Q'76.
43. here.] heere, Q2Q3- hecre : Q4QS-
Q4. frankely FfFa. Om. Q'76.
36. the affliction] Q'76. th? affliction please you] pleafe ye Ff, Rowe +
QqFf, Rowe + , Jen. Coll. El. White, 44. [To Ophelia.] Johns.
Dyce ii, Huds.

31. Affront] Johnson: To meet directly.

32. lawful espials] Steevens : Spies. Caldecott : Spies justifiably inquisi
tive. Singer : ' An espiall in warres, a scoutwatch, a beholder, a viewer.' — Baret
Elze : These words are superfluous, injurious to the metre, and imply a justification
unworthy of a king.
39, 40. beauty. . .virtue] Walker (Crit. i, 252): Surely Sh. wrote beauty
[-tie], and perhaps also virtue. [The 'it' in Ophelia's reply seems to support
Walker's emendation so strongly that I have not hesitated to adopt his reading. Of
course ' it ' may be differently construed. Ed. !
43. Gracious] Elze: Compare • High and mighty,' IV, vii, 43, and the Dedi-
cation to Venus and Adonis. Clarendon: Of 'gracious,' thus used without a sub.
Btantive, we can find no other example.
44. bestow] Dyce [Gloss.) : To stow, to lodge, to place. See IV, iii, 12.
 204 HAMLET [act hi, sc. i.

That show of such an exercise may colour 45

Your loneliness. We areoft to blame in this, —
(Tistoo much proved, — fchat_with ^ devo^n/sjvisage
And pious action we do sugar o'er
The_^e^Hnmself.
King, Oh, 'tis too true !
[Aside] How smart a lash that speech doth give my con-
science! 50
The harlot's cheek, beautied with plastering art,
Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it
Than is my deed to my most painted word.
O heavy burthen !
Pol. I hear him coming; let's withdraw, my lord. 55
[Exeunt King and Polonius.
Enter Hamlet.
<
t/l

t
Ham.

—
46. lonehness~\ lowhnes Q2Q,.
'
To be, or not to be, — that is the question:

lowli- Glo. + , Del.

—
nejfe Q4Q5« S1* plastering"] plajlring Qq. plai/f-
We are~\ We're Pope + , Jen. Dyce ring Fx. plaijlring F2F . plajliring F .
ii, Huds. 52. ugly] ougly Q2Q3Q4-
to blame] too blame QqFTF2. 54. 0... burthen] Om. Seymour.
48. sugar] /urge Ff. Suger Rowe, 55. Pol.] Erased in Coll. (MS).
Pope. lefs] Om. Qq.
49, 50. O... smart] One line, Cap. [Exeunt...] Cap. Exeunt. Ff.
Steev. Var. Cald. Coll. i, White. Om. Qq. Exeunt all but Ophelia.
49. 'tis too] 'tis • Ff. it is but too Han. Rowe+.
50. [Aside] Pope + , Coll. El. White, 56. Scene 11. Pope + .
Ktly, Huds. Before O, tis too true I or Enter Hamlet.] Ff. After bur-
as including the whole speech, Cap. Jen. then, line 54, Qq.
Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Dyce, Sta.

47. too much] Johnson : It is found by too frequent experience.

47. visage] Bailey (ii, 341) : Can anything be more preposterous than to talk
of sugaring over the devil with a visage ? What Sh. meant to say is clear enough :
we too often disguise the devil himself with devout looks and pious acts. To express
this, read : ' with devotion's vizard . . . we do figure o'er,' &c.
48. action] Singer : This indicates that it was a book of prayers, which agrees
with Hamlet's ' Nymph, in thy orisons.'
52. to] See I, ii, 140.
53. painted] Caldecott : Falsely colored. Clarendon : Fictitious, disguised.
Compare King John, III, i, 105.
56. Johnson : Of this celebrated soliloquy, which bursting from a man distracted
with contrariety of desires, and overwhelmed with the magnitude of his own pur-
poses, is connected rather in the speaker's mind than on his tongue, I shall en-
act Hi, sc. i.] HAMLET 205

[56. To be, or not to be.]

deavor to discover the train, and to show how one sentiment produces another.
Hamlet, knowing him.-elf injured in the most enormous and atrocious degree, and
seeing no means of redress but such as must expose him to the extremity of hazard,
meditates on his situation in this manner : Before I can form any rational scheme
of action under this pressure of distress, it is necessary to decide whether, after our
present state, we are to be, or not to be. That is *he question, which, as it shall be
answered, will determine whether 'tis JiohJer, and more suitable to the dignity of
reason, to suffer the outrages of fortune patiently, or to take axms-against them, and
by opposing end them, though perhaps with thp Inss nt lifp. If to die were to sleep,
no more, and by a sleep to end the miseries of our nature, such a sleep were devoutly
to be zvished ; but if to sleep in death be to dream, to retain our powers of sensibility,
we must pause to consider in that sleep of death what dreams may come. This con-
sideration makes calamity so long endured ; for who would bear the vexations of
life, which might be ended by a bare bodkin, but that he is afraid of something in
unknown futurity ? This fear it is that gives efficacy to conscience, which, by turn-
ing the mind upon this regard, chills the ardor of resolution, checks the vigor of
enterprise, and makes the current of desire stagnate in inactivity. We may suppose
that he wr aid have applied these general observations to his own case, but that he
discovered Ophelia. Malone : Dr Johnson's explication of the first five lines of
this passage is surely wrong. Hamlet is not deliberating whether after our present
state we are to exist or not, but whether he should continue to live, or put an end to
his life; as is pointed out by the second and the three following lines, which are
manifestly a paraphrase on the first : ' Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer, &c,
or to take arms.' The question concerning our existence in a future state is not con-
sidered till the tenth line : ' To sleep ! perchance to dream !' &c. See R. of L. 1 154.
Coleridge : This speech is of absolutely universal interest, — and yet to which of
all Shakespeare's characters could it appropriately have been given but to Hamlet ?
For Jaques it would have been too deep, and for Iago too habitual a communion
with the heart ; which in every man belongs, or ought to belong, to all mankind.
Lamb ( Works, vol. iii, p. 88. London, 1870) : How far the very custom of hear-
ing anything spouted, withers and blows upon a fine passage, may be seen in those
speeches from Hen. V., &c, which are current in the mouths of schoolboys, from
their being to be found in Enfield's Speaker, and such kind of books. I confess
myself utterly unable to appreciate that celebrated soliloquy in Hamlet, beginning,
* To be, or not to be,' or to tell whether it be good, bad, or indifferent ; it has been
so handled and pawed about by declamatory boys and men, and torn so inhumanly
from its living place and principle of continuity in the play, till it has become to
me a perfect dead member. CALDECOTT, criticising Dr Johnson, says that the train
of thought is obvious enough; it is only the grammatical thread that technically
may call for some unwinding. He denies that any doubt is here raised by Hamlet
as to a future state of existence, — Hamlet is_ questioning solely what the condition
of such existence is to be^ «. A-desira-lo. be out of the wprld Js-xtfte~<^4h^ -most--
sirnpgly-TnarVpd features of Hamlet's character. It Js the first wish he utters when
alone : I, ii 129. But he is then restrained from anything beyond a wish for suicide
by religious scruples. The inclination now returns upon him more forcibly (having
more cause for such an impulse), and the prohibition of Heaven does not enter inte
consideration.
18 It is here only, what he shall change his life for. This is the lan-
206 HAMLET [act hi, sc. i.

[56. To be, or not to be.]

guage and subject of a man's mind who is nearer death, than he who only wishes
that it were lawful to kill himself.' Hunter (ii, 236) : This soliloquy is placed in
Qx at the beginning of what is now Act II. It stands there most appropriately. We
have seen, at the close of Act I, the state of Hamlet's mind immediately on having
received the dread information and the solemn command of the Ghost ; we are next
presented with what was the state of his mind after a few days' reflection. He
enters solus, in a meditative mood, and the subjects of his meditations are among the
most awful which can engage mortal thoughts. This is to show his natural mind.
Then follows the dialogue with Ophelia, which is intended to show us his artificial
mind, — that idle, wandering folly which he assumed, the better to accomplish his
object. I can conceive nothing more dramatically proper than this. It prepares for
all the succeeding action in which the natural and the artificial Hamlet are so wildly
combined. Why there was a change in the arrangement, or by whom it was made,
I can no more explain than I can account for many other things connected with the
publication of these dramas. But that the play is greatly injured by the change 1
feel a confident conviction; for not only is this soliloquy wanting in the place most
appropriate to it, but it is now found in a place not suitable to it. Such meditations
as these are not such as were likely to arise in the mind of one who had just con-
ceived adesign by which he hoped to settle a doubt of a very serious kind, and
who must have been full of curiosity about the issue of his plot. If this speech
is to indicate deliberation concerning suicide, or is even allied to suicide, such de-
liberation issurely out of place when curiosity was awake, and his mind deeply in-
tent on something that he must do. To be sure, the hypothesis of Inconsistency will
explain all; but then it will explain anything. Another very material effect is pro-
duced bythe change in the point at which this solus speech is introduced. The line,
' But look where sadly the poor wretch comes reading? immediately precedes his
entry, when, supposing himself to be unobserved, he gives utterance to the musings
of his mind. See also Qx. It is thus manifest that the poet's intention was that
these should be meditations of Hamlet on something which he found written in a
book which he holds in his hand, a book which spoke of the evils of life, of death,
their cure, of futurity, of the question of being or not being when we have shuffled off
this mortal coil, and that what he says arises out of the argument in the book before
him, and is not to be regarded as thoughts springing up in his own mind. [See note,
line 60.] 'To be, or not to be: ay, there's the point,' as it is in the Quarto, is equiva-
lent to, ' You, the author, are discussing the question of what shall be hereafter; you
have a great and mighty subject in hand.' And the words as we now have them,
' To be, or not to be, — that is the question,' are much the same, if we regard, as we
may, 'question' as equivalent to theme, argument, or subject. [There is also an
analysis of this soliloquy to be found in Goldsmith's Works (vol. iii, p. 316, Lon-
don, 1854), which attempts to prove that it is 'a heap of absurdities, whether we
consider the situation, the sentiment, the argumentation, or the poetry.' This essay
and five others have been included in Goldsmith's works on the strength of their
having appeared in The British Magazine during the years 1 761, 1762, and 1763,
but no one, I think, can read them, certainly the one in question, without agreeing
with the editor of the edition, Peter Cunningham, * that they are not by Goldsmith.'
The needless attempt, however, has been made gravely to refute this essay in Hack*
ett's Notes and Comments on Shakespeare, New York, 1863, pp. 13-59. For Ger-
act oi, sc. i.J HAMLET 207

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 57

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

58. slings'] sling Campbell, stings Obs. 1752).

Anon. [Misc. Obs. 1752), Hoffa, Walker. 59. a sea of] assail of Warb.
arrows] harrows Anon. [Afisc.

man criticisms on this soliloquy, see Ziegler, TlECK, Rohrhach, ROmeun (foot-
note), in the Appendix, Vol. II.]
58. slings] Walker (Crit. ii, 16) : Sti/rgs is undoubtedly the true reading. [See
Gerth's extraordinary interpretation of this word in Appendix, Vol. II.]
59. sea] Pope: Perhaps siege, which continues the metaphor of ' slings,' ' arrows,'
4 taking arms,' and represents the being encompassed on all sides with troubles
Theobald : Or one might emend nearer the traces of the text : ' th' assay of
troubles ' [Singer has no doubt that this was the word], or • a 'say of troubles,' i. e.
the attempts, attacks, &c. But perhaps any change is unnecessary, considering
Shakespeare's freedom in combining metaphors, and that a ' sea ' is used to signify
a vast quantity, multitude, or confluence of anything. The prophet Jeremiah, in
chap. Ii, 42, calls a prodigious army, a sea. yEschylus is frequent in the use of this
metaphor: Septem contra Thebas [lines 64 and 114, ed. Dindorf ]. Besides, a ' sea
of troubles ' among the Greeks grew into proverbial usage : KaK&v daXaooa. So that
the phrase means the troubles of human life, which flow in upon us, and encompass
us round, like a sea. Hanmer : Assailing would preserve the propriety of the
metaphor. Johnson : Sh. breaks his metaphors often, and in this desultory speech
there was less need of preserving them. Caldecott : This mode of speaking is
proverbial, and has been so in all ages and in all languages; neither can any meta-
phor be conceived more apt than that of the sea, to convey the idea of an over-
whelming mass. With the closest analogy we say, a flood of transport, a torrent of
abuse, a peck of troubles. Sh. uses it everywhere and in every form ; and the in
tegrity of his metaphor is that which he least thinks of. Garrick (Oration in
Honor of Shakespeare' s jubilee) : Shakespeare's terms rather than his sentences are
metaphorical ; he calls an endless multitude a sea, by a happy allusion to the per-
petual succession of wave on wave ; and he immediately expresses opposition by
' taking up arms,' which, being fit in itself, he was not solicitous to accommodate to
his first image. This is the language in which a figurative and rapid conception
will always be expressed. A. E. B[rae] (N. & Qu. vol. vi, 23 Oct. 1852) : To
take arms against a sea neither presents an intelligible idea in itself, nor assists in
carrying on the general allusion to offensive and defensive warfare. ' Slings ' and
' arrows ' are figurative of armed aggression, against which to have recourse to arms
in opposition is a natural sequence of idea ; but if these arms are to be directed
against a sea of troubles, the sequence is broken, and the whole allusion becomes
obscure and uncertain. But the whole image is that of a posse of evils thronging to
assail us in this life, — a mortal coil, as it is afterwards called, in opposition to the
immortal coil after death of ills we know not of, — this attack we may put an end to,
or ' shuffle off,' by taking arms against it, scilicet, ' a bare bodkin !' Thus the very
necessity of the context plainly exacts some word expressive of tumultuous attack ;
and sue? e word we obtain, bearing precisely that meaning, by the slight alteration
208 HAMLET ' [act hi, sc. l

[59. ■ sea of troubles.']

of 'a sea' into assay. It is singular that lexicographers, amongst the several defini-
tions they have ascribed to it, should have failed to include that one peculiar mean-
ing,— charge or onset, — which renders it so appropriate. See II, ii, 71. But by
Spenser the word is most frequently used, and its meaning most plainly indicated.
See Faerie Queene, V, ii; V, xi. As to the probability of substitution, an equally
close approximation exists between assay and ' a sea' as between asters and ' as stars;'
nor is it at all certain that even in sound the vowels a and e were so distinctive in
those days as in our own. The probability is still greater if it were spelt, as was
often the case, with one s. Assay has all the meaning of Pope's conjecture, with
the added sense, peculiar to itself, of thronging or simultaneous onset. Thus, too,
in III, iii, 69, 'make assay' receives great force and beauty if interpreted, 'throng
to the rescue.' [Although A. E. B. was anticipated by Theobald, yet his defence
is so vigorous that I have not scrupled to insert it; it is doubtful whether his
definition will apply to II, i, 65. Ed.] Bailey (i, 28) maintains that Sh. never
could have written anything so inconsequent as lines 59 and 60 : ' Hamlet proposes
to himself the question whether he shall or shall not continue to live ; but in pro-
ceeding to amplify it he performs the operation which is called changing a child at
nurse, i. e. he substitutes a totally different question — namely, whether he shall con-
tinue to bear his wrongs patiently, or shall fight against them and put them down ?
It is as if my neighbor Lepidus, whilst deliberating whether he should remain in his
present house or quit it, were to say : " To remain or to quit ? That is the question ;
whether it is better for me to continue to endure rattling windows, &c, or to call in
the carpenter, and so put an end to these annoyances." ' — vol. ii, p. 305. Accordingly,
Bailey believes that logic is vindicated, and the true text restored, by reading ' to
take arms against the seat of troubles, And by a poniard, or by deposing, end them.'
Or the line * intrinsically, or considered by itself, might be restored by reading, " to
take arms against a host of troubles;" although the principal fault of the passage
would remain unaffected.' — p. 306. Staunton : As Sh. has already furnished us
with 'a sea of joys,' 'a sea of glory,' 'a sea of conscience,' 'a sea of wax,' 'a sea
of care,' any emendation is very questionable. Halliwell cites : ' Whatsoever it
be (which hardly at the length can be depainted) that after a sea of troubles we
enjoy in this life,' &c. — The Passenger of Benvenuto, 161 2. Keightley (who in-
clines to Pope's conj.) says that this is almost a solitary instance of the figurative
use of 'sea' by Sh. Hackett (p. 51) : The 'sea' here is the heart, — the fountain
of existence, and it is compared in its agitated condition to a * sea of troubles.'
' The analogy between the sea, with its ebb and flow, through rivers, channels, and
creeks, and the heart, by whose impulse the blood courses through the veins and
arteries, must be obvious to every one upon reflection.' Sh. frequently compares
the heart to a ' sea.' Ingleby (Sh. Hermeneutics, p. 88) : One consideration of
the highest importance has been entirely ignored. When Ham. talked of ending
his sea of troubles, or, as he afterwards describes it, shuffling off his mortal coil,
he had a covert consciousness, a conscience, in fact, which stayed the hand he would
have raised against his own life ; viz. that this so-called ending and shuffling off
Mras a mere delusion, just as much so as repelling the advancing waves of the sea
with shield and spear. Is not the metaphor then sound and whole ? If there be
an incongruity in the notion of taking arms, offensively or defensively, against
the sea, is there not just as great an incongruity in using a bare brdkin against
act in, sc. i.] HAMLET 209

And by opposing end them ? To die, — to sleep, — 6c

No more ; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, — 'tis a consummation
60. them f\ Pope, them, QaQ3. them: 61. more /] more, QaQ3- more : Q4Q5
Q Q Ff. them. Rowe, Han. Cap. F3F3F4. more? Cap. Ayscough.
60,61. die, — to sleep, — No] Pope, die 63. to, — ] Cap. too; Qq. to; Rowe + ,
iojleepe No Qq. dye,tofleepeNo¥xY2. Jen. Cald. too?¥x. to? YJF^. to. F,.
t/^, to Jleep No F3F4, Rowe. die ; to to ?— Sta.
sleep; No Cap. aY<? .• to sleep; No Glo. + .

the soul, — the immortal part which (as Raleigh has it) ' no stab can kill ' ? [In
proof that the metaphor in question is consistent, and has all the external evidences
of authenticity, Ingleby cites a passage from Ritson's Memoirs of the Celts (p. 118),
which is itself a translation of one in y£lian, to the effect that the Celts in the wan-
tonness of their bravery ' oppose the overwhelming sea,' and ' taking arms rush
upon the waves,' ' in like manner as if they were able to terrify or wound them.']
60. end them] Sebastian Evans {Footnote in Ingleby's Sh. Hermeneutics, p.
92) would omit the pronoun after ' end,' understanding by that word die.
60. sleep] Theobald : This seems to be sneered at by Beau. & Fl. in their
Scornful Lady [II, i, Works, vol. iii, p. 25, ed. Dyce]. Douce (ii, 238) : There is
a good deal on this subject in Cardanus's Comforte, 1576, a book which Sh. had
certainly read. In fol. 30 it is said : ' In the holy scripture, death is not accompted
other than sleape, and to dye is sayde to sleape.' Hunter (ii, 243) : This seems to
be the book which Sh. placed in the hands of Hamlet, and the following passages
seem to approach so near to the thought of this soliloquy that we cannot doubt that
they were in Shakespeare's mind when he put this speech into the mouth of Hamlet :
* How much were it better to follow the counsel of Agathius, who right well com-
mended death, saying, that it did not only remove sickness and all other grief, but
also, when all other discommodities of life did happen to man often, it never would
come more than once. Seeing, therefore, with such ease men die, what should we
account of death to be resembled to anything better than sleep? Moste assured it is
that such sleeps are most sweet as be most sound, for those are the best where in like
unto dead men we dream nothing. The broken sleeps, the slumber, and dreams full
of visions, are commonly in them that have weak and sickly bodies.' — Book ii.
Clarendon : These resemblances to Cardan are not very striking.
61. more] Knight: Surely the doubt [indicated by Capell's '?'] whether death
and sleep are identical comes too early ; the reasoning proceeds to assume that they
are the same. In line 65 comes the doubt—' perchance to dream.' The ' no more '
is nothing more.
61. to say we] Bailey (i. 42) thinks that 'to say' here breaks the train of
thought, and has nothing to do where it is placed. ' By simply expunging " say we n
every one will be sensible how greatly the passage is improved, and that the introduc-
tion of saying is a sheer impertinence which could not have proceeded from the
clear head of our great dramatist.' But for metre's sake a foot must be supplied,
which will be appropriate in sound, form, and sense — this foot Bailey thinks is to
he found in straightway.
18* O
2IO HAMLET [act hi, sc. i.

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die ;— to sleep ;—

To sleep ! perchance to dream ! ay, there's the rub ; 65
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

64. wished. To] wi/Jit to Qq. die, to sleep ; To sleep : Glo. + .

64,65. To... sleep !] Cap. dietojleepe, 66. come,] come QsQ. come? Q.QS-
ToJleepc,Qc{Ff. die, — to sleep ; To sleep ! 67. we have] he have F2. he hath
Knt, Dyce. die, to sleep; — To sleep, ^ J?4.
Sta. die,— to sleep,— To sleep; Ktly. shuffled] fhufflel 'd F 'SF',.

65. rub] Clarendon: A term of bowls, meaning a collision hindering the bowl
in its course.
66. what dreams] Hunter (ii, 239) : Sh. seems to have been deeply impressed
with a feeling of the misery of uneasy dreams ; we see it in Clarence, and more
awfully in Richard; we have also in his plays the effect of pleasant dreams. [The
accent in reading should be laid on ' what.' It is the kind of dreams from which
Hamlet here recoils, not from the mere fact of dreaming ; the horror at that suppo-
sition isexpi-essed in line 65. Ed.]
67. coil] Warburton : Tunnoil, bustle. Heath : The incumbrance of this
mortal body. Steevens : Compare A Dolfull Discours of Two Strangers, &c, pub-
lished byChurchyard, among his Chippes, 1575 : ' Yea, shaking off this sinfull soyle
Me thincke in cloudes I see,' &c. M. Mason (p. 383) agrees with Heath in referring
this to the body, this 'covering of flesh,' and is persuaded that we should read 'mor-
tal spoil? which is the same word as the slough which the snake casts every year. In
sense it means the same as ' the case of flesh,' in Bonduca [IV, iv, p. 82, Beau. & Fl.
Works, ed. Dyce] ; and again, 'a separation Betwixt this spirit and the case of flesh.'
— The Elder Brother [IV, iii, p. 262, Beau. & Fl. Works, ed. Dyce] ; but the most
complete parallel is ' this muddy vesture of decay.' — Mer. of Ven. V, i, 64. Calde-
cott : It is here used in each of its senses : turmoil, or bustle, and that which entwines
or wraps round. Snakes generally lie like the coils of ropes ; and, it is conceived,
that an allusion is here had to the struggle which that animal is obliged to make in
casting his slough. Hunter (ii, 240) : He was thinking of the coil of a rope.
With this expression ' shuffled off' better coheres. Singer: It is remarkable that
under garbuglio, which corresponds in Italian to our ' coil,' Florio has ' a pecke of
troubles,' of which Shakespeare's ' sea of troubles ' may be only an aggrandised idea.
Elze : With what reason can turmoil or noise be termed mortal ? And how can
we shuffle off a mortal noise ? We are convinced that under ' coil ' is concealed an
error which we can remedy by an almost imperceptible change, if instead of ' coil '
we read vail. Vail means a covering, an integument, and our body is the mortal
covering or integument which we must shuffle off in order to enter on the life be-
yond. In Botany vail is the envelope, the chalypter of mosses, which enfolds the
fructifying organs and which is burst by them, and it is not impossible that it was
used generally for the envelope of buds. We do not venture to assert that Sh. knew
this meaning of the word, but we know with what keen looks he must have exam-
ined nature. Beyond a doubt, clay would be better, but it would harmonise less
with the received text. Elze {Shakespeare- fahrbuch, vol. ii, p. 362) advocates the
substitution of soil for ' coil,' which word he found in the Dolfull Discours, quoted
act in, sc. i.] HAMLET 211

Must give us pause ; there's the respect 68

That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, 70

by Steevens. Elze supports his conjecture very ably, but it is needless. ' Shuffle '
decides ; a coil may be said to be shuffled off, but soil would be shaken off. Hudson :
As Wordsworth has it : ' the fretful stir unprofitable, and the fever of the world.' In
N. dr» Qu. 23 Feb. '56, Ingleby started the question of how far the popular in-
terpretation of' coil,' as the body, is justified ; the discussion was continued by ' X.'
on the 15 March following, who maintained that in every instance where the word
is used by Sh. it means turmoil, tumult ; and in a second communication to the
same journal on the nth Oct., the same correspondent pertinently asks whether the
contrast be not intended between ' coil ' and ■ quietus.' Ingleby replied (8 Nov.
'56) that the interpretation of body for ' coil ' was a popular error, not his, and that
it perhaps arose, as suggested to him by a correspondent, from a confusion on the
part of the public between the present passage and Colossians, iii, 9, with a reference
also to 2 Corinthians, v, 1-5. H. T. Riley (8 Nov. '56, also) has no doubt that
' coil ' refers to the body, and that it was probably suggested by Romans, vii, 24. The
coil received its quietus on 18 Sept. '58, by ' A. M. of Greenock,' who cites a deriva-
tion of the word from the Gaelic cochul, meaning the scaly integument which clothes
the lower limbs of a mermaid [!]. Ingleby, however, in his excellent Sh. Hermeneu-
iics (p. 88, footnote), says that the analogies are too strong in favor of the 'mortal
coil' being what Fletcher, in Bonduca, calls the ' case of flesh.' [Caldecott's inter
pretation, that ' coil ' is used in both senses, seems to me the true one. Ed.]
68, 69. Must . . . life ;] Walker (Crit. iii, p. 265) : Arrange metri gratia, if not
also to the heightening of the effect, as three lines, ending ' pause.', • calamity ',
■ life.'.
68. pause] Caldecott : Stop our career, occasion reflection. Moberly : This
word is foi obvious reasons made to take up the time of three syllables in pronuncia-
tion ; so correction is needless.
68. respect] Warburton : Consideration, motive. Singer : This is Shake-
speare's most usual sense of the word.
70. time] Warburton : The evils complained of are not the product of time or
duration only, but of a corrupted age or manners. We may be sure that Sh. wrote
' of th1 time.' Johnson : ' Whips ' and ' scorns ' have no great connection with one
another, or with time. Though at all times scorn may be endured, the times that put
men ordinarily in danger of whips are very rare. If « whips ' be retained, read :
'whips and scorns of tyrants.* But I think that quip [anticipated by Grey (ii,
295). Ed.], a sneer, a sarcasm, is the proper word. I propose, but not confidently,
4 the quips and scorns of title.1 [These conjectures of Johnson's were omitted in the
Variorum of 1793 and subsequent ones. Ed.] Steevens: I think we might venture
to read, ' whips and scorns o1 the times? i. e. times satirical as the age of Sh., which
probably furnished him with the idea. Hunter (ii, 240) : * Time ' is used by early
writers as equivalent to the modern expression, The Times. Taylor the Water Poet
has: 'mock'd in rhyme, And made the only scornful theme of Time* Sh. himself
seems to use time in the same manner in Rich. Ill: IV, iv, 106. Clarendon :
Compare Southwell, Saint Peter's Complaint, stanza v, 1. 4 [p. 12, ed. Grosart]: ' The
scorn? of Tims, the infamy of Fame.'
212 HAMLET [act III, SC. i.

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, 71

The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make 75
With a bare bodkin ? who would fardels bear,
f
71. proud] proude Qq. poore FXF2. 75. When he] When Q4QS- When
poor F3F4, Rowe, Cald. as Q'76.
72. pangs'] pang Pope, Theob. Warb. quietus] quietas Q2Q3Q4.
Johns. 76. who would fardels] who'd these
disprized love, the] Cald. Knt, fardels Walker, White, Huds.
Sing. Sta. Huds. difpriz'd love, the Ff. fardels'] these Fardles Ff, Cald.
defpiz'd love, the Q2Q3. office, and the Knt, Ktly, Del.
Q Q . despised love, the Rowe et cet.

71. proud] Caldecott: The contumely the proud man offers is more in accord-
ance with the train of thought than that which the poor man suffers. [In the enum-
eration of these ills, is it not evident that Sh. is speaking in his own person ? As
Johnson says, these are not the evils that would particularly strike a prince. Ed.]
72. disprized] Grey (ii, 295) : For mis-prized. White: This is a misprint, or,
more probably, a sophistication. [A love that is disprized falls more frequently to
the lot of man, and is perhaps more hopeless in its misery, than a love that is de-
spised. As Corson says, ' perhaps a disprized or undervalued love, a love that is
only partially appreciated and responded to, would be apt to suffer more pangs than
a despised love.' After all, this passage is merely one of the numberless puzzles
in the text of Sh. ; scarcely is the ink dry which has marked out a certain reading
before reason and probability seem to shift to the side of the rejected reading;
and to avoid unending vacillation an editor must fall back on the safe and sound
rule: durior lectio prceferenda est ; which applies here. Ed.]
75. quietus] Steevens : This is the technical term for the acquittance which
every sheriff [or accountant] receives on settling his accounts at the Exchequer.
Compare Webster, Duchess of Malfi [I, i, vol. i, p. 198, Works, ed. Dyce] : 'And
'cause you shall not come to me in debt, Being now my steward, here upon your
lips I sign your Quietus est.' Hunter (ii, 241) : 'The law's delay ' suggested this
reference to the Exchequer. Elsewhere Sh. uses other Exchequer terms. In Sonnet
126, 12, we find quietus and four other words which may be considered Exchequer
terms within the compass of two lines.
76. bare J Malone : This does not perhaps mean ' by so little an instrument as a
dagger,' but ' by an unsheathed dagger.' Clarendon : Sh. may have had the former
meaning in mind. [Assuredly. Ed.]
76. bodkin] Theobald (Sh. Rest. p. 85) : I know that this is generally intei
preted to mean any, the least weapon that can be. 'Tis true, this exaggerates the
thought in that particular ; but I can scarce suppose that the little implement is here
meant with which women separate and twist over their hair. I rather believe that
the word here signifies, according to the old usage of it, a dagger. Thus Chaucer:
' rTulius] in the capitoil anoon him hent<? This false Brutus, and his other foon, And
stoked him wiiV boydekyns anoon.' — The Monkes Tale [line 714, ed. Morris].
act in, sc. i.] HAMLET 213

To grunt and sweat under a weary life, JJ

But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will, 80

77. grunt] groan Q'76, Pope + , Cap. ered Ff. That undiscover'd Pope K
life,"] life? Q4QS» Pope, Theob. borne
Warb. 79. QqFjF.,,
bourn'] Cap. bourneBornPcpe
Han. Jen. +
F3F4,
79. The undiscovered] The undifcov- Rowe.

Steevens : A small dagger. Thus, •— Out with your bodkin, Your pocket-dagger
your stiletto.' — Beau. & Fl., Custom of the Country [II, iii, Works, p. 424, ed. Dyce].
Again, in Sapho and Phao, 1591 : ' — a desperate fray between two, made at all
weapons, from the brown bill to the bodkin.' Hunter (ii, 241) : Reginald Scot
{Discovery of Witchcraft, fol. 1665, p. 198, first printed in the time of Elizabeth)
plainly distinguishes a dagger from a bodkin.
76. fardels] Nares : A burden. [Thus, in Acts, xxi, 15: 'after these days we
trussed up our fardels and went vp to Jerusalem.' — Version of 1581. Ed.] Collier
(ed. 1): 'These fardels' is clearly wrong on every account. Hunter (ii, 242):
1 These fardels ' refer to the evils just specified, and the text should so read. Wal
Ker (Crit. iii, 266) : The Ff reading is 'perhaps right.' Contract 'who would' to
who 'Id. Lettsom {footnote to foregoing) : This contraction is not necessary for
the metre, see Walker ( Vers. p. ,101) : ' — an extra syllable is not admissible in the
body of the line, except when it comes immediately after a pause, namely, a short
extra syllable after the fourth or sixth syllable of the line.' White: The reading
of the Qq loses, with the pronoun ' these,' the essential thought : that the crosses
which Hamlet has just enumerated are the fardels. Corson also upholds the Ff.
77. grunt] Johnson : This can scarcely be borne by modern ears. {Note on
' hugger-mugger,' IV, v, 80.) : If phraseology is to be changed as words grow un-
couth by disuse, or gross by vulgarity, the history of every language will be lost.
Steevens: In Stanyhurst's Virgil, 1582, 'supremum congemuit' is given ' — for
sighing it grunts.' Again, in Turberville's Ovid, • — round about I heard Of dying
men the grunts.' — Epist. xiv, Hypermnestra to Lynceus. To the ears of our ances-
tors itprobably conveyed no unpleasing sound : thus Chaucer, ' But never gront he
at no strook but oon.' — The Monkes Tale, line 718, ed. Morris. Compare fid. Cas.
IV, i, 22. Knight : The players in their squeamishness always give us groan ; and
if they had not the terror of the blank verse before them, they would certainly
inflict perspire upon us. STAUNTON : See Armin's Nest of Ninnies [p. 26, ed.
Sh. Soc] : ' — how the fat fooles of this age will gronte and sweat under this massie
burden,' &c.
79. The] Keightley {Exp. 292) : I read '/« the.' If any one refuses his as-
sent to this very slight addition to the text, and which for the first time gives it sense,
I must leave him to his own devices.
79. bourn] Nares : A limit, a boundary.
80. returns] The apparent oversight contained in the assertion that no traveller
returns from that bourn, when Hamlet had himself seen and talked with such a
traveller, Theobald endeavors to explain away by showing that the Ghost comes
only f-otr Purgatory, not from the last and eternal residence of souls in bliss o»
214 HAMLET [act hi, sc i.

And makes us rather bear those ills we have 81

Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, 85
And enterprises of great pith and moment
& / -^ 0 J \

81. ills'] illesYJ*^. 85. Is. ..thought] Shews fuk and pale
83. of us all] Om. Qq. with thought Q'76.
84. native hue] healthful. face Q'76. sicklied] fickled Q<\.
hue] hiew Qq. hew FtF2. 86. pith\ pitch Qq, Jen. El. Cam. Cla.

misery. Farmer : This has been cavilled at by Lord Orrery and others, but without
reason. The idea of a traveller in Shakespeare's time was of a person who gave an
account of his adventures. Steevens : Compare, * Qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum,
Illuc unde negant redire quenquam.' — Catullus. Douce : No translation of Catullus
into English is known to have been made. Both writers may have casually adopted
the same sentiment. Malone (anticipated, however, by Gentleman, in the Dra-
matic Censor, i, 23, 1770) asserts that Sh. meant that from the unknown regions
of the dead no traveller returns with all his corporeal powers, such as he who goes
on a voyage of discovery brings back. The Ghost being ' invulnerable as the air,'
was consequently incorporeal. Schlegel {Lectures, &c. ii, 196, footnote) : Sh. wished
purposely to show that Ham. could not fix himself in any conviction of any kind
whatever. Roffe (p. 31): According to that philosophy which the Spiritualist
believes to have been Shakespeare's, Ham. was perfectly correct in using this phrase-
ology. Surely there is no skepticism in Ham., nor inadvertency in Sh. : a departed
spirit appears to the spiritual eyes of the man, and not to his natural eyes ; conse-
quently does not, and cannot, overpass 'the bourn ' which separates the spiritual and
causal world from the natural and effect world. Coleridge silences the question
for ever : ' If it be necessary to remove the apparent contradiction, — if it be not
rather a great beauty, — surely it were easy to say that no traveller returns to this
world, as to his home or abiding-place.' Hartley Coleridge {Essays and Mar-
ginalia, i,170) : I will not say that an apparition might not confirm the faith of an
Hereafter, where it pre-existed, but where that faith was not, or was neutralised by
an inward misery, implicated with the very sense of being, its effect would be but
momentary or occasional, — a source of perplexity, not of conviction, — throwing
doubt at once on the conclusions of the understanding and the testimony of the
senses, and fading itself into the twilight of uncertainty, making existence the mere
shadow of a shade.
8^. cowards] Blakeway: Compare Rich. Ill : I, iv, 138.
84. native hue] Hunter (ii, 242) : This was no doubt red. Clarendon: Nat-
ural colour. Compare Love's Lab. IV, iii, 263.
85. thought] Hunter : 'Thought' is melancholy, whose hue was pale, Mid. N.
D. I, i, 15. Clarendon: Care, anxiety. See IV, v, 182. 'An alderman of London
was put in trouble, and dyed with thought, and anguish.' — Bacon, Henry VII, p.
230. [Compare ' Take no thought for the morrow.' — Matt, vi, 34.]
86. pith] Ritson : I prefer ' pitch,' with an allusion to pitching or throwing the
bar —a manly exercise, usual in country villages. Staunton: We suppose 'pitch'
4CT in, sc. i.] HAMLET 21 J

With this regard their currents turn awry 87

And lose the name of action. Soft you now !
The fair Ophelia? — Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
OpJi. Good my lord. 90
How does your honour for this many a day?
Ham. I humbly thank you ; well, well, well.
OpJi. My lord, I have remembrances of yours,
That I have longed long to re-deliver ;
I pray you now, receive them.
Ham. No, not I; 95
87. currents} currants FXF2F . well, — Pope, you, well; — Theob.Warb.
awry] away Ff, Rowe, Cap. Cald. you ; well, indifferent well. Seymour.
Knt. 94. long] Om. Q'76. much Pope,
88. [Seeing Oph. Rowe + . ...with a Han.
book. Johns. 95. you now,] FfF3F , Cap. you now
89. Ophelia ?] Ophelia, Qq. Ophelia: QqF4, Rowe, Pope, Sing. Ktly. you,
Cap. Steev.Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ophe- now Theob. et cet.
lia ! Han. Sta. Dyce ii, Glo. + , Huds. No, not I] No, no Ff, Rowe,
orisons] orizons QqFI# Horizons Cald. Knt, Sta. No Pope + .
FaF F . oraisons Rowe, Pope, Jen. 95, 96. No. ..aught.] Cap. One line,
90. remembered.] remembred ? Q'76. QqFf, Rowe + , Jen. Knt, Sta.
92. you; well, well, zvell.] you well. 95. /; /] // You do mislahe ; I
Q2Q . you ; well. Q4Q5- you, well. Han. Seymour.
Johns. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. El. you ;

refers to the pitch or summit of the falcon's flight, and ' great pitch and moment '
means * great eminence and import.' [Staunton followed the Ff, although he said he
preferred the Qq. Ed.] Cambridge Edd : In this doubtful passage we have re-
tained the text of Qq, although the player's Quartos of 1676, 1683, 1695, and 1703
have, contrary to their custom, followed the Ff, which may possibly indicate that
'pith' was the reading according to the stage tradition. Clarendon: For 'pitch,'
see Twelfth Night, I, i, 12; Rich. II: I, i, 109. « Pitch' seems more appropriately
joined to ' moment ' than ' pith.' We have had • pith and marrow ' already, I, iv,
22. Whether we read • pitch ' or ' pith,' there is an equally sudden change of meta-
phor in ' current.' See line 59.
87. awry] Corson : * Turn away ' expresses more of an entire change of current,
which is Hamlet's idea, than does ' turn awry.''
88. Soft you now] Caldecott : A gentler pace ! have done with this lofty
march. Clarendon : Hush, be quiet. Compare Much Ado, V, i, 207.
89. Nymph] Halliwell: It has been doubted if the title of 'Nymph,' applied
to any other than a water-deity, were in use in Shakespeare's time. It occurs,
however, applied to the heroine, in Lodge's romance of Rosalyndc, 1590.
89. orisons] Johnson : This is a touch of nature. Hamlet, at the sight of
Ophelia, does not immediately recollect that he is to personate madness, but makes
her an address grave and solemn, such as the foregoing meditation excited in his
thoughts.
116 HAMLET [act in, sc. i

I never gave you aught. 96

Oph. My honour'd lord, I know right well you did ;
And with them words of so sweet breath composed
As made the things more rich ; their perfume lost,
Take these again ; for to the noble mind 100
Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
There, my lord. *__
Ham. Ha, ha ! are you honest ? tJh^+JL^
97. / know] Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. rich, theit perfume lost, Q2Q . ric/t,
Cald. Knt, Coll.White, Huds. you know then perfume left; FXF2F . rich, than
Qq et cet. perfume left ; F4. rich : that perfume
99. the things] thefe things Qq, Jen. lost, Rowe+.
rich ; their perfume lost,] Q4QS»

92. well] Moberly : • Well ' becomes twice over a dissyllable by ironical modu-
lation.
96. aught] Dowden (p. 139) : As things were, Ham. quickly learned, and the
knowledge embittered him, that Oph. could neither receive great gifts of soul, nor
in return render equivalent gifts. There is an exchange of little tokens between the
lovers, but of the large exchange of soul there is none, and Ham. in his bitter mood
can truthfully exclaim : ' I never gave you aught.'
97. I know] Corson : Ophelia's meaning is, The remembrances you gave me
may have been trifles to you, such trifles as left no impression on your mind of your
having given them; but /know right well you did, as they were most dear to me at
the time. ' I ' should be read with a strong upward circumflex.
99. lost] Daniel (p. 75) : The Ff give a very good reading, or qy. reft. In
the next line read, * Take them again.'
102. There, my lord] Marshall (p. 28) : At this point, just as Oph. is going
to force back on Ham. the sweet remembrances of his love, the fussy old Polonius,
who has been fidgeting behind the arras, anxious to see the result of his most
notable device, pops his head out, and in so doing drops his chamberlain's staff.
Ham. hears the noise, and instantly suspects the truth, that he is being made the
object of an artfully devised scheme to entrap him into some confession of his
secret.

103. Richardson [Essays, &c, fifth ed., 1797, p. 102) : Hamlet's air and manner
here should not be perfectly grave and serious. Nor is there anything in this dia-
logue to justify the tragic tone with which it is frequently spoken. Let Ham. be
represented as delivering himself in a light, airy, unconcerned, and thoughtless
manner, and the rudeness, so much complained of, will disappear. Coleridge:
Here it is evident that the penetrating Ham. perceives, from the strange and forced
manner of Oph., that the sweet girl was not acting a part of her own, but was a
decoy ; and his after-speeches are not so much directed to her as to the listeners and
spies. Such a discovery in a mood so anxious and irritable accounts for a certain
harshness in him ;— and yet a wild upworking of love, sporting with opposites in a
wilful self-tormenting strain of irony, is perceptible throughout. ' I did love you
once;' — ' I lov'd you not;' — and particularly in his enumeration of the faults of the
\ct in, sc. i.] HAMLET 21 J

Oph. My lord ?
Ham. Are you fair ? 10$
Oph. What means your lordship?

104. lord ?~\ Cap. lord. QqFf. lord — Rowe-f , Jen.

Bex from which Oph. is so free, that the mere freedom therefrom constitutes her
character. Note Shakespeare's charm of composing the female character by the
absence of characters, that is, marks and out-jottings. Lamb (iii, 95, ed. 1870) : All
the Hamlets that I have ever seen, rant and rave at Oph. as if she had committed
some great crime, and the audience are highly pleased, because the words of the
part are satirical, and they are enforced by the strongest expression of satirical in-
dignation of which the face and voice are capable. But then, whether Ham. is
likely to have put on such brutal appearances to a lady whom he loved so dearly, is
never thought on. The truth is, that in all such deep affections as had subsisted
between Ham. and Oph. there is a stock of supererogatory love (if I may venture
to use the expression), which in any great grief of heart, especially where that
which preys upon the mind cannot be communicated, confers a kind of indulgence
upon the grieved party to express itself, even to its heart's dearest object, in the
language of a temporary alienation ; but it is not alienation, it is purely a distraction,
and so it always makes itself to be felt by that object; it is not anger, but grief
assuming the appearance of anger, — love awkwardly counterfeiting hate, as sweet
countenances when they try to frown ; but such sternness and fierce disgust as Ham.
is made to show is no counterfeit, but the real face of absolute aversion, — of irrecon-
cilable alienation. It may be said he puts on the madman ; but then he should only
so far put on this counterfeit lunacy as his own real distraction will give him leave ;
that is, incompletely, imperfectly ; not in that confirmed, practised way, like a master
of his art, or, as Dame Quickly would say, 'like one of those harlotry players.'
Hazlitt (p. no) : Hamlet's conduct to Oph. is quite natural in his circumstances.
It is that of assumed severity only. It is the effect of disappointed hope, of bitter
regrets, of affection suspended, not obliterated, by the distraction of the scene around
him ! Amidst the natural and preternatural horrors of his situation, he might be
excused in delicacy from carrying on a regular courtship. When his * father's spirit
was in arms,' it was not the time for the son to make love in. He could neither
marry Oph., nor wound her mind by explaining the cause of his alienation, which
he durst hardly trust himself to think of. It would have taken him years to come
to a direct explanation on the point. In the harassed state of his mind he could,
not have done otherwise than he did. His conduct does not contradict what he
says of his love for her when he sees her grave. Vischer (Krit. Gauge, p. 102)
conjectures that Ham. suspects that the Queen is eavesdropping, and that what he
says here is aimed at her. '
103. honest] STAUNTON: That 'honest' in this dialogue is equivalent to chaste
or virtuous, it would be superfluous to mention, but that some critics, in their stric-
tures on the conduct of Hamlet in the present scene, appear to have forgotten it.
The beginning19 recalls to mind some passages in Shirley's, The Royal Master,
IV, i : ' King. Are you honest ? Theo. Honest ! King. I could have used the
name of chaste Or virgin ; but they carry the same sense.' — [ Works, vol. iv, p. 156,
td. Dyce.] Ci>vj;ndon : See Winter's Tale II, i, 68 and 76.
218 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. L
Ham. That if you be honest and fair, your honesty 107
should admit no discourse to your beauty.
Oph. Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce
than with honesty? no
Ham. Ay, truly ; for the power of beauty will sooner
transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force
of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness ; this was
sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I
did love you once. 115
Oph. Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
Ham. You should not have believed me; for virtue
cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it ;
I loved you not.
Oph. I was the more deceived. 120
Ham. Get thee to a nunnery ; why wouldst thou be a

107. your honesty] you Qq, Pope + , 118. inoculate] innocculate F. in-
Mai. Steev. occulate F_F inocualte F„.4 euocutat

109. commerce"] comerfe QaQ3. com- Q2Q3. euacuat Q . euacuate Q . evacu-

erce Q,FrF2F . converse Anon.* ate Q'70, Jen.
1 10. with] your Ff. 119. I loved you not.] I did love you
once. Rowe ii ;' Pope, in the margin.
113. into] in Q5< to Q'76. 121. to] Om. 23 Qq.
his] its Pope + . Ws Cap.
114. so?netime]fometimes F F4, Rowe, Nunry
121, Qq. 129, 137, 140, 149. nunnery]
Pope.

107, 108. honesty ... beauty] Johnson: The true reading seems to be: 'you
should admit your honesty to no discourse with your beauty.' This is the sense
evidently required. Caldecott : ' If you really possess these qualities, chastity
and beauty, and mean to support the character of both, your honesty should be
so chary of your beauty as not to suffer a thing so fragile to entertain discourse,
or to be parleyed with.' The lady, 'tis true, interprets the words otherwise,
giving them the turn that best suited her purpose. Singer : ' Honesty may be
corrupted by flattering discourse addressed to beauty.' Ham. remarks respecting
women generally. Clarendon : Hamlet says that honesty or virtue, personified
as the guardian of beauty, should allow none, not even himself, to discourse with
the latter.
114. the time] The present age. See Macb. I, v, 61.
116 and 120. Mrs Jameson (i, 275) : Those who ever heard Mrs Siddons read
Hamlet cannot forget the world of meaning, of love, of sorrow, of despair, conveyed
in these two simple phrases. Here and in lines 155, 156, are the only allusions to
herself and her own feelings in the course of the play ; and these, uttered almost
without consciousness on her own part, contain the revelation of a life of love, and
disclose the secret burthen of a heart bursting with its own unuttered grief.
118. it] Delius This refers to * old stock.'
ACT in, sc. I.] HAMLET 2 19

breeder of sinners ? I am myself indifferent honest ; but yet

I could accuse me of such things that it were better my
mother had not borne me ; I am very proud, revengeful,
ambitious; with more offences at my beck than I have 125
thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape,
or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do
crawling between heaven and earth ? We are arrant knaves
all ; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery.
Where's your father ? 1 30
Oph. At home, my lord.
Plant. Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may
play the fool no where but in's own house. Farewell.
124, 125. revengeful, ambitions'] re- Sing. Ktly, Glo. Dyce ii, Cla.
vengefull. Ambitious, FXF3F . 129. all] Om. Qq, Pope + , Jen.
124. borne] born F2F . 132, 133. Let. ..house.] Two lines, the
126. in, imagination to] in imagina- first ending him, Qq.
Hon, to Ff, Rowe. 133. no where] no way Ff, Cald. Knt.
128. heaven and earth] earth and in's] in his Ktly.
heaven Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald.

125. beck] Steevens : That is, always ready to come about me. Caldecott:
With more vitious dispositions, like evil genii at my elbow, and ready at a nod to
start into act, than can be distinctly conceived. Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) has
back ; one word may have been easily mistaken for the other. Walker (Crit. iii.
266) makes the same emendation, and Lettsom, in a footnote, adds, • not meaning,
I suppose, that Hamlet is loaded with offences ; that would require " on my back !"
but that he is the leader and disposer of a whole host of offences.'
126. in] WarburtoN: A word is dropped out; read ' in name.'' This was the
progress. The offences are first conceived and named, then projected to be put in
act, then executed. Heath : I see no business the naming hath to do in this prog-
ress. Johnson : ' To put a thing into thought,' is to ' think on it.'
130. father] Grant White ( The Case of Hamlet the Younger, The Galaxy,
April, 1870, p. 540) : There is no warrant for the opinion that Ham. had discovered
that the King and Pol. were overhearing him, which indeed is suggested only as a
support to the indefensible assumption that Ham. being good at heart, his conduct
must have been always thoroughly estimable and consistent; whereas there are no
graver offences nor grosser errors than those into which men fall for lack of resolu
tion. Marshall (A Study of Hamlet, p. 28) : Ham., before condemning Oph. as
an accomplice in the contemptible trick of spying on him, wishes to put Aer to the
plain proof; he therefore turns round and holds out his hand towards her; she, for-
getting her part, and thinking, poor girl, that he is going to take her to his breast and
forgive her, flies across to him ; he checks her with his outstretched hand, and, hold-
ing hers, looks straight into her eyes, as only one who loves Iier has a right to look
into a maiden's eyes, and solemnly asks her the question: 'Where is your father?'
She falters out her first lie. Then indignation takes the place of sorrow witk
Ham.
220 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. i.

Oph. [Aside] Oh, help him, you sweet heavens !

Ham. If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for 135
thy dowry : be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou
shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go ; fare-
well. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool ; for wise
men know well enough what monsters you make of them.
To a nunnery, go ; and quickly too. Farewell. 140
Oph. [Aside] O heavenly powers, restore him !
Ham. I have heard of your paintings too, well enough ;
God has given you one face, and you make yourselves
another; you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and nickname
God's creatures, and make your wantonness your ignor- 14$
134, 141. [Aside] Ed. 143. yourschss] your felues Q . your
!35- P^gue] plage QA. f'fa Q&fU- your felfe FtFa. your
137- go] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen. felf F3F4, Rowe, Pope, Han.
Steev. Var. Coll. Sing. El. Ktly.
144. jig] Q'76. gig Qq. gidge Ff.
140. too] to Qq. you amble] 6° amble Qq, Jen.
141. O] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen. lift Qq. lisp,] Q'76,F4. lifpe, F.F.F .
Steev. Var. Coll. Sing. El. Ye Ktly.
142. paintings] prat lings F . prat- and nickname] you nickname
ling F2F F , Rowe. painting Pope + .
pratt lings Cald. Knt i. 145. God's] Heavens Q'76.
too] Om. Qq. 145, 146. wantonness your ignorance]
143. God] Nature Q'76. ignorance your wantonness Anon.*
has] Ff, Rowe + , Dyce, Glo. your ignorance] ignorance Qq,
Huds. hath Qq et cet. Qq.
face] pace Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt i.
139. monsters] Delius : Compare Oth. IV, i, 63.
142. paintings] Collier : As Barron Field Jen. observes to me: ' Hamlet does
not mean that he had heard that Ophelia painted, but that women were in the habit
of painting themselves. Throughout the scene he speaks generally.' Steevens :
See Drayton's Mooncalf [Works, p. 173, b. ed. 1748], where these destructive aids
to beauty are satirised. Douce (ii, 241): Compare Isaiah, iii, 16. In defence of
the Ff, it has not been noticed that 'lisp' seems to refer to pratt lings, as 'jig' and
« amble ' do to pace. Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) sustains the Qq.
144. nickname] Wedgwood: Ekename or nekename, agnomen. — Prompt.
Parv. Ekename, from eke, in addition, besides ; nickname, as a name given in
derision, from Fr. faire la nique, to jeer, or Ger. necken, to tease. But the great
variety of forms looks more like a series of corruptions of a common original, which
being no longer understood has been accidentally modified or twisted in order to
suit the meaning. Such an original may perhaps be found in Lap. like itamm,
Fin. liika nimi, Esthon. liig nimmi, a by-name, surname, the first element of which
in the three languages signifies an excess of, beside.
145. ignorance] Johnson: You mistake by wanton affectation, and pretend to
mistake by ignorance. White : I do not quite apprehend the meaning of this
passage ; but it seemr. to imply that the women affected a pretty, innocent ignorance
act in, sc. i.] TfAMLET 221

ance. Go to, I'll no more on't; it hath made me mad. 146

I say, we will have^ no more marriages ; those that are mar-
ried already, all buTor^_shall live; the rest shall keep as
ihey are. To a nunnery, go. [Exit.
Oph. Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown ! 150
The courtier's, scholar's, soldier's, eye, tongue, sword ;
The expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion, and the mould of form,

146. Go to] goe to Q2Q3Q4. Go too 151. scholar's, soldier's] Qv Han.

Ff. Goe Fa. Go F3F4, Rowe, Pope, Sing, ii, Coll. ii, Sta. White, Ktly, Huds.
Han. foldier 's, fcholar 's, QqFf et cet.
on't]ii, oft
of it Sing, Mai. Steev. Var. Cald.
Ktly. Scholers,scholar's,'] fchollers,
Q . Schollers Q2Q3Q4-?
: Fx. Schollers
147. no more marriages] no mo mar- F3. Schollars ?¥ . Scholars! F , Rowe,
riage Qq. Om. Jen. (a misprint?)
148. live] Om. FaF3F4. 152. expectancy] expeclanfte FEF3.
149. [Exit.] Exit Hamlet. Ff. expectation Qq, Jen.
150. overthrown] othrowne Q.Q..

as a mask for their wantonness. Moberly : Use ambiguous words, as if you did
not know their meaning.
148. one] Malone: His step-father. Coleridge: Observe this dallying with
tne inward purpose, characteristic of one who had not brought his mind to the steady
acting point. He would fain sting the uncle's mind ;— but to stab his body !—
Ophelia's soliloquy is the perfection of love — so exquisitely unselfish.
149. go.] Caldecott : ' After having gone to the extremity of the stage, from a
pang of parting tenderness, Mr Kean came back to press his lips to Ophelia's hand.
It had an electrical effect on the house.'
151. scholar's, soldier's] In support of the QqFf, Farmer refers to R. of L.
615, 616, as a proof that Sh. has elsewhere disregarded the exact collocation of
words, and also refers to Quintilian for a similar oversight. All edd. who notice
this line justify the reading of Qf, even while following the QqFf in their text. Rohr-
bach, in his clever book, in which, with the utmost gravity, he turns all that Ham.
does or says into ridicule, asserts (p. 136) that the text of QqFf is correct, and con-
veys Shakespeare's true meaning : ' Are not Hamlet's bravado and his two conver-
sations with Oph. more in the style of a soldier, bred in the camps of Elizabeth's
time, than of a scholar ? And is not his sword that of a student — namely, a rapier,
with which he is matched against Laertes ? Is not his fighting a mere pastime of
the fencing school ? And when he really fights in earnest, is it not the sword of a
scholar that he uses — namely, his tongue ? Sh. wears a serious face, but don't trust
him ; he's laughing in his sleeve.'
152. fair state] Delius: The state is 'fair,' because Hamlet adorns it as the
■ rose.' Clarendon : For a similar prolepsis see Macb. I, vi, 3; III, iv, 76; Rich.
II: II, iii, 94.
153. form] Johnson: The model by whom all endeavored to form themselves.
Caldecott : The cast in which is shaped the only perfect form. Hudson : Com
 155

222 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. i.
The observed of all observers, quite, quite down !
And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,
That suck'd the honey of his music-vows,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,
Like sweet bells jangled out of tune, and harsh ;
l60
That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy ; Oh, woe is me,
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see !

155. And I] Have fFtTa. I am F3 159. unmatched"] vnmarcht Q

F4, Rowe+. snatch 'd 'Jen. (a misprint?)
156. mnsic~\ muftckt Q2Q3Q.- FF. form] forme QqFx. fortune F,
34
vows,~\ Han. vowes ; Qq. vowes :
or vows : Ff, Rowe + . vows ! Jen. feature] flature Qq, Jen. un-
157. that noble] what noble Qq. 161. To have] Cap. T have QqFf,
158. jangled out of tune,] Ff, Rowe Rowe + , Jen. El. White, Dyce ii, Huds.
+ , Cors. tangled out of time, Qq, Jen. I see] I fee. Exit. Q2Q4Q5, El.
jangVd, out of tune Cap. et cet.

pare 2 Hen. IV: II, iii, 21. Tschischwitz : 'Mould of form' would be a dis
agreeable pleonasm, were not ' form ' to be understood as equivalent to ceremony,
external rites.
155. deject] See I, ii, 20.
156. music-vows] For instances of noun-compounds see Abbott, §430; also,
§ 22 : Music is not commonly used by us as a prefix, unless the suffix is habitually
connected with ' music ;' thus, ' music-book,' ' music-master,' &c, but not ' music ' for
musical, as here. Clarendon : Another mixed metaphor.
158. tune] See Macb. IV, iii, 235, and notes. Corson : The phrase, 'out of
tune,' is certainly an adverbial element to 'jangled,' and not an adjective element tc
' sweet bells.' The two ideas attached to ' bells ' are: 1. 'jangled out of tune;' 2.
' harsh,' which expresses to what extent 'jangled out of tune.'
159. feature] Caldecott: 'The feature and fashion, or the proportion and
figure of the whole bodie. Conformatio qusedam et figura totius oris et corporis.' —
Baret's Alvearie. Dyce (Gloss.) : Form, person in general.
159. blown] Capell (i, 136): Youth in its bloom. Clarendon: The metaphor
from a flower, as in 152, is resumed here.
160. ecstasy] See II, i, 102.
161. see] Elze: It is evident that after these words Oph. goes to find her
father, in order to tell him the result of the interview which had just taken place.
Not finding him, she returns, and is greeted with 'How now, Ophelia?' line 178,
but is immediately sent away again by her father. ' That Oph. should be present
during the King's speech addressed to his confidential counsellor is more than
Improbable. I have therefore inserted the appropriate stage-directions in the
text.' Tschischwitz: After these words Oph. remains lost in painful thoughts
until she is addressed by her father. Miles (p. 45) : Oph. is most deject and
wretched, but without even a suspicion of being badly treated. Nor is she badly
treated. The resentment of neglected love may inflame his dazzling satire, but
at id, sc. i.] HAMLET 223

Re-enter King and Polonius.

King Love? his affections do not that way tend; 162

Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little,
Was not like madness. There's something in his soul
O'er which his melancholy sits on brood ; 165
And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose
Will be some danger ; which for to prevent,
I have in quick determination
Thus set it down : he shall with speed to England,
Re-enter...] Cap. Enter... QqFf. Pope + .
162. Scene 111. Pope + , Jen. 164. souf] foide ? F
Love ?]Yi. Loue, QaQ3- Loue : 166. I do doubt] I doubt Jen.
Q4QS. Love! Q'76et cet. 167. for to] Qq. to F,FB, Cald. Knt,
163. Nor] For Q'76. White, Huds. how to F3F4, Rowe + .
164. There' 's something] Something's 169. it] Om. Q4QS-

under the circumstance, ' Get thee to a nunnery ' was the best and only advice he
could give her. A nunnery was her best and only refuge from the impending storm.
Destruction for himself and all else around him ; but for her the cloister's timely
shelter. There is no telling when the fierce wrath may seize him ; when he may
shake down the pillars of that guilty palace. But not, if he can help it, on her fair
head shall the ruin fall ! Since the grave is opening for him, let the convent open
for her. Not his, but never another's ! O wonderful poet ! Could she not guess,
had she not some shadowy perception of the jealous, selfish, masculine love, which,
despite their fell divorce, would wall her from the world, and mark her with the
seal of God, to save her from the violation of man ?
162. affections] White : This has no relation to love ox preference, but refers to
the manner in which Hamlet's mind is affected, which affection, or affecting, does
not, as the King says, tend towards love.
163, 164. Nor . . . not] See I, ii, 158; and III, ij, 4.
165. on brood] See I, v, 19.
166. disclose] Steevens : * Disclose is when the young just peeps through the
shell. It is also taken for laying, hatching, or bringing forth young; as " She dis-
closed three birds." — R. Holme's Acade?ny of Armory and Blazon, b. ii, ch. xi, p.
238. So in The Booke of Huntynge, Hawkyng, Fishyng : First they ben eges, and
after they ben disclosed haukes ; and commonly goshaukes, ben disclosed as sone as
the choughes.' To exclude is the technical term at present. See V, i, 275. [See
I, i, 57; II, 1,4.]
167. for to] White, in his Essay on the Authorship of Henry VI (vol. vii, p.
434), says that this idiom is not to be found in any of Shakespeare's authentic
works. Rives {Harness Prize Essay, p. 19) notes ' but a single authentic instance' :
viz. Wint. Tale, I, ii, 427. Abbott, § 152, refers to the present passage, and to
All's Well,Y, iii, 181. Schmidt {Lexicon) furnishes the following in addition:
Pass. Pilgrim, 342; Tit. And. IV, iii, 51 ; IV, ii, 44; Pericles, IV, ii, 71 ; Ham.
I, ii, 175 (Qq). In N. &> Qu., 19 Dec. 1874, Rule adds : Tarn, of the Sh. Hi, a,
249 ; and Ham. V, i, 91 .
224
HAMLET Tact hi. sc. !.
170 17S
For the demand of our neglected tribute ;
Haply the seas and countries different
With variable objects shall expel
This something-settled matter in his heart,
Whereon his brains still beating puts him thus
From fashion of himself. What think you on't ?
Pol. It shall do well ; but yet do I believe
The origin and commencement of his grief
Sprung from neglected love. — How now, Ophelia ?
You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said ;
We heard it all. — My lord, do as you please ;
180
But, if you hold it fit, after the play, 18S
Let his queen mother all alone entreat him ^-
To show his griefs ; let her be round with him ;
And I'll be placed, so please you, in the ear
Of all their conference. If she find him not,
To England send him, or confine him where
Your wisdom best shall think.
King. It shall be so ;
Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go.
173. something-settled] Hyphen, Warb. Rowe + , Cald. Knt, White.[Exeunt.
sometime-settled Daniel.* 179. tell us] tell u F3.
r74> 175. Whereon... on' t?] Three 180. We. ..please] Two lines, Johns.
lines, ending beating...himf elfe... on' t? Qq. [Exit Ophelia. Theob. Warb.
174. brains'] braines QqFxF2. brain Johns.
Coll. (MS), brain's White. 183. El.
griefs] Greefes Ft. Grief es F2.
176, 177. but. ..grief] One line, Q2Q3- griefe Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald.
176. do I] I doe Q'76. / do Steev. Dyce, Glo. + , Huds.
Bos. Ca!d.
184. placed, so please you] placed fo,
177. his grief ] it Q.Q5> reading But pleafe you FXF2.
...of it as one line, this greefe Ff, 188. unwatch1 d] vnmatcht Qq.

169. set it down] Elze thinks that the King has it • set down ' in his Tables.
169. shall] Clarendon: The verb of motion is frequently omitted after an
auxiliary. See II, ii, 477.
173. something-settled] Abbott, §68: 'Something' may possibly be used
here adverbially, like somewhat (though somehow would make better sense). fSee
Walker, Crit. i, 164.]
174. puts] For apparent cases of the inflection in ' s' where the verb has for its
real nominative, not the noun, but the noun clause, see Abbott, § 337. Here it is
' The beating of his brains on this,' &c. Moberly: * Brains' is singular.
183. griefs] Corson: In the sense of grievances. See III, ii, 323.
183. round] See II, ii, 138.
185 find] Clarendon : ' If she does not discover his secret.' In A IPs Well,
 ACT in, sc. ii.] HAMLET

Scene II. A hall in the castle.

Enter Hamlet and two or three of the Players.

Ham. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced

/ 5 e it to you, trippingly on the tongue ; but if you mouth it, as
d
many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke
my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your
%
■/

hand, thus ; but use all gently ; for in the very torrent, tem-
pest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you
must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it
smoothness. Oh, it offends me to the soul to hear a robus-
Scene ii.] Cap. Scene iv. Pope, 3. spoke] had spoke Ff, Rowe + , Knt,
Han. Jen. Om. QqFf. 4. Nor] And Pope + .
A hall...] A Hall, in the same, much with your] much your FaF2.
fitted as for a Play. Cap. much, your Cald. Knt, Sta.
and. ..Players.] Ff. and three of the 5. torrent, tempest] torrent tempefl Qq.
Players. Qq. and some of the Players, 6. whirlwind of your passion] the
Cap. and certain Players. Mai. whirle-winde of paffion Ff, Rowe, Knt,
Dyce, White. whirlwind of passion
1. pronounced] pronoun 'd Q2Q3.
Coll. the whirlwind of your passion
2. trippingly on] fmoothly from Q'76. Sta.
3. your players] our Players Qq,
Rowe + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Sing. 8. hear] see Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt.
Ktly.
robustious] robuflous Q'76, F.,
lief] Steev. Hue QqFxFa. lieve Rowe, Pope, Han.
F3F4, Rowe + , Cap. Jen. Mai.

II, ii, 216, 'found' is used in the sense of 'found out,' with a pun upon its usual
meaning.
Stage-direction] Collier: The (MS) adds ' unready' after ' Players ;' that is
to say, not yet 'tired for the parts they were to fill in the play within a play.
I. Coleridge: This dialogue of Ham. with the Players is one of the happiest
instances of Shakespeare's power of diversifying the scene while he is carrying on
the plot. Sievers {Hamlet, Leipzig, 1851, note 13, p. 263) maintains that this ad-
vice of Ham. to the Player does not apply to acting in general, but only to the act-
ing of the Court-play, and most particularly to the acting of his dozen or sixteen
lines, which Sievers conceives to be lines 243-248, ' Thoughts black, hands apt,' &c.
3. your] Here used ethically; see I, v, 167; also Abbott, § 221.
8. hear] White: I am not sure that the Ff are wrong. See is the verb most
commonly applied to the observation of dramatic performances of all kinds. Cor-
fiON : This is more addressed to the eye than to the ear. His robustiousness and his
periwig-patedness are seen alone, as are also the distortions through which he en-
deavors to exhibit the passion; it is only what he says that is addressed to the ear.
[The * ears of the groundlings ' are not « split ' by what they see. Ed.]
8. robustious] For parallel old forms, such as prolixious. stupendious, superbious,
and even splendidious, see Walker (Crit. iii, 18).
226 HAMLLT [act hi, sc. ii.

tious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very

rags, to split the ears of the groundUugs, who, for the most 10
part, are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows
and noise ; I could have such a fellow whipped for o'er-
doing Termagaftfc-; it out-herods Herod ; pray you avoid it.
9, periwig-pataf\ Q'76. perwig-pated IO. split] fpleet Qq.
Qq. Pery-wig-pated Fx. Pery-wig- 12. could] Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Dyce i,
Parted F2. Perriwig-parted F . Per- Sta. would Qq et cet.
riwig parted F4. 1 3. oat-herods~\ Hyphen, Om. Qq
to tatter s\ to totters Qq. Om.Q'76.

9. periwig-pated] Steevens : In the time of Sh. players most generally seem

to have worn periwigs ; wigs were not in common use till the reign of Charles II.
In Every Woman in her Humour, 1609: ' — as none wear hoods but monks and
ladies ; and feathers but fore-horses, &c. — none periwigs but players and pictures.5
Moberly: ' Feriwig ' is simply an anglicised pronunciation of perruque.
10. groundlings] Steevens : In its primitive signification it means a fish, which
always keeps at the bottom of the water. In our early play-houses the pit had
neither floor nor benches. Hence the term ' groundlings ' for those who frequented
it. Jonson mentions them with equal contempt : ' — the understanding gentlemen
of the ground here ask'd my judgement.' — [Bartholomew Pair, Induct, p. 366,
Works, ed. Gifford. There are other derisive allusions to them on the same page
and on the next. Ed.] Again : * — give me the penny, I care not for the gentle-
man, I; let me have good ground.' — The Case is Altered, I, i [p. 327, Works, ed.
Gifford], Nares : From this last extract we see that the price paid by these gentry
was then only a penny. See also, in the same play, II, iv [p. 361]. Also: * Be-
sides, sir,all our galleries and ground-stands are furnished, and the groundlings within
the yard grow infinitely unruly.'— Lady Alimony, I, i.
11. inexplicable] Johnson: That is, shows without words to explain them
Steevens: Rather, shows which are too confusedly conducted to explain them-
selves. There is one of these in Heywood's The Four Prentices, 1615, as may be
seen from the following : ' Enter Tancred, with Bella Franca richly attired, she
somewhat affecting him, though she makes no show of it? [I, i, p. 442, ed. Dodsley,
1825.] Surely this may be called an inexplicable dumb show.
13. Termagant] Steevens : The name (says Percy) given in the old romances
to the god of the Saracens ; in which he is constantly linked with Mahound or Mo-
hammed. Thus, in the legend of Guy of Warwick, the Soudan swears : « So help
me Mahoun of might, And Termagant, my God so bright.' Ritson : ' Grennyng
upon her lyke Termagauntes in a play.' — Bale's Acts of English Votaries, Reliques,
i, 77. Nares : This imaginary personage was introduced into our old plays and
moralities, and represented as of a most violent character, so that a ranting actor might
always appear to advantage in it. Sh. uses it as an adjective in 1 Hen. IV: V, iv,
114. It is the Trivigante of the Italians, or Tervagant of the French Romancers.
Both Singer and Wedgwood cite Florio, 161 1 : ' Termigislo, a great boaster, quar-
reler, killer, tamer or ruler of the universe; the child of the earthquake and of the
thunder, the brother of death.' Clarendon : Spenser spells it ' Turmagant.' In
Sir Beues of Hamtoun, line 659, it is spelled ' Teruagaunt.' It occurs as * Terma-
ACT III, SC. ii.] HAMLET

First Play. I warrant your honour.

Ham. Be not too tame neither, but let your own dis-
cretion be your tutor ; suit the action to the word, the word
to the action ; with this special observance : that you o'er-
stcp not the modesty of nature ; for any thing so overdone
is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first •
and now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to
nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own
image, and the very age and body of the time his form and
14,33. First Play.] I. P. Cap. Player.
or Play. QqFf. 18. MS
Long overdone
* ] ore-doone Q2Q3Q4-
done Q . ore
16. suit] Han. fute QqF,F3F4, Ro\ye,
Pope, Theob. Warb. Cap. Sure F2. 19. at the first] atfirfl Q,..
Cap.
21. her own feature] her feature Qq,
17. o'erstep] orefleppe Q2QZQ4- ore-
Jiep Q . ore-flop Ff, Rowe. ore-top

gaunt' in Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 15221. Moberly: If the common form, Terma-
gant, be accurate, it is not impossible that the name may be founded on the word
Ramazan ; the name of the solemnity being imagined to be that of a god worshipped
at it, and the letter / being simply the beginning of the r vibration, as it is of the /
vibration in such Welsh words as Llangollen.
13. Herod] Steevens: The character of Herod in the ancient mysteries was
always a violent one. Thus, in The Chester Plays [p. 153, ed. Sh. Soc], Herod
says of himself : ' For I am kinge of all mankinde, I byde, I beate, I lose, I bynde,
I maister the moone, take this in mynde, That I am moste of mighte. I am the
greateste above degree, That is, that was, that ever shalbe,' &c. Chaucer, speaking
of the parish-clerk, Absolon, says : * He pleyeth Herodes vp on a scaffold hye.'— •
The Milleres Tale — 3384, Hengwrt MS. Douce gives a long extract from an
ancient Pageant, performed at Coventry by the Shearmen and Taylors, in 1534, but
the composition of which is of a much earlier date. To illustrate the present pas-
sage, and to give an idea of the boundless rant of the braggart tyrant, it is sufficient
to cite such lines as these : [I am] the myghttyst conquerowre that eyer walkid on
grownd ;' « All the whole world from the north to the sowthe, I ma them dystroie
with won worde of my mouthe.' And of his enemies, ' with a twynke of myn iee
not won be left alyve.' At one place the stage-direction gives unlimited freedom to
the actor to tear a passion to tatters, and to make all split : ' Here Erode ragis in thys
pagond, and in the strete also.' — See Magnus Herodes, in The Towneley Mysteries,
p. 140, ed. Surtees Soc. ; The Slaughter of the Innocents, in The Coventry Mys-
teries, p. 183, ed. Sh. Soc. ; King Herod, Ibid. p. 291 ; The Slaughter of the Inno
cents, in The Chester Plays, p. 172, ed. Sh. Soc.
19. from] For instances of 'from,' meaning apart from, away fromt without a
verb of motion, see Abbott, § 158; also Macb. Ill, iv, 36.
21. scorn] Bailey (ii, 9): Why should 'scorn' be antithetic to 'virtue'? I*
may be on the side of goodness as well as opposed to it. Wherefore read sin, which,
spelt sinne as in the old copies of Hamlet, was ' easily pervertible ' into scorne.
22. very age] Johnson: The 'age' of the 'time' can hardly pass. May we
y^
228 HAMLET [act in, sc. ii

pressure. Now this overdone, or come tardy of, though 23

it make the unskilful laugh, cannot- hut make, the judicious
grieve; the censure ^flhe which one must in your allow-
23. tardy~\ trady Q4. MS.*
of] Q'76, Theob. Warb. Johns. 25. the which, one] Ff, Cald. Knt,
Mason, Walker, off QqFf et cet. Dyce, Sta. White, Gla. Del. Huds.
23, 24. though it make] though it one of which Han. which one Qq et
makes Qq, Cap. cet.
25. the censure] in the censure Long

not read, the face and body, or did Sh. write, the page? The page suits well with
' form ' and ' pressure,' but ill with ' body.' Steevens : The text means : to represent
the manners of the time suitable to the period that is treated of, according as it may
be ancient or modern. M. Mason : Read, « every age and body of the time,' and
then the sense will be : * show virtue her own likeness, and every stage of life, every
profession or body of men, its form and resemblance.' Malone : Perhaps Sh. did
not mean to connect these words. It is the end of playing, says Hamlet, to show
the age in which we live, and the body of the time, its form and pressure ; to de-
lineate exactly the manners of the age, and the particular humor of the day.
Keightley {Exp. 292) : We might feel inclined to read world for ' time,' but no
change is required. Bailey (ii, 8) :. Read visage, which is so near * very age *
in the ductus literarum. Compare * visage of the times,' 2 Hen. IV: II, iii, 3.
Silberschlag {Morgenblatt, No. 47, i860, p. 1 1 14): This is essentially the same
definition of the drama which Cervantes in Don Quixote puts into the mouth of the
Priest : ' Comedy,' he says, ' according to the opinion of Cicero, should be a mirror of
human life, a model of manners, a representation of truth.' Both Sh. and Cervantes
clearly drew their definitions from Cicero ; Cervantes says so expressly, while Sh.
intimates in the phrase, ' both at the first and now,' that he gave an ancient definition
of the drama, but he does not mention Cicero's name, because it was not his style,
in the works of his riper years, to display his knowledge, or to support his opinions,
by the citation of authorities. His use of 'hie et ubique,' in I, v, 156, affords a
proof [noted ad loc] that the end of that scene was written many years earlier
than the rest of the drama.
23. pressure] Johnson: Resemblance, as in a print. Bailey (ii, 9) : We may
obtain something better than Dr Johnson's interpretation by substituting posture for
* pressure ;' then we shall really have two distinct things : the shape and the attitude.
Clarendon : See I, v, 100. So * impressure ' in As You Like It, III, v, 23.
23. come] Clarendon: For a similar use of this participle without 'being' or
••having,' compare R. of L. 1784.
23. tardy of] Mason (p. 387, anticipating Walker, Crit. iii, 266) : That is,
come short of. Caldecott: Without spirit or animation; heavily, sleepingly done.
Abbott, § 165 : ' Off' is perhaps simply of, i. e. ' fallen short of.' Compare vercpeiv.
Otherwise, ' come off' is a passive participle.
25. censure] Clarendon : Judgement, as in I, iii, 69.
25. the which one] Caldecott: The judgement of which one class or descrip*
tion of persons ('one of whom' had been more familiar language). Delius and
Clarendon understand it as meaning the 'judicious man singly.' Tschischwitz
agrees with Caldecott.
ACT in, SC. ii.] HAMLET 229

ancc o'erwcigh a whole theatre of others. Oh, there be 26

players that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and
that highly, not to speak it profanely, that neither having
the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, pagan,
nor man, have so strutted and bellowed, that I have thought 30
some of nature's journeymen had made them, and not made
them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.
26. o'erweigh] ore-weigh Qq. oyre- 29. accent of Christians] accent 0/
way Fx. tfre-fway FgFF, Rowe, Pope, Christian Pope 4- .
Han. nor the] or the Rowe ii, Pope.
27. praise] prayfd QaQ^Q^. praifd 30. nor man] Nor Turke Q,, El. or
Qs- Norman Ff, Rowe. nor Mussulman
28. 30. neither.. .nor man,] Bracketed Farmer, or man Pope, Han. Johns, or
as a * foolish interpolation,' by Warb. Turk White, Huds.

26. theatre] Malone: Compare Jonson's Poetaster^ 1601, ■ if I prove the

pleasure but of one, If he judicious be, he shall be alone A theatre unto me.'
26. there be] For instances of the more common use of be with the plural than
the singular, see Abbott, § 300.
28. profanely] Johnson : This seems to relate, not to the praise which he has
mentioned, but to the censure he is about to utter. Any gross or indelicate language
was called profane. Mason: This refers to the praise given to the players; Ham. con-
sidering itas a kind of profanation to praise persons highly who were so undeserving
of it. The construction is 'highly, not to say profanely.' Caldecott: Hamlet says
that he does not mean to speak profanely by saying that there could be any such thing
as a journeyman Creator. [The profanity consists in alluding to Christians. Ed.]
30. nor man] Collier (ed. 2) : Farrrer's conj. receives some countenance from
Qs. The (MS) amends to * nor man.' White : The reading of the Qq is even more
absurd than that of the Ff, — as if Christians and pagans were not men ! The dis-
tinction, Christian, Turk, and Pagan, was not uncommon. See Howell, in Richard-
son's Diet. s. v. * pagan.' Clarendon : This means, nor even man.
31. journeymen] Malone: The notion of Nature keeping a shop and employ-
ing journeymen to form mankind was common in Shakespeare's time. See Lyly's
Woman in the Moon, 1597: ' They draw the curtains from before Nature's shop,
where stands an image clad and some unclad.'
31. had made them] Theobald {Sh. Restored, p. 173): According to the Qq.
and Ff, Hamlet is supposed to reason that because he had seen some very prepos-
terous players, he should think, therefore, that Nature's journeymen had made all
mankind, for so men in this place without some or those prefixed must Imply. Might
not Sh. more probably have written them ? [Theobald gives two instances : Love's
Lab. Lost, III, i, 25, and Com. of Err. II, ii, 81, where 'them' and the men have
been confounded. But as he does not allude to this emendation in his subsequent
edition, it is to be presumed that he withdrew it. It is to me, however, so clearly
the correct reading that I do not hesitate to follow it, although all other editors except
two have adhered to the text of the QqFf, which is ' had made men? Rann adopts
Theobald's emendation, and Hudson adopts Farmer's conj., * had made the men *'
Clarendon20 suggests 'em. Ed.]
230 HAMLET [act in, sc. ii.

First Play. I hope we have reformed that indifferently

with us, sir.
Plain. Oh, reform it altogether. And let those that play 35
your clowns speak no more than is set down for them ; for
there be of them that will themselves laugh, to set on some
quantity of barren spectators to laugh too, though in the
mean time some necessary question of the play be then to
be considered ; that's villanous, and shows a most pitiful am- 40
bition in the fool that uses it. Go, make you ready. —
[Exeunt Players.
34. sir] Ff, Rowe, Knt, Sing. ii,Dyce, 38. too] to Qq.
Sta. Ktly, Glo. + ,Mob. Omv Qq et cet. 41. [Exeunt Players.] Exit Players.
37. themselves] of them/elves FF4, Ft. Om. Qq.
Rowe.

33. indifferently] Measurably. See III, i, 122.

36. clowns] Steevens: Stowe informs us (p. 697, ed. 1615) that among the
twelve players who were sworn the queen's servants in 1583, 'were two rare men,
viz. Thomas Wilson, for a quick delicate refined extemporall witte ; and Richard
Tarleton, for a wondrous plentifull, pleasant extemporall witty &c. Again, in Tarle-
ton's Newes from Purgatory : ' 1 absented myself from all plaies, as wanting
that merrye Roscius of plaiers that famosed all comedies so with his pleasant and
extemporall invention? This cause for complaint, however, against low comedians
is still more ancient; for in The Contention Betwyxte Churchyard and Cornell, &c,
1560, I find the following passage: 'But Vices in stage plaies, When theyr matter
is gon, They laugh out the reste To the lookers on/ &c. Malone : The clown very
often addressed the audience in the middle of the play, and entered into a contest
of raillery and sarcasm with such of the audience as chose to engage with him.
Hunter (ii, 246) : There is a remarkable addition at this place in Qx, which is not
without marks of the hand of Sh. The phrases there found continued to be the
stock-wit of the clowns who appeared on the stage of the mountebanks, and who
seem silently to have withdrawn themselves about the close of the last century.
Collier (ed. 2) : The passage in Qx, which is mere prose, although chopped up
into apparent verse, is curious, because it seems levelled at William Kemp, who
about this date quitted the company of players to which Sh. had always belonged.
Perhaps, after Kemp rejoined the King's Players (before 1605), the passage was
omitted or subdued. We are to bear in mind that Hamlet was probably not com-
posed until the winter of 1 601, or the spring of 1602, and it was about this date, . . .
that Kemp went over from the Lord Chamberlain's to Lord Nottingham's Players,
and of course did his best to promote the success of a competing association. It
would, therefore, not be surprising if, besides laying down a general axiom as to the
abuse introduced by the performers of the parts of clowns, Sh. had designed a par-
ticular allusion to Kemp. White: The passage in Qx was probably an extempo-
raneous addition to the text by the actor, and had but a passing application.
Halliwell is inclined to think that this addition in Qr should be retained in
the text.
ACT III. sc. ii.1 HAMLET 231
Enter Polonius, Rosencrantz, a^Guildenstern.

How now, my lord! will the king hear this piece of work? 42
Pol And the queen too, and that presently.
Ham. Bid the players make haste. — [Exit Polonius.']
Will you two help to hasten them ? 45
Ros. Gin/. We will, my lord. [Exeunt Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern.
Ham What ho ! Horatio !
Enter HORATIO.

Hor. Here, sweet lord, at your service.

Ham. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man
As e'er my conversation coped withal. 50
Hor. O, my dear lord, —
Ham. Nay, do not think I flatter ;
For what advancement may I hope from thee,
That no revenue hast but thy good spirits,
Q .
To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flatter'd?
Enter.. .Rosencrantz, and Guild- 47. Scene v. Pope. Han. Jen.
enstern.] Enter.. .Guyldenfterne, Sl Ro- What ho /] Coll. What hoa, F,
F„F. What
Whathow,
ho, Q4Q5.
F4. What howe, Qa
sencraus. Qq (after work ? line 42).
42. Scene iv.] Warb. Johns.
Enter Horatio.] Before line 47,
will. ..work'] One line, Ff, Rowe.
43. too] to Qq. Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. Jen.
44. [Exit Polonius.] Ff. Om. Qq. 48. szveet lord] my lord Q'76.
45. two] too Knt. 50. coped] copt Qq. coap'd Ff, Rowe,
46. Ros. Guil.] Dyce. Both. Ff. Pope, Theob. Warb. Cald. met Q'76.
Ros. Qq, Cap. Jen. Bos. El. 51. lord, — ] Rowe. lord. QqFf, Cald.
We will] J Qq. Ay Cap. Jen. Cors,
Steev. Var. El. 53. no revenue hast] hajl no revenue
[Exeunt...] Exeunt they two. Q3
Q'76.
54. thee ?] thee, Qq. thee. Ff, Rowe.
Exeunt thofe two. Q4QS<> Exeunt.
Ff.
Why] Om. Pope+.
37. of them] Clarendon : For this partitive use of the preposition, see Leviticus,
iv, 16.
43. And] Abbott, § 97 : ' And ' is frequently found in answers in the sense of
• you are right,' or ' yes, and,' the ' yes ' being implied
48. sweet] A common style of address in Elizabethan times. See V, ii, 90,
50. coped withal] Caldecott: Encountered with. Clarendon: In Mcr. of
Ven. IV, i, 412, * to cope ' means to reward.
51. lord] Corson: The context shows that no interruption, indicated by a dash,
is intended. Hor. must be supposed to say * O my dear lord ' in a way expressive
of a feeling of being flattered by what Hamlet has just said, uttering ' O ' and ' Lord*
with a downward circumflex.
232 HAMLET [act in, sc. it
No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, 55
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear?
Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice,
And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal'd thee for herself; for thou hast been 6q
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing;
A man that fortune's buffets and rewards
55. tongue lick] tongue, like Ff. 58. her] my Ff. Knt.
absurd] obfurd Q4Q5 59« distinguish, her election] diflin-
57. j awning.] fanning; QsQr faun- guiflt her eleclion, Qq (eleclion Q^Qj),
ing,Q^. fawning, Q. faining ? FXF2F3. Jen. Steev. Var.
feigning? F4, Rowe. faining; Cald. 60. Hath] Shath Q2Qr Shath Q4
hear?] Q'76. heare, QqF^. Q$. Sh'ath Q76, Jen. She hath MaL
hear, F3F4. Steev. Var.
58. dear] clear Johns., conj. 62. fortune's] fortune Y J? .

55. candied] Dyce (Gloss.) : Sugared, flattering, glozing. Clarendon: Sh. has
unconsciously made a bold use of the figure synecdoche when he makes the * can-
died tongue ' ' crook the hinges of the knee.' Of course, by * the candied tongue '
he really means the flatterer himself. Tschischwitz construes • crook ' as a neuter
imperative.
55. absurd] Clarendon : In all other passages Sh. accents this word on the
second syllable.
56. pregnant] Johnson: Quick, ready, prompt. Nares: Artful, designing,
full of deceit, the ruling sense of this word is being full, or productive of some-
thing. Caldecott : ' Pregnant ' is bowed, swelled out, presenting themselves, as
the form of pregnant animals. Keightley : I see not what ' pregnant ' can mean
here. It might be better to read pliant, or some such word. Clarendon : Lear,
IV, vi, 227, and Twelfth Night, III, i, 100, support the interpretation, 'ready to
bow at the owner's bidding.* In this sense it is opposed to ■ stubborn.' See III,
iii, 70. [' Pregnant,' because untold thrift is born from a cunning use of the
knee. Ed.]
57. fawning] Stratmann : Faining of the Folio is not a misprint, but another
form of fauning, just as good, if not better. See Diet, of Old English, s. v.
' fainen.'
58. dear] See I, ii, 182.
59. Ritson prefers the Qq, and says that ' distinguish her election ' is no more
than * make her election ;' distinguish of men is exceeding harsh, to say the best of
it. Tschischwitz, however, points out ' distinguish of colours,' 2 Hen. VI: II, i,
130. Corson: 'Distinguish her election' is decidedly Shakespearian, and may be
what Sh. wrote. The use of a cognate accusative is a marked feature of Shake-
speare's diction. [See II, ii, 27. Ed.]
60-66. for . . . please.] Doering (p. 62) : In these lines Ham. delineates, trait
by trait, a character the very opposite of his own. Here is to be found the best
motto for the tragedy.
ACT in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 233

Hath ta'en with equal thanks ; and blest arc those

Whose blood and judgement are so well commingled
That they arc not a pipe for Fortune's finger 65
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,
As I do thee. Something too much of this.
There is a play to-night before the king ; 70
One scene of it comes near the circumstance,
Which I have told thee, of my father's death ;
63. Hath] Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. (Holes, i, pt. ii, p. 24)
Sta. Has Cald. Knt, Coll. ii. Hajl 68. of heart] of hearts Q'76.
Qq et cet. Jl. scene] Scccne Fx. Scane F2.
64. commingled] Dyce. co-mingled 72. thee, of] Ff, Rowe+, Cap. Coll.
Ff. comedled Qq. commedled Q'76. El. Del. thee of Qq et cet.
commended Q'03. comWd Cap. conj.

63. Hath] Corson : Hast of the Qq is a solecism. Though the subject-nomi-

nativethou'
* is second person, the predicate-nominative ' man ' is third person, and
being the antecedent of the relative ' that,' determines the person of the verb to
which 'that' is the nominative or subject.
64. blood and judgement] Johnson : According to the doctrine of the foui
humors, desire and confidence were seated in the blood, and judgement in the phlegm,
and the due mixture of the humors made a perfect character. Caldecott : Passions
and reason. [See IV, iv, 58.]
66. please] For other instances of * please ' in the subjunctive, see Walker,
Crit. i, 207.
68. core] Douce (ii, 245) : From this speech Anthony Scoloker, in Daiphantus,
or The Passions of Love, 1604, has stolen the following line: 'Oh, I would weare
her in my heart's-heart-gore ;' whereupon Clarendon asks, should not ' gore ' be core ?
69. Something, &c] Clarke : The genuine manliness of this little sentence,
where Ham. checks himself when conscious that he has been carried away by fervor
of affectionate friendship into stronger protestation than mayhap becomes the truth
and simplicity of sentiment between man and man, is precisely one of Shakespeare's
exquisite touches of innate propriety in questions of feeling. Let any one, who
doubts for a moment whether Sh. intended that Ham. should merely feign madness,
read carefully over the present speech, marking its sobriety of expression even amid
all its ardor, its singleness and purity of sentiment amid its most forcible utterance,
and then decide whether it could be possible that he should mean Hamlet's wits to
be touched. That his heart is shaken to its core, that he is even afflicted with mel-
ancholia and hypochondria, we admit ; but that his intellects are in the very slightest
degree disordered, we cannot for one instant believe.
72. thee,] Corson : This comma after ' thee ' serves to show that the phrase,
'of my father's death,' is connected with 'circumstance,' and not with 'told,' and,
in neat pointing, should not be omitted.

20*
234 HAMLET [act III, SC. ii.

I prithee, when thou seest that act a-foot,

Even with the very comment of thy soul
Observe my uncle ; if his occulted guilt 75
Do not itself unkennel in one speech,
It is a damned ghost that we have seen,
And my imaginations are as foul
As Vulcan's stithy. Give him heedful note ;

73. a-foot] on foot"] Q'76. his ocult Rowe ii + , Cap.

74. very] Om. F2F F . * 76. unkennel] difcover Q'76.
thy] my Ff, Knt, Coll. i, Cors. 79. stithy] Stythe Fx, Cald. Knt,
75. my] Qq, Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Styth F2F3F4, Rowe. Smithy Theob.
mine Ff et cet. Han. Hunter.
his occulted] then his hidden Q'76. heedful] needfull FXF2F3.

74. very comment] Caldecott : The most intense direction of every faculty.
74. thy soul] Knight: Hamlet having told Hor. the * circumstances' of hi?
father's death, and imparted his suspicions of his uncle, entreats his friend to observe
his uncle ' with the very comment of my soul,' — Hamlet's soul. To ask Hor. to
observe him with the comment of his own soul (Horatio's) is a mere feeble exple-
tive. Collier in his first edition also advocated the reading of the Ff, but fol*
lowed the Qq and the (MS) in his second. Dyce {Remarks, &c, p. 214) criti-
cises the upholders of the text of the Ff in this passage, and says that Knight's text
of this tragedy is * beyond all doubt the worst that has appeared in modern times.*
Dyce thinks that the important word * very,' as Caldecott has interpreted it above,
demands * thy.' Corson maintains just the opposite; he prefers my, as more ex-
pressive. Hamlet's meaning is, I would have thee so enter into my feelings, so
identify thyself with me, that when thou seest that act a-foot, even with the very
comment of my soul, thou wilt observe my uncle. * My ' also gives force to 4 Even
with the very,' whith has less force in the other reading. Dyce furthermore points
out why Ham. wished Hor. to watch his uncle so closely, when he tells him that
' after we will both our judgements join In censure of his seeming.'
75. occulted] Clarendon: The word seems to occur here only.
76. one speech] Hunter (ii, 247): The speech which Hamlet himself had
prepared for the players.
77. damned] Douce (ii, 245) : The ghost of a person sentenced for his wicked-
ness to damnation, and which in this instance has deceived us. Thus Spenser, Fairy
Queen, b. i, canto 2, st. 32. Tschischwitz : This is the third time that this theo-
logical reflection occurs to the Prince. See I, iv, 40; II, ii, 575.
79. Vulcan's] Delius : The connection of thought between Vulcan's realm and
the Christian Hell whence the « damned ghost' issues, is veiy common among Shake-
speare's contemporaries.
79. stithy] Theobald substituted Smithy, on the ground that « stithy ' meant an
anvil, and ■ an anvil is far from being the dirtiest thing in a smith's shop.' But
Caldecott says that stithy, stithe, and stith were the same, and used indifferently
to express either the iron to work upon, or the forge, or the workshop ; though in
later times stith has been confined to the sense of anvil, and ■ stithy ' to that of shop.
act in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 235
For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, 80
And after we will both our judgements join
In censure of his seeming.
Hor. Well, my lord ;
If he steal aught the whilst this play is playing,
And 'scape detecting, I will pay the theft.
Ham. They are coming to the play; I must be idle; 85
Get you a place.

Danish march. Flourish. Enter King, Queen* Polonius, Ophelia, Rosen-

CRANTZ, GuiLDENSTERN, and other Lords attendant, with the Guard carrying
torches.

King. How fares our cousin Hamlet?

80. face, J Face : Ft. face? F2. ii, Huds.

%i. judgements] judgement Yr 86. Danish march. Flourish. Enter...
82. In] To Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. the Guard. ..torches.] Sta. (Cap. substan-
Knt. tially), Cam. Enter.. .his Guard. ..torches.
83. he~\ a Qq. Danifh March. Sound a Flourifh. (after
84. detecting] detecled Qq. detection line 84) Ff, Rowe + , Jen. Enter Trum-
Q'76. pets and Kettle Drummes, King,Queene,
85. Scene vi. Pope, Plan. Jen. Scene Polonius, Ophelia. Qq (after line 84).
V. Warb. Johns. 87. our] my FF4, Rowe.
They are] They're Pope + , Dyce

Clarendon adduces the following rendering by Coverdale of yob, xli, 24 : ' His
hert is as harde as a stone, and as fast as the stythye that the hammer man smyteth

82. censure] Caldecott : In making our estimate of the appearance he shall

vpon.'
put on.
S3, steal] Caldecott j Contrive so to carry it off as that the slightest conscious
feeling he shows should escape unobserved.
84. theft] Clarendon : Pay for the thing stolen. Compare Rom. & Jul. I, i,
231. For 'theft' in the sense of the thing stolen, see "Exodus, xxii, 4. [See 'of-
fence,' III, iii, 56.]
85. idle] Delius : This signifies the aimless going hither and thither which
marks an idiot. On the entrance of the Court, Hamlet intends to resume the role
which he had before assumed. See Lear, I, iii, 16: 'Idle old man.' Staunton:
Sh. employs 'idle' in the sense of mad several times; among others see Qx [line
930; in Appendix], and also [lines 1535— 1537]. Clarendon: 'Idle' is still used
in Suffolk in the sense of foolish, lightheaded, crazy. Compare III, iv, II. Mo-
BERLY : I must appear to have nothing to do with the matter.
87. fares] Hunter (ii, 248) : We have here the two senses of the word * fare/
which, like est, means both is and eats. The King inquires in the first sense, Hamlet
answers in the second.
236 HAMLET [act in, sc. ii.

Ham. Excellent, i' faith ; of the chameleon's dish ; I eat

the air, promise-crammed ; you cannot feed capons so.
King. I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet ; these 90
words are not mine.
Ham. No, nor mine now. — [To Polojiius] My lord, you
played once i' the university, you say ?
88-93. Excellent.. . say ?] Prose, Ff. lord, Ff, Pope ii, Theob. Warb. Cald.
Eight lines, Qq, ending yfaith,...eiyre,... Knt i. mine, now, my Lord. Row©.
fo. ...Hamlet,.. .mine. ...Lord. ...fay,. mine now, my lord. Pope i, Han. Cap.
88. chameleon's] Camelions QqFf. Jen.
91. [pass to their Seats. Cap. [To Polonius] Rowe.
92. mine now. My lord,] Johns. 93. V the] in the Q'76, Mai. Steev.
mine now my lord. Qq. mine. Now my Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. White.

$8. chameleon's] Clarendon : See Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors, iii,
21, for a grave discussion of the popular belief that this animal feeds on air
89. promise-crammed] Moberly: The King had promised him that he should
be next to himself; but Hamlet ought to have been first in the realm.
90. nothing] Moberly : This answer is not founded on any act of mine.
91. mine] Caldecott : They grow not out of mine ; have no relation to anything
said by me.
92. mine now] Johnson : A man's words, says the proverb, are his own no
longer than he keeps them unspoken. Caldecott : They are now anybody's.
Moberly : I am mad, and therefore not answerable for what I said a minute ago.
g^> university] Coleridge : To have kept Hamlet's love for Ophelia before
the audience in any direct form, would have made a breach in the unity of interest;
— but yet to the thoughtful reader it is suggested by his spite to poor Polonius,
whom he can not let rest. Farmer infers that the common players were occasionally
admitted to perform in the universities on the strength of an application for that
purpose in Vice Chancellor Hatcher's Letters to Lord Burghley, 1580. But Calde-
cott thinks this extract merely shows that applications of this sort were occasionally
made ; not that they were accepted; on the contrary, the governors were always dis-
posed to find reasons for rejecting them. Wherefore, in the absence of direct evi-
dence, Caldecott thinks that the probability of stage plays having been performed in
the universities by professed actors is strongly negatived. That he was mistaken
will be seen from the reference to Qx by Clarendon. Malone: The practice of
acting Latin plays in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge is very ancient, and
continued to near the middle of the last century. They were performed occasionally
for the entertainment of princes and other great personages; and regularly at Christ-
mas, at which time a Lord of Misrule was appointed at Oxford, to regulate the
exhibitions, and a similar officer with the title of Imperator at Cambridge. The most
celebrated actors at Cambridge were the students of St John's and King's colleges:
at Oxford those of Christ-Church. In the hall of that college a Latin comedy called
Marcus Geminus, and the Latin tragedy of Progne, were performed before Queen
Elizabeth in the year 1566 ; and in 1564, the Latin tragedy of Dido was played before
Her Majesty, when she visited the university of Cambridge. Clarendon: In 1564,
ACT III. SC. ii.] HAMLET 237

Pol. That did I, my lord, and was accounted a good

actor. 95
Ham. And what did you enact ?
Pol. I did enact Julius Caesar; I was killed i' the Capitol;
Brutus killed me.
Ham. It was a brute part of him to kill so capital a
calf there. — Be the players ready ? IOO
94. did I] IdidTt, Rowe+, Knt. 97. Capitol] Capiiall Qq. Capitol!
96. And what] What Qq. Jen. Glo. FaF3.
+ , Mob. 99. brute] bruite FfFg. bruit F3F4.

on Sunday evening, Aug. 6, Queen Elizabeth saw the Aulularia of Plautus in the
antechapel of King's College Chapel. On the occasion of the visit of James I and
Prince Charles to Cambridge in 16 14 plays were performed in the Hall of Trinity
College ; among them the comedies of Ignoramus and Albumazar, which have
escaped oblivion. On the title-page of Qx it is said, ' As it hath beene diuerse times
acted by his Highnesse seruants in the Cittie of London : as also in the two Vniver-
sities of Cambridge and Oxford, and else-where.'
96. enact] Delius recognises in this word that affected style of speech in which
Hamlet purposely addressed Polonius. Corson : The Ff reading has a touch of
the contemptuous imparted to it by the initial word ' And :' ■ What, I pray, or for
sooth, did you enact ?'
97. Caesar] Malone : A Latin play on the subject of Caesar's death was per-
formed in Oxford in 1582; and several years before a Latin play on the same sub-
ject, byJacques Grevin, was acted in the college of Beauvais, at Paris. I suspect
that there was likewise an English play on the story of Caesar before the time of Sh.
Clarendon: It is now known that a piece called Ccesar's Fall was played in 1602
by Antony Munday, Drayton, Webster, Middleton, and others, and it is probable that
the Julius Casar of Sh. may have appeared as early as 1601.
97. Capitol] Malone : The erroneous notion that Julius Caesar was killed in the
Capitol is as old as Chaucer. [See note on « bodkin,' III, i, 76.] Clarendon :
The mistake is repeated in Julius Gzsar. Caesar was assassinated in the Curia
Pompeii, near the theatre of Pompey in the Campus Martius.
99. brute] Steevens: Sir John Harrington in his Metamorphosis of Ajax, 1596,
has the same quibble. LAMB (iii, 94, ed. 1870) : Among the distinguishing features
of that wonderful character [Hamlet], one of the most interesting (yet painful) is
that soreness of mind which makes him treat the intrusions of Pol. with harshness.
• • • . These tokens of an unhinged mind .... are parts of his character, which
to reconcile with an admiration of him, the most patient consideration of his situa-
tion is no more than necessary; they are what we forgive afterwards, and explain
by the whole of his character, but at the time they are harsh and unpleasant. Yet
such is the actor's necessity of giving strong blows to the audience, that I have never
seen a player in this character who did not exaggerate and strain to the utmost these
ambiguous features, — these temporary deformities in the character. They make him
express a vulgar scorn at Pol., which utterly degrades his gentility, and which no
explanation can render palatable ; they make him show contempt, and curl up the
238 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. ii.
Ros. Ay, my lord ; they stay upon your patience. 101
Queen. Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me.
Ham. No, good mother, here's metal more attractive.
Pol. [Aside to the King] Oh, ho ! do you mark that ?
Ham. Lady, shall I lie in your lap ? 105
[Lying down at Ophelia's feet.
Oph. No, my lord.
Ham. I mean, my head upon your lap ?
Oph. Ay, my lord.
Ham. Do you think I meant country matters ?
Oph. I think nothing, my lord. 1 10
Ham. That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs.
Oph. What is, my lord ?
Ham. Nothing.
Oph. You are merry, my lord.
Ham. Who, I ? 115
Oph. Ay, my lord.
Ham. O God, your only jig-maker. What should a
101. stay] wait Q'76. 107, 108. Ham. I mean...lord.~\ Om.
102. dear] deere Q2Q3> deare Q.Q5-
goodYi, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Dyce i,White, Pope,
Qq,107. Han.in Cap.
upon]
Del. 109. country] contray Sing, i (a mis-
103. metal] Johns. mettle QqFf, print for contrary of Qt ?).
Rowe + . w^/Q'76. matters] -manners Johns, conj.
104. [Aside to the King] Cap. III. maids'] Cap. viaydes Q2Q3Q.,
Oh, ho /] O, oh, Q4Q5. maids QgFf. a maids Rowe+, Jen.
that?] that. Qq. 114. lord.] lord ? Ff.
105. [Lying...] Rowe. Seating him- 117. O God,] Om. Q'76: Oh ! Johns
Steev. Var. Cald. Sing. Ktly.
103)- self at Ophelia's feet. Cap. (after line

nose at Ophelia's father, — contempt in its very grossest and most hateful form ; but
they get applause by it; it is natural, people say; that is, the words are scornful, and
the actor expresses scorn, and that they can judge of; but why so much scorn, and
of that sort, they never think of asking.
101. patience] Johnson: Would not pleasure be more intelligible? Compare
Macb. I, iii, 148. Caldecott: Await your slowest and tardiest convenience.
Delius : Equivalent to consent, permission.
105. lap] Steevens : To lie at the feet of a mistress, during any dramatic repre-
sentation, seems to have been a common act of gallantry. Thus : ' Ushers her to
her couch, lies at her feet At solemn masques,' &c. — Beau. & Fl., The Queen of
Corinth. And in Gascoigne's Greene Knight's Farewell to Fancie : l To lie along
in ladies lappes.' Douce : We are not to conclude that this custom prevailed at the
public theatres. The instances which have occurred seem to be confined to enter-
tainments atthe houses of the nobility and gentry.
KCT ill, SC. ii.] HAMLET 239

man do but be merry? for, look you, how cheerfully my

mother looks, and my father died within 's two hours.
Oph. Nay, 'tis twice two months, my lord. 1 20
Ham. So long ? Nay, then, let the devil wear black, for
I'll have a suit of sables. O heavens ! die two months ago,
119. within 'j] QqFf, Rowe, Cap. Jen. 121, 122. for. ..sables'] QqFf. for..,
Dyce, White, Del. Cam. Cla. Huds. ermyn Han. fore. ..sable Warb. fore
-within these Pope et cet. ...sables White, Huds.
120. twice] Om. Han. quite Ingleby. 122. have] leave Lloyd.* leave him
120. 122. months] moneths FXF3F ,. Anon.* have ne'er Anon.*
121. devil] deide Q3Qy

117. your only] White: We should now say only your. [See Macb, III, iv,
98; III, vi, 2; or Abbott, § 420.]
ll7' jig-maker] See II, ii, 478.
1 19. within's] White, and Dyce : For * within these two hours.' Delius (ed. 2):
It is rather • within this two hours.'
122. sables] Warburton: These words are an ironical apology for his mother's
cheerful looks : two months was long enough in conscience to make any dead hus-
band forgotten. The true reading is :— ' fore I'll have a suit of sables, i. e. before.
As much as to say — Let the devil wear black for me, I'll have none. Johnson : I
cannot see why Hamlet, when he laid aside his dress of mourning, in a country where
it was bitter cold, and the air nipping and eager, should not have a suit of sables. I
suppose it is well enough known that the fur of sables is not black. Capell {Notes,
&c, i, 136) : It is scarce worth remarking, being a fact of such notoriety, that
« sables,' the furs so called, are the finery of most northern nations ; so that Hamlet's
saying amounts to a declaration, that he would leave off his bb.cks, since his father
was so long dead. Heath (p. 538) : The sense seems to be : If this be the case,
let the devil wear plain black; I'll get me a suit of sables, which, from their colour,
will have the appearance indeed of mourning, but at the same time will indulge my
appetite for finery and ornament to the utmost. Farmer : There is an equivoque
here. In Massinger's Old Law, we have : * A cunning grief That's only faced with
sables for a show, But gaudy-hearted.' Malone : By the Statute of Apparel, 24
Henry VIII, c. 13 (article furres), it is ordained that none under the degree of an
earl may use sables. Bishop says, in his Blossoms, 1577, speaking of the extrava-
gance of those times, that a thousand ducates were sometimes given for « a face of
sables.' Caldecott thinks that by the * devil ' Hamlet would have it understood
that he meant his uncle. Wightwick {The Critic, 1854, p. 317; cited in N. &>
Qu., 18 July, 1857) maintains that the contrast here is of color, not of material.
' Let the devil wear black; I'll wear a color of all others most oppugnant to sorrow *
And having found in Peacham some ' directions for painting or coloring of cuts and
pictures,' wherein the definitions are given of certain colors, among them ' Sabell
colour, i. e. flame-colour,' he infers that Ham. here says, * I'll have a suit of sabell?
i. e. of flame color. ' A misspelling,' he adds, ' has produced all the previous con-
fusion about this passage, and we may reasonably conclude that a different pronun*
ciation distinguished the sable meaning black, and sabell meaning flame color? De«
LIUS : * Sables ' indicated that the period of mourning was over. Dyce : Another
correspondent in The Critic, 1854, p. 373, observes that * sabell? or ' sabelle? is prop
240 HAMLET [act hi, sc. ii.

and not forgotten yet? Then there's hope a great man's

memory may outlive his life half a year ; but, by'r lady, he
must build churches then; or else shall he suffer not think- 125
ing on, with the hobby-horse, whose epitaph is, ' For, O !
for, O ! the hobby-horse is forgot.'
124. memory] Memoty F2. 124, 125. he. ..he] Ff. a. ..a Qq.
by V lady] by 'r-lady F '. byrlady 126, 1 27. hobby-horse. ..hobby-horse]
Fx. ber Lady Qq (Ladie Qs). berlady Hoby-hor[fe...Hoby-horfe F£Fa.
F2F3. Om. Q'76.
erly a fawn-color a good deal heightened with red, and that the term came from the
French ' couleur tfisabelle? — According to the Diet, de FAcad. Tr.,' isabelle* is a
color * entre le blanc et le jaune, mais dans lequel le jaune domine. II se dit surtout
du poil des chevaux.' Staunton, who thought that Warburton's emendation was
possibly right, says that ' it is not at all improbable that in the scene before us Ham-
let was intended to accompany these words with the action of flinging off his
mourning cloak. White thinks ' for,' of the QqFf, ' a trifling variation from the true
text [viz. 'fore] : hardly to be called a corruption. Halliwell: Shakespeare's in-
tention was most likely to make Ham. here speak incoherently. If this be not the
case, some sort of meaning may be elicited in this way : * nay, then let the devil wear
black, for even I will have a suit of mourning ; if I wear one, the devil himself may.*
Keightley [reading, ' I'll not have a suit,' &c] : When the critics shall have proved,
—which they have not done yet, — that a dress trimmed with sable was called ' a suit
of sables,' I will grant that Hamlet did not mean mourning, and that the negative is
not needful. Elze (Sh. yahrbuch, Bd. xi) : The constrast between a suit of sables
and a black mourning garment lies not in the color, but in the costliness and splendor
of the material. In accordance with the immemorial biblical usage of mourning
in sackcloth and ashes, mourning garments to this day are made of coarse and harsh
material, whereas for the trimming of a suit of sable the most gorgeous and brilliant
stuff was selected.
125. not thinking on] Knight: He shall suffer being forgotten.
126. hobby-horse] Warburton: Amongst the country May-games there was
a hobby-horse, which, when the puritanical humor of those times opposed and dis-
credited these games, was brought by the poets and ballad-makers as an instance of
the ridiculous zeal of the sectaries ; from these ballads Ham. quotes a line or two.
Nares : A small horse ; also a personage belonging to the ancient morris-dance,
when complete, and made, as Mr Bayes's troops are on the stage, by the figure of a
horse fastened round the waist of a man, his own legs going through the body of the
horse, and enabling him to walk, but concealed by a long foot-cloth; while false
legs appeared where those of the man should be, at the sides of the horse. Lat-
terly the hobby-horse was frequently omitted, which appears to have occasioned a
popular ballad, in which was the line now quoted by Ham. It is also quoted in
Love's Lab. Ill, i, 30. Dyce adds to this note of Nares's : Many readers will prob-
ably recollect the spirited description of the Hobby-horse in Scott's Monastery ; but,
since Mr Bayes's troops have been long banished from the stage, it may be necessary
to mention here that they are part of the dramatis persona in the Duke of Bucking-
ham's once-celebrated satirical play called The Rehearsal. Collier : A ballad seems
to have been written on the omission of the Hobby-horse in May-games. • The
ACT III, SC. ii.] HAMLET 24I

Hautboys flay. The dumb-show enters.

Enter a King and a Queen very lovingly ; the Queen embracing him, and he
her. She kneels, and makes show of protestation unto him. He takes her
up, and declines his head upon her neck ; lays him down upon a bank of
flowers ; she, seeing him asleep, leaves him. Anon comes in a fellow, takes
off his crown, kisses it, and pours poison in the King's ears, and exit.
The Queen returns ; finds the KING dead, and makes passionate action.
The Poisoner, with some two or three Mutes, comes in again, seeming to
lament with her. The dead body is carried azoay. The Poisoner wooes
the Queen with gifts; she seems loath and unwilling awhile, but in the
end accepts his love. Exeunt.

127. Scene vii. Pope, Han. Scene againe, feeme to condole with her, the
VI. Warb. Johns. dead body is carried away, the poyfner
127. Hautboys.. .love.] Steev., from wooes the Queene with gifts, fhee feemes
the Ff, substantially. The Trumpets harfh awhile, but in the end accepts loue.
founds (found QAQS)- Dumbe (how fol- Qq, and substantially Cap. Jen.
lowes. Enter a King and a Queene, the a King and a Queen] a Duke
Queene embracing him, and he her, he and Dutchess, with regal coronets,
takes her vp, and declines his head vpon Theob.-K
her necke, he lyes him downe vppon a and a] and Ff, Rowe, Pope, Coll.
bancke of flowers, fhe, feeing him afleepe, and he her] Om. Ff, Rowe, Knt,
leaues him : anon come in (anon comes Coll. El. White, Ktly, Huds.
Q.QS) an other man, takes off his crowne, She kneels.. .unto him] Om.
kifles it, pours poyfon in the fleepers Pope, Han.
eares, and leaues him : the Queene re- and makes... unto him] Om.
turnes, finds the King dead, makes paf- Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen.
fionate action, the poyfner with fome exit.] Exits. Ff, Rowe.
three or foure come in (comes in QAQS) [Exeunt.] Om. Qq.

hobby-horse is forgot,' and ' the hobby-horse is quite forgot,' are phrases constantly
occurring in old writers to denote some omission.
127. The dumb-show] Pye: This appears to contain every circumstance of
the murder of Hamlet's father. Now there is no apparent reason why the Usurper
should not be as much affected by this mute representation of his crimes as he is
afterwards when the same action is accompanied by words. The subsequent con-
versation between Hamlet and Ophelia precludes the possibility of its having been
a kind of direction to the players only. Caldecott: Since the usage of the time
warranted, and, as it would seem, even demanded this dumb-show, how could it
have been omitted ? Hamlet, intent on ' catching the conscience of the king,' would
naturally wish that his ' mouse-trap ' should be doubly set ; and could never be sup-
posed willing to relinquish any one of those engines, the use of which custom had
authorized. The King, in fact, takes alarm at the thought that the subject is to be
afterward brought forward in plain terms in the play, and expresses his apprehension
of 'offence in that argument,' of which he was already in possession; and at this,
indeed, he ' blenches.' Knight : Mute exhibitions, during the time of Sh., and be-
fore and after, were often introduced to exhibit such circumstances as the limits of a
play would not admit to be represented. We presume, however, that Sh. had here
some stage authority for making the dumb-show represent the same action that is
21 O
242 HAMLET [act m, sc. ii.
Oph. What means this, my lord?
Ham. Marry, this is miching mallecho ; it means mis-
chief. 130

129. Marry, this'] It Q'76. iV^Mallio^QqJen. El. Miching Mali-

this is] this Q2Qr tis QA it cho, Ff, Rowe + , Sing, munching Mali-
is Q5< cho, Cap.
miching mallecho;] Mai. munch- it] that Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han.

indicated in the dialogue. His dramatic object is [pointed out by Caldecott], Hun-
ter (ii, 249) : To represent the story of a play in dumb-show when the play itself
is going to be performed appears a most extraordinary mode of procedure, and noth-
ing like it has been traced in the usages of the English theatre, or, I believe, in the
theatres of the more polished nations of Europe. What approach nearest to it, and
may by some be mistaken for it, are the Dumb Shows in Sackville's Gorboduc and
Gascoign's Jocasta. But whoever considers these shows attentively will perceive
that they are something essentially different from the exhibition of the very action
which is immediately to follow with the accompanying dialogue. They are, in fact,
but so many moralizations, resembling the choruses of the Greek drama, the moral
lessons being read in action, rather than in words. I do not recollect any other
English play with a dumb-show even of this kind ; and Ophelia's questions, * What
means this, my lord ?' and ' Will he tell us what this show means ?' prove that shows
such as these made no part of the common dramatic entertainments of England.
[Gascoign's instructions respecting the dumb-shows in Jocasta are here given, to
show how utterly unlike they are to this in Hamlet.] No one has hitherto hit upon the
true origin of the show in Hamlet. It seems that such strange and unsuitable antici-
pations were according to the common practice of the Danish theatre. I first became
acquainted with this fact, which appears to explain what without it appears to carry
absurdity as far as it will go, when reading an unpublished diary of the seventeenth
century, the writer of which relates that about the close of the year 1688 there landed
at Hull about six thousand Danish soldiers, who were dispersed in the neighboring
towns. Some of them were quartered at the little town of Hatfield, near Doncas-
ter, near to which the writer of the diary lived, who, having given some general
account of their habits, proceeds thus :— • Many of them while they stayed here acted
a play in their language, and they got a vast deal of money thereby. The design of
it was Herod's Tyranny, the Birth of Christ, and the Coming of the Wise Men.
They built a stage in our large courthouse, and acted the same thereon. I observed
that all the postures were shown first, namely, the king on his throne, his servants
standing about him; and then, the scenes being drawn, another posture came, the
barbarous soldiers murdering the infants, and so on ; and when they had run through
all so, they then began to act both together. All which time they had plenty of all
sorts of music of themselves, for [one] 6oldier played on one sort, and one another.
I heard some of them say that some of these players belonged to the King of Den-
mark's play-house, that was set a fire and burnt when most of the nobles were behold-
ing a play several years ago.' The writer of this diary was Abraham de la Pryme.
Halliwell : I cannot say that I am satisfied with the explanation [given by Calde-
cott and Knight], although it is certainly ingenious. If the King had seen the
dumb-show, he must have known that there was offence in it. Is it allowable to
ACT III, SC. ii.] HAMLET 243

Oph. Belike this show imports the argument of the play? 131
Enter Prologue.

Ham. We shall know by this fellow; the players cannot

keep counsel ; they'll tell all.
131. Belike] Be like F3. 138, Ff, Rowe, Pope.
play?] Ff, Rowe+. play. Qq 132. this fellow] thefe fellowcs Ff,
et cet. Rowe.
Enter Prologue.] Theob. After 132, 133. the. ..all.] One line, Qq.
fellow, line 132, Qq. After play, line 133. counsel] Om. Qq.

direct that the King and Queen should be whispering confidentially to each other
during the dumb-show, and so escape a sight of it?
129. miching mallecho] Hanmer defines the first word as 'secret, covered,
lying hid ;' and the second as ' a wicked act, a piece of iniquity. Span, malhecho.*
Warburton maintains that the phrase means : ' Lying in wait for the poisoner.'
And that it should therefore read : ' miching MalhechorJ and so introduces it in his
text. Henley very properly points out that malhechor no more means a poisoner
than the perpetrator of any other crime. Grey (ii, 296) : Why may not Sh. have
wrote miching Malbecco, from Spenser's description of him, Fairy Queene, iii, cantos
9, 10? Farmer (cited by Steevens) : Were not these obscure words originally:
' This is mimicking Malbecco,* a private gloss by a friend on the margin of the MS
Hamlet, and thence ignorantly received into the text ? Heath : To mich is a word
still in common use in the western part of this island, and signifies, to lurk, to do
mischief, under a fair external appearance. Capell (Notes, i, 136) : This is said
of the person of the Poisoner in the Dumb Show, a representative of the King, who
was a man of mean figure (see III, iv, 64), and is therefore compared by the speaker
to the character called Iniquity, in the ancient moralities, whose figure (it is like)
was the same, an ill-looking, munching animal. Malone : In Norfolk michers sig-
nify pilferers. The signification of miching in the present passage maybe ascer-
tained bya passage in Decker's Wonderful Yeare, 1603: 'Those that could shift
for a time, — went most bitterly miching and muffled, up and downe, with rue and
wormwood stuft into their eyes and nostrills.' See also Florio, Acciapinare : ' To
miche, to shrug or sneake in some corner* Caldecott : iMychyn or stelyn pryueiy.'
—Prompt. Parv. Knight : The skulking crime pointed out in the Dumb Show is,
in one sense of Hamlet's wild phrase, miching malhecho; his own secret purpose
from which mischief will ensue, is miching mallecho, in another sense ;— in either
case 'it means mischief.' Maginn (Eraser's Maga. Dec. 1839) : In the Qq we find
the traces of the true reading: mucho malhecho, much mischief. Dyce (Gloss.):
* Malhecho An evil action, an indecent and indecorous behaviour; malefac-
tion.'— Connelly's Span, and Engl. Diet., Madrid. Compare: *Tho. Be humble,.
Thou man of mallecho, or thou diest.' — Shirley's Gentleman of Venice ; Works,
vol. v, p. 52. Maginn's alteration is doubtless wrong. Keightley did not think
so; he adopted it. Clarendon: Minsheu (The Guide into Tongues) gives, 'To
Miche, or secretly to hide himself out of the way, as Truants doe from schoole.'
Mackay (Athenaum, 16 Oct. 1875) says that it is to the wooing of the Queen by
the Poisoner that Ham. refers as meaning mischief, not to the murder; in the latter
the mischief is past, in the former it is to come. This is the clue which reveals the
 244
HAMLET
[act hi, sc. S.
Oph. Will he tell us what this show meant ?
Ham. Ay, or any show that you'll show him; be not you 135
ashamed to show, he'll not shame to tell you what it means.
Oph. You are naught, you are naught ; I'll mark the
play.
Pro, ' For us, and for our tragedy,
1 Here stooping to your clemency, 140
' We beg your hearing patiently/ [Exit. 145
Ham. Is this a prologue, or the posy %of a ring ?
Oph. 'Tis brief, my lord.
Ham. As woman's love.
Enter two Players, King and Queen.

* round
R King. ' Full thirty times hath Phoebus* cart gone

134. he] Pope. aQq. MeyFf, Rowe. Queene. Qq. Enter King and his
Queene. FXF2. Enter King, and Queen.
tell] teil F3. fhew Q'78.
135. you' If] you will Qq, Coll. El. F3F4. Enter Duke, and Dutchess, Play-
White. ers. Theob + , Cap. Enter Gonzago and
137. mark"] tnake"FJFJ?A. Baptista. Sta.
141. [Exit.] Glo. + , Dyce ii, Del. 145, &c. P. King.] Steev.'7S. King.
Huds. Om. QqFf et cet. QqFf. Duke. Theob. + , Cap.
142. posy] Cap. pofie QqF4, Rowe+, 145, 146. Phcebuf... TelluS] Apostro-
Jen. Poefie FTF3F3. poesy Johns. Knt, phes, Pope.
Coll. El. Sta. White. 145. cart] ear Rowe, Pope, Han*
144. Enter...] Glo. Enter King and Carr Theob. Warb. Johns.
Queen, Players. Pope. Enter King and gone] gon Ff, Rowe.

meaning of the Gaelic into which Ham. in his indignation bursts. « Miching mal-
lecho' is miannach mailleachadh, the Gaelic for desirous of procrastination. [' Mich-
ing 'is still in common use in New England, and pronounced (as it is spelled in
Webster) meaching or meeching. It is usually applied to the expression of the face :
c he has a hang-dog, meaching look.' Ed.]
136. means] Steevens: The conversation of Hamlet with Ophelia is probably
such as was peculiar to the young and fashionable of the age of Sh., which was, by
no means, an age of delicacy.
142. posy] Caldecott: See Mer. of Ven. V, i, 147-150. Knight: This is
certainly the same as poesy ; but was formerly, as now, understood to mean a short
sentence or motto. Halliwell: These posies were necessarily brief, e.g. 'I
cannot show, the love IO;' ' God above, increase our love ;' ' God's blessing be,
with thee and me ;' ' Let love abide, -till death divide.' These are from rings of
the Shakespearian period. Clarendon : See Fairholt's Costume in England, p. 568.
145. Coleridge : The style of the interlude here is distinguished from the real
dialogue by rhyme, as in the first interview with the Players, by epic verse.
145. cart] Clarendon: An archaism purposely affected to suit the fustian of
the speech. Chaucer. Cant. Tales, 2043, has, ' The statue of Mars upon a carte stood.'
 45

ACT III, SC. ii.] HAMLET

'Neptune's salt wash and Tellus' orbed ground, 146

4 And thirty dozen moons with borrow'd sheen
1 About the world have times twelve thirties been,
1 Since love our hearts and Hymen did our hands
1 Unite commutual in most sacred bands. 1 50
P. Queen. 'So many journeys may the sun and moon
1 Make us again count o'er ere love be done !
' But, woe is me, you are so sick of late,
1 So far from cheer and from your former state,
'That I distrust you. Yet, though I distrust, 155
' Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must ;
146. orbed] orVd the Qq. or Que. QqF2F3. Queen. F4> Dutch.
147. borrowed] Cap. borrowed Qq Theob. + . Bap. or Bapt. Ff, Sta.
Ff, Rowe + , White, Cam. Cla. 154. from
148. times twelve thirties] time, twelve your] cheer and] different Q'76.
our Q3Q3.
thirties F3F4, Rowe. twelve times thirty formtr] forme Fx.
Q'76. time twelve thirties Pope + . times 156,157. must : For] must. Forwo*
twelve thirty Han. men feare too much, euen as they lovet
150. commutual] co-mutuall FF, And Qq, Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen.
Cap. Jen. Sta. Steev. Var. Sing, ii, Ktly. For.. Jove,
commutual in most] infolding in brackets by Jen. and Ktly, the latter
marks a line omitted after it.
them in Q'76.
151, &c. P. Queen.] Steev.'78. Quee.
146. wash] Delius : Land overflowed by the sea at high water. Tschischwitz :
In the Netherlands it is called Watt, the alluvium of the coast. Clarendon : Ob-
viously, imeans
t the sea itself.
150. commutual] Clarendon : An intensive, like ' commixture ' and ' corrival.'
154. cheer] Clarendon: Cheerfulness. See Rich. Ill: V, iii, 74. The word
originally signified face, countenance, from Fr. chire (compare Mer. of Ven. Ill, ii,
314) ; hence, * to be of good cheer ' was to exhibit joy in the face. It was then applied
to that which produces gratification, and denotes entertainment or fare, as in III, ii,i94.
155. distrust] Delius: That is, I am distrustful on your account. Compare
' fear me not,' I, iii, 51.
156. Johnson : [After the line in the Qq] a line seems to have been lost, which
should have rhymed with ' love.' Steevens : Perhaps a triplet was designed, and
then instead of Move' we should read lust. M alone: Perhaps the words omitted
might have been of this import, * Either none they feel, or an excess approve,
Knicht : There can be no doubt that the line from the Qq should be struck out, it
being superseded by line 157. Cambridge Editors : As the line in the Qq occurs
at the top of the page, the omission [conjectured by Johnson, Jennens, and others] is
more likely to have been caused by a line having dropped out at the foot of the
previous page. The Quarto probably gives us the author's first thought, incomplete,
as well as the lines he finally adopted, as they stand in the Folio. The thought will
hardly bear to be expanded over four lines. Tschischwitz retains the line from
the Qq, and in order to do so ' without hesitation' supplies the missing phrase thus:
• Either none at all or one man all above ; And women's fear,' &c.

2S*
246 HAMLET [act in, sc. ii.

4 For women's fear and love holds quantity, 157

' In neither aught, or in extremity,
'Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know,
'And as my love is sized, my fear is so ; 160
' Where 'too;
love is great, the littlest doubts are fear,
' Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.
P. King, ' Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly

' My operant powers their functions leave to do ;

'And thou shalt live in this fair world behind, 165
' Honour'd, beloved ; and haply one as kind
' For husband shalt thou —
P. Queen. ' Oh, confound the rest !
X57. For] And Pope + , Jen. Steev. Pope, great Q '76.
Var. Sing. ii. 161, 162. Where love... there!] Om,
holds'] Ff, Cald, Knt, Dyce i, Sta, Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han.
Glo. + , Del. Mob. holdQq, et cet. 161. littlest] litle/lQq. fmalle/l Q'?6,
158. In neither aught"] Mai. fnneith- Theob. Warb. Johns.
er ought Ff, Rowe, Cap. Jen. Eyther 163. Faith, I] /Q'76.
none, in neither ought Qq. iTis either 164. operant] working Q'76.
none "Pope + . Either in nought Anon.* their functions] my funclions
In either aught Anon. Ff, Rowe, Knt.
159. love] Lord Qq. 165. fair] fare Q4.
is, proof hath made] has been, 1 66. kind] kind, Qq. kinde. F,.
f>roof makes Q'76. kind. F2F F . a kind Rowe ii.
160. sized] ciz'd Q2Qr ciz'fl Q^QS> 1 67. thou—] thou. Qq
Jiz'd Fx. ftz F2. fixt F3F4. fix>d Rowe, confound] counfound F4.
157. holds quantity] Capell (i, 137) : That is, bear proportion the one to the
other. Caldecott : Compare Mid. N. L>, I, i, 232. Clarendon : For the con-
struction compare V.&A. 988. In mathematical language 'fear' would be said to
vary directly as 'love.' [For instances of the inflection in 's' with two singular
nouns, see Abbott, § 336; Macb. I, iii, 147; III, ii, 37; V, v, 20. Also Abbott,
§ 388c, for a- paraphrase of this passage.]
158. Capell (i, 137) : They either feel none of these passions or feel them both in
extremity. Hunter (ii, 251) : Punctuate * — hold quantity In neither: — aught or in
extremity.* That is, nothing, or in excess. Ingleby {Birmingham Gazette, 25 July,
1867) proposed as a possible emendation: ' In either naught, or in extremity,' i.e.
there is no mean in the fear or the love of a woman.
161. littlest] See Walker (Crit. i, 271) for instances of this word; gooder and
goodest ; badder and baddest. * But littlest is not [here] a mere synonym of least.
Delius : This is not found elsewhere in Sh.
164. operant] Steevens: Active. See its use with 'poison,' Timon, IV, iii, 2$,
164. to do] For instances of the infinitive used as a noun, see Abbott, §355;
also, 'to feed,' III, iv, 66.
164. leave] Clarendon: Leave off, cease. See I, ii, 155. [Also II, i, 51; III,
iv, 66.]
ACT III, SC. ii.] HAMLET 2\7

'Such love must needs be treason in my breast;

1 In second husband let me be accurst !
1 None wed the second but who kill'd the first.' 170
Ham. [Aside] Wormwood, wormwood !
1 The instances that second marriage move
'Are base respects of thrift, but none of love;
' A second time I kill my husband dead,
' When second husband kisses me in bed. 175
P. King. ' I do believe you think what now you speak,
' But what we do determine oft we break.
1 Purpose is but the slave to memory,
170. kilPd] kill Theob. Warb. Johns. 172. The] Qq, Sta. Bapt. The Ff,
171. [Aside] Cap. Om. QqFf, Rowe Dutch. The Theob. + , Cap. Queen. The
•+, Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt. or P. Queen. The Rowe, Steev. et cet.
Wormwood, wormwood!] Thaf 's 1 73. thrift] Trift F2.
wormwood. Qq (in the margin), Cap. 174. husband dead] lord tha? s dead
Jen. Steev. Var.; and Seymour, complet- Q,, Sta.
ing the line with To her, Mark, Horatio. 176. you think] you. Think Ff.

170. wed] Tschischwitz construes this as an imperative.

172. instances] Johnson: Motives, inducements.
174. kill . . . dead] Elze: This tautology occurs not infrequently. See Tit. And.
Ill, i, 92. Tschischwitz: Originally the phrase was not tautological, because the
Anglo-Saxon cveljan meant to torture. Its figurative meaning required the addition
of the adjective.
176, 177. speak . . . break] Clarendon : Observe the rhyme.
178-203. Sievers {Hamlet, p. 142, Leipzig, 1S51) was, I believe, the first to point
out the dozen or sixteen lines which Ham. had promised to insert in the play ; and he
supposed them to be lines 243-248, but Mr and Mrs Cowden Clarke, in their ed., be-
lieve that they are to be found in the present passage; because: the diction is different
from the remainder of the dialogue, and is signally like Hamlet's own argumentative
mode. ' This world is not for aye,' the thoughts upon the fluctuations of ' love ' and
'fortune,' and the final reflection upon the contrary current of 'our wills and fates,'
with the overthrow of our ' devices,' and the ultimate diversity between our inten-
tions and their ' ends,' are as if proceeding from the Prince himself. His mctive in
writing these additional lines for insertion, and getting the player to deliver them,
we take to be a desire that they shall serve to divert attention from the special pas-
sages directed at the King, and to make these latter seem less pointed. We have
fancied that this is Shakespeare's intention, because of the emphatic variation in
the style just here. Observe how very different are the mythological allusions to
• Phoebus,' ' Neptune,' &c, and the stiff inversions of ' about the world have times
twelve thirties been,' ' discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must,' &c. ; and, moreover^
observe how exactly the couplet commencing the Player-King's speech, ' I do be-
lieve,' &c, and the couplet concluding it, ' So think thou wilt,' &c, would con-
join were the intervening lines omitted. To the same effect Tschischwitz, who
finds in lines 194-199 an allusion to Ros. and Guild; see II, ii, 346-349. A
 248 HAMLET [act in, sc. U,

[178-203. the dozen or sixteen lines.]

discussion as to whether or not these were Hamlet's dozen or sixteen lines was
started by a note from FURNIVALL in The Academy, 3 Jan. 1874, to the effect that
both Seeley and himself, independently and without any knowledge of Clarke's
note on the subject, had hit upon these lines as those written by Ham. The dis-
cussion is carried on in the pages of The New Sh. Soc. Trans. 1 Series, pt. ii. p.
465, and as it there takes up some thirty or more pages, a mere digest of it can be
given here. MALLESON contends that these are not the lines written by Ham. 1.
They do not apply to the King's character or position, but rather to Ham. himself.
2. There is nothing in them of the torrent, tempest, and whirlwind of passion that
Ham. was so anxious should not be torn to tatters. And, lastly, there was one
scene which Ham. tells Hor. is to be the test, during which he is to watch the King
with every faculty of his being, while Ham. will do the same during one speech.
Beyond doubt the scene is where poison is poured into the Player-King's ear, and
here, likewise, at the crisis of the plot is to be found the speech, viz. * Thoughts black,
hands apt, drugs fit,' &c, and this is Hamlet's addition to the play. Had the King not
blenched, we should have had probably the rest of the dozen lines, which might have
contained a hint of the Poisoner's next aim, the seduction to a sudden second marriage
of the seeming-virtuous Queen. It was the success of this alteration or addition that
Ham. declared would get him a fellowship in a cry of players, and this success was due
to the ' talk of the poisoning,' and this * talk of the poisoning ' is found only in this
speech of Lucianus. Seeley, on the other hand, believed that the dozen or sixteen
lines were some of those which make up the long speech beginning • I do believe
you think what now you speak.' To avoid conjecture as much as possible, we must
consider two characteristics which the inserted speech must necessarily have: I. It
must consist of some dozen or sixteen lines. 2. Being an insertion, it must be such
a speech as can be removed without affecting the action of the play. Now, these
two characteristics belong to this speech of the Player-King, and to it alone. It is
exceptionally long, and the whole of it could not be spared, but it is quite easy to
spare about a dozen or sixteen lines from the middle of it, and such a retrenchment
would bring the speech to about the average length of the other speeches. There
is no reason why Ham. should make his lines * charge the King with murder, or to
drive the moral of the play home to the King's conscience.' * The play might be
trusted to do that ; no speech could make the application plainer. It is impossible
foT the speech beginning 'Thoughts black,' &c, to be the inserted speech, because
it satisfies none of the conditions. It is not a dozen or sixteen lines, but only six;
it is not an inserted speech, but belongs essentially to the action. It is also impos-
sible to suppose exactly that it was broken off by the King's rising, for the six lines
in question form only one sentence, and must therefore belong entirely to the play
itself in its original form, unless the murder were to be done in dumb show, which
nobody supposes. His uncle's guilt is by no means the absorbing topic of Hamlet's
thoughts; it is an annoying subject that weighs upon his mind without interesting it,
and his only desire is to postpone and keep at arm's length everything connected
with it, and with his duty to punish it. His real feeling for his uncle is only con-
tempt, as for a vulgar knave, whom there is no satisfaction in thinking about, — and
it would be source of wonder if he should think about him enough to take the
w —— . ■
* Seeley quotes this from Malleson, but it is not to be found in his published argument. Ed,
 act in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 249

[178-203. the dozen or sixteen lines.]

trouble to write a dozen or sixteen lines to make clear what was already as clear as
the day. But the subject that really does fill Hamlet's mind, to the exclusion of
what ought to engage his attention more, is his mother, and she it is with whom these
inserted lines deal. From what we know of Hamlet's feelings she would be, d
priori, the subject of his inserted speech. Furthermore, if the speech were about
the murder, it would be of no help in the progress of the play, nothing would be re
vealed to us by it. Whereas, if the speech dealt with the mother, it would be a broad
hint to us not to trust Hamlet's professions, and that the experiment of the play, with,
all its parade of ingenuity and of vengeance to follow, is a mere blind by which
Ham. hides both from himself and Hor. that he does not intend to act at all, but will
go on for ever brooding over the frailty of his mother and of all womankind. To
this Malleson rejoins : Ham. never says he has written a passage of so many lines,
but that he intended to write some uncertain number, a dozen or sixteen. When he
sat down with the play before him, he may have written twenty or twenty-six, and
indeed, if the Player-King's speech be accepted as partly Hamlet's, all of it might
be claimed for him except the first two and the last two lines, which, omitting the in-
tervening twenty-six, go fairly together. There is no reason why the inserted lines
must be such as can be removed without affecting the play; may not Ham. have
substituted his lines for those which he struck out ? If lines 178-203 were made, as
Seeley contends, to catch the conscience of the Queen, there appears to be in them
when closely analyzed nothing with any special reference to her, and accordingly she is
perfectly unmoved by them ; her response, when appealed to by Hamlet as to how she
likes the play, betokens perfect self-possession. Afterwards, to be sure, she is thrown
into ■ most great affliction of spirit,' but it is entirely on her husband's account, — as
far as she was concerned, this speech was pointless. Grant that the plot of the play,
by itself, sufficiently emphasized the King's guilt, there is nothing unnatural in
Hamlet's wishing to make assurance doubly sure. In Seeley's final remarks he
admitted that Hamlet's instructions to the Player suggest a speech that is in some
sense passionate, but that in reality Ham. takes the occasion of a particular speech
to give a general lecture on elocution, or on the general way in which a passion
should be expressed. And these lines, which may appear tame to us, may have
borne a much more intense feeling to Ham. The insertion is introduced to tell
us something about Ham. that we should not otherwise have known. Its object
was not to catch the conscience of the Queen, but to give us an additional in**
sight into the dreamy, unpractical character of Ham, He had been from the
■first brooding over his mother's conduct, and the play offers him an opportunity
to relieve his feelings ; the lines may not produce much effect upon her, — he knows
how unimpressionable she is,— but his object will be gained if he only writes them.
FURNIVALL sums up : Technically, Seeley's position is very strong, but 'on the
merits ' he breaks down, — he has a capital case at Law, but none in Equity, I
cannot resist Malleson's argument, that Hamlet's inserted speech is the one speech
in which he tells Hor. the King's guilt is to unkennel itself. But I hold very
strongly that Lucianus's speech is not the speech, and that, in fact, the speech is not
in the printed play. Either the King's conscience was more quickly stung than
Ham. anticipated, and so the written speech was never needed ; or (as Mr Matthew
has suggested) Sh. contented himself with showing us, or letting us assume, that
Ham. alterd the play, and put his « dozen or sixteen lines' into action instead of
250 HAMLET [act hi, sc. it

[178-203. the dozen or sixteen lines.]

words; if he had not modified the play, what credit could he have claimd for him-
self as a play-writer or adapter. The inconsistency of Shakespeare's having made
Ham. first talk so much about inserting a speech, and then leaving it out after all,
is what one might fairly expect in the recast Hamlet after its other startling incon-
sistencies, e.g.Hamlet's age and Ophelia's suicide. What can it matter whether an
actual speech of a dozen or sixteen lines, though often announct, be really in the
play or not? Simpson calls attention to the fact that just as the historical drama
takes for granted those events which are made known by previous allusions, so the
sub-play generally omits all those details which have been previously described or
alluded to. Thus in Mid. N. D. we have both the play as presented before Theseus
and a rehearsal of it. The lines rehearsed are different from any in the actual play.
' Looking at the practice of the time and at the previous likelihoods of the case, I see
no reason whatever for expecting to find that Sh. would have put into the sub-play
the dozen lines that he makes Ham. promise.' Bathurst (p. 70) says that he sees
4 no symptoms of the lines which Ham. was to insert.' Gervinus (2te Band, p.
102, 3te Auflage) believes that Sh. meant the passage from line 177 to 187 to apply
to Ham. ' Indeed, Gonzago acted the part of Hamlet's father. Ham. as well as his
mother must have a taste of " wormwood." ' My friend Dr Ingleby has kindly sent
me extracts from a Paper on this subject, which is announced for reading to the
New Shakspere Society, 9 February, 1 877. In these extracts Dr Ingleby dissents
from all that has been assumed heretofore on this subject in that Society's Transactions,
and maintains his own view, very briefly thus : The court-play is but a part of Ham
let ; that Ham. writes no speech at all, whether of six, twelve, or sixteen lines, nor
recites such a speech ; Sh. simply wrote the entire play, not writing any additions in
persona* Hamleti, still less writing an addition to a play which he had previously
written, in the character of the author of an Italian morality. To trace into its
issues every suggestion in the play, so that the event should justify the hint, is 'to
consider too curiously.' A drama is a work of art, a contrivance for imposing upon
the spectator, causing him to take no account of actual time, place, and circum-
stance, making him almost forget that he is in a play-house. In real life a Hamlet
might compose and insert a few lines to add point and force to an ordeal, like that
of the court-play, to which the fictitious Hamlet subjects the supposed criminal ;
and if we had the play before us, we might detect the insertion by means of our
various tests of metre, phraseology, &c. If we failed to discover the added lines,
the fault is ours; the lines would be there. Now to suppose that Sh. in composing
Hamlet followed out the exact course that a real living prince would have followed,
is to impute to him a lack of the simplest art of the playwright, and a neglect of
the artifices which the drama places at his command. Whereas, Shakespeare's pro-
cedure was probably this: In the course of enlarging the first sketch of his Hamlet
he conceived the design of making it a vehicle for the highest possible instruction
in the art of elocution. The play-scene was already devised, and he had, therefore,
to introduce the Players as arriving at Elsinore. Here was the chance he wanted.
He would make Ham. instruct the Player, and through him all players, how to
act. But how was this to be brought about ? Ham. could hardly be supposed to
know by heart the rdles of a strolling player. Wherefore, Sh. makes Ham. speak
as if he had already recited to the Player a speech of his own composition, and
hereupon give his instructions. Thus, having found or made the occasion, Sh. had
ACT ill. sc. ii.] HAMLET 25 1

1 Of violent bhth but poor validity ;

1 Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree, 180

179. but] andQlb. 180. fruit] fruits Q'76, Pope + .

I So. like] the Qq.

to prepare the audience for the supposed recitation, and this was done by represent-
ing Ham. at a former interview imparting to the old Player his intention of writing
' a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines' (i. e. a speech of several lines) for inser
tion in The Murder cf Gonzago. But all the while Shakespeare's object (kept
wholly out of view) was to prepare the audience for his own lesson (voce Hamleti)
on elocution. It is a rule of dramatic art that, a dramatic expedient not essential
to the plot, introduced for a collateral object, is to be left out of consideration as
soon as that object is attained. As soon, therefore, as Ham. has given the old Player
his lesson, the dramatic need of the ' dozen or sixteen lines ' is satisfied, and we have
no further concern with them. The suggestion, however, served (1 ) to prepare the way
for Hamlet's advice; (2) to suggest the possibility, vague to the last degree, that Ham-
had the old play touched and tinkered to suit his purpose more completely. The
phrase, ' some dozen or sixteen,' does not mean what it says ; it is even more indefi-
nite than ' ten or a dozen,' or ' a dozen or fourteen,' which Mrs Quickly uses in Hen.
V: II, i; the prefix 'some' adds vagueness to what was vague already. These
lines, by the very nature of the case, can never have been in Hamlet. [It is to task
the credulity of an audience too severely to represent the possibility of Hamlet's
finding an old play exactly fitted to Claudius's crime, not only in the plot, but in all
the accessories, even to a single speech which should tent the criminal to the very
quick. In order, therefore, to give an air of probability to what every one would
feel to be thus highly improbable, Sh. represents Ham. as adapting an old play to
his present needs by inserting in it some pointed lines. Not that such lines were
actually inserted, but, mindful of this proposal of Hamlet's, the spectator is pre-
pared to listen to a play which is to unkennel the King's occulted guilt in a certain
speech ; the verisimilitude of all the circumstances is thus maintained. No matter
how direct or pointed the allusion to the King's guilt may be, we accept it all, secure
under Shakespeare's promise that the play shall be made to hit Claudius fatally.
And we hear the fulfilment of this promise in Hamlet's cry of exultation over the
success of his attempt at play-writing. The discussion, therefore, that has arisen
over these ' dozen or sixteen lines ' is a tribute to Shakespeare's consummate art.
Ingleby, I think, is right in maintaining that Sh. did not first write The Murder of
Gonzago, and then insert in it certain lines, as though written by Hamlet. And
Sievers, the Clarkes, Malleson, and others are also right, I think, in believing that
certain lines of the court-play are especially applicable to Claudius, and which we
may imagine are those that Ham. told the Player he would give him. It is the very
impression which, I think, Sh. wished to convey. Ed.]
179. validity] Caldecott: The conception and origin of our resolutions are
violent and passionate ; but their progress and close of little vigor or efficiency.
180. sticks] Tschischwitz advocates his text, which reads: * Like fruit unripe,
which now sticks on the tree,' on the ground * that " Which," referring to " Purpose,"
in connection with "sticks on the tree," is nonsense.* And, furthermore, that
« sticks ' is an archaic plural equivalent to stickest sticketh.
252 HAMLET
[act m, sc. \l
But fall unshaken when they mellow be. \%\
Most necessary 'tis that we forget
To pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt;
What to ourselves in passion we propose,
The passion ending, doth the purpose lose. 185
The violence of either grief or joy
Their own enactures with themselves destroy ;
Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament;
Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident.
This world is not for aye, nor 'tis not strange 190
That even our loves should with our fortunes change,
For 'tis a question left us yet to prove,
Whether love lead fortune or else fortune love.
FF,
186. either] eythert Q3Q3. either, Q4. 189. grieves] greeue±
ether Ff.
190. nor] and Tope, Han. griefes
187. enactures] Q'76, Johns, en-
naclures Qq. ennaclors Fz. enaclors 'tis not] is it Q'76.
F2F3F4, Rowe + . 193. lead fortune] fortune lead Pope,
188. lament] relent 'Jen. (misprint?) Han. leads fortune Theob.Warb. Johns.
Qq.
1 89. joys] joyes F,F2F3. toy Qq. else] Om. Pope, Han.

181. fall] Caldecott: This verb, like 'sticks,' is to be referred to ' purpose ;'
but in Shakespeare's mind it was connected with ' unripe fruit,' and ' they,' its rela-
tive. Elze: See the reversed construction, I, iii, 47, 50 : 'pastors • . . libertine,
Himself.' Abbott, §415: The subject, which is singular, is here confused with
and lost in that to which it is compared, which is plural.
183. debt] Johnson : The performance of a resolution, in which only the re*
solver is interested, is a debt only to himself, which he may therefore remit at
pleasure.
186. 187. violence . . , destroy] Delius : The plural is to be explained by sup-
posing that in 'violence' there are two ' violences' understood; 'of grief and 'of
joy.' Clarendon : A more natural explanation is that the verb is attracted by the
nearer substantive ' enactures.' Compare I, ii, 38.
187. enactures] Johnson: What grief or joy enact or determine in their vio-
lence is revoked in their abatement. Clarendon : Enactments, resolutions. Pep-
haps it may have the further meaning of carrying purposes into execution. ABBOTT,
§ 194 : ' With themselves ' seems to mean by or of themselves.
188. Moberly: The very temper that is most cast down with grief is also most
capable of joy, and passes from one to the other with slenderest cause.
190. nor 'tis not] For instances of double negatives, see I, ii, 158; and ABBOTT,

§406.
191. loves] Moberly : The love which others feel for us.
193. Whether] See II, ii, 17.
193. or else] Clarendon: A reduplication, like 'or ere,' 'an if,' See Genesis^
sclii. 16.
 HAMLET
ACT III. SC. ii.]

'The great man down, you mark his favourites flies;

1 The poor advanced makes friends of enemies ; 195
'And hitherto doth love on fortune tend;
1 For who not needs shall never lack a friend,
1 And who in want a hollow friend doth try
1 Directly seasons him his enemy.
' But, orderly to end" where I begun, 200
1 Our wills and fates do so contrary run,
'That our devices still are overthrown,
' Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own ;
' So think thou wilt no second husband wed,
' But die thy thoughts when thy first lord is dead. 205
P. Queen. ' Nor earth to me give food nor heaven light !
1 Sport and repose lock from me day and night !
' To desperation turn my trust and hope !
'An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope!
194. favourites'] Ff. favourite QqFa dye206.
Q'76.to me give] to give me Ff, Rowe,
F3F4 et cet. Pope, Johns. Jen. Cald. Knt. oh ! give
196. hithertoj hethertoo Q+Q^ hither
toF3. me Han. Cap. do give me Seymour.
197. friend,] Frend : Fx. friend? Nor. ..give] Let earth not give
334 me Anon. {Misc. Obs. 1752, p. 34).
199. seasons him] sees in him Anon.* 208, 209. To...scopel] Om. Ff,Rowe,
204. So think] Think still Q 7 6,Theob. Pope, Han.
Warb. 209. An anchor's] Theob. And An-
wilt no] wilt not Jen. chors Qq. And anchors' Jen. An an*
205. die thy thoughts] thy thoughts chord's Anon, apud Rann.

194. favourites flies] Abbott, § 333 : The reading, favourite, completely misses
the intention to describe the crowd of favorites scattering in flight from the fallen
patron. [See this paragraph in Abbott for instances of the third person plural in s."]
CORSON (p. 27) : The plural, * favourites/ is, in fact, demanded.
197. not needs] Clarendon: For this construction, see Temp. II, i, 121 ; Much
Ado, IV, i, 175.
199. seasons] Caldecott: Throws in an ingredient, which constitutes, &c.
This word is used with great latitude in several parts of this play. Delius : This
signified formerly every kind of modification in its widest sense. Dyce (Gloss.) :
Confirms, establishes. Clarendon: Ripens, brings to maturity in his true cha-
racter.
201. contrary] For words in which the accent is nearer the end than with us,
see Abbott, § 490.
209. anchor's] Johnson : May my whole liberty and enjoyment be to live on
hermit's fare in prison. ' Anchor ' is for anchorite. Steevens : This abbreviation
is very ancient In the Romance of Robert the Devil, printed by Wynkyn de
Worde: 22
' We haue robbed and killed nonnes, holy aunkers, preestes,' &c. Again;
254
HAMLET
[ACT III, sc. 15,

4 Each opposite, that blanks the face of joy, 210

4 Meet what I would have well and it destroy !
* Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife,
' If, once a widow, ever I be wife !'
Ham. If she should break it now !
P. King. * Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here
'awhile; 215
4 My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile
4 The tedious day with sleep. [Sleeps.
P. Queen. ' Sleep rock thy brain ;
4 And never come mischance between us twain ?' [Exit
Ham. Madam, how like you this play ?
Queen. The lady protests too much, methinks. 220
Ham. O, but she'll keep her word.
King. Have you heard the argument? Is there no
offence in't ?
213. once... wife] once I be a widdow, 215. here] heare Q4Q F2.
mer I be a wife Qq {bee Q4), Jen. once 217. [Sleeps.] Pope. (After brain),
Cap.
I be a widdow, euer I be wife Q . once Ff, Rowe. Om. Qq. lays him down.
I widow be, and then a wife Q'76.
214. Ham. If ..now!] Dyce. Ham. 218. between] betwixt Q^Q5y Cap.
If. .now. Qq (in the margin) {he Q'76) [Exit.] Exeunt. Qq. Exit
Ff, Ham. If ..now — Pope + , Jen. Coll, Dutchess. Duke sleeps. Cap.
White, Del. Ham. [to Oph.] If... 219. this] the F2F3F4, Rowe.
now, — Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, 220. protests] Ff, Rowe + , Cap. Knt,
Sing. El. Ktly, Huds. El. Dyce i, White, Del. Glo. Mob.
it now"] her vow Coll. (MS). El. doth protefl Qq et cet.
too much] to much Fx.
215. * Tis. ..awhile;] Two lines, Ff.

'the foxe will be an aunker,' &c. Also, in The Vision of Piers Ploughman, 1. 55 :
( As ancres and heremites That holden hem in hire selles.' I believe we should
read, — 'anchor's chair* Compare Hall, Sat. ii, bk. IV, p. 18, ed. 1602: — 'Sit
seven yeres pining in an anchore's cheyre.' Delius: Logically, 'scope' cannot
refer to ' anchor's cheer,' but to ' prison.' Clarendon : ' Anchor ' is applied both to
men and women.
210. opposite] Clarendon: An opponent; here it denotes any obstacle to joy.
For the literal sense, see V, ii, 62, and Twelfth Night, III, iv, 293.
210. blanks] Clarendon : Blanches, makes pale, as with fear.
214. Delius : It is just as likely that Ham. addressed this to his mother as to
Oph.
220. protests] Corson : The familiar « protests ' is better here than ' doth pro*

222. argument] See notes on line 127, where various attempts are made to ex-
test.'
plain what Hunter calls ' the oversight ' In this question of the King's.
ACT ill, SC. ii.] HAMLET 255

Ham. No, no ; they do but jest, poison in jest; no offence

H the world. 225
King. What do you call the play ?
Ham. The Mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropically.
This play is the image of a murder done in Vienna ; Gon
zago is the duke's name ; his wife, Baptista ; you shall see
anon ; 'tis a knavish piece of work ; but what o' that ? your 230
majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not ; let
the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung. —
225. f the world] Om. Q'76. Qq, Cap. et cet.
227. how?] hozvQq. 23 1, that have] fliall haue Q4Q$.
Tropically] topically Pope i. us not] not us Q'76.
228. &c. Gonzago] Gonzaga Johns. 232. wince] Steev. winch QqFf,
229. wife] wife's Theob. + . wifes* Rowe+, Cap. Jen.
Ktly. unwrung] vnwrong QaQ,. v «•
230. 0'] Ff, Rowe + , Dyce, Glo. of rung FXF3, Johns.
224. offence] Delius: Here again, as before in I, v, 137, this word is used in
a double sense. The King means a moral * offence,' and Hamlet means a physical
* offence,' or crime.
227. Mouse-trap] Steevens : In reference to II, ii, 580.
227. Tropically] Caldecott : Figuratively, by a trope or turn we give things.
Hunter (ii, 282) : Trapically of Qx is an unmeaning word, except that we may see
a faint shade of meaning in the play being a figurative representation of an actual
deed, and this, combined with the opportunity of playing on the word trap, is the
true reason that we meet with this word thus oddly introduced.
228. image] See Macb. II, iii, 74.
228. Vienna] Collier : The Guiana of Qf perhaps arose from the shorthand-
writer having misheard the name.
229. duke's] Hunter (ii, 252) : Qt explains why everywhere else he is a king.
The character was a duke throughout, as the play was originally written, and when
king was to be substituted for duke, this passage remained by some accident uncor-
rected. Walker (Crit. ii, 281) shows by many instances that king, duke, and count
were confounded in sense, and that to the poet they were one and the same, all in-
volving alike the idea of sovereign power j and thus might easily be confounded
with each other in the memory.
229. Baptista] Johnson : In Italian, I think, the name always of a man. Rit-
SON : I believe it is never used singly, but compounded with Gian (for Giovanni)t
and meaning, of course, John the Baptist. Hunter (ii, 252) : I have seen a few
instances in which the name was borne by women in England. Sh. was not solicit-
ous about it. It had a feminine termination ; that was enough.
231. we] See I, iv, 54.
231. free] See II, ii, 537.
232. wince] Steevens: A proverb. Thus, in Damon and Pythias, 1582: 'I
know the gall'd horse will soonest wince.' Clarendon: See Lyly's £uphues,p.
119 (ed. Arber) : • For well I know none will winch except she be gawlded.' See
Mother Bombie, I, iii.
256 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. 3,
Enter LuciANUS.

This is one Luc'anus, nephew to the king.

Oph. You are a good chorus, my lord.
Ham. I could interpret between you and your love, if 235
I could see the puppets dallying.
Oph. You are keen, my lord, you are keen.
Ham. It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge.
Oph. Still better, and worse.
Ham. So you must take your husbands. — Begin, mur- 240
232. Enter Lucianus.] After king, Johns. Steev. Var. Cald. Sing. So you
line 233, Qq. Enter Nephew with a tnijiake Husbands Ff, R.owe. So most
Vial. Cap. of you take husbands Han. €0 you
233. king] Duke Theob. + , Pope ii, mis-take husbands Cap. So you must
Cap. take husbands Knt, Long MS.* So you
234. a good] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, must take your husband White. Sepa-
rate line, Ff.
Dyce i, Del. as good as a Qq et cet.
238. my] mine Qq. 240, 242. Begin... revenge] Two lines,
the first ending begin. F , Rowe+.
239. better,] worfe Q'76, Rowe, Pope,
Han. 240, 241. murderer] Murther F.
240. So... husbands.] Pope. So you Rowe.
mi/lake your husbands Qq, Theob. Warb.

234. chorus] Delius : We find a chorus explaining the action of the play in
Winter's Tale, Rom. <5r» Jul., and Hen. V.
235. interpret] Steevens : An interpreter formerly sat on the stage at all motions
ox puppet-shows, and interpreted to the audience. See Two Gent. II, i, IOI j Timon,
I, i, 34. Again, in Greene's Groatsworth of Wit, 1 621 : 'It was I that .... for
seven years' space was absolute interpreter of the puppets.*
236. puppets dallying] Seymour (ii, 179) : If I could observe the agitations
of your bosom. Nares : Synonymous with the babies in the eyes.
237. keen] Hunter (ii, 252) : There is no appropriateness in this as a reply to
what Hamlet had said, and it is, in fact, an observation on something said by him
that is now transposed to another part of the play. This we learn from Qx, where
the remarks of Ham. to Oph. on the cheerful appearance of his mother occur in
this part of the dialogue. It is in reference to these satirical remarks about his
mother that Ophelia says, * You are keen,' or as it reads in Qx.
239. worse] Caldecott : More keen and less decorous.
240. must take] Theobald (Sh. Rest. p. 90) : Hamlet certainly alludes to the
church-service of matrimony, where the husband and wife promise alternately to take
each other for * better for worse.' [Theobald changed his mind when he came to
print his edition ; for there he follows the QqFf, and paraphrases : * So you take
Husbands, and find yourselves mistaken in them.' The majority of notes on this
passage are in favor of the reading of the QqFf. Those edd. who have followed
the reading of Qf have been apparently so firmly fixed in their belief in the excellence
of that text in this passage, that they have not thought it worth while to vindicate
it. Ed.] Farmer: I believe mistake to be right ; the word is sometimes used in
this ludicrous manner : ' Your true trick, rascal ' (says Ursula, in Bartholomew Fair),
act in, sc. II] HAMLET 257

dercr. Pox, leave thy damnable faces, and begin. Come : 241
The croaking raven doth bellow for revenge.
Luc. € Thoughts black, hands apt. drugs fit, and
'time agreeing;
' Confederate season, else no creature seeing ;
1 Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected, 245
' With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected,
241. Pox,] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Cla.
Jen. Steev. Var. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. 243. Two lines. Ff.
Sta. Cla. Huds. Mob. 244. Confederate] Confiderat Q2Q3.
241,242. Come: Tke~\ Jen. Come, Confiderat Q4. Confederate Qs.
the QqFf, Rowe + . Come. The Johns. e/se~\ and Q'76, Theob. Han.
Come, The Cap. As two half lines, end- Warb.
ing raven. ..revenge Steev. Bos. Cald. 246. ban] Bane¥A, Rowe, Pope,Kan.
Knt. In quotation-marks, White, Glo. infected] inuecled Q3Q3-

* must be to be ever busie, and mistake away the bottles and cans, before they be
half drunk off.' Steevens : Again, in Jonson's Masque of Augurs : * To mistake
six torches from the chandry, and give them one.' Again, in The Elder Brother of
Fletcher: 'I fear he will persuade me to mistake him,' Again, in Chrestoleros ;
Seven Bookes of Epigrams, written by T. B. [Thomas Bastard], 1598, lib. vii, epig.
xviii : « For none that see'th her face and making, "Will judge her stolne, but by
mistaking.' Again, in Questions of Profitable and Pleasant Concernings, 1594 '
* Better I were now and then to suffer his remisse mother to mistake a quarter or twa
of come.' Tollet : The meaning is : ' You do amiss for yourselves to take husbands
for the worse. You should take them only for the better.' Caldecott : In these
very terms of confusion and contradiction it is that you make up what you call yout
solemn contract of marriage. For ' mistake ' = wrongly judged of, see Hen. VIII:
III, i, 101. Singer: Hamlet puns upon the word mistake : 'So you mis-take, or
take your husbands amiss for better and worse.' The word was often thus misused
for anything done wrongfully, and even for privy stealing.
241. Pox] DVce: Need I observe that, in Shakespeare's time, this imprecation
undoubtedly referred to the small-pox?
242. revenge] Collier : This perhaps, was a quotation from some other play in
Hamlet's memory. Dyce {Remarks, &c, p. 215) : Ham. seems to mean : * Begin
without more delay; for the raven, prescient of the deed, is already croaking, and,
as it were, calling out for the revenge which will ensue.' Simpson ( The Academy ;
19 Dec. '74): Ham. rolls into one two lines of an old familiar play: The True
Tragdie of Richard the Third (p. 61, Sh. Soc. Reprint). The king is describing
the terrors of his conscience : * Methinks their ghosts ccmes gaping for revenge
Whom I have slain in reaching for a crown ;' and of the two lines that follow,
Hamlet's speech is a satirical condensation : ' The screeking raven sits croking for
revenge Whole herds of beasts comes bellowing for revenge.'
244. confederate] Tschischwitz [following Q ] : ' Confederate is clearly the
wrong reading, since it merely expresses what is already implied in ' time agreeing.*
Clarendon : The opportunity conspiring to assist the murderer.
245. midnight] Steevens: See Macb. IV, i, 25.
22* R
258 HAMLET [ACT in, SC. ii.

1 Thy natural magic and dire property, 247

* On wholesome life usurp immediately/
[Pours the poison into the sleeper's ear.
Ham. He poisons him i' the garden for his estate. His
name's Gonzago; the story is extant, and writ in choice 250
Italian ; you shall see anon how the murderer gets the love
of Gonzago's wife.
Oph. The king rises!
Ham. What, frighted with false fire!
Queen. How fares my lord? 255
Pol. Give o'er the play !
King. Give me some light. — Away !
All. Lights, lights, lights !
[Exeunt all but Hamlet and Horatio,
Ham. Why, let the strucken deer go weep,
The hart ungalled play; 260
For some must watch, while some must sleep ;
So runs the world away.
247. Thy] 7^F4,Rowe. Zfo#Pope, Steev. Var. Sing. Cam.
Han. [Exeunt...] Exeunt. Manet Ham-
248.Sing.
Cap. usurp~\ vfurpe FxFa. vfurps Qq,
Ktly. let 259.
& Horatio.
Scene Ffviii.(Manent
Pope, F4).
Han. Jen.
[Pours. ..ear.] Mai. Powres the Scene vii. Warb. Johns,
poyfon in his eares. Ff. Om. Qq. strucken] flrooken Q2Q3t Cap.
249. He] A Qq. Jlroken Q4Q$. stricken Han. Coll. El.
for his] for's FXF3F4, Rowe + , White, Glo. + , Mob.
Dyce, Sta. Glo. Del. Huds. Mob. fors F3. 260. hart] Heart F2F„ Rowe, Johns.
250. name^s] na?nes QqF2F3F . Cap.
writ in] Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Dyce, ungalled] vngauled Qq.
Sta. White, Glo. Del. Huds. written 261. while] whiljl QAQS, Rowe + .
in Cald. written in very Qq et cet. sleep :]Jleepe ? F2F3F4, Rowe.
254. Ham. What,.. .fire] Om, Qq, 262. So] Ff, Rowe + , Cap. Cald. Knt
Pope. Dyce, Sta. Glo. Mob. Thus Qq et cet.
258. All.] Ff. Pol. Qq, Cap. Jen.

248. usurp] Walker (Cril. iii, 176) : That is, ' let them usurp.'
250. extant] White : This, I believe, is actually true. I am sure that I have
seen the incidents of this Murder of Gonzago mentioned as having actually occurred
in Italy during the Middle Ages.
250. writ in] Corson : This may be a case of absorption ; the -en of the par-
ticiple being present in * in.'
259-262. Dyce : In all probability a quotation from some ballad.
259. weep] Steevens : See As You Like It, II, i, 33.
262. So] Corson : The more general and indefinite * So ' seems preferable here
to the formal « Thus.'
act in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 259

Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers, — if the rest of

my fortunes turn Turk with me, — with two Provincial roses
on my razed shoes, get me a fellowship in a cry of players, 265
sir?

263. feathers'] Fathers F4« Jen. Sing. El. Ktly.

264. two] Om. Qq, Jen. 265. cry] city QQ.
265. razed"] Mai. raz'd Qq. radd players] player Q.
Ff, Rowe i. rack?d Rowe ii. rayed 266. sir] Om. Qq, Jen.
Pope + / ray'dCzp. rais'dThcob. conj.

263. feathers] Malone: It appears from Decker's GuPs llornbooke that feathers
were much worn on the stage in Shakespeare's time.
264. turn Turk] Steevens: Gee Much Ado, III, iv, 57; and, in Greene's Tu
Quoque, 1 6 14 : ' This it is to turn Turk, from an absolute and most compleat gentle-
man, to a most absurd, ridiculous, and fond lover.' It means no more than to
change condition fantastically. Caldecott : To undergo a total and ruinous change.
264. Provincial] Warton : Hamlet means the roses of Provence, a beautiful
species ; therefore read Provencial [Gat-ell, Malone, and Steevens adopted this
reading] or Provencal. Douce : Change is unnecessary. There is no evidence that
Provence was ever remarkable for its roses ; whereas, Provins, about forty miles
from Paris, was formerly very celebrated for the growth of this flower, which, accord-
ing to tradition, was imported into that country from Syria by a Count de Brie.
Johnson : When shoe-strings were worn they were covered, where they met in the
middle, by a ribbon gathered in the form of a rose. Clarendon : Cotgrave gives
both localities : * Rose de Provence. The Prouince Rose, the double Damaske Rose;'
and ' Rose de Provins. The ordinarie double red Rose.' In either case it was a
large rose. The Province or Damask Rose was probably the better known. Gerarde,
in his Herbal, says that the damask rose is called by some ' F.osa provincialis.' Fair-
holt {Costume in England, p. 238) quotes from Friar Eacon's Prophecy, 1604:
' When roses in the gardens grew, And not in ribbons on a shoe : Now ribbon roses
take such place, That garden roses want their grace.' At p. 579 he gives several
instances of the extravagances to which this fashion led. TSCHISCHWITZ wildly pro-
poses and adopts * provisional ' for the following reason : ' The passing strangeness
of the assumption that actors procured fresh (?) roses from the town of Provins
occurred neither to Douce nor to the critics who follow him. It is probable that
nothing more than parti-colored paper was used as a substitute.' Kence, ' Since
"Provincial" yields no meaning, it is clear that Sh. here wrote provisional (like the
Italian provisional), that is, a pair of makeshift-roses.'
265. razed] Theobald: I once suspected that we ought to read ' raised shoes.'
It was the known custom of the tragedians of old, that they might nearer resemble
the heroes they personated, to make themselves as tall in stature as they possi-
bly could. But perhaps it may have been ' rayed shoes,' that is, striped, spangled.
Steevens : ' Razed shoes ' may mean slashed shoes, i. e. with cuts or openings in
them. Sh. might have written ' raised shoes,' i. e. shoes with high heels. Stubbes,
Anatomic of Abuses, 1595, has a chapter on corked shoes, ' which,' he says, 'beare
them up two inches or more from the ground, &c., some of red, blacke, &c, razed,
carued, cut, and stitched,' &c. To raze and to race alike signify to streak. See
Markham's Country Farm: * — baking them all [i.e. wafer cakes) together bfi-
26o HAMLET [act hi, sc. ii.

Hon Half a share. 267

tween two irons, having within them many raced and checkered draughts after
the manner of small squares.'* Hunter (ii, 254) cites from Peacham, The Truth
of Our Times, 1638, to show that gallants sometimes paid thirty pounds for a
pair of shoe-ties, called roses. Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) reads rais'd, which
is possibly right. Burbage, being short, may have worn * rais'd shoes,' but still
it seems unlikely that he would thus be made to advert to his own deficiency.
Staunton : If * razed ' be right, it must mean slashed or opened shoes. Claren-
don : In Randle Holme's Academy of Armory, bk. iii, ch. i, p. 14, we find :
' Pinked or raised Shooes, have the over leathers grain part cut into Roses, or other
devices.'
265. cry] Warburton : * Allusion to a pack of hounds,' which, says Steevens,
was formerly called a cry. Here it means a troop or company. See Cor. IV, vi*
168, and III, iii, 120. CLARENDON : Compare Cotgrave : * Meute : f. A kennell, or
crie of hounds.'
267. share] Malone : The actors in Shakespeare's time had not annual salaries
as at present. The whole receipts of each theatre were divided into shares, of which
the proprietors of the theatre, or house-keepers, as they were called, had some : and
each actor had one or more shares, or part of a share, according to his merit. See Var,
1821, iii, [p. 171. Also Collier's Annals of the Stage, iii, p. 429.] Clarendon;
In Henslowe's Diary (p. 5) is a memorandum of ^15 being lent to Francis Hens-
lowe for a share with the Queen's players, and [p. 8, three years afterwards, in 1596]
£9 for a half share with another company. [In Halliwell's very valuable Illus-
trations ofthe Life of Shakespeare, 1874, pp. 86-91, certain petitions and answers
are reprinted, that were filed in 1635, in the Lord Chamberlain's office, and although
in date they are after Shakespeare's day, they nevertheless throw great light on the
early financial management of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres, and of the value
of the shares in them. The substance of one of these petitions, which shows us
what the house-keepers were, and that they and the actors were not always in accord,
is as follows: 'Robert Benefield, Eyllardt Swanston, and Thomas Pollaid doe
further humbly represent unto your Lordship. That the houskeepers beeing but
six in number, vizt., Mr. Cutbert Burbadge, Mrs. Condall, Mr. Shankes, Mr. Taylor,
Mr. Lowen and Mr. Robinson (in the right of his wife), have amongst them the
full moyety of all the galleries and boxes in both houses, and of the tireing-house
dore at the Globe. That the actors have the other moyety, with the outer dores ;
but in regard the actors are halfe as many more, vizt., nine in number, their shares
fall shorter and are a great deale lesse then the houskeepers ; and yet, notwithstand-
ing out of those lesser shares the sayd actors defray all charges of the house what-
soever, vizt., wages to hired men and boyes, musicke, lightes, &c., amounting to 900
or 1000 li. per annum or thereaboutes, beeing 3 li. a day one day with another;
besides the extraordinary charge which the sayd actors are wholly at for apparell
and poetes, &c. Whereas the sayd houskeepers out of all their gaines have not
till Lady Day last payd above 65 li. per annum rent for both houses, towardes which
they rayse betweene 20 and 30 li. per annum from the tap houses and a tenement
and a garden belonging to the premisses, &c, and are at noe other charges whatsoever,
excepting the ordinary reparations of the houses. Soe that upon a medium made of
the gaynes of the howskeepers and those of the actors one day with another through*
out the yeere, the petitioners will make it apparent that when some of the hous-
act in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 26l

kepers share \2s. a day at the Globe,[267.

the 4actors
share.']
share not above 3 s. And then what
those gaine that are both actors and houskeepers, and have their shares in both, your
Lordship will easily judge, and therby finde the modesty of the petitioners suite, who
desire onely to buy for their money one part a peece from such three of the sayd
houskepers as are fittest to spare them, both in respect of desert and otherwise, vizt.,
Mr. Shankes, one part of his three,' &c. Mr John Shankes not unnaturally remon-
strated, and it is from his answer that we learn the value of a ' share,' not only of a
* houskeeper,' but in a 'cry of players;' he states that 'he did buy [of William
Hemings] one part hee had in the Blackfriers for about six yeeres then to come at
the yeerly rent of 6 li. 5 s., and another part hee then had in the Globe for about
two yeeres to come, and payd him for the same two partes in ready moneys 156 It.
. . . about eleven months since, the sayd William Hemings, offering to sell unto
your suppliant the remaining partes hee then had, viz., one in the Blackfriers, wherin
hee had then about five yeeres to come, and two in the Globe, wherein hee had then
but one yeere to come, your suppliant likewise bought the same, and payd for them
in ready moneys more 350 /*'., all which moneys so disbursed by your suppliant
amount to 506 /*.,' &c. Shankes, who had been one of Shakespeare's fellow-actors,
makes an appeal ad misericordiam as ' beeing an old man in this quality, [see Ham,
Hi ii, 333 and 417], and then states that ' Mr. Swanston one of them who is most
violent in this busines,' « hath further had and receaved this last yeere above 34 li,
for the profitt of a third part of one part in the Blackfriers which hee bought for 20
li* Nor did * Cutbert Burbadge and Winifred his brothers wife, and William his
sonne ' submit any more quietly than John Shankes to be ' trampled upon,' as they
term it, and their answer is a Shakespearian discovery so recent and so interesting
not only in its familiar allusion to Shakespeare as a ' deserveing man,' but also in its
reference to the Children of the Queen's Chapel, that the following extract will not
be deemed too long nor out of place : ' The father of us, Cutbert and Richard Bur«
badge, was the first builder of playhowses and was himselfe in his younger yeeres a
player. The Theater hee built [the first ever built in England, in 1576. Ed.] with
many hundred pounds taken up at interest. The players that lived in those first
times had onely the profitts arising from the dores, but now the players receave all
the comniings in at the dores to themselves and halfe the galleries from the hbus-
kepers. Hee built this house upon leased ground, by which meanes the landlord
and hee had a great suite in law, and, by his death, the like troubles fell on us, his
sonnes ; wee then bethougt us of altering from thence, and at like expence built the
Globe, with more summes of money taken up at interest, which lay heavy on us
many yeeres ; and to ourselves wee joined those deserveing men, Shakspere, Hem-
ings, Condall, Philips and others, partners in the profittes of that they call the House,
but makeing the leases for twenty-oue yeeres hath beene the destruction of ourselves
and others for they dyeing at the expiration of three or foure yeeres of their lease,
the subsequent yeeres became dissolved to strangers . . . Thus, Right Honorable, as
concerning the Globe, where wee ourselves are but lessees. Now for the Black-
friers, that is our inheritance, our father purchased it at extreame rates, and made it
into a playhouse with great charge and troble ; which after was leased out to one
Evans that first sett up the boyes commonly called the Queenes Majesties Children
of the Chappell. In process of time, the boyes growing up to bee men, which were
Underwood, Field, Ostler, and were taken to strengthen the Kings service ; and the
 262 HAMLET [act in, sc. ii.
Ham. A whole one, I.
For thou dost know, O Damon dear,
This realm dismantled was 270
Of Jove himself; and now reigns here
A very, very — pajock.
268. A whole one, I.] Ay, a whole Paiocke Fx, Cald. Knt. Pcjot ke F .
one. Han. A whole one, ay. Mai. conj. paicock Q'76. pecock Q'95. peacock
Knt270.
i, Sing.
271. White, Ktly, Huds.
This. ..himself] One line, Pope, Coll.
Var. Warb.Sing.Johns.
Huds. Cap. Jen.*Theob.
paddock Stcev.
Ff. Han. El. Ktly. kedjocke (i. e. hedgehog)
272. very, very] very-very Sta. S. Evans, padge-haivk Id. (with-

White, pajock'] F3F4, Mob.

Glo.+, Del. Rowe, paiock
Dyce, Sta.
Qq. drawn).

more to strengthen the service, the boyes dayly wearing out, it was considered that
house would be as fitt for ourselves, and soe purchased the lease remaining from
Evans with our money, and placed men players, which were Hemings, Condali,
Shakspeare, &c.' Ed.]
268. I] Malone : It should be, I think, — * A whole one ;— ay, — ' [Most improp-
erly— Dyce, Gloss."]. Steevens: It means no more than, *I think myself entitled
to a whole one.' Caldecott : * A whole one, say I.' Staunton : Malone's
emondation will strike many as the more likely reading, White thinks it strange
that modern editions should retain ' I ' of QqFf. Stratmann agrees with Malone.
269-271. Dyce: Another quotation, surely ; * pajock,' of course, excepted.
271. Jove] Hudson: The meaning is, that Denmark was robbed of a king who
had the majesty of Jove.
272. pajock] Pope : This alludes to the fable of the birds choosing a king ; in-
stead of the eagle, a peacock. Theobald (Sh. Restored, p. 94) proposed : First,
tneacock, a * cravenly ' bird, and metaphorically a dastardly effeminate fellow; Second,
paddock, a toad ; Third, puttock, a ravenous kite, a devourer of the state and people.
Of these three Theobald repeated only the second in his edition, with the note : * I
think Ham. is setting his father's and uncle's characters in contrast to each other :
and means to say, that by his father's death the state was stripped of a godlike mon-
arch, and that now in his stead reigned the most despicable poisonous animal that
could be ; a mere paddock or toad. This word I take to be of Hamlet's own sub-
stituting. The verses repeated, seem to be from some old ballad ; in which, rhyme
being necessary, I doubt not but the last verse ran thus : A very, very ass.
Farmer: A peacock seems proverbial for a fool. Thus, Gascoigne, in his Weeds :
* A theefe, a cowarde, and a peacocke foole.' Malone : Sh. means that the King
struts about with a false pomp, to which he has no right. See Florio, 1598 : * Pauon-
neggiare. To iet vp and down fondly gazing vpon himselfe, as a peacocke doth.'
Martinus Scriblerus {Explanations, &c, Edinburgh, 1814) : The original word
soundeth to me like a foreign word introduced into our language. Following out
this hint, if thou wilt look, reader, into any Italian Dictionary, thou wilt see that the
word baiocco means a piece of money, of about three farthings value, and there was
a silver coin of that value in Queen Elizabeth's time, which seemed to figure in
Shakespeare's imagination as something abundantly ridiculous. See King John, I.
act in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 263

[272. 'pajock.']
i, 143. When Hamlet, therefore, calls the King a paiock, he merely means to use
one of the most contemptuous expressions which occurred to him in the moment ;
so that I would not alter the text. Dyce : ■ Pajock ' is certainly equivalent to pea-
cock. Ihave often heard the lower classes in the north of Scotland call the peacock
— the ■ pea.-joc&;' and their almost invariable name for the turkey-cock is « bubbly-jock.'
Halliwell quotes Dyce, and adds : there can be little doubt but that the word in
the text is a similarly corrupted form. Elze : If paddock be inadmissible, bawcock
may be suggested. See Hen. V: IV, i, 44 ; and Twelfth Night, III, iv, 125. Eden
Warwick (N. & Qu., 7 Dec. '61), finding from Bunsen's Egypt's Place, &>c. that
the word Pataikoi, the name of the ancient Phoenician gods, still survives at the
present day in Rome, applied to a coin with a hideous, worn-out impression, which
is called a * Patacco,' suggested that 'paiocke ' is a misprint for patokie. Leo [N.
cr* Qu., Jan. 21, '65) : * Hamlet means ass, and does not intend to weaken what he
means by supplying it by such an innocent word as " peacock," " paddock," &c. He
says, " A very, very . . . ," and then he says nothing more, but hems in a rather cha«
racteristic way ; and so gives to the hearer the opportunity to supply by rhyming
what he has left unsaid. And so I suppose the word in question did not belong to
the verse, but was a stage-direction, which I should like to understand as — " hiccup."
" A very, very . . . \hiccups." * [Can this be surpassed ? Ed.] Latham (N. &■» Qu.t
12 Aug. '71) suggests Polack. In Hamlet Danicisms may be expected, and this
word, besides its primary, national meaning, had, owing to the ill feeling between
the Poles and the Danes, a secondary meaning equivalent to blackguard or Philistine.
T. McGrath (N. & Qu., 23 Sept. '71) suggests paj-ock, i.e.paj, equivalent to patch,
a contemptuous fellow, and -ock, diminutive. Hence * pajock' or patchock, a paltry
clown ; and cites Spenser, A View of the present State of Ireland, p. 636, Globe ed. \-^
* Some in Leinster . . . are degenerate, and growen to be as very patchockes as the wild
Irish.' Keightley {Expositor, 293) : I agree with Theobald, as the King is afterwards
called a ■ paddock,' and there is probably an allusion to the poisoning. Tschisch-
WITZ : The word is Polish, pajuk, pajok, and means a servant, a doorkeeper, like
hajduk. I have not been able to discover at what period Haiducks were introduced
into European courts, but it is quite possible that it took place towards the close of
the sixteenth century. Anonymous {New Shakespearian Interpretations, Edin.
Rev. Oct. 1872) : All agree that the various spellings in the QqFf indicate one word :
peacock; in discussing this passage critics have forgotten the character that the peacock
held in the natural history, as well as in the popular belief, of the time. The most
popular manual of natural history in Shakespeare's day gives the following account :
« And the pecocke is a bird that loveth not his young, for the male searcheth out the
female, and seeketh out her egges for to break them, that he may so occupy him the
more in his lecherie. And the female dreadeth that, and hideth busily her egges,
lest the pecocke might soone find them. And Aristotle sayth that the pecocke hath
an unsteadfast and evill shapen head, as it were the head of a serpent, and with a
crest. And he hath a simple pace, and a small necke, and areared, and a blew
breast, and a taile ful of bewty, and ho hath the foulest feet and riveled . . . and he
hath an horrible voice. And as one sayeth, he hath a voice of a feend, the head of
a serpent, and the pace of a theefe. And Plinius sayth that the pecocke hath envie
to man's profit, and swalloweth his owne durt : for it is full medicinable, but it is
seldom found.' This last is a curiously dark touch of malevolence. Ham. could
 264
HAMLET [act hi, sc. ii.
Hot. You might have rhymed.
Ham. O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a
thousand pound. Didst perceive ? 275
Hot. Very well, my lord.
Ham. Upon the talk of the poisoning ?
Hor. I did very well note him.
Ham. Ah. ha ! Come, some music ! come, the record-
ers—
! 280 285
For if the king like not the comedy,
Why then, belike, — he likes it not, perdy.
Come, some music !
Reenter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Guil. Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you.

Ham. Sir, a whole history.
GuiL The king, sir,—
Ham, Ay, sir, what of him ?
275. pound] pounds F4, Rowe+. 281. like] likes Q'76.
277. poisoning f\ Ff. poyfning. Q3Q-> 282. perdy] Perdie FtQs, Cald.
Re-enter...] Dyce. Enter... Qq.
poyfoning, Q4. poifoning. Q$. poison-
ing,— Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. Enter... (after line 278) Ff, Rowe+,
Sing. El. Dyce, Sta. White, Ktly, Del. Cap. After perdy Johns. Steev. Var.
Huds. Cald. Knt, Coll. El. White.
279. Ah, ha f] Jen. Ah ha,Q<\. Oh, 284. vouchsafe] voutfafe Qq.
^/FtF2F3. Oh,ha /FA,Rov?e+. Ha, 286. sir, — ] sir — Rowe. fir. QqFf.
'ha / Cap. 287. him ?] him. F2F3F4>
come, the] com the Q4.

not have selected the name of bird or beast that expressed with greater emphasis
the hateful union of corrupted passion and evil life that now usurped the throne
and bed of Denmark. John Davies (N. &» Qu., 11 March, '76) : This is prob
ably the Low German (Friesic) /<?;>£, or pajek, a boy. In Sweden the modern form
is pojke, but the provincial and older form is pajke =payek. In the north of Eng-
land it is shortened into pack, and in Denmark into pog. In all these countries
it is a term of reproach. A northern peasant woman in England will call her child
a dirty or a naughty pack, especially when some offence against cleanliness has been
committed. It is often pronounced broadly, paack, not unlike paiocke. In the
present passage it is equivalent to a mere dirty boy, probably with some reference to
his sensual habits. [I think Dyce's testimony is conclusive. Ed.]
279. recorders] See notes on line 329
282. belike] Johnson : Ham. was going on to draw the consequence, when the
courtiers entered.
282. perdy] Steevens : The corruption of par Dieu. Collier : This couplet
is probably a quotation. Tschischwitz : The word that Ham. adds in this line
is not ' perdy,' but probably ' likes;' perhaps brooks is the word intimated.
ACT III, SC. ii.J HAMLET

Gut/. Is in his retirement marvellous distempered

Ham. With drink, sir ?
Gut/. No, my lord, rather with j^holen,- ^^^^ 290
Ham. Your wisdom should show itself more richer to
signify this to his doctor; for, for me to put him to his pur-
gation would perhaps plunge him into far more choler.
Gut/. Good my lord, put your discourse into some
frame, and start not so wildly from my affair. 295
Ham. I am tame, sir; pronounce.
Gut/. The queen, your mother, in most great affliction
of spirit, hath sent me to you.
Ham. You are welcome.
GuU. Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of the 300
right breed. If it shall please you to make me a wholesome
answer, I will do your mother's commandment ; if not, your
pardon and my return shall be the end of my business.
Ham. Sir, I cannot

288. distempered.'] distemper* d— 293. far] farre FXF3F . Om. Qq,

Rowe+, Jen. Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Coll. El.
290. rather] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Sta. Huds.
Jen. Steev. Var. Coll. El. Sta. Dyce ii, 294. 295. Good. ..affair.] Prose, Ff.
Huds. Two lines, the first ending frame. Qq.
291. should] would Seymour. 295. start] flare Qq.
more richer] more rich FaF F , my] the Coll. (MS).
Rowe + . richer Q' 76. affair] bufinefs Q'76.
292. his doctor] this doctor F.. the 299. [with great Ceremony. Cap.
doctor Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. 302. commandment] commaundement
Sing. Ktly, Cam. Cla. commandment FxFa, White.
commandement QF _.
for, for] for for F,. for FaF3F4,
Rowe, Pope, Han. 303. of my] of Qq, Cap. oftheQib.

288. marvellous] See II, i, 3.

288. distempered] Caldecott: Discomposed, overtaken. 'Spinache extin-
guish choler, and is good for the breast and loonges, that be distempered with heat.*
— Newton's Approved Medicines, 1580. CLARENDON: It was used both of mental
and bodily disorder, and Ham. pretends to understand it in the latter sense. See
Temp. IV, i, 145 ; 2 Hen. IV; III, i, 41.
289. drink] Johnson : Ham. takes particular care that his uncle's love of drink
shall not be forgotten.
291. should] See II, ii, 201.
291. more richer] See II, i, II.
23
292. purgation] Clarendon : A play upon the legal and medical senses of the
word.
303. pardon] See I, ii, 56.
266 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. ii.
Guil. What, my lord ? 305
Ham, Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's dis-
eased but,
; sir, such answer as I can make, you shall com-
mand; or rather, as you say, my mother; therefore no
more, but to the matter; my mother, you say, —
Ros. Then thus she says: your behaviour hath struck 310
her into amazement and admiration.
Ham. O wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother !
But is there no sequel at the heels of this mother's admira-
tion ? Impart.
Ros. She desires to speak with you in her closet, ere 315
you go to bed.
Ham. We shall obey, were she ten times our mother.
Have you any further trade with us ?
Ros, My lord, you once did love me.
Ham. So I do still, by these pickers and stealers. 320
305. Guil.] Ros. Qq, Cap. 312. astonish] Jlonijh Qq. 'sionish
lord?] lord. Qq. Cap. Jen.
306. wit's'] wits QqFxF2F3. 313. mother's admiration] Mother
307. answer] an/were Q2Q3Q.. an- admiration F . Mother- admiration F ,
Rowe, Pope,
fwers Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. Knt.
308. as you] you Ff, Rowe, Pope, admiration ?] admiration, Q2Q,.
Knt. 314. Impart.] Om. Ff, Rowe+, Knt,
309. say, — ] say — Rowe. fay. QqFf. Dycei, Sta. Glo.
310. struck] Jlrooke Qq. Jlroke FxFa - 320. So I] And Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev.
F,. strook Cap. Var. Coll. Sing. El. Sta. White, Ktly,
312. so] thus Q'76. Dyce ii, Del.

305. Guil.] Capell (i, 138) : It is plain from his last speech that Guil. is not
pleased with his reception, and the answer he receives puts him quite out of
humor, which answer should be spoke somewhat brusquely, and the receiver make
a bow, and retire. Ham. answers to Ros. without considering which of them
spoke. [See Textual Notes. Ed.]
311. amazement] Clarendon: Perturbation of mind from whatever cause.
Compare I Peter, iii, 6.
311. admiration] See I, ii, 192. Delius: Each tries to outdo the other in the
use of the affected phraseology of the court.
315. closet] See II, i, 77*
317. shall] See II, i, 3.
318. trade] Johnson: Business, dealing.
320. So] Coleridge : I never heard an actor give this word its proper emphasis.
Shakespeare's meaning is — 'loved you? Hum! — so I do still,' &c. 'There has
been no change in my opinion :— I think as ill of you as I did.' Else Hamlet tells
an ignoble falsehood, and a useless one, as the last speech to Guildenstern, — ' Why,
look you now,' &c. — proves. Strachey (p. 68) : I should rather say, that the last
ACT III, SC. ii.] HAMLET 26j

Ros. Good my lord, what is your cause of distemper? 321

you do surely bar the door upon your own liberty, if you
deny your griefs to your friend.
Ham. Sir, I lack advancement.
Ros. How can that be, when you have the voice of the 325
king himself for your succession in Denmark ?
Ham. Ay, sir, but 'while the grass grows/ — the pro
verb is something musty. —
Re-enter Players with recorders.

Oh, the recorders ! let me see one. — To withdraw with you ;—

322. surely. ..upon] freely. ..of Ff, Qq, Cap. Enter one with a Recorder.
Rowe, Cald. Knt, Del. surely... of Ff.
Pope+, White, Huds. 329. recorders'] Recorder Ff, Cald.
bar] but bar Reed '03, Bos. Coll. Knt.
Sing. Ktly. see one. To] Pope, fee one, to
327. sir] Om. Ff, Rowe + , Cald. Knt, Qq. fee, to F^. fee to F3F4- set one.
Dyce i, Sta. To Rowe.
grows, — ] grows — Pope, growes, see one] see Cald. Knt.
Q2Q3Q4FxFaF3- £™^»QSF4- you;— ] you; Q'76. you, Qq[F{.
328. Re-enter...] Dyce. Enter the you — Rowe-!-, Jen. you? White, you.
Players with Recorders, (after line 326) Ktly, Del.

gleam of Hamlet's old regard for his schoolfellows shines out here for a moment;
but it fades again instantly, and he ends with a jesting allusion to the catechism,—
intended to avow, rather than to conceal, his feeling that he is using his tongue in a
way forbidden, as much as picking and stealing are to his hands.
320. pickers and stealers] Johnson: Hands. Whalley: The phrase is
taken from our church catechism, where the catechumen, in his duty to his neighbor,
is taught to keep his hands from picking and stealing. Nares : Examples are com-
mon of swearing by the fingers, called in cant phrase, ' the ten bones.' See 2 Hen.
VI: I, iii, 193. Caldecott: ' Pykare or lytylle theef.' — Prompt. Parv. Claren-
don :* By this hand !' is a frequent form of asseveration. See Temp. Ill, ii, 56, 78;
Mer. of Ven. V, i, 161.
321. your cause] Clarendon: The cause of your disorder. So 'your sover-
eignty of reason,' in I, iv, 73.
325. voice] Malone: See I, ii, 109.
327. proverb] Malone: The remainder of this old proverb is preserved in
Whetstone's Promos and Cassandra, 1578: ' Whylst grass doth growe, oft sterves
the seely steede.' Again, in The Paradise of Daintie Devises, 1578 : « To whom of
old this proverbe well it serves, While grass doth growe, the silly horse he starves.'
Ham. means to intimate that whilst he is waiting for the succession to the throne
of Denmark, he may himself be taken off by death.
329. recorders] Dyce : The change from the plural of the Qq to the singular
of the Ff I have not the slightest doubt we must attribute to the ' company,' who
were obliged to be economical both of persons and properties. A single recorder.
268 HAMLET [act in. sc. ii

why do you go about to recover the wind of me, as if you 330

would drive me into a toil ?

indeed, suffices for the mere business of this scene ; but the alteration is quite at
variance with what precedes in line 280.
329. recorders] Chappell {Popular Music of the * Olden Time* p. 246, and
note) : Old English musical instruments were commonly made of three or four
different sizes, so that a player might take any of the four parts that were required
to fill up the harmony. So Violins, Lutes, Recorders, Flutes, Shawms, &c, have
been described by some writers in a manner which (to those unacquainted with
this peculiarity) has appeared irreconcilable with other accounts. Sh. (in Hamlet')
speaks of the Recorder as a little pipe, and says, in Mid. N. D., ' he hath played
on his prologue like a child on a recorder;' but in an engraving of the instru-
ment* it reaches from the lip to the knee of the performer; and among those
left by Henry VIII were Recorders of box, oak, and ivory, great and small, two
base Recorders of walnut, and one great base Recorder. Recorders and (English)
Flutes are to outward appearance the same, although Lord Bacon in his Naturat
History, cent, iii, sec. 221, says the Recorder hath a less bore, and a greater above
and below. The number of holes for the fingers is the same, and the scale, the
compass, and the manner of playing, the same. Salter describes the recorder, from
which the instrument derives its name, as situate in the upper part of it, **. e. between
the hole below the mouth and the highest hole for the finger. He says, ' Of the
kinds of music, vocal has always had the preference in esteem, and in consequence
the Recorder, as approaching nearest to the sweet delightfulness of the voice, ought
to have first place in opinion, as we see by the universal use of it confirmed.'1
Ward, the military instrument-maker, informs me that he has seen * old English
flutes ' with a hole bored through the side, in the upper part of the instrument, cov-
ered with a thin piece of skin, like gold-beater's skin. I suppose this would give
somewhat the effect of the quill or reed in the Hautboy, and that these were Re-
corders. Recorders were used for teaching birds to pipe.
329. To withdraw with you] Capell (Notes, i, 138) : That is, to have done
with you, draw towards an end with you; and he singles out Guil., as of a darker
and more treacherous temper than the other. [Capell marks the phrase as an
Aside.] M. Mason: These words were probably spoken to the Players, whom
Ham. wished to get rid of. Read, therefore, ' So, withdraw you ;' or * So with-
draw, will you?' Steevens: Here Malone added the stage-direction: [Taking
Cuildenstern aside. ~\ But the foregoing obscure words may refer to some gesture
which Guil. had used, and which at first was interpreted by Ham. into a signal for
him to attend the speaker into another room. 'To withdraw with you?' (says he).
'Is that your meaning?' But finding his friends continue to move mysteriously
about him, he adds, with some resentment, a question more easily intelligible.
Caldecott : The two royal emissaries at first only request that the Prince would
'vouchsafe them a word;' and they then acquaint him with the King's rage, and the
Queen's command to visit her. They then, by a waving of the hand, or some suck
signal, as the exclamation of Ham. denotes, intimate that he should remove to a

• See 'The Genteel Companion for the Recorder/ by Humphrey Salter, 1683.
ACT in, SC. ii.] HAMLET 269

Guil. O, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my love is 332

too unmannerly.
Ham, I do not well understand that. Will you play
upon this pipe ? 335

more retired quarter. Although aware that the above, their only proper business,
could not require any private communication, he at first, in gentle expostulation,
reproaches them ; but presently recollecting their insidious, aims, and feeling at the
same time, as an indignity, the freedom taken in thus beckoning him to withdraw,
he in a moment assumes a different tone; and, with the most galling sneer and
interrogatory, heaps upon them the utmost contempt and contumely. Singer : It
means no more than ' to draw back with you,' to leave that scent or trail. It is a
hunting term, like that which follows. Staunton : It is simply a direction ad-
dressed to the Players who bring in the recorders, and the true reading : * So,—
[taking a recorder] withdraw with you.' What subsequently transpires between
Ham. and his schoolfellows could hardly have taken place in presence of the
Players, and the disputed words may have been intended to mark the departure of
the latter. Cambridge Editors : If the reading and punctuation given in our text
be right, the words seem to be addressed to Guil. Clarendon : For this use of the
infinitive, compare III, iv, 216; and King John, I, i, 256. Moberly: Just step
aside for a moment. Tschischwitz : Perhaps we should read, *Got withdraw
with you.'
330. wind] Singer : This phrase is borrowed from hunting, and means to get
the animal pursued to run with the wind, that it may not scent the toil or its pur-
suers.Observe
* how the wind is, that you may set the net so as the hare and wind
may come together ; if the wind be sideways it may do well enough, but never if
it blow over the net into the hare's face, for he will scent both it and you at a dis*
tance.' — Gentleman's Recreation. Moberly : As if you were stalking a deer.
333. unmannerly] Warburton : If my duty to the king makes me press you
a little, my love to you makes me still more importunate. If that makes me bold,
this makes me even unmannerly. Heath (p. 540) : If you think me too bold in
what I have said by the command of your mother, to offer anything on the single
motive of my love to your person would be unmannerly. Tyrwhitt : Read — my
love is not unmannerly. My conception of the passage is, that, in consequence of
Hamlet's moving to take the recorder, Guil. also shifts his ground, in order to place
himself beneath the prince in his new position. This, Ham. ludicrously calls ' going
about to recover the wind,' &c, and Guil. may answer properly enough, and like a
courtier : if my duty to the king makes me too bold in pressing you, upon a disagree-
able subject, my love to you will make me not unmannerly, in showing you all pos-
sible marks of respect and attention. Caldecott: If my sense of duty have led
me too far, it is affection and regard for you that makes the carriage of that duty
border on disrespect. See * Forgive me this my virtue,' III, iv, 152. Singer:
Ham. may say with propriety, 'I do not well understand that.' Keightley: *I
read, " If my duty be too bold, my love [is] too unmannerly. . . ." ' Clarendon:
Probably Sh. intended Guildenstern's words to express an unmeaning compliment.
As Ham. did not well understand them, commentators may be excused from at-
tempting to explain them.

23*
270 HAMLET [act III, SC ii.

Gut/. My lord, I cannot. 336

Ham. I pray you.
GuiL Believe me, I cannot.
Ham. I do beseech you.
GuiL I know no touch of it, my lord. 340
Ham. 'Tis as easy as lying ; govern these ventages with
your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your mouth,
and it will discourse most eloquent music. Look you,
these are the stops.

339. do] Om. Qfi,. Cap. Dyce, White, Glo. Del. Huds.
341. 'Tis] It is Qq, Jen. Coll. El. 342. and thumb] and thumbe F,F2
White, Del. Cam. F3. &> the vmber Q2Q2, Cap. and the
ventages] Ventiges Ff, Rowe, thumb QAQ5>
Pope, Theob. Han. Warb. 343. eloquent] excellent Ff, RoweP
342. fingers] finger Ff, Rowe, Coll. i, Cald. Knt, White,

336. Guil.] Dr B. Nicholson: Hitherto Ros. and Guild, have so uniformly

worked in common that the artistic management of the scene, as v/ell as ths fuller
force thereby gained, demands that Hamlet's request be addressed first to one and
then to the other. Nor, though Guil. may or may not be the leader of the two, is
Ros. silent ; in fact, in the previous dialogue, Ros. is the one who is set before us as
trying to get the wind of Ham. In this reply, therefore, let ' Guil.' be changed
to Ros. [Probably these same reasons influenced the following emendation of
Staunton, line 339. Ed.]
339. you] Staunton : Should not this be addressed, and the reply which follows
be assigned, to Rosencrantz ? See the dialogue in Qx.
341. govern] Caldecott: One would almost suppose this word to be here tech-
nical, from the use made of it on this subject in Mid. N. D. V, i, 123.
341. ventages] Johnson: The holes of a flute.
342. thumb] Steevens attempts to justify the misprint of Q3Q3 by supposing
that the umber was 'the ancient name for that piece of movable brass at the end
of a flute which is either raised or depressed by the finger.' In support, he adduces
instances of the use of the words timber, and umbriere, which, however, mean the
visor of a helmet. Tollet supports the reading on practical grounds : if a re-
corder had a brass key like the German flute, we are to follow Q2Q3 ; for then the
thumb could not govern the ventages ; if, however, it had not a brass key, then the
reading of the Ff must stand. Nares, in refutation, says that the brass key is more
modern than the time of Sh.
343. eloquent] Corson : I feel a certain seriousness — that's hardly the word —
about ' eloquent,' not in keeping; whereas, in the use of excellent there seems to
be implied the idea that the music that can be got out of the little instrument is
superior to what one would suspect. The word ' excellent ' should be pronounced
with a downward circumflex on ' ex-,' imparting a patronizing tone.
344. stops] Malone: The sounds formed by stopping the holes. See line 17
of Induction to 2 Hen. IV. Singer : Rather the mode of stopping those ventages
to produce notes.
act in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 271

Guff, But these cannot I command to any utterance of 345

harmony ; I have not the skill.
Ham. Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you
make of me ! You would play upon me ; you would seem
to know my stops ; you would pluck out the heart of my
mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the 350
top of my compass ; and there is much music, excellent
voice, in this little organ ; yet cannot you make it speak.
'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a
pipe ? Call me what instrument you will, though you can
fret me, you cannot play upon me. — 355
Re-enter POLON1US.
God bless you, sir !
Pol. My lord, the queen would speak with you, and
presently. ^^^6,^^
Ham. Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape
of a camel ? 360
345. utterance} vtrance QAQc< 355* fret we* you] fret tne, yet you
346. harmony] hermony Ff< Glo. + .
348. make] would make Johns. cannot] can not Cap. (Errata).
350, 351. the top of] Om. Qq, Jen. Re-enter...] Sta. Enter... after
352. speak] Om. Ff, Rowe, Knt i. sir! line 356, QqFf, Rowe + , Jen.
353. 'Sblood] s'bloud QsQy ^ blood 356. you] your Fa.
Q4Q . Why Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Sing. 359. yonder] that Ff, Rowe.
Ktly. Om. Q'76. 359, 360. cloud... camel?] cloud?...
I] that I Ff, Rowe+, Knt, camell. F1F8. cloud,.. .camell. F3. cloud,
Dyce i, Sta. ...camel? F4.
354. 355. can fret me] fret me not Qq. 360. of] like Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Sta.

352. speak] Knight (ed. i) : Sh. certainly meant to say [in FJ, yet cannot you
make this music, this excellent voice. Guil. could have made the pipe speak, but
he could not command it to any utterance of harmony. Even in the Qq it should
be printed * yet cannot you make it. Speak ! 'Sblood,' &c. [This last conj. is with-
drawn in ed. ii, and instead is the sentence : * We now prefer to consider the Folio
erroneous.'] Dyce: When * 'Sblood* was struck out [of Ff], to be replaced by
Why, the preceding word, * speak/ was at the same time accidentally struck out.
♦Speak' answers to * discourse,' line 243. — Remarks, &c, p. 217.
355. fret] Douce (ii, 250) : Here is a play on words and a double meaning.
Ham. says, * though you can vex me, you cannot impose on me ; though you can
stop the instrument, you cannot play on it.' Dyce (Gloss.) : Frets are stops of in-
struments of the lute or guitar kind, 'small lengths of 'wire on which the fingers
press the strings in playing the Guitar.' — Busby's Diet, of Musical Terms, ed. iii.
355. you] Corson : The use of yet [as in QJ as the correlative of ' though,'
adds to the formalness, and takes away from the plain decisiveness, of the speech.
272 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. ii.

Pol, By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed 361

Ham. Methinks it is like a weasel.
Pol. It is backed like a weasel.
Ham. Or like a whale ?
Pol. Very like a whale. 365
Ham. Then will I come to my mother by and by. —
[Aside] They fool me to the top of my bent. — I will come
by and by.
Pol. I will say so. [Exit Polonins.
Ham. ' By and by1 is easily said. — Leave me, friends. 370
{Exeunt all but Hamlet.
360. 361. camel.. .came/] weazel.., 366-370. Then. ..said] Four lines,
weazel Cap. ending by and by,.. .by and by, ...friends.
361. By the mass] By Hh maffe Qq. ...said, (transposing Leave me friends,
as a separate line, to follow by and by,
By lh' Mafs F4, Rowe, Cap. (Errata),
Jen. B) »M* Mijfe FXF3. By th> Mijfe line 368; and continuing / will say so
to Ham.) Qq, Pope (Prose, Pope).
F3. Om. Q'76.
His like] lis, like QaQr it's like 367. [Aside] Sta. Cla. [to Hor. Cap.
Ff, Rowe + . His — like Jen. Om. QqFf et cet.
362. 363. a weasel.. .a weasel] an They. ..bent.] Separate line, Ff,
Ouzle...an Ouzle Pope+. a camel. ..a Rowe.
camel Cap.
369. [Exit Polonius.] Exit. Ff. Om.
363. backed] bacWd Ff. backt Q3Qr Qq. After said, line 370, Dyce, Sta. Glo.
black Q4QS, Pope + . beek'd Toilet, El. 370. [Exeunt...] Exeunt Ros. and
364. whale?] whale. Qq. Gui. Horatio, and the Players, with-
366. will I] I will Qq, Jen. Glo. + . draw. Cap. Exe. Rowe. Om. QqFf.

363. backed . . . weasel] Theobald preferred ouzle to ' weasel,' because, first,
a 'weasel* is not black (to read 'back'd' only avoids the absurdity of giving a
false color to the 'weasel'); secondly, by reading 'ouzle,' there is humor in com-
paring the same cloud to a Beast, a. Bird, and a Fish. Heath : The resemblance
of a cloud to an animal is generally concluded from its shape, not its color. ' Weasel,'
then, is the true reading, and Polonius, in his eagerness to humor a madman, un-
luckily pitches upon the very portion of a weasel in which it most differs from a
camel. Steevens : Toilet observes that we might read, * it is becked like a weasel,'
*. e. weasel-snouted. So, in Hollinshed's Description of England, p. 172: ' if he
be wesell-becked.* Quarles uses this term of reproach in his Virgin Widow : ' Go
you weazel-snouted, addle-pated,' &c. 'Toilet adds, that Milton in his Lycidas calls
a promontory beaked, i. e. prominent like the beak of a bird or a ship.
366. Then] Caldecott : Then will I assent to your request, as yours is assenta-
ticn to everything I say.
366. by and by] Clarendon: Immediately. Compare Matthew, xiii, 21, where
<by and by' is the translation of evdvg.
367. bent] Johnson : * Bent' is used by Sh. for the utmost degree of any passion
or mental quality. The expression is derived from archery ; the bow has its bent
when it is drawn as far as it can be. [See Wellesley, II, ii, 328; also II, ii, 30.]
 Act in, sc. ii.] HAMLET 273

Tis now the very witching time of night, 371

When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world ; now could I drink hot blood.
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft ! now to my mother. 375
0 heart, lose not thy nature ; let not ever
The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom ;

r Let me be cruel, not unnatural ;

1 will speak daggers to her, but use none ;

372. breathes] breaths FrF3, Rowa, /elf Q'76. Om. bitter Jen.
Pope, Theob. Cap. breakes QaQ3Q4- 375- Soft I now] foft, now Qq. Soft
breaks Q5. now, Ff.
373. this] the Q'76. 376. lose] Q'76. loo/e QqFf.
374. bitter. ..day] bu/ines as the bitter 378. not] but not Johns.
day Qq, Steev. Var. bu/ine/s as day it 379. daggers] dagger Qq.

374. bitter business] Warburton : This expression is almost burlesque. The

Quarto is much nearer Shakespeare's words, who wrote * better day,' which gives the
sentiment great force and dignity. ' The horror of the season fits me for a deed
which (he pure and sacred day would quake to look on.' This is said with great
classical propriety. According to ancient superstition, night was prophane and exe-
crable, and day pure and holy. Heath: Warburton objects that the phrase is
almost burlesque. It is so ; but it is so only from the abuse of the word ' bitter/
which is crept into our language from amongst the vulgar, long since the days of
Sh., and which can have no weight in the present case. If alteration be necessary,
I should suppose Sh. wrote ■ the bitterest day.' Steevens : Though at present this
is a vulgar phrase, yet it might not have been such in Shakespeare's time. Dyce, in
his Few Notes, &c, p. 141, not knowing that he had been anticipated by Warburton,
proposed ' better day.' And although in both of his eds. he preferred the reading
of the Ff, he would not allow that 'better* was indefensible, but cites in his ed. ii
the following note by Mitford : ' The word is better* The " better day M is opposed
to the " witching time of night." It is the kpbv rjfiap of Homer, II. 6. 66.' — Gent.
Maga. Feb. 1845, p. 125. * I may add, too/ continues Dyce, ' that John Kemble,—
whose performance of the Prince of Denmark is among the most vivid recollections
of my youth, — invariably [said " better day."] See Hamlet, revised by J. P. Kemble,
1814, p. 51/ Cartwright {New Readings^ &c, p. 37): Read, 'And do such
business as the light 0/ day.1
375. Coleridge : The utmost at which Ham. arrives, is a disposition, a mood, to
do something ;— but what to do is left undecided, while every word he utters tends
to betray his disguise. Yet observe how perfectly equal to any call of the moment
is Ham., let it only not be for the future.
377. Nero] Elze : The murderer of his mother. Clarendon : Compare King
John, V, ii, 152.
379. use none] Hunter (ii, 254) : To be sure not ; and strange it is that the
Poet should have thought it necessary to put such a remark into the mouth of Ham.
That the thought should arise detracts from our admiration of his character, as much
S
274 HAMLET [act hi, sc. iii.
My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites; 380
How jn_ my wordsjtoeyexshejje^^
Tojrjyg-them seals, never, my soul, consent ! {Exit.

Scene III. A room in the castle.

Enter King, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern.

King. I like him not, nor stands it safe with us

To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you ;
I your commission will forthwith dispatch,
And he to England shall along with you ;
381, 3S2. Om. Pope, Han. Scene iii.] Cap. Scene DC. Pope,
381. soever] fomeuer QqFf, Rowe. Han. Jen. Scene VIII. Warb. Johns.
382. never, my soul, consent] neuer Om. Ff, Rowe.
tny foule confent QqFf, Rowe+, Jen. A.. .castle.] Glo. Cap. (subs.)*
[Exit.] Q2Q3Q4. Om. Q$Ff. 2. range] rage Pope.

as it precludes approbation or silent admission of the moral taste discovered in this

play by its author. It is, besides, dramatically improper ; for, in the first place, his
mother had done nothing to deserve it ; it is not even insinuated against her that she
was acquainted with the manner of her former husband's death. Her offence was
marrying again too soon, and, in addition to this, that her second husband was
brother to the first. In the next place, such a deed would not only delay the execu*
tion of the high behest of the Ghost, which is the main purpose of the drama, but
would in all probability have entirely frustrated it ; and Ham. cannot be supposed
not to have foreseen that such would be the result. Ham. a matricide would have
become instantly an object of universal odium. In fact, the truth cannot and ought
not to be concealed that, popular as this play is, not in England only, but all the
world over, there are parts in it which seem quite at variance with the ordinary
modes of thinking of its author.
381. shent] Steevens : To shend, is to reprove harshly, to treat with rough lan-
guage. Henderson: 'Shent* means more than reproof. Ham. surely means
* however my mother may be hurt, wounded, or punished.'
382. seals] Warburton : Put them in execution. Knight : To make my say-
ings deeds.
382. consent] Corson (p. 28) : ' Consent ' is not an imperative, but a subjunc-
tive, and ' soul ' a nominative, not a vocative. See Abbott, §§ 364, 365.
3. commission] Moberly: Ros. and Guil. are therefore privy to the traitorous
scheme for killing Ham. in England.
4. along] For instances of the omission of the verb of motion after ' along,* see
Abbott, § 30, where it is stated that ' " Let's along" is still a common Americanism.*
[See I, i, 26.] To the instances given by Abbott, add Wint. Tale, V, ii, 121 ; Jul.
Cas. Ill, i, 119; Ham. Ill, iv, 197, given by Clarendon.
ACT III. SC. iii.] HAMLET

The terms of our estate may not endure 5

Hazard so near us as doth hourly grow
Out of his lunacies.
GuiL We will ourselves provide;
Most holy and religious fear it is 10
To keep those many many bodies safe
That live and feed upon your majesty.
Ros. The single and peculiar life is bound
With all the strength and armour of the mind
To keep itself from noyance ; but much more
That spirit upon whose weal depends and rests
5. estate may] eft ate, may FjF3F3. Pope, Han.
6. near us] Q'76, Pope + , Cap. Jen. Ff.11. Two lines, the first ending single,
Steev. Var. El, Cam. Cla. fleet's Qq.
dangerous Ff et cet. 13. noycnce] QqFf, Rowe + , Dyce,
cet.
White, Glo.+, Del. 'noyance Han. et
El.7. lunes
lunacies']
Theob.browes
Han. Qq. browsSteev.
Cap. Mai. Jen.
braves Anon.* 14. upon] on Pope-f.
ourselves provide] provide our selves weal] wealc Qq. fpirit Ff, Rowe,
Pope + . Cald. Knt.
9, 10. To keep. ..live] One line, Rowe, depends and rests] QqFf, Rowe + ,
Pope, Han. Cald. Cam. Cla, depend and rest Han.
9. many many] many FaF3F , Rowe, et cet.

6. near us] White: Considering the expression of personal fear in the first
line of the King's speech, the Qq may contain the true reading, of which that of the
Ff is a corruption.
7. lunacies] Theobald : This unnecessary Alexandrine we owe to the players.
Sh. wrote lunes, i. e, madness, frenzy. See Wint. Tale, II, ii, 30 ; Merry Wives,
IV, ii, 22. Johnson : I take browes of the Qq to be, properly read, /rows, which,
I think, is a provincial word for perverse humours, which being not understood was
changed to « lunacies.' But of this I am not confident. Steevens suggested that
perhaps Sh. designed a metaphor from horned cattle, whose powers of being danger-
ous increase with the growth of their brows I Henley improved on this, and main-
tained that the image under which the King apprehends danger from Ham. is that
of a bull I * which, in his frenzy, might not only gore, but push him from his throne.'
Elze : It is not improbable that Sh. wrote either frowns or brains.
9. many many] Collier (ed. ii) : The (MS) has 'very many? thus setting right
a manifest misprint of the Ff. [Adopted in the text by Collier (ed. ii) and Elze.]
Staunton : This expression, signifying numberless, should certainly be hyphened,
like too-too, few-few, most-most, &c. Clarendon: Compare ' little little,' Hen. V:
IV, ii, 33.
13. noyance] Clarendon: Harm. Here used in a stronger sense than our
modern annoyance. Spenser, however, Fairy Queen, I, i, 23, has it, with the weaker
meaning, applied to the ' feeble stinges ' of ' gnattes.'
14. rests] See I, ii, 38.
276 HAMLET [act hi, sc. iii.

The lives of many. The cease of majesty Y 15

Dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw
What's near it with it ; it is a massy wheel,
Fix'd on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things
Are mortised and adjoin'd; which, when it falls, 20
Each small annexment, petty consequence,
Attends the boisterous ruin. Never alone
Did the king sigh, but with a general groan.
King. Arm you, I pray you, to this speedy voyage ;
For we will fetters put upon this fear, 25
Which now goes too free-footed.
Guil. )\
*H\ We will haste us.
[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
15. many. The] many; the Q'76. 23. sigh, but] sigh; but always Sty*
many, the QqFf. mour.
cease] cejfe Qq. decease Pope. with] Om. Qq.
17. it is] It is Ff. or it is Qq. Ifs groan] grone Q3Q3FxFa. growne
Pope + . 'tis Dyce ii, Huds. Q4Q5.
18. summit] Rowe. fomnet QqFf. 24. voyage] viage Q2Q3. voiageQCX-
19. huge] hough Q2Qr hugh Q4. 25. upon] about Qq, Cam. Tsch.
20. mortised] morteiji Qq. mortiz'd 26. Ros. Guil.] Mai. Both. Ff. Ros,
Ff, Rowe+, Jen. Qq, Cap. Jen. El.
adjoin'd] adjorid F2. haste us] make hqfte Q'76.
22. ruin] Ruine Ff. raine Qq. [Exeunt...] Han. Exeunt Gent.
Never] Ne'er Pope + , Walker, QqFf.
Dyce ii, Huds.
15. cease] Caldecott: The demise. Throughout Sh. a strong sense is attached
to this verb 'cease.' Hudson: ' Cease' and ' Dies' are tautological in word, not in
sense. The death of Majesty comes not alone. Bailey (ii, 10) : ' Cease ' as a noun
is not found elsewhere ; here it means death, so that the speaker is made to assert
that death dies not alone, and that it is a massy wheel as well as like a gulf; whereas
Sh. evidently meant to predicate these things of majesty itself. Read, therefore,
*Deceasing majesty,' &c. Clarendon : Here used for the king dying, as ■ life ' in
line 1 1 is used for the living man.
18. mount] Moberly : At the top of the bank, at the edge of a mine*
21. annexment] Clarendon: This is not found elsewhere.
24. Arm] Delius : Prepare yourselves.
25. fear] Caldecott : Bugbear. See Ant. 6^ Cleo. II, iii, 22.
26. We] Elze : This speech is given erroneously to both Ros. and Guil. The
former is on all occasions the spokesman, while the latter appears to be more a sub-
ordinate attendant, — the only time that he ventures on an independent speech is III,
ii, 284, et sea., and then he begs express permission to speak. See III, ii, 46 [Q(\\.
and IV, iii, 16, where Ros. treats him like a messenger.
act Hi, sc. III.l HAMLET 277

Enter PoLONIUS.

Pol. My lord, he's going to his mother's closet ; 27

Behind the arras I'll convey myself,
To hear the process; I'll warrant she'll tax him home;
And, as you said, and wisely was it said, 30
Tis meet that some more audience than a mother,
Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear
The speech, of vantage. Fare you well, my liege ;
I'll call upon you ere you go to bed,
And tell you what I know.
King. Thanks, dear my lord. 35
[Exit Polonius.
Oh, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven ;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon't,
A brother's murder ! Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will;

29. warrant"] warnt Q'37*. ter know) QqFf, Rowe-K

33. the speech, of vantage] Theob. 37. primal] Om. Q'76.
the/peech of vantage QqFf, Rowe, Pope, upon't] vppont Qq.
Jen. Mai. Cald. Knt, Coll. ii, Sta. Huds. 38. can I not] I cannot Q'76, Rowe
Their fpeech. Q'76. +. alas! I cannot Han. that can 1
35. know] heare Q'76. not Seymour.
[Exit Polonius.] Cap. Exit, (af- 38, 39. not, ... will '/] not,.. .will, Qq.

27. Polonius] Coleridge : Polonius's volunteer obtrusion of himself into this

business, while it is appropriate to his character, still itching after former importance,
removes all likelihood that Karn. should suspect his presence, and prevents us from
making his death injure Ham. in our opinion.
30. as you said] Moberly : This was Polonius's own suggestion, which, cour»
tier-like, he ascribes to the King.
32. them] Clarendon : That is, mothers.
33. of vantage] Warburton : By some opportunity of secret observation. Ab-
bott, §165 : 'OP here retains its original meaning of from; hence the words are
equivalent to ' from the vantage-ground of concealment..'
38. murder] Theobald : Was a brother's murder the eldest curse ? Surely, it
was rather the crime that was the cause of this eldest curse. I have ventured at two
supplemental syllables, as innocent in themselves, as necessary to the purposes for
which they are introduced: iTkat of a brother's murder.' Heath (p. 541) : The
defect in the measure is sufficiently accounted for, by the break which divides the
24
verse : ■ A brother's murder ' is in apposition, not to the curse, but to the offence.
Walker {Crit. ii, 199) : ' Read, for metre-sake, murderer?
39. as will] Theobald: An ingenious gentleman started, at a heat, this very
probable emendation: 'as 'twill.' Will signifying barely the determination of mind
 278 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. iii.
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,
And, like a man to double business bound,
I stand in pause where I shall first begin,
And both neglect. What if this cursed hand 45
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood,
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow ? Whereto serves mercy
But to confront the visage of offence?
And what's in prayer but this twofold force,
To be forestalled ere we come to fall, 40
Or pardon'd being down ? Then I'll look up ;
My fault is past. But oh, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn ? ' Forgive me my foul murder T
That cannot be, since I am still possess'd
Of those effects for which I did the murder, 55
My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.
tion, Glo. + , Dyce ii. Italics, Han. Kuds.
40. guilt defeats'] guilt, defeats FXF3F3. 52. murder?] Cald. Glo. + , Dyceii,
43. neglect. What] neglec? : what Q4
Qg. neglect ; what Ff. neglecl, what Huds. murther? Q'76. murther, Q2Q3.
Murther: Q4QSFXF3F3. Mother: F4.
$0. pardorCd] pardon Qq. murther! Pope-{-, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. So
51. fault is] faults is Q4Q'- Knt, Coll.
54. effects] affecls Q4Q5.
52. 'Forgive.. .murder ?'] As quota-

to do a thing, the sense will be this : ' Though the pleasure I take in this act be as
strong as the determination of my mind to perform it, yet my stronger guilt defeats
my strong intent,' &c. [Hanmer, Johnson, Heath, Keightley, adopted this conj. Ed.]
Warburton : ' As will ' is rank nonsense. Read, ■ as th* ill," i. e. though my inclina-
tion makes me as restless and uneasy as my crime does. The line following proves
it. Boswell : The distinction between ' inclination ' and * will ' is philosophically
correct. I may will to do a thing because my understanding points it out to me as
right, although I am not inclined to it. See Locke, On the Human Understanding,
b. 2, ch. 21, sec. 30.
47. confront] Clarendon : To oppose directly, and so to break down, the sin.
49. forestalled] Caldecott : Prevented from falling. Moberly : What is the
very meaning of prayer, except that we pray first not to be led into temptation, and
then to be delivered from evil ?
51. what form] Hunter (ii, 256) : This speech is in many respects admirable.
But it wants an issue. We are left at last uncertain in what mould the prayer will
be cast, when at the close of it he * retires and prays.' It was not so when the play
was originally written. His meditations there issue in a resolve. [See Reprint of
Hamlet, 1603, line 1423, in Appendix.]
55. ambition] Delius: The realization of ambition; like * offence ' in the next
line.
ACT in, sc. iii.] HAMLET 279

May one be pardon'd and retain the offence? 56

(n the corrupted 'currents of this world
Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice,
And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law ; but 'tis not so above ; 60
There, is no shuffling, there the action lies
In his true nature, and we ourselves compell'd •
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults

56. pardorid~\ pardoned QQ. 58. gilded ]guildcdQ3Q3F J?y guided

offence'] effecls Warb. Q*QS'
57. corrupted 'currents] Walker,Dyce shove] JJiowe QjQr fliow Q4QS-
fi. corrupted currants Ff. corrupt oc- shove by] shove-by Dyce, Huds.
currents Anon. {Misc. Obs. 1 752). cor- 59. prize] purse Coll. ii. (MS).
rupted currents Qq et cet. . itself] it felfe QqFf, Rowe + .
y currents of this world] courts of 62. and] Om. Pope, Han.
this bad world Long MS.*
56. offence] Warburton : Sh. here repeated a word which he employed two
lines above, ' th' effects? i. e. of his murder. Johnson : He that does not amend
what can be amended retains his offence. The King kept the crown from the right
heir. Clarendon : See ■ theft,' III, ii, 84.
57. corrupted 'currents] Walker {Crit. iii, 267) s Write ''currents,' as in 1
Hen. IV; II, iii, 58. (Note, too, occurrences, Hen. V: V, Prologue, line 40.)
Lettsom (Footnote to the above) : In Beau. & Fl., Beggar's Bush, I, i, 8 : 'So much
to all the occurrents of my country,' we have the word at full length. So, in Hamlet,
V, ii, 344. [Unless we adopt this excellent emendation of Walker's, we are forced
to the conclusion of Clarendon's, that these lines-, 57 and 58, ' offer an example of
that confusion of metaphor so frequent in Sh. Compare III, i, 59.' This ' confusion
of metaphor ' is certainly ' frequent ' enough, but I can see no need of retaining as an
instance of it a passage that can be cleared up by an apostrophe. The word is given
in full, occurrents, in Miscellaneous Obs. on Hamlet, 1752, p. 37. Ed.]
58. shove by] Tschischwitz calls attention to this adverbial use of 'by,*
and Dyce prints shove-by. [Consistency would print, 'To give-in evidence/ line
64. Ed.]
59. prize] Collier (ed. 2) : There cannot be a doubt of the propriety of an
emendation [purse of the (MS)] of an error, which perhaps arose from the use of
short-hand in transcribing the words ; purse and ' prize ' being spelt with the same
letters. Dyce {Strictures, &c, p. 189) : The 'prize* is equivalent to 'the thing ac-
quired bywicked means,' i. e. the crown.
61. lies] Clarendon : This word is here used in its legal sense.
62. his] Delius : Equivalent to its,
62, 64. we , . . evidence] Wordsworth {Shakespeare's Knowledge of the Bible,
p. 301) : It is not a little remarkable that Sh. should have seized upon this point.
He is supported by Bishop Pearson (obit. 1686), that great divine, who says: 'this
conscience is not so much a judge as a witness bound over to give testimony, for or
against us, at some judgement after this life.'
62. ourselves compelled] Tschischwitz : For another instance of the omissioo
28o HAMLET
[act hi, sc. iii.

To give in evidence. What then ? what rests ?

Try what repentance can. What can it not ? 65
Yet what can it when one can not repent ?
O wretched state ! O bosom black as death !
C limed soul, that struggling to be free
Art more engaged ! Help, angels ! make assay !
Bow, stubborn knees, and, heart with strings of steel, 70
Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe !
All may be well. [Retires and kneels.
Enter Hami.et.

Ham, Now might I do it pat, now he is praying ;

66. it] aught Han. Enter...] ...at a Distance. Cap.
can not] cannot QqFf, Rowe+, 73. Scene x. Pope, Han. Scene ix.
Jen. can but Warb. Warb. Johns.
69. angels] Angles Q4Q*' Now... praying] Where is this
70. steel] Jleale Q3Q3> murderer , he kneels and prays, Q'76.
72. Om. Seymour. it pat, now he is] it, but now a is
[Retires...] Theob. (subs.). The Qq. it— but now he is Jen.
King kneels. Rowe+ remains in Ac- praying] a praying Qq.
tion of Prayer. Cap. Om. QqFf.

of the substantive verb, see II, ii, 230. Clarendon instances I, ii, 90; and Rich*
II: IV, i, 129.
64. evidence] Delius : Contrary to the rule that a witness may not criminate
himself.
66. can not] Warburton: This nonsense even exceeds the last. Sh. wrote,
' when one can but repent/ i. e. what can repentance do without restitution ? John*
SON : What can repentance do for a man that cannot be penitent, for a man who has
only part of penitence, distress of conscience, without the other part, resolution
of amendment? Walker (Vers. 159) : Write cannot, with the accent on the last
syllable.
69. engaged] Clarendon : Hampered, entangled.
69. assay] See Brae's forcible explanation of this word, III, i, 59, p. 208.
72. well] Coleridge : This speech well marks the difference between crime and
guilt of habit. The conscience here is still admitted to audience. Nay, even as an
audible soliloquy, it is far less improbable than is supposed by such as have watched
men only in the beaten road of their feelings. But the final, • All may be well !' is
remarkable; the degree of merit attributed by the self-flattering soul to its own
struggle, though baffled, and to the indefinite half-promise, half-command, to per-
severe in religious duties. The solution is in the divine medium of the Chris-
tian doctrine of expiation ; not what you have done, but what you are, must de-
termine.
72. Enter Hamlet] Collier : When Ham. enters behind, another stage-direction
by the (MS) states that he has his sword drawn ready to kill the King, if his reso-
lution hold, The old mode of acting the scene appears to have been, that, when
act in, sc. iii.J HAMLET 28l

And now I'll do't; and so he goes to heaven;

And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd : 75
A villain kills my father ; and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven.
Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge,

74. do't] do't [drawing] Cap. 78. To heaven.'] Separate line, Qq.
so he goes] fo a goes Qq. Begins line 79, Ff, Rowe-f, Jen. Ends
75. revenged.] Glo.-K reuendge, Q3 line 77, Sta. Ktly.
Q,Q4. reuenged, Qs. reveng'd: FxFa 79. Oh] Why Qq, Cap. Steev. Var.
F3, Dyce, Sta. Huds. revenged: F4. Coll. Sing. El. White, Ktly, Del. Huds.
reveng'd? Q'76 et cet. hire and salary] hire and Sallery
76. A villain kills] He kill d Q'76. Ff. bafe and filly Qq. a reward Q'76.
77. sole]foule FXF3F3. foulY. reward Q' 03.
do. ..send] send him Q'76. salary, not] filly. not QAQ

Ham. came in at the back, the King was kneeling in front of the stage, and did not
retire and kneel, as stated in modern eds.
73. Hanmer {Some Remarks, &c, 1 736, p. 41) : This speech of Hamlet's has
always given me great offence. There is something so very bloody in it, so inhu-
man, so unworthy of a hero, that I wish our poet had omitted it. Coleridge : Dr
Johnson's mistaking [see note, line 95] of the marks of reluctance and procrastination
for impetuous, horror-striking fiendishness !— of such importance is it to understand
the germ of a character. But the interval taken by Hamlet's speech is truly awful!
Hazlitt (p. 107) : This refinement of malice here expressed by Ham. is in truth
only an excuse for his own want of resolution. Hunter (ii, 255) : In the whole
range of the drama there is, perhaps, nothing more offensive than this scene. Ham.
is made to doat on an idea which is positively shocking. Besides, as an excuse
for not then executing the command, under the spell of which he lived, it is poor
and trivial. Moberly: Ham. had before said (I, ii, 182) : * Would I had met my
dearest foe in heaven,' &c. This notion of killing soul and body must therefore be
the natural impulse of his mind. It seems simpler to admit this view of Hamlet's
speech here than to consider it, as Coleridge does, to be at least half an excuse for
not doing now the act of vengeance from which his soul shrinks, though an unbend-
ing law has imposed it on him. Horn (ii, 56) : Now comes the moment for revenge,
but only for revenge, not for righteous punishment, which must be preceded by a
full, perhaps also by a. public, conviction.
75. would] For instances of * would ' = requires to, see Macb. I, v, 19 ; I, vii, 34;
and Abbott, § 329.
77. sole] Warburton : The Ff lead us to the true reading, which is *faPn son,'
i.e. disinherited. This was an aggravation of the injury; that he had not only
murdered the father, but ruined the son. Heath : If any alteration be needed the
Ff would rather direct us to substitute *fool son? Capell (vol. i, Various Readings, p.
26) also conjectures *fool.' Johnson : ' I his only son, who am bound to punish his
murderer.' Caldecott ; Foule (most probably a misprint) may be offending, de»
generate. Collier (ed. 2) : A blunder, of course, from the long s having been mis-
taken, and from the misspelling of ' sole,' foule.

24*
J

282 HAMLET [act in, sc. iu.

He took my father grossly, full of bread, 80
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May;
And how his audit stands who knows save heaven ?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
Tis heavy with him ; and am I then revenged,
To take him in the purging of his soul, 85
When
No. he is fit and season'd for his passage ?

Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent;

80. He] A Qq. 86. season 'd] fcafoned QQ.
bread'] blood Mason. 87. No] Separate line, Qq. Ends
81. With all] Withall Qq. line 86, Ff, Rowe, Jen. Sta. Begins
broad] braod Q2Q3. line 88, Ktly. Om. Pope + .
as flush] asfre/Ji Ff, Rowe, Knt. 88. hent] bent F4, Theob. Han. Warb.
and flush Warb. time Q'76, Rowe, Pope.
84. and] Om. Pope + .

79. hire and salary] Caldecott : A thing, for which from him I might claim
a recompense.
80. bread] Malone : * Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride.
fullness of bread and abundance of idleness,' &c. — Ezekiel, xvi, 49.
81. broad blown] Clarendon: Compare what the Ghost says of himself, I, v,
76, &c.
81. flush] Clarendon: Full of sap and vigor.
82. audit] Warburton : From these lines, and some others, it appears that Sh.
had drawn the first sketch of this play without his Ghost ; and, when he added that
machinery, he forgot to strike out these lines. For the Ghost had told him
very circumstantially how his audit stood ; and he was now satisfied with the real-
ity of the vision. Ritson : As it appears from the Ghost's own relation that
he was in purgatory, Hamlet's doubt could only be how long he was to continue
there.
83. our . . . thought] Both Caldecott and Delius connect 'our* with 'cir-
cumstance,' the former paraphrasing : ' the measure or estimate of what may have
reached us,' the latter, ' according to human relations and thoughts.* Clarendon,
on the other hand, connects ' our ' with ' thoughts,' and paraphrases : ' the circum-
stance and course of our thought,' adding, * We have a similar use of the possessive
pronoun, I, iv, 73; III, ii, 321.' In Two Gent. I, i, 36, and Tro. & Cres. Ill, iii,
114, * circumstance ' means the details of an argument. So here 'circumstance of
thought ' means the details over which thought ranges, and from which its conclu-
sions are formed.
85. To take] For instances of the infinitive indefinitely used, see Abbott, §§ 356,
357, and Macb. IV, ii, 69. Clarendon: In taking him.
88. hent] Theobald (Nichols's Jllust. ii, 572) : We must either restore bent or
hint. [Not repeated in his ed.] Warburton (Nichols's Jllust. ii, 648) : The true
word is plainly hest, command. [Not repeated in his ed.] .As these conjectures are
found in the private correspondence between Warburton and Theobald, CAPELL
act in, sc. ill.] HAMLET 283
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage*
Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed; 90
At gaming, swearing ; or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in't ;
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven
And that his soul may be as damn'd and black
As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays. — - 95

89. drunk asleep] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Steev. Var. Cald. Coll. El. White, Del.
Glo.-K drunk-asleep Johns. drunke, 91. gaming, swearing] game a fiuear-
ajleep Qq et cet. ing Q2Q3* game, a /wearing QAQ$t
90. incestuous] inceflious Qq. Jen. game, a-swearing Cam. Cla.
pleasure] pleafures Q'76, Cap. 93. heels may] heele mas Q.QS«

cannot be accused of plagiarism for having adopted hint in his text. Johnson : To
' hent ' is used by Sh. for to seize, to catch, to lay hold on. ' Hcnt ' is therefore hold,
or seizure. 'Lay held on him, sword, at a more horrid time.' Caldecott : * Have
a more fierce, rash, or headlong grasp or purpose.* ' Hyntyn or hentyn, rapio,
arripio.' — Prompt. Parv. White : ' A more horrid having, taking, opportunity.
Staunton: « Feel or be conscious of a more terrible purpose.' Dyce (Gloss.) : A
hold, an opportunity to be seized. Clarendon : Equivalent to grip. Hamlet, as
he leaves hold of his sword, bids it wait for a more terrible occasion to be grasped
again. Moberly: A more fell grasp on the villain. John Davies (N. 6° Qu.t
II March, 1876): More probably here used in a sense common In some of the
western counties, meaning the course or passage of the ploughshare up the furrow.
This is the W. hynt, O. W. hent (Zeuss, 100, 101), a way, a course; compare Lat.
sent-is, Gothic sinths. Hamlet's words would convey to the mind of a West-coun-
tryman a very forcible image ; the sword, in its shearing through the flesh, being
compared to the passage of a ploughshare through the earth.
94> 95* JOHNSON: This speech, in which Ham., represented as a virtuous cha-
racter, isnot content with taking blood for blood, but contrives damnation for the
man that he would punish, is too horrible to be read or to be uttered. M. MASON :
Yet some moral may be extracted from it, as all his subsequent calamities were
owing to this savage refinement of revenge. [Steevens cites from Webster's
White Devil, 1 6 12; The Honest Lawyer, 161 6; the third of Beau. & Fl.'s Four
Plays in One, to show that the same fiend-like disposition is displayed by the
various characters there portrayed. Malone, to the same end, cites Machin's The
Dumb Knight, 1633. As this does not illustrate Sh., but his successors, I have not
repeated the half page from the Var. 1821. Ed.] Reed: I think it not improb-
able, that when Sh. put this horrid sentiment into the mouth of Ham., he might
have recollected the following story : ' One of these monsters meeting his enemie
unarmed, threatned to kill him, if he denied not God, his power, and essential
properties, viz. his mercy, suffrance, &c, the which when the other, desiring life,
pronounced with great horror, kneeling upon his knees ; the bravo cried out, nowi
will I kill thy body and soul e, and at that instant thrust him through with his rapier.'
—Brief Discourse of the Spanish State, with a Dialogue annexed intitled Philoba*
fills, 4to, 1590, p. 24. Caldecott : Sh. had a full justification in the practice of tha
284 HAMLET [act hi, sc. iv.

This physic but prolongs thy sickly days. \Exit.

King. \Rising\
below ;My words fly up, my thoughts remain

Words without thoughts never to heaven go. [Exit.

Scene IV. . The Queen's closet.

Enter Queen and Polonius.

Pol. He will come straight. Look you lay home to him ;

Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with,
And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between
97. [Rising] Rises. Cap. (after up). Enter Queen...] Enter Gertrard.*.
The King rises, and comes forward. Qq.
Theob. + . Om. QqFf. I. He] A Qq.
Scene iv.] Cap. Scene II. R.owe. straight] strait Qq, jen.
Scene xi. Pope, Han. Jen. Scene x. He.. Mm;] Two lines, Ff.
Warb. Johns. 2. bear] berre Fa.
The Queen's closet.] Steev. The 3. screened and] scree* nd, and Ft.
Queen's Apartment. Rowe-f . force* nd, andF^Y^. Om. Q'76.

age in which he lived. The true question is not whether this practice were founded
in religion, but whether or not Sh. gave a faithful picture of human nature in a bar-
barous age. With our ruder Northern ancestors, revenge, in general, was handed
down in families as a duty, and the more refined and exquisite, the more honorable
it was; and this character or. feature of it is to be found in every book that in those
times applies to the subject. And it was a subject brought upon the stage by subse-
quent tragedians as late as the middle of the seventeenth century. Sh. has here in
some sort laid a ground for the introduction of it by making the King himself pro-
claim (IV, vii, 129) : ' Revenge should have no bounds,' and he makes even the
philosophizing and moralizing Squire of Kent, in his beloved retirement from the
turmoils of the world, exclaim on killing Cade, 2 Hen. VI: And as I thrust thy
body in with my sword, So wish I, I might thrust thy soul to hell.' Y/ordsworth
{Shakespeare's Knowledge of the Bible, p. 208) finds for Ham. the same palliation
as does Caldecott.
96. physic] Delius: Hamlet calls his temporary forbearance a physic which
does not impart life to his foe, but prolongs his illness.
96. Hudson : Hamlet here flies off to an ideal revenge, in order to quiet his filial
feelings without violating his conscience ; effecting a compromise between them, by
adjourning a purpose which, as a man, he dare not execute, nor, as a son, abandon.
He afterwards asks Horatio :— ' Is't not a perfect conscience, to quit him with this
arm ?' which confirms the view here taken, as it shows that even then his mind was
not at rest on that score.
97, 98. Coleridge : Oh what a lesson concerning the essential difference between
wishing and willing, and the folly of all motive-mongering, while the individual
self remains!
ACT III, SC. iv.] HAMLET

Much heat and him. I'll silence me e'en here.

Pray you, be round with him.
Ham. \\Vithin~\ Mother, mother, mother ! 5
Queen. I'll warrant you ;
Fear me not Withdraw, I hear him coming.
[Polonius hides behind the arras
Enter Hamlet.

Ham. Now, mother, what's the matter ?

Queen. Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
Ham. Mother, you have my father much offended. 10
Queen. Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.
Ham. Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.

4. silence me e'en] fdence me euen 6, 7. r II. ..coming.] Han. r 11. ..not.

Qq. fdence me e'ene Yx. filence me e'ne One line, QqFf, Rowe+, Cap. Jen. MaL
F3F F4. sconce me even Han. Sing. El. Del. Prose, Cam. Cla.
Coll. ii(MS), Glo. + , Dyce ii, Huds. 6. warrant] wait Q^Qy waite Q4Q^
'sconce me e'en Warb. silence me in Withdraw] you withdraw Han.
Long MS.* here conceal myfelfQ'']6. 7. [Polonius hides...] Rowe (subs.).
5. with him] Om. Qq, Cap. Om. QqFf.
Ham... mother!] Om. Qq, Pope, Enter Hamlet.] After round, line
Han. Cap. Steev. Var. 5, in Qq. Enter Hamlet, abruptly. Cap.
6. Queen.] Qu., Que. or Queen. Ff. 12. Go t go] Come, go F3F4.
Ger. Qq (and throughout the scene, ex- a wicked] an idle Ff, Rowe, Cald.
cept line 51, where it is Quee). Knt, Del. i.

4. silence] Hanmer : 'Sconce is the same as insconce, i. e. to cover or secure.

The same word is used upon a like occasion in Merry Wives, III, iii, 96. Johnson :
The advocates of 'sconce forget that the contrivance of Pol. to overhear the con-
ference was no more told to the Queen than to Ham. * I'll silence,' &c, is * I'll use
no more words.' Hunter (ii, 256): When Qx was altered, the text stood: * I'll
ensconce me here j' in printing en fell out, and was replaced wrongly ; sconce, which
remained, was then altered to * silence.' Delius : As elsewhere, Polonius here
thinks that he cannot be silent without letting it be known that he could and should
say much more. Dyce : ■ Silence ' may be right ; but Hanmer's alteration cannot be
called an improbable one, in view of the corresponding words of Qt. White: Han-
mer's change is very plausible. Staunton : Perhaps Hanmer is right. Cambridge
Editors : We have adopted Hanmer's correction because of the corresponding pas-
sage in Qt.
5. Ham.] Dyce (ed. ii) : I certainly am not disposed to find fault with those
editors who have omitted this speech.
7. Polonius hides] See Appendix, The Hystorie of Hamlet, p. 97.
12. wicked] Dyce: Idle of the Ff was evidently caught by the transcriber or
compositor from the preceding line. Such faulty repetitions are extremely frequent
in the Folio throughout this play. See * my lord,' I, v, 136; 'and if there,' I, v.
286 HAMLET [act hi, sc. to
Queen, Why, how now, Hamlet ?
Ham. What's the matter now ?
Queen. Have you forgot me ?
Ham. No, by the rood, not so ;
You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife ;
And — would it were not so !— you are my mother.
Queen. Nay, then, I'll set those to you that can speak. 20
Ham. Come, come, and sit you down; you shall not budge;
You go not till I set you up a glass
Where you may see the inmost part of you.
Queen. What wilt thou do? thou wilt not murder me?
Help, help, ho !
Pol. [Behind"] What, ho ! help, help, help !
Ham. [Drawing] How now ! a rat ? Dead, for a ducat,
dead ! [Makes a pass through the arras.
16. And — would.... so /— you] Pope
(subs.). And would it were not fo, you + 23. El.
, Jen.[Behind] Cap. Behind the arras.
Qq. But would you were not fo. You Rowe. Om. QqFf.
Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Del. But, 'would, What, ho!., .help l] Ff. What how
you were not so /— You Theob. Warb. helpe. QaQ3. What hoe helpe. QAQ$.
Johns. Del. What ho, help. Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev.
17. set] send Coll. (MS), El. Var. El.
18. you] Om. Q'76. 24. [Drawing] Draws. Mai. (after
budge] boudge QqFxFa. rat?). Om. QqFf.
19. set you ttp]fet up FSF3F4. How. ..dead I] Two half lines, ai-
19, 20. glass Where.... you.] gtajfe. viding at rat? Cap. Mai. Steev. Cald.
Where... you? Ff (glajfe, Fx). Knt.
20. inmost] mojl Qq. vtmojl Q'76. ducat] Duckat Qq. Ducate Ff
22. Help, help, ho /] Helpe, helpe, koa. Ducket Q'76.
FtFa. Help, help, hoa. F3. Helpe how. [Makes... .arras.] Cap. (subs.).
Q2Q3. Helpe hoe. Q4QS. Help, ho. Pope Om. QqFf.

177; 'news,1 II, ii, 52; 'your Honesty,* III, i, no; ' had spoke,' III, ii, y, 'my
choice/ III, ii, 58; 'my functions/ III, ii, 164; 'this same skull, sir,' V, i, 170;
* on sir,' V, ii, 267. White : The Ff may be right, the intended emphasis of
Hamlet's reply being in that case, 'you question with an idle tongue.' Knight
(ed. ii): The antithesis is in 'answer' and 'question,' and not in 'idle' and
'wicked.' Besides, 'wicked' was too strong an epithet for Ham. to apply to his
mother, — inconsistent with that filial respect which he never wholly abandoned.
13, 14. Why . . . me ?] Walker (Grit, ii, 187) : Perhaps all this belongs to the
Queen. Dyce (ed. ii) : I do not think so.
14. rood] Dyce (Gloss.) : The cross, the crucifix. It would appear that, at least
in earlier times, the rood signified not merely the cross, but the image of Christ on
the cross.
24. rat] Collier : In Shirley's Traitor, 1635, Depazzi says of a secreted listener,
ACT III, SC. iv.J HAMLET

Pol. [Behind] Oh, I am slain ! [Falls and dies.

Queen. Oh me, what hast thou done? 25
Ham. Nay, I know not ; is it the king ?
Queen. Oh, what a rash and bloody deed is this ?
Ham. A bloody deed! almost as bad, good mother.
As kill a king, and marry with his brother.
Queen. As kill a king ?
Ham. Ay, lady, 'twas my word. — 30
[Lifts up the arras and discovers Polonius.
Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell !
I took thee for thy better ; take thy fortune ;
Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger. —
Leave wringing of your hands. Peace ! sit you down,
And let me wring your heart; for so I shall, 35
If it be made of penetrable stuff;
If damned custom have not brazed it so,
That it is proof and bulwark against sense.
25. [Behind] Cap. Om. QqFf. cet. Om. QqFf, Rowe + .
[Falls and dies.] falls forward, 31. [To Polonius. Pope. Om. Qq
and dies. Cap. Killes Polonius. Ff. Ff, Rowe, Cap. Jen. Dyce, Sta. Glo. + ,
Om. Qq. Del. Huds.
what hast] hajl F3. rash, intruding] rash-intruding
26. Nay. .. king ?] QqFf, Rowe + Jen. Dyce ii.
Sta. Ktly, Cam. Huds. Cla. Line 25 32. letter] Qq, Pope, Cap. Jen. Steev.
ends at know not ; Cap. et cet. Var. Coll. Dyce, Sta. Glo. + , Del. Huds.
Betters Ff et cet.
30. kill]killd¥9. &'//'</ F3F4, Rowe.
king?] king. Qq. 33. [Drops the arras. White.
'twas") twas F3. it was Qq, Jen. 37. brazed] bra/d Qq. brass1 dG\o. + »
[Lifts.. .discovers...] Glo. + . Lifts 38. is] be Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var»
...sees... Dyce, Sta.White (after line 26), EI. Cam. Cla.
Del. Huds. Lifts up the Arras, and draws sense] thy fenfe Q'03.
forth Polonius. (after line 26), Cap. et

<I smell a rat behind the hangings.' — Works, vol. ii, p. 129, ed. Dyce. [Gifford
asks, in a footnote : * But how did this sneer at Sh. escape the wrath of Messrs
Steevens and Malone?' Ed.] Elze: According to Grimm, Correspondance Litte*
raire Secrete, Jan. IX, 1776, ' Chevalier Rutlige' defends this exclamation from Vol-
taire's sneer on the ground that ' a rat ' was not only symbolic, but also that it often
meant a spy. Compare the phrase, ' smell a rat.*
30. kill a king ?] See Appendix, The Hystorie of Hamblet, p. 94 and p. 100, in
reference to the Queen's innocence; also Q,, line 1532.
38. proof and bulwark] Clarendon : * Proof,' used here adjectively, is origin-
ally a substantive, as in Macb. I, ii, 54, and elsewhere, and thus suggests * bulwark/
which would scarcely have been used for an adjective had it stood alone.
38. sense] Caldecott: Feeling.
288 HAMLET [act hi, sc. iv
Queen. What have I done, that thou darest wag thy
tongue
In noise so rude against me ?
Ham. Such an act 40
That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,
Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose
From the fair forehead of an innocent love,
And sets a blister there ; makes marriage vows
As false as dicers' oaths ; oh, such a deed 45
As from the body of contraction plucks
42. hypocrite] hippocrit Q2Q,. hipo- Cald.
crit Q4. 45. dicer?] Theob. ii. Dicers QqF£
off] o/Qq. dicer's Cald.
44. sets] makes Ff, Rowe, Theob.

42. rose] It is only by keeping steadfastly in mind the many benefits which we
have received at the hands of the early commentators that we can listen with any
patience to their dispute about the meaning of this phrase. Warburton thinks it
refers to an actual flower worn on the side of the face. Steevens accepts the flower
but denies the ' side of the face,' because the text reads * forehead;' it cannot mean
a blush, ■ because the forehead is no proper place for a blush to be displayed in.'
It must be a rose on the forehead, and in proof a figure, in a painted glass window
representing a Morrice- Dance, is cited that bears a flower on the forehead ! (I
hope here be truths !) It makes very little matter that this flower turns out to
be a Deptford Pink ; the flower is there, and the rose in Hamlet follows as of course.
Malone is rather overpowered by this display of learning, but ventures to suggest
that rose might ' only mean the roseate hue.' And then, as if frightened at his own
boldness, hastens to add that ' the forehead certainly appears to us an odd place for
the hue of innocence to dwell on ;' and yet Sh. has represented a smile there, as in
Tro. <5r* Cres. II, ii, 205, and moreover, * that part of the forehead which is situated
between the eyebrows seems to have been considered by our poet as the seat of
innocence and modesty,' as in IV, v, 119. Boswell closes the discussion forever
by saying that * " rose" is put generally for the ornament, the grace, of an innocent
love.' CALDECOTT refers to the proverb frequent in Sh., and found in The London
Prodigal, 1605 : 'As true as the skin between any man's brows.' And, lastly, SINGER
refers to Ophelia's description of Ham. as * the rose of the fair state.'
44. blister] Clarendon: Brands as a harlot. Compare Com. of Err. II, ii, 138.
46. contraction] Warburton: For 'marriage contract.' Caldecott: Anni-
hilates the very principle of contracts. White : There seems to be no better ex-
planation than Warburton's. But I suspect that there is corruption. TsCHISCH-
witz : Probably a misprint for contractation, formed by analogy with the Ital. con-
trattazione. [This conjectural emendation (which Stratmann terms judicious,
and compares with affectation of the Ff for ■ affection ' of the Qq in II, ii, 422)
Tschischwitz inserts in the text, and instructs us to read * body of ' as a trochee. Ed.]
Hudson : « Contraction ' here means the marriage contract ; of which Hamlet holds
religion to be the life and soul, insomuch that without this it is but as a lifeless body.
ACT in, sc. iv.J HAMLET 289

The very soul, and sweet religion makes 4/

A rhapsody of words ; heaven's face doth glow ;
Yea, this solidity and compound mass,
With tristful visage, as against the doom, 50
Is thought-sick at the act.
Queen. Ay me, what act,
That roars so loud and thunders in the index?

48. r hapsody] rapfedy Q3Q3' rapfody Qq, Jen.

Q^FjjF . rapfodie Q . rapfidie Fx. 50, 51. doom. Is] doom. ' Tis Pope.
doth] dooes Q2Q3Q.. does Q . 51. thought-sick'] thought fick QaQ3-
48. 49. glow; Yea,] glow. Yea Ff. ad.] aft. Ah me that aft Q' 76.
glowe Ore Q^Qr glow Ore Q4Q5- glow 51, 52. Ay... index ?] Prose, Ff.
O'er Pope, Warb, Jen. 52. Given to Ham. in Qq, Warb.
49. solidity] folidiry Q4> loud] low'd QaQ3- low'de Qt.
50. tristful] trijlfull FXF3F3. heated lowd Q^F.,.

and must soon become a nuisance. Rather superstitious, perhaps ; but it should be
considered that this play was written nearly three hundred years ago, when marriage
was more a ' despotism ' than it is now. CLARENDON : The word has probably
never been used, before or since, in the same sense.
48. rhapsody] Clarendon : The meaning of the word here is well illustrated
by the following passage from Florio's Montaigne, p. 68, ed. 1603: 'This con-
cerneth not those mingle-mangles of many kindes of stuffe, or, as the Grecians call
them, Rapsodies?
49. solidity.. .mass] Knight: The earth.
50. as against] Warburton reads ' and as 'gainst,' which he says makes « a
fine sense' in comparison with the 'sad stuff' of the original. [See I, i, 158.]
50. doom] That is, doomsday. See Macb. II, iii, 74. Moberly : Heaven blushe*
at you, and the solid mass of earth is sick to think of it, as if it were waiting for the
day of judgement. Malone asks : Had not Sh. St Luke's (xxi, 25, 26) description
of the last day in his thoughts ? Wordsworth {Shakespeare* s Knowledge of the
Bible, p. 305) replies : ' No doubt he had; but why not also the parallel descriptions
of Matthew and of Mark? Yes, and still more, of Peter, 2 Ep. iii, 7-1 1 ; and John,
Rev. xx, 11. The truth is, I fear, that whatever else our poet's critics have been
strong in, they have, for the most part, not been strong in knowledge of the Scrip-
tures ;and that the book which they should have looked to first and most for help
in the illustration of his works is the book which has been generally looked to last
and least.'
51. Is thought-sick] Tschischwitz omits the hyphen, and affirms 'Is' to b«
the ' historical Present,' that is, * Is thought [to be] sick.'
52. and . . . index] Warburton [following the distribution of speeches in Qq] :
To the Queen's question, ' what act?' Ham. replies : ' That roars so loud it thundere
to the Indies? He had before said, Heav'n was shocked at it ; he now tells her it
resounded all the world over. This gives us a very good sense where all sense was
wanting. Edwards {Canons, &C, p. 156, 7th ed.) : Sh. uses 'index' for title, or
prologue. The Index used formerly to be placed at the beginning of a book, not
it the end, as now. Thus, also, in Rich. Ill : II, ii, 149 ; and Oth. II, i, 263.
25 T
29° HAMLET [act hi, sc. \y.

Ham. Look here, upon this picture, and on this, 53

The counterfeit presentment of two brothers.

Malone : Bullokar's Expositor defines an « Index ' by ' A Table in a booke.' The
table was almost always prefixed to books. Indexes, in the modern sense, were veiy
uncommon. Dyce {Gloss.): Index, a prelude, anything preparatory to another.
Tschischwitz : The explanations of * in the index ' are very lame. Instead of
' in,' we should manifestly read is, and the sense is, * What act, that roars so loud
and thunders, is my accuser ?' ' index ' being understood in its ancient judicial
sense.
53. picture] Davies {Dram. Misc., Dublin, 1784, vol. iii, p. 63) : It has been the
constant practice of the stage, since the Restoration, for Ham. to produce from his
pocket two pictures in little of his father and uncle, not much bigger than large coins
or medallions. Instead of movable scenery, which was first introduced from France
by Betterton in 1662, Shakespeare's stage made use of tapestry. Two full-length
portraits in the tapestry of the Queen's closet might be of service in this scene.
Steevens : It is evident from the words, ' A station,' &c, that these pictures, which
are introduced as miniatures on the stage, were meant for whole lengths, being part
of the furniture of the Queen's closet. Ham., who in a former scene had censured
those who gave * forty, fifty ducats apiece' for his uncle's 'picture in little,' would
hardly have condescended to carry such a thing in his pocket. Malone : The in-
troduction ofminiatures in this place appears to be a modern innovation. A print
prefixed to Rowe's edition of Hamlet, 1709, proves this. There the two royal por-
traits are exhibited as half-lengths, hanging in the Queen's closet ; and either thus,
or as whole-lengths, they were probably exhibited from the time of the original
performance to the death of Betterton. To half-lengths, however, the same objec-
tion lies as to miniatures. Steevens : We may also learn that from this print the
trick of kicking the chair down on the appearance of the Ghost was adopted by
modern Hamlets from the practice of their predecessors. Caldecott objects to
miniatures, because the audience could not then be permitted to judge of what they
hear, nor make any estimate of the comparative excellence of the features, nor could
the ' station ' and the ' combination and the form ' be adequately represented in so
confined a space. Completely to do away with the objection that it is not probable
that Ham. should have about him his uncle's picture, a Bath actor once suggested
the snatching of it from his mother's neck. Hunter (ii, 256) : Perhaps Holman's
way was the best. The picture of the then King hung up in the lady's closet, but
the miniature of the king who was dead was produced by Ham. from his bosom.
[Fitzgerald {Life of Garrick, ii, 65) suggests that the pictures be seen with the
mind's eye only ; a suggestion adopted by Irving and Salvini. Fechter follows
the suggestion of the Bath actor mentioned by Caldecott, and tears the miniature
from his mother's neck and casts it away. Rossi not only tears it from his mother's
neck, but dashes it to the ground and stamps on the fragments. Edwin Booth
makes use of two miniatures, taking one from his own neck, and the other from his
mother's. — A. I. Fish.]
54. counterfeit presentment] Caldecott : The picture, or mimic represent
Hon. See Mer. of Ven. Ill, ii, 1 16. Clarendon : ' Counterfeit,' of course, is ht.f
nsed as an adjective It is given by Cotgrave as an equivalent to the French pout.
traict.
act in, sc. iv.] HAMLET 29 1

See what a grace was seated on this brow ; 55

Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove himself;
An eye like Mars, to threaten and command ;
A station, like the herald Mercury
New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill ;
A combination and a form indeed, 60
Where every god did seem to set his seal
To give the world assurance of a man ;
This was your husband. Look you now, what follows ;
Here is your husband ; like a mildew'd ear,
Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes ? 65
Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed,
And batten on this moor ? Ha ! have you eyes ?

55. was] Om. F2F3F4. 60. and a] and Q4QS«

this] his Q4QsFf, Rowe,Cald. Knt. 64. mildew'd] mildewed Q2Q3Q4.
57. and] or Ff, Rowe+, Knt. mil-dewed Q .
59. New- lighted ] Pope. New lighted ear] eare QqFf. deareF9. Deer
QqFt. Now lighted F9F F4, Rowe. ^j?*;
a heaven- kissing] a heaue,a kifs- 65. brother] breath Ff.
ing Qq. a Heauen kijfing F . 67. batten] batton Q4QS-

55. this] For instances of the confusion in Ff of his and this, see Walker, Crit.
ii, 219.
56. Hyperion] See I, ii, 140.
58. station] Theobald: An attitude [in standing]. See Ant. <Sr» Cleo. Ill,
iii, 22.
59. Malone : It is not improbable that Sh. caught this image from Phaer's sEneid,
book iv [line 246. — Clarendon] :—
4 And now approaching neere, the top he seeth and mighty lims
Of Atlas, mountain tough, that Heauen on boystrous shoulders beares; ....
There -first on ground with wings of might doth Mercury arrive.'

CLARENDON: The first seven books of Phaer's translation were published in 1558,
the whole sEneid in 1573, the two last books and the major part of the tenth being
translated by Thomas Twyne.
64. ear] Observe, in Textual Notes, the gradual corruption of ' ear ' into Deer ,
the compositors were misled by that which they corrupted. Ed.
66. fair] Clarendon : This epithet seems either to have suggested the word
* moor ' in the following line, or to have been suggested by it.
66. leave] Leave off, cease. See II, i, 51; III, ii, 164; III, iv, 34.
66. to feed] See Abbott, cited at III, ii, 164.
67. batten] Wedgwood : To thrive, to feed, to become fat. Dutch bat, bet, better,
more. Steevens : Thus, Marlowe's Jew of Malta [p. 297, ed. Dyce, 1850] : ' — a
mess of porridge ? that will preserve life, make her round and plump, and batten
more than you are aware.' Also, Claudius Tiberius Nero, 1607 : ' — and for milk I
battened was with blood.' Caldecott : Thus, Milton's Lycidas, 1. 29 : • Battening
292 HAMLET [act in, sc. iv.

You cannot call it love, for at your age

The hey-day in the blood is tame, it's humble,
And waits upon the judgement; and what judgement 70
Would step from this to this ? Sense sure you have,
Else could you not have motion ; but sure that sense
Is apoplex'd ; for madness would not err,

69. in the] of the Q'76. 7'I-76. Sense.... difference.] Om. F£

it's] its Fa. Rowe, Pope, Han.
71. step] stoop Coll. ii (MS), El. 72. motion] notion Warb. Johns.

our flocks with the fresh dews of night.' Dyce (Gloss.): 'To batten (grow fat),
pinguesco.' — Coles's Lat. and Eng. Diet. Clarendon : Cotgrave gives " to battle '
as equivalent to * Prendre chair,' s. v. * Chair.' The word ■ battels ' is no doubt
derived from the same root. It occurs transitively in the above quotation from
Marlowe and Milton, and intransitively in Jonson's Eox, I, i : ' With these thoughts
so battens.'
69. hey-day] Steevens: Thus, in Ford's ' Tis Pity She's a Whore, 1633:
' must The hey-day of your luxury be fed Up to a surfeit.' Caldecott : High
day is Johnson's explanation. It must mean the meridian glow. See ' such high,
day wit.' — Mer. of Ven. II, ix, 98. Wedgwood : German Heyda ! Heysa ! excla-
mations of high spirits, active enjoyment. Hence, hey-day, the vigor and high
spirits of youth, where the spelling is probably modified under an erroneous im-
pression that there is something in the meaning of the word which indicates a
certain period of life. Clarendon : The meaning is obvious, but the derivation
uncertain.
71. step] Collier (ed. 2) : Stoop is from the (MS) with evident fitness, in refer-
ence to the disadvantageous comparison Ham. is drawing. Elze pronounces this a
brilliant emendation.
71. Sense] Warburton: From what philosophy our editors learnt this, I cannot
tell. Since motion depends so little upon sense, that the greatest part of motion in
the universe is amongst bodies devoid of sense. We should read : * Else, could you
not have notion' i. e. intellect, reason, &c. This alludes to the famous peripatetic
principle of Nil Jit in intellectu, quod non fuerit in sensu. Capell (i, 140) : ' Sense5
Is reason ; since she moved and performed other actions that belonged to humanity,
the presumption was she had the reason belonging to it. Steevens : Whichsoever
of the readings be the true one, the poet was not indebted to this boasted philoso-
phy [referred to by Warburton] for his choice. MALONE : ■ Sense ' has been already
used for sensation in line 38, above. Staunton : The meaning is : « Sense (i. e.
the sensibility to appreciate the distinction between external objects) you must have,
or you would no longer feel the impulse of desire.' This signification of ' motion'
might be illustrated by numerous examples from our early writers, but the accom-
panying out of Sh. will suffice: Meas. for Meas. I, iv, 59; Oth. I, iii, 95; Ibid. I,
iii, 334. Clarendon : ' Motion ' is emotion, as in Meas. for Meas. cited above.
Moberly inclines to Staunton's explanation.
73. apoplex'd] Clarendon : We have ' apoplex,' for ' apoplexy,' in Ben Jonscn,
For. I, i, p. 188, ed. Gifford: 'How does his apoplex?' And in Beau. & Fl.
act III, sc. iv.] HAMLET 293

Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd

But it reserved some quantity of choice, 75
To serve in such a difference. What devil was't
That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind ?
Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight, tap
Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all, ^
Or but a sickly part of one true sense 80
Could not so mope.
O shame ! where is thy blush ? Rebellious hell,
If thou canst mutine in a matron's bones,
To flaming youth let virtxrer15e as wax

74. sense] fenc Q4 Pope, Han.

77. cozen'd] cofund QaQ3- cofond 79. sans] fance Qq.
Q Q . coufend FxFa. 81,82. Could. Mush?] One line, Qq.
hoodman] hodman Qq. 82. Rebellious hell] Separate line,
hoodman-blind] Hyphen om., Q2 Qq.
Q , Pope, Theob. Warb. Johns. hell] heat Han.
78-81. Eyes. ..mope.] Om. Ff, Rowe, 83. mutine] mutiny Rowe+, Jen.

Philaster, II, ii : ' She's as cold of her favour as an apoplex.' The word is not
found in Sh. ; for the reading ■ apoplex ' in 2 Hen. IV: IV, iv, 130, is a conjectural
emendation made by Pope for the metre's sake.
73. err] Clarendon : ' Would not err so,' the sense being completed by what
follows.
74. thrall'd] Hudson : Sense was never so dominated by the delusions of in-
sanity but that it retained some power of choice.
75. quantity] Clarendon: 'Portion.' Some disparagement is implied in the
word, as in III, ii, 38 ; V, i, 258; King John, V, iv, 23.
77. hoodman-blind] Singer : ' The Hoodwinke play, or hoodmanblinde, inc
some places called the blindmanbuf.' — Baret's Alvearie. Collier (ed. 2) : An ex-
planation ofthe game, if wanted, may be found in Strutt's Sports and Pastimes.
Clarendon: See Alls Well, IV, iii, 136. Cotgrave gives: ' Clignemusset. The
childish play called Hodman blind, Harrie-racket, or, are you all hid.'
81. mope] Steevens: Could not exhibit such marks of stupidity. See Temp.
V, i, 239.
82. hell] Warburton : Hanmer's change is nonsense. White : Hanmer's
change is very specious.
83. mutine] Steevens: Mutineers are called 'murines ' in V, ii, 6. Malone.
To ' mutine ' anciently signified to rise in mutiny. Thus, in Knolles's History of
the Turks, 1603 : « The Janisaries — became wonderfully discontented and began to
mutine in diverse parts of the citie.' Clarendon : See Jonson's Sejanus, III, i :
* Had but thy legions there rebell'd or mutined.' The verb does not occur again in
Sh. Cotgrave gives: 'Mutiner: to mutine,' and 'Mutinateur: a mutiner.' Thfe»
form, mutiner, occurs in Cor. I, i, 254, but in Temp. Ill, ii, 41, Yt has ' mutineere/
TSee also Walker, Vers. 222.]

25*
 294 HAMLET [act hi, sc. iv

And melt in her own fire ; proclaim no shame 85

When the compulsive ardour gives the charge,
Since frost itself as actively doth burn,
And reason panders will.
Queen. O Hamlet, speak no more ;
Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul,
And there I see such black and grained spots 90
As will not leave their tinct.
Ham. Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
86. ardour] Pope. ardure QqFf, my Qq.
Rowe. 90. grained] greeued Q9Q3Q.. greiuea
88. And] As Ft, Rowe. Qg.
*
panders'] pardons Qq, Pope,Tsch. 91. not leave A Isaue there Qq.
Hamlet] Om. Seymour. 92. enseamed] infeemed Q2Q3- in
\ 89. eyes into my very] very eyes into cejluous QAQS, Rowe+, Cap. Jen.

85. her own fire] Delius : This refers to 'flaming youth.'

88. panders] Theobald: Suffers Reason to be the Bawd to Appetite. Malone:
See Ven. &> Ad. 792.
90. grained] Marsh (Lectures on the English Language, New York, 1859, p.
67, et seq.) : Granum, in Latin, signifies a seed or kernel, and it was early applied
to all small objects resembling seeds, and finally to all minute particles. Hence it
was applied to the round, seed-like form of the dried body, or rather ovarium, of an
insect of the genus coccus, which furnished a variety of red dyes. Granum becomes
grana in Spanish, graine in French, and grain in English, meaning a dye produced
by the coccus insect, often called in commerce kermes. The color obtained from
kermes or grain was peculiarly durable. When, then, a merchant recommended his
purple stuffs as being dyed in grain, he originally meant that they were dyed with
kermes, and would wear well; and this phrase was afterwards applied to other
colors, as a mode of expressing the quality of durability. See Com. of Err. Ill, ii,
108; and Twelfth Night, I, v, 256. In both these examples [as also in the present
instance from Hamlet] it is the sense of permanence (a well-known quality of the
purple produced by the grain or kermes) that is expressed. It is familiarly known
that if wool be dyed before spinning, the color is usually more permanent than when
the spun yarn or manufactured cloth is first dipped in the tincture. When the origi-
nal sense of grain grew less familiar, and it was used chiefly as expressive of fast-
ness of color, the name of the effect was transferred to an ordinary known cause, and
dyed in grain, originally meaning dyed with kermes, then dyed with fast color, came
at last to signify dyed in the wool or other raw material. Clarendon : Cotgrave has
' Graine : . . . graine wherewith cloth is dyed in graine ; Scarlet dye, Scarlet in graine.'
91. leave] Steevens: 'To part with, give up.' See Two Gent. IV, iv, 79;
Mer. of Ven. V, i, 172.
92. enseamed] Theobald : Seam is properly the fat or grease of a hog. It i%
used in Tro. <5r» Cres. II, iii, 195. Steevens: Beau. & Fl. use inseamed \n the same
tense. See [ Triumph of Death, p. 535, vol. ii, ed. Dyce] : ' His lechery inseamed
 act III, sc. iv.] HAMLET 295

Stcw'd in corruption, honeying and making love 93

Dver the nasty sty, —
Queen. O, speak to me no more ;
These words like daggers enter in mine ears. 95
No more, sweet Hamlet !
Ham. A murderer and a villain ;
A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe
Of your precedent lord ; a vice of kings ;
94. sty, — ] sty ; — Theob. Jiie. Qq. Cam.
Sfye.F^JF. Sty. F<t Rowe, Pope, sty! 97. that is not] that's not the Q'70.
Johns. that is not a Ktly.
to me] Om. Pope + . not] not' Ed. conj.
me no] me, no Ff, Rowe. twentieth] twentith Qq.
95. mine] Ff. my Qq, Cap. Jen. tithe] tythe Ff. kyth Qq.

upon him.' In The Book of Haukyng, bl. 1., n. d., we are told that ' ensayme of a
hauke is the grece.' In Randle Holme's Academy of Armory and Blazon, B. II,
ch. ii, p. 238, we are told that ' Enseame is the purging of a hawk from her glut
and grease.' From the next page in the same work we learn that the glut is ' a
slimy substance in the belly of the hawk.' Henley : In the West of England the
inside fat of a goose, when dissolved by heat, is called its seam. White : The
phrase is so gross that, were it not for Hamlet's mood, we might willingly believe
that incestuous of Q4QS is the true text. [Cotgrave gives : ■ Gramouse, a dish made
of slices of cold meat fryed with Hogs seame.' There is also a note on this passage in
the valuable essay: New Shakespearian Interpretations, Edin. Rev. Oct. 1872, p.
355, but the foregoing explanations are ample for so unsavory a subject. Ed.]
95. enter in] Abbott (§ 159) : In for into, with enter, see Rich. II : II, iii,
160; Rich. Ill; V, iii, 227.
97. tithe] Stratmann : Kyth of the Qq is evidently the true reading.
98. vice] Theobald was the first who noted that this means « that buffoon cha-
racter which used to play the Fool in old Plays.' In the Variorum notes to 2 Hen.
IV: III, ii, 343, various fanciful etymologies of the word are given. Douce (i, 468)
closes the discussion by showing that the character in the old moral-plays, known as
the ' Vice,' was doubtless so named from the vicious qualities attributed to him, and
from the mischievous nature of his general conduct. Collier [Hist, of Eng. Dram.
Poetry, ii, 264, et sea.) gives the best account of this curious personage in a passage
quoted by Dyce (Gloss.) : As the Devil now and then appeared without the Vice,
so the Vice sometimes appeared without the Devil. Malone tells us that ' the prin-
cipal employment of the Vice was to belabor the Devil;' but, although he was
frequently so engaged, he had higher duties. He figured now and then in the
religious plays of a later date, and, in The Life and Repentance of Mary Mag-
dalen, 1567, he performed the part of her lover, before her conversion, under the
name of Infidelity; in King Darius, 1565, he also acted a prominent part, by
his own impulses to mischief, under the name of Iniquity, without any prompting
from the representative of the principle of evil. Such was the general style of the
Vice, and as Iniquity he is spoken of by Sh. (Rich. Ill : III, i, 82) and Ben Jonson
{Staple of News, second Intermean). The Vice and Iniquity seem, however, some-
 296 HAMLET [act in, sc. iv.

A cutpurse of the empire and the rule,

That from a shelf the precious diadem stole 100
And put it in his pocket !
Queen. No more !
Ham. A king of shreds and patches —
Enter Ghost.

Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings,

99. the rule,] a rogue Rann conj. Ff. patches, all unseemly. Seymoui.
101. pocket!'] pocket, a — Seymour. Enter Ghost.] Sing, ii, Dyce, Sta.
Queen. No more!] Om. QQ, Ktly, Glo. + , Del. Huds. Before line
Pope. 102 in QqFf et cet. Enter the Ghoft in
No] Oh! no Han. his night gowne. Qf, Ktly. Enter Ghosf
102. of... patches] Separate line, Steev. unarmed. Coll. (MS).
Cald. Knt. 103. [Starting up. Rowe + , Jen.
patches — ] patches, Qq. patches.

times to have been distinct persons, and he was not unfrequently called by the name
of particular vices ; thus, in Lusty yuventus, the Vice performs the part of Hypoc-
risy :in Common Conditions he is called Conditions ; in Like will to Like, he is
named Nichol New-fangle ; in The Trial of Treason his part is that of Inclination ;
in All for Money he is called Sin ; in Tom Tyler and his Wife, Desire ; and in
Appius and Virginius, Haphazard Though Douce is unquestionably correct
when he states that the Vice ' was generally dressed in a fool's habit ' [hence the
expression in Hamlet, ' A king of shreds and patches.' — Dyce], he did not by any
means constantly wear the parti-colored habiliments of a fool ; he was sometimes
required to act a gallant, and now and then to assume the disguise of virtues it suited
his purpose to personate. In The Trial of Treasure, 1567, he was not only pro-
vided, as was customary, with his wooden dagger, but, in order to render him more
ridiculous, with a pair of spectacles (no doubt of a preposterous size) The
Vice, like the Fool, was sometimes furnished with a dagger of lath, and it was not
unusual that it should be gilt Tattle [in Jonson's Staple of News] observes
that ' there is never a fiend to cany him [the Vice] away,' and in the first Inter-
mean of the same play Mirth leads us to suppose that it was a very common termi-
nation of the adventures of the Vice for him to be carried off to hell on the back of
the Devil ; ' he would carry away the Vice on his back, quick to hell, in every play
where he came.' In The Longer thou livest the more Tool thou art, and in Like
will to Like, the Vice is disposed of nearly in this summary manner : in the first,
Confusion carries him to the Devil, and in the last, Lucifer bears him off to the in-
fernal regions on his shoulders. In King Darius the Vice runs to hell of his own
accord, to escape from Constancy, Equity, and Charity. According to Bishop Hars-
net (in a passage cited by Malone, — Shakespeare, by Boswell, iii, 27), the Vice was
in the habit of riding and beating the Devil, at other times than when he was carried
against his will to punishment.
99. cutpurse] Clarendon : Purses were usually worn outside attached to the

102. Enter Ghost] Collier (ed. 2): The stage direction of Qx shows that at
girdl~
act in, sc. !▼.] HAMLET 297

You heavenly guards !— What would your gracious figure ?

Queen. Alas, he's mad ! 105
Ham. Do you not come your tardy son to chide,
That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go by
The important acting of your dread command ?
Oh, say !
Ghost. Do not forget. This visitation I IO
Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose.

104. your] you Ff. you, Rowe, Cald. 107, 108. passion. ..dread] per/on...
Knt, Coll. El. Corson. dead Q'76.
105. Om. Seymour. 109. Oh. say /] As in Theob. Closes
he's] hee's Qq. hes Ft. previous line, QqFf, Rowe, Pope.
mad I] mad — Theob. Warb. ill. almost blunted] almost-blunted
Johns. Jen. Ktly, Huds.

that date, in this scene, the spirit was not apparelled as when it had before appeared
on the platform. This is important, because it completely explains Hamlet's excla-
mation in line 135. In the (MS) it is unarmed. If, therefore, the Ghost did not
wear a 'nightgown,' he was unarmed at the time of the old annotator. Elze:
'Who,' asks Goethe (Nachgelassene Werke, voL v, p. 61), in reference to the stage-
direction in Qx, ' does not feel a momentary pang on comprehending this ? to whom
is it not repulsive ? And yet when we grasp it, and reflect upon it, we find that it
is the right way.' The Ghost is not here introduced, as in Act I, in warlike guise,
but in his every-day clothing We must not be too precise in the matter of
this nightgown, — it refers to the ordinary clothes of the old king. Keightley
{Exp. p. 294) : As the Ghost makes but one short speech, if it could be so managed,
it would be more psychologic and effective for him to remain invisible, except to
Ham. mentally, and his voice only be heard by the audience. Clarendon : Night-
gown here is the same as dressing-gown.
103. me . . . me] Marshall (p. 51) : The use of the singular number may be
accidental, or it may intimate that Ham. felt this visitation to be addressed to him
alone. On the former occasion he used the plural.
104. would your] Dyce : The compositor of the Folio has here omitted by mis-
take the letter r. Stratmann agrees with Dyce. Corson : Making ' figure ' the
vocative [as in Rowe's text] is the better reading. ' Figure ' doesn't make, logically,
a very good subject to ' would.'
107. time and passion] Johnson : That, having suffered time to slip and. passion
to cool, lets go, &c. Clarendon : Or rather the indulgence of mere passion has
diverted him from the execution of his purpose. Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) has
fume for ' time.' We do not adopt fume, because, though it may have been the
word used by some actor when the old annotator saw the play, we doubt if it were
the word of Sh., who probably used ' laps'd in time ' to indicate Hamlet's indecision,
which had allowed the proper period for revenge to escape. Elze applauds and
adopts fume.
108. important] Clarendon : Urgent, requiring immediate attention. Compare
Mu<h Ado TI, i, 74; Tro. &> Cres. V, i, 89.
298 HAMLET [act hi, sc. iv.

But look, amazement on thy mother sits ; 112

Oh, step between her and her fighting soul ;
Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works ;
Speak to her, Hamlet.
Ham. How is it with you, lady ? 115
Queen. Alas, how is't with you,
That you do bend your eye on vacancy
And with the incorporal air do hold discourse ?
Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep ;
And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, 120
Your bedded hair, like life in excrements,
Starts up and stands an end. O gentle son,
Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper
Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look ?

11 3* fighting] fighing Q4QS- 121. hair] haire QqFxF9. hairs

117. you do] you doe Qq. you Fx, Rowe + , Jen. White, Cam.
Cald. thus you F2F F , Rowe + , Cap. like... excrements] Om. Q'76.
118. the incorporal] th? incorporall 122. Starts... stands] Start. ..Jland Qa
Qq. their corporall Fx. the corporall Q , Ff, Rowe+, Jen. Cald. White, Cam.
F2F . th? incorporeal Q'76. the Cor- Cla. Start... stands Knt.
poral F4, Rowe. an end] QqFf, Cap. Jen. Dyce i,
121. bedded] beaded Q^Q,- Om. Q'76. Glo. + , Mob. on end Pope ii, et cet.

114. Conceit] Imagination. See II, ii, 530; IV, v, 43; Rom. 6° Jul. II, vi, 30,
and Craik's note {English of Shakespeare, p. 135).
118. incorporal] See Clarendon's note on Macb. I, iii, 81.
121. hair . . . Starts] Clarendon [reading * hair . . . Start'] : ' Hair,' in fact,
may be considered as a noun of multitude, and the intervention of the plural sub-
stantive,excrements,'
' would also suggest the plural verb.
121. excrements] Pope: The hairs are excrementitious, that is, without life or
sensation. Malone: See Macb.V, v, 11-13. Whalley: Not only the hair of
animals having neither life nor sensation was called an excrement, but the feathers
of birds had the same appellation. Thus, in Izaak Walton's Compleat Angler, P.
I, c. i, p. 9, ed. 1766: 'I will not undertake to mention the several kinds of fowl
by which this is done, and his curious palate pleased by day ; and which, with their
very excrements, afford him a soft lodging at night.' Nares : Everything that
appears to vegetate or grow upon the human body ; as the hair, the beard, the nails.
Dyce (Gloss.) : 'And albeit hayre were of it selfe the most abiect excrement that
were, yet should Poppaeas hayre be reputed honourable. I am not ignorant that
hayre is noted by many as an excrement, a fleeting commodity An excrement
it is, I deny not,' &c. — Chapman's yustification of a strange action of Nero, &c.
1629, sig. b 2. Clarendon : Bacon, Natural History, cent. 1, sect. 58, says, ' Living
creatures put forth (after their period of growth) nothing that is young but hair and
nails, which are excrements and no parts.'
122. an end] See I, v, 19.
»cr in, sc. iv.] HAMLET 299

Ham. On him, on him ! Look you, hovv pale he glares ! 125

His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones,
Would make them capable. — Do not look upon me,
Lest with this piteous action you convert
My stern effects ; then what I have to do
Will want true colour! tears perchance for blood. 130
Queen. To whom do you speak this ?
Ham. Do you see nothing there ?
Queen. Nothing at all ; yet all that is I see.
Ham. Nor did you nothing hear ?
Queen. No, nothing but ourselves.
Ham. Why, look you there ! look, how it steals away !
My father, in his habit as he lived! 135
125. glares'] gleres Q . 131. whom] who Ft.
126. conjoin'd'] conioy 'tied QjQ^ [Pointing to the Ghost. Rowe + ,
127. upon] on Pope + . Jen.
129. effects] affecls Sing. Ktly, Huds. 132. is] is there Q4Q5-
I have] have I FF.
127. capable] Susceptible. See III, ii, 11.
129. effects] Malone: Used for actions ; deeds effected. Singer: We should
certainly read affects, i. e. dispositions, affections of the mind, as in Oth. I, iii, 264.
It is remarkable that we have the same error in Meas. for Meas. Ill, i, 24. The
'piteous action' of the Ghost could not alter things already effected, but might move
Ham. to a less stern mood of mind. Stratmann pronounces this conj. of Singer's
very plausible. Hudson : I can find no meaning in * effects ' that will run smooth
with the context. Clarendon : The accomplishment of my stern purposes.
130. true colour] Caldecott : Change the nature of my fell purposes, ends, or
what I mean to effect. And make those purposes lose their proper character. The
expression somewhat resembles that of the Queen, line 91, ' leave their tinct.'
131. nothing there ?] Seymour (ii, 188): Upon this question of Hamlet's we
see on the stage the Queen turning anxiously and slowly her looks about the room as
if she expected to find the object referred to; whereas, she entertains no such appre-
hension, but is solely occupied in anxiety at her sen's distraction. The actresses
make the Queen as mad as Ham., and are generally applauded for their mistake.
134. steals] Miscellaneous Obs. on Hamlet (0. 44) : Surely Sh. wrote stalks.
He uses the same word twice before in this play, describing the gait of the appari-
tion. [Thus also Quincy (MS).]
135. See notes on stage-direction, line 102. Steevens, not having the aid af-
forded byQx, endeavored to get rid of the discrepancy between the 'armor' of the
earlier scenes and the ■ habit ' here by punctuating the line thus : • My father — in his
habit — as he lived !' Mason (p. 390) : A man's armor, who is used to wear it, may
be called his habit, as well as any other kind of clothing. ' As he lived ' means ' as
if he were alive — as if he lived.' [It is probable, as Clarendon suggests, that ' the
Ghost appears in the ordinary dress of the king.']
135 as] As if. See I, ii, 217.
 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. iv.
3oo where he goes, even now, out at the portal ! \_Exit Ghost.
Look,
Queen. This is the very coinage of your brain ; 137
This bodiless creation ecstasy , , , .'- -• ■ ' *
Is very cunning in.
Ham. * Ecstasy ' ?
My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time, 140
And makes as healthful music ; it is not madness
That I have utter'd ; bring me to the test,
And I the matter will re-word, which madness
Would gambol from. Mother, foi love of grace,
Lay not that flattering unction to your soul, 145
That not your trespass but my madness speaks ;
It will but skin and film the ulcerous place,
Whilst rank corruption, mining all within,
Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven ;
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come, 150
136. even'] ev'n Pope + . 142. utter 'd] vttred Qq. uttered Ff,
[Exit Ghost.] Exit. Ff. Rowe, Cald. Knt.
138, 139. This. ..in.] One line, QqFf, 143. And I the] And the Qq.
Rowe. re-word] re-ward Q'03.
138. bodiless] bodily Col. i, El. (mis- 144. Would gambol from. Mother t\
print ?) Cannot do mother, Q'76.
139. Ecstasy?] Extasie ? Ff. Om. 145. that] a Ff, Rowe.
ecstasy What ecstasie ? Pope + , Cap. 148. Whilst] Ff, Rowe + , Jen. Bos.
t Steev. How ! ecstasie I Sey- Coll. El. Dyce, White, Del. Glo. Huds.
mour. Whiles Qq et cet.
Qq. Om. Q'76.
140. yours] youre Fa. mining] running FF, Rowe,
Pope.
141. it is] ' Tis Pope + , Dyce ii, Huds.

136. Marshall (p. 52) : When the Ghost has passed through the door, Ham.
breaks away from his mother's hold, and throws himself on his knees at the spot
where the Ghost disappears, as fain to catch at its robe to detain it.
137. brain] White: The six lines following this in Qx, in which there is a de-
nial by the Queen of knowledge of her first husband's murder, I do not believe
were written by Sh.
138. ecstasy] See II, i, 102. Malone: Compare Rape of Luc. 460.
139-155. Clarke: Let any one who is inclined to be swayed by the special
pleading and question-begging of those who maintain that Ham. is really mad, read
carefully over this speech, with its sad earnestness, its solemn adjuration, its sober
remonstrance, and ask himself whether Sh. could by possibility have intended his
hero to be otherwise than most sane and sound of mind.
144. for love] For the omission of the definite article compare V, ii, 51, « writ
up in form,' and see Abbot" § 89.
150. what is to come] Seymour ( ii, 189) : What is to come cannot be avoided:
perhaps, read ' what else will come,' i. t , without repentance.
act in, sc. iv.] HAMLET 301

And do not spread the compost o'er the weeds, 1 51

To make them ranker. Forgive me this my virtue,
For in the fatness of these pursy times
Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg,
Yea, courb and woo for leave to do him good. 15?
Queen. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
Ham. O, throw away the worser part of it,
And live the purer with the other half.
Good night ; but go not to mine uncle's bed ;
Assume a virtue, if you have it not. 160
151. o'er'] Cald. Knt, Walker .Corson. 155. him'] *VPope + ,Jen.
or Ff. on Qq et cet. 156. O Hamlet] Separate line, Ff.
152. ranker] rancker Q2Q3Q4- ranke in huain] Om. Q'76.
FXF2. rank F3F4,Pope,
me] Om. Cald. Han.
Knt. ' 157. O] Then
158. live] leaue Q'76.
Qq.
153. these] this Fx. 159. mine] my Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev.
155. courb] Ffl Theob. Han. Warb. Var. Cald. Dyce ii, Cam. Cla. Huds.
Cap. Ktly. curbe QqF . courbe Fa. 160. not.] not. Once more goodnight,
curb F4 et cet. Q'76.
151. weeds] Johnson: Do not, by any new indulgence, heighten your former
offences.
152-155. Forgive . . . good.] Staunton: Although the modern edd. uniformly
print this as if Ham. addressed it to the Queen, nothing can be more evident than
that it is an imploration to his own virtue. [Staunton therefore marks it as an
'Aside,' with a comma after 'Forgive me this,'.] Clarke: Surely the context
shows that Ham. asks his mother to pardon the candor of his virtuous reproof, empha-
sising itby line 153. Daniel (p. 75) also suggested a comma between ' this ' and * my.'
[I agree with Clarendon, that Staunton's ' Aside' has great probability. Ed.]
153. fatness . . . pursy] Delius: The same connection of ideas between these
words is repeated in V, ii, 274. Clarendon : Cotgrave gives ' Poulsif . . . Pursie,
short-winded, breathing with difficultie.'
155. courb] Steevens: Bend and truckle. From French courber. So, in the
Vision of Piers Ploughman, 1. 617 (ed. T. Wright) : ' Thanne I courbed on my knees,
And cried hire of grace.' Clarendon adds line 880 also. Walker (Crit. iii,
267) : It would be better, for distinctness' sake, to write, with Fx, courb ; as Carv
does, Purg. x, 1. 104. Daniel (p. 75) to the same effect.
156. thou] Note the use of the more affectionate 'thou.'
156. twain] Seymour (ii, 190) : The Queen means by this that her heart is di
vided between compunction at her misconduct and a sense of her duty.
157, 158. Moberly: The manly compassion of a pure heart to the weak and
fallen could not express itself with more happy persuasiveness than in this reply,
which takes the unhapp- Queen's mere wail of sorrow and transmutes it to a soul-
strengthening resolve.
157. worser] For instances of double comparatives, see II, i, II; III, ii, 291
V, ii, 121.
158. live] Stratmann : Ltzve, of the Qq, seems to be the true reading
26
302 HAMLET [act hi, sc. iv

That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, 161

161-165. That... put on, ,] Om. Ff. Han. Warb. Cap. Coll. ii, Huds. eai
161, 162. eat, Of habits devil ',] Q'76, Of habits, devil, Johns. Jen. Coll. i, Del.
fald. Dyce,Glo. + , Clarke, eate Of habits i, El. eat — Of habits devil, — Knt.
ieuill, Qq. eat Of habit's devil, Rowe, eat, Oft habits' devil, Sta. Del. ii. eat,
Steev. Var. Sin^-. i. eat, Of habits — O shapeless devil !— Bullock conj.*
devil, Pope, eat Of habits evil, Theob.

161, 162. eat . . . devil] Theobald: 'Habits devil' arose from the supposed
necessity of contrasting devil and angel. * Habits evil* I owe to the sagacity of Df
Thirlby. That is, custom, which, by inuring us to ill habits, makes us lose the ap-
prehension oftheir being really ill, as easily will reconcile us to the practice of good
actions. Theobald, in his correspondence with Warburton (Nichols's Illust. of Lit.
ii, 574), says: 'I would read and point "doth eat Of habits evil," &c, i.e. of
the evil of habit.' [Herein he is followed by Singer (ed. 2) and White. Ed.]
Johnson : I think Thirlby's conjecture wrong ; angel and devil are evidently opposed.
Malone : I incline to think with Dr Thirlby. Steevens : I would read : Or habit's
devil. The poet first styles custom a monster, and may aggravate and amplify his
description by adding, that it is the ' daemon who presides over habit.' — That mon-
ster custom, or habit's devil, is yet an angel in this particular. Boswell : ' Habit's
devil ' means a devil in his usual habits. Becket (i, 60) and Mitford (Gent.
Maga. 1845) both conjectured 'If habit's devil;' the latter paraphrases: 'If that
monster, custom, which in general is the devil of habit, leading to evil, yet in this
thing acts the good part of angel,' &c. Caldecott : ' That monster, custom, who
devours all sense, all just and correct feeling, (being also) the evil genius of (our)
propensities or habits, is, nevertheless, in this particular a good angel.' It has been
suggested that if a comma were placed after ' habits ' the sense would be — 'A monster
or devil, who makes mankind insensible to the quality of actions which are habit-
ual.' Knight : The edd. who have made ' habits ' the genitive case cannot explain
their own reading. As we print the passage it means : custom, who destroys all
nicety of feeling, — sense, — sensibility, — who is the devil that governs our habits, —
is yet an angel in this, &c. Collier (ed. 1): Our punctuation means, 'that
monster, custom, who is a devil, devouring all sense of habit, is still an angel
in this,' &c. Singer (ed. ii) : The old copy indicates clearly the misprint, for the
word is here devill, while just below and elsewhere it is uniformly divell when
the evil spirit is meant. Delius (ed. i) : The opposition between ' angel ' and
• devil ' shows that the latter as well as the former refers to ' monster, custom :'
' devil,' therefore, must be in apposition, separated, it is true, from the subject by
the subordinate clause. Collier (ed. ii) : We now adopt Thirlby's emendation,
although it is very possible that an opposition between ' devil ' and ' angel ' was
intended. Still, the passage is decidedly corrupt. White: The text of the Qq
is clearly wrong. 'Angel' is opposed to 'monster' in the line above. The old
text also nullifies the force of the important word ' likewise,' two lines below.
Staunton : The trifling change we have taken the liberty to make, while doing
little violence to the original, may be thought, it is hoped, to give at least as good a
meaning as any other which has been proposed. Keightley : The verb ' eate '
here could never have come from the poet's pen ; for it makes pure nonsense. I
read create with the g eatest confidence, of which the first two letters must have
 1
ACT III, SC. iv.] rrstMLET 303 65
162
Of habits devil, is angel yet in this,
That to the use of actions fair and good
He likewise gives a frock or livery,
That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night,
And that shall lend a kind of easiness
To the next abstinence ; the next more easy ;
For use almost can change the stamp of nature,
And either master the devil, or throw him out
1(35. on. Refrain to-night] Johns. Walker, Dyce ii. And either the Q3Q3-
Jen. Dyce, Sta. White, Ktly, Glo. + , Del. And Maifler the Q4, Cald. And maflet
on to refraine night Qq. on : refrain
the Q5Q'76, Rowe, Knt, Coll. El. Dyce i,
tonight Q'76, Rowe. on: Refrain to- Sta. Del. And master ev'n the Pope + .
night Pope et cet. And master even the Cap. And either
Refrain to night] Closes l.i6o,Ff. curb the Mai. Steev. Bos. Chalmers, Sing,
167-170. the next more... potency.] ii, White, Ktly, Iluds. And overcome the
Om. Ff. Tsch. And either ?nate the Anon.* And
168. almost can] can almost Rowe+. wither up the Bullock.* And either
169. And. ..the] Jen. Steev. (1785), the Glo. + .

been effaced in the poet's MS. We have an exact parallel in smelly ' all,' in Timon,
I, ii, 132. ' Sense ' seems here to signify kind, manner, way. [Keightley's text
reads : ' That monster, custom, who all sense doth create Of habits, devil is angel
yet in this,' &c, which is to me unintelligible. Ed.] Clarendon : The words as
they stand yield a very intelligible sense and require no alteration. That monster,
Custom, who destroys all natural feeling and prevents it from being exerted, and is
the malignant attendant on habits, is yet angel in this respect, &c. The double
meaning of the word 'habits' suggested the 'frock or livery' in 1. 164. Mo-
berly: This noble passage contains Shakespeare's philosophy of custom (£6og),
in which, happier than some professed moralists, he sees that the function of habit
is to work upward towards a formed resolution.
164. livery] Moberly: Just as a new dress or uniform becomes familiar to us by
habit, so custom enables us readily to execute the outward and practical part of the
good and fair actions which we inwardly desire to do.
169. master] Malone: For the insertion of the word curb I am answerable.
The printer or corrector of a late Quarto, finding the line nonsense, omitted the word
either, and substituted master in its place. The modern editors have accepted the
substituted word, and yet retain either ; by which the metre is destroyed. The word
omitted in the first copy was undoubtedly a monosyllable. Steevens : This very
rational conjecture may be countenanced by the same expression in Mer. of Ven. IV,
i, 217. Singer (ed. i) [reading ' either quell, followed by Moberly] : The occur-
rence of curb in so opposite a sense just before is against Malone's emendation.
Staunton : ' Master,' which, as it affords sense, though destructive to the metre, we
retain, not, however, without acknowledging a preference for Malone's emendation.
Walker, Vers. 75 : Read < either master th' devil,' &c. Moreover, ' curb ' occurs
fourteen lines before. — Grit, i, 308. Bailey (ii, 12) : Ham. means to say that cus-
tom can either bring the devil into our natures, or throw him out. I therefore pro-
pose : ' And either house the devil,' which forms an appropriate counterpart to
 3°4 HAMLET [act in, sc. iv.

[169. 'either master the devil.']

'throw him out.' Forsyth proposed the same word in his Notes, &c, 102, and also
in N. &* Qu., 1 Dec. '66. Elze (Athenaum, 11 Aug. '66) proposes, 'And either
usher the devil,' and thinks that the similarity of sound in the two consecutive words,
* either usher,' may have caused the compositor of Qx to omit the latter. H. D.
{Athenczum, 18 Aug. '66) : Why not read, ' To master the devil, and throw him out.'
Bolton Corney (N. &> Qu., 8 Dec. '66): Read 'And either aid the,' &c. J.
Wetherell (N. &■» Qu., 22 Dec. '66) believes that sound and sense are satisfied by
' And hie there the devil ;' a speedy summons is hereby contrasted with a dismissal
implied in ' throw him out.' Cartwright {New Readings, &c, p. 37) : Read ' And
either lay the,' &c. Nicholson (N. &•> Qu., 19 Dec. 1868) : I propose, ' And either
throne,' &c. Its alliteration explains its omission, and why ' cast out,' the wording
of every version, was changed into ' throw out.' It restores to the line its musical
tone. It gives the exact sense required. Persistence in well-doing, whether by
doing good or by leaving evil undone, exorcises the Tempter with wondrous potency ;
but persistence in evil so destroys rebelling conscience, that the prince of this world
unresistingly ascends our vacant throne, and makes of us willing and unrespective
servants for his work. Lastly, it gives not only the exact sense, but the full sense,
required by the context, whether above or below it. Clarendon : It seems more
probable that something is omitted which is contrasted with ' throw out,' and this
may have been ' lay ' or ' lodge.' The latter was the technical word used in Hars-
net's Declaration, c. 12. Moberly [reading ' either quell '~\ : Either quell him once
for all, or baffle his attacks whenever they arise. Ingleby [Sh. Hermeneutics, p.
125) records two emendations suggested to him by friends: Sylvester proposes,
' either mask the devil,' of which Q is the corruption. Compare III, i, 47-49.
And C. J. Munro ' half-seriously ' suggests : ' And entertain the devil.' * It is not
easy to discovex,' says Ingleby, 'why [the words suggested by Malone, Singer, and
the rest] should find more favor than a score of others just as good.' Curb sug-
gests rein, rule, thrall, bind, chain, &c. ; quell, lay, and couch suggest charm*
worst, quench, foil, balk, cross, thwart, daunt, shame, cow, tame, &c. ; while aid
suggests fire, rouse, stir, serve, feed, &c. Besides which, there are many dissylla-
bles that befit the sense and measure, as abate, abase, &c. And why not read
• over-maister,' which occurs in a former scene ? Thus we see what a wealth of
suggestion has been ignored ! We venture to call attention to the evident require-
ments of the passage : ' The stamp of nature ' is not new to us in this connec-
tion, nor in this play; we have had it twice in the second ghost-scene, viz. 'the
vicious mole of nature,' and ' the stamp of one defect.' Now Hamlet would say,
'Use almost can change, or convert, this stamp of nature;' so that an antithesis is
not only not required, but is impertinent. Use, he would say, can either subdue
' habit's devil ' by following out his own prescription of gradual weaning from evil,
or (if the worst come to the worst, and revolution be necessary) cast him out ; and
either of these can such use, or change of habit, effect • with wondrous potency.' The
keynote of the whole passage is ' Reformation, by gradually subduing evil habits ;'
and so far from Hamlet's advice, ' assume a virtue if you have it not,' being a recom-
mendation ofhypocrisy, it is given solely with the view of facilitating inward amend-
ment, and is therefore honest and sincere. The missing word, then, must at least
import the subduing of the devil of habit. In the First Quarto we have the expres-
sion, And
' win [i. e. wean] yourself by little as you may ' from the sin to which you
act in, sc. iv.] HAMLET 3°5

With wondrous potency. Once more, good night; 170

And when you are desirous to be blest,
I'll blessing beg of you. — For this same lord,
[Pointing to Polonius.
I do repent ; but heaven hath pleased it so,
To punish me with this, and this with me,
That I must be their scourge and minister. 175
I will bestow him, and will answer well
The death I gave him. — So, again, good night.
I must be cruel, only to be kind ;
Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.
One word more, good lady.
Queen, What shall I do? 180
Ham. Not this, by no means, that I bid you do :
172. [Pointing...] Om. QqFf. with this Johns.
173. heaven hath~\ the heavens have 179. Thus] This Qq.
Han. heavens have Johns. Heavens 180. One. ..lady.] Om. Ff, Rowe + .
hath Ktly. Hark, one. ..lady. Cap. But one. ..lady.
174. me.. ,me~\ him with me, and me Steev. Bos. Sing. i. One... good my lady,
with this Han. this with me, and me Ktly.

[the Queen] have habituated yourself. Now, that weaning by little and little, or
gradually weaning the will and affections from the customary sin, ' recurring and
suggesting still,' is just what the missing word, were it recovered, would assuredly
be found to express or imply. Lay and shame are equally acceptable in sense, and
both afford a perfect rhythm. Perhaps shame is the finer reading of the two. At
the same time it must be owned that Hamlet's prescription is calculated to do little
for the sinner ; at best, we fear, to ' skin and film the rancorous place.' We can
hardly say that conjecture has yet determined the best reading here, though it cannot
be said that sufficient indications are wanting for its guidance. Unfortunately, it is
in the very nature of the case that some doubt should continue to vex this passage,
after conjecture has done its work.
172. of you] Seymour (ii, 190) : The desire to be blest will show contrition, and
constitute a state of grace ; consequently, it will render you fit to bestow a blessing
upon me.
1 74. Malone : To punish me by making me the instrument of this man's death,
and to punish this man by my hand. Moberly : To give me this penal task, which
will be the worse done for my having to do it.
175. their] For instances of Shakespeare's use of Heaven as a plural, see Walker
Crit. ii, no.
178, 179. I . . . behind] Delius: These two lines, of which the first explains
Hamlet's sudden change of bearing towards his mother and his cruel speeches after
it, should be spoken as an Aside.
180. word] For instances of monosyllables containing a vowel followed by ' r,'
whi-h, according to Abbott, are prolonged in scansion, see Abbott, § 481;.
26* U
 185
HAMLET
[act hi, sc. iv.
182
306the bloat king tempt you again to bed ;
Let
Pinch wanton on your cheek ; call you his mouse ;
And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses,
Or paddling in your neck with his damn'd fingers,
Make you to ravel all this matter out,
That I essentially am not in madness,
But mad in craft. 'Twere good you let him know ;
For who, that's but a queen, fair, sober, wise,
Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib, 19c
182. the bloat] Warb. the blowt Qq. 188. craft. ' Twere] craft, 'twere Qq.
the blunt Ff, Rowe. not the Q'76. the know ;] know, Q2Q Ff. know
fond Pope, Theob. Han. 2 3

again to bed~\ to bed again Q'76. 189. a] Om. Q'76.

186. to ravel] to ravell F.F_F. 190. paddock] paddack Qq.
Q4Q5-
rouell Qq.
gib] Gibbe Ff, Rowe + , Jen.
188. mad] made Fx.

182. bloat] Blackstone : This again hints at his intemperance. He had al-
ready drunk himself into a dropsy. [See I, ii, 20.]
183. mouse] Steevens : A term of endearment. In Warner's Albion's England^
1602, b. ii, ch. xvi: 'God bless thee, mouse, the bridegroom said.' Again, in the
Menachmi, 1595 : 'Shall I tell thee, sweet mouse?' Burton's Anatomy of Melan-
choly, ed. 1632, p. 527 : « pleasant names may be invented, bird, mouse, lamb,
pus, pigeon, &c.' Clarendon : See Twelfth Night, I, v, 69 ; and Love's Lab. V,
ii, 19. Muss, corrupted from 'mouse,' occurs several times in Jonson's Every Man
in his Humour, II, i.
184. reechy] Dyce (Gloss.) : ' Reechy is greasy, sweaty. . . . Laneham [in his
Letter, &c], speaking of "three pretty puzels " in a morris-dance, says they were
" az bright az a breast of bacon," that is, bacon hung in the chimney ; and hence
reechy, which in its primitive signification is smoky, came to imply greasy.' — Ritson.
Clarendon : In the present passage the word may have been suggested by * bloat,'
two lines before, which has also the meaning ' to cure herrings by hanging them in
the smoke.'
186. ravel] Dyce (Gloss.) : To unravel, unweave, — to unfold, to disclose.
189. but a] Caldecott: Strictly speaking, 'no more than;' but, in the familiar
language of banter, importing ' who being as much as, having some pretence at least,
or title, to the rank and state of,' &c. Moberly : Unless more can be said of a
woman than that she is a queen, fair, sober, wise, of course it is natural for her to
take the scum of the earth into her inmost confidence.
190. paddock] A toad. See Macb. I, i, 9.
190. gib] Steevens: A common name for a cat. See Chaucer's Romaunt of
the Rose, 6208 : ' Gibbe oure cat, That awayteth mice and rattes to kyllen.'
Nares : A male cat. An expression exactly analogous to that of a Jack-ass, the
one being formerly called Gib, or Gilbert, as commonly as the other Jack. Tom-cat
is now the v.sual term, and for a similar reason. Tibert is said to be the old French
for Gilbert, an ' is the name of the cat in Reineke Fuchs. In Sherwood's English-
fcCT III, SC. iv.] HAMLET 307

Such dear concernings hide? who would do so? 191

No, in despite of sense and secrecy,
Unpeg the basket on the house's top,
Let the birds fly, and like the famous ape,
To try conclusions, in the basket creep, 195
And break your own neck down.
Queen. Be thou assured, if words be made of breath
And breath of life, I have no life to breathe
What thou hast said to me.
Ham. I must to England ; you know that ?
Queen. Alack, 200
191. concernings] conctruings Q4. 200. that?] that. QaQ3- that, Q4Q5-
tonferuings Q . Alack, ~\ Om. Seymour, ending
195. conclusions, in the basket"] con- lines 196-199, assured,.. .life,.. .said...
clufions in the basket Qq. Concluftons in that?
the Basket, Yx. conclusions ; in the bas- 200, 201. Alack. ..on.] Cap. Two
ket Pope. lines, the first ending forgot, in Qq.
198. breathe] breath QqFxFa, Cap. One line, Ff, Rowe+, Jen. Mai.

French Dictionarie, appended to Cotgrave, we have ' A gibbe (or old male cat).
Macou.' [A misprint for Matou; which Nares silently corrects, but which is unnoticed
by Dyce and Clarendon. Ed.] Coles has * Gib, a contraction for Gilbert] and 'a
Gib-cat, catus, felis mas.1 Keightley: I read « g\h-cat,' as 'gib' never occurs
alone. We surely would not say a torn for a tom-cat, a jack for a jackass, a jack-
daw, &c. Clarendon : Graymalkin was the female cat. The toad, bat, and
cat were supposed to be familiars of witches, and acquainted with their mistresses
secrets.
194. famous ape] Warner: Sir John Suckling, in one of his letters, may pos-
sibly allude to the same story : ' It is the story of the jackanapes and the partridges ;
thou starest after a beauty till it be lost to thee, and then let'st out another, and
starest after that till it is gone too.' Clarendon : No one has yet found the fable
here alluded to.
195. conclusions] Steevens: Experiments.
198. breathe] Caldecott: * Most distantly glance at.* See II, i, 44. Mo-
berly : The Queen keeps her word, and is rewarded by the atoning punishment
which befalls her in this world. Rue is herb of grace to her, as poor Ophelia
says.
200. England] Malone : Sh. does not inform us how Ham. came to know that
he was to be sent to England. Ros. and Guil. were made acquainted with the
King's intentions for the first time in the very last scene ; and they do not appear to
have had any communication with the Prince since that time. Add to this, that in
a subsequent scene, when the King, after the death of Pol., informs Ham. he was
to go to England, he expresses great surprise, as if he had not heard anything of it
before. — This last, however, may, perhaps, be accounted for as contributing to his
design of passing for a madman. Stearns (Sh. Treasury, &c, p. 366) : We may
infer *Jbat Ham. had managed to place Hor. in some office or employment about the
 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. iv.
3o8
I had forgot; 'tis so concluded on. 201
Ham. There's letters seal'd ; and my two schoolfellows,
Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd,
They bear the mandate ; they must sweep my way,
And marshal me to knavery. Let it work ; 205
For 'tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petar; and't shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines,
And blow them at the moon ; oh, 'tis most sweet
When in one line two crafts directly meet. 210
This man shall set me packing ;
I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room.
201. on] Om. Han. 207. petar] petard Johns.
202-210. Om. Ff, Rowe. and't] Theob. arit Qq, Pope.
and it Steev. Var. Cald. Coll. El. White.
206. the sport] true sport Anon.*
enginer] Qq, Coll. El. Dyce, 210. meet.] Q'76. meete, Q2Q3Q4-
Sta. White, Del. Glo. + , Mob. engineer meet, Q .
211. shall] will Q 76.
Q'76, Pope et cet.
court where he could get at state secrets. Miles (p. 52) : Ham., on his way to his
mother's closet, must have overheard the interview between the King and Ros. and
Guil. For scarcely in any other way could he have foreknown this royal determina-
tion to send him away.
202. There's letters] See IV, v, 5; Macb. II, iii, 137; and Abbott, § 335.
203. fang'd] Johnson : ' Adders with their fangs, or poisonous teeth, undrawn.
Seymour (ii, 191) : It means, rather, with their poisonous teeth extracted ; Calde
COTT inclines to this interpretation.
204. They] Clarendon: The nominative is repeated for clearness, after ar.
intervening parenthesis. See ' he,' II, i, 84.
206. enginer] For list of nouns with the suffix -er, signifying the agent, see
Walker ( Vers. 217), or Abbott, §443. For words with accent nearer the beginning
than with us, see Abbott, §492. See ' truster,' I, ii, 172; ' pioner,' I, v, 163.
207. hoist] Dyce [Gloss.) : For hoised or hoisted (not as Caldecott explains it:
' i. e. mount. Hoist is used as a verb neuter'). Clarendon : If it is the participle
of the verb hoist, it is the common abbreviated form for the participles of verbs end-
ing in a dental. [See I, ii, 20.]
207. petar] Clarendon : Cotgrave gives : ' Petart : A Petard, or Petarre ; an
Engine (made like a Bell, or Morter) wherewith strong gates are burst open.'
209. at] Abbott, § 143 : ' At ' is used like near with a verb of motion, where we
should use up to. Moberly : Like Virgil's ' It caelo clamor.'
210. line] Malone: Still alluding to a countermine.
211. packing] Clarendon: 'Contriving,' 'plotting.' There is, of course, a
play upon the other sense of the word : ' to be off quickly.' [Delius's interpreta-
tion of one of its meanings : ' sich belasten,' to load one's self, referring to Hamlet's
lugging off Pol., is, I think, a little too fine spun. Ed.]
212. guts] Steevens gives several examples (one from Lyly, 'who made the
act in, sc. iv.] HAMLE'l 3°9
Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor
Is now most still, most secret, and most grave,
Who was in life a foolish prating knave. — 215
Come, sir, to draw towards an end with you. —

213. good night. Indeed] good night 215. in life] in's life Q'76.
indeed, Qq. foolish] mofl foolifh Qq, Jen.

first attempt to polish our language') to show that anciently this word was not so
offensive to delicacy as at present. Caldecott, while conceding this, nevertheless
thinks that ' there is a coarseness and want of feeling in this part of the conduct, if
not in the language, of Hamlet, — an excuse for which we seek in vain at this time
in the peculiarity or necessities of his situation ;' and he can account for it only by
supposing that it must have been in compliance with the rude taste of the age.
Halliwell : This is one of those words which the silly caprice of fashion has in-
vested with an imaginary coarseness. I have seen a letter, written about a century
ago, in which a lady of rank, addressing a gentleman, speaks of her guts with the
same nonchalance with which we should now write stomach. STAUNTON : It was
commonly used where we should employ entrails, and in this place really signifies
no more than lack-brain or shallow-pate.
212. Staunton: A consideration of the exigencies of the theatre in Shakespeare's
time, which not only obliged an actor to play two or more parts in the same drama,
but to perform such servile offices as are now done by attendants of the stage, shows
that this line is a mere interpolation to afford the player an excuse for removing the
body. We append a few examples where the same expedient is adopted for the
same purpose. Among them the notable instance of Sir John Falstaff carrying off
the body of Harry Percy on his back, — an exploit as clumsy and unseemly as Ham-
let's tugging
' out' Pol., and, like that, perpetuated on the modern stage only from
sheer ignorance of the circumstances which originated such a practice : Rom. 6° yul.
Ill, i, 201 ; Rich. II: V, v, 118, 119; I Hen. IV: V, iv, 160; 1 Hen. VI: I, iv,
I IO; Ibid. II, v, 120, 121 ; Ibid. IV, vii, 91, 92; 2 Hen. VI: IV, i, 145; Ibid. IV,
x, 86, 87; Ibid. V, ii, 61-65; 3 Hen. VI: II, v, 113; Ibid. II, v, 121, 122; Ibid.
V, vi, 92, 93 ; Rich. Ill: I, iv, 287, 288 ; Lear, IV, vi, 280-282 ; Tro. &•> Cres. V,
viii, 21, 22; yul. Cas. Ill, ii, 261 ; Ibid.V, v, 78, 79; Ant. 6° Cleo. IV, ix, 31, 32;
Ibid. IV, xiv, 138. These instances from Sh. alone, and they could easily be multi-
plied, will suffice to bring into view one of the inconveniences to which the elder
dramatists were subject through the paucity ot actors ; and at the same time, by ex-
hibiting the mode in which they endeavored to obviate the difficulty, may afford a
key to many passages and incidents that before appeared anomalous.
215. foolish prating] Walker {Crit. 1, 25): Write foolish-prating ; unless, in-
de d,foolish
' ' is opposed to * grave,' and ' prating ' to ' secret.'
215. a . . . knave] Moberly: These are almost exactly the words used by the
porter at Holyrood, when Rizzio's body was placed on a chest near his lodge
(Froude, viii, 254).
216. to draw] Clarendon : For the construction compare III, ii, 329. Steevens :
Sh. hai been unfortunate in his management of the story of this play, the most
striking circumstances of which arise so early in its formation as not to leave him
 HAMLET
[act hi, sc. iv
3io
Good night, mother. 217
[Exeunt severally ; Hamlet
Han.) dragging in Polonius.
217. [Exeunt...] Steev. after Cap. Polonius. Ff, Rowel-, (tugging out,
£xit. Qq. Exit Hamlet tugging in

room for a conclusion suitable to the importance of its beginning. After this last in-
terview with the Ghost the character of Ham. has lost all its consequence.
217. Good night, mother] Hunter (ii, 257) : This scene has always been ad-
mired as one of the masterpieces of this great dramatic writer ; and there are in it
undoubtedly fine opportunities for the display of an actor's powers, — striking situa-
tions, and also fine poetry. But the question arises, To what purpose all this excite-
ment and bustle ? The scene appears to have been written for its own sake, not
helping forward the story. Except that Pol. is accidentally killed in the course of
it, the parties are left precisely where they were, Ham. having only in this forcible
manner signified to his mother the displeasure which he felt at her conduct. But as
the play was originally written this scene had a purpose. Ham. reveals to his mother
his knowledge of his uncle's guilt, and his purpose of revenge ; and she engages to
conceal and to assist. From this time the Queen keeps up appearances with her
husband, but is secretly a friend to Ham. ; and there is an entire scene, afterwards
withdrawn, between her and Hor., in which Hor. communicates to her confidentially
the return of Ham. from England, when the dialogue ends with her saying : [see
Appendix, p. 77, lines 1779-1781.] This removes all ambiguity respecting the part
which the poet intended the Queen should take; according to the present regulation,
her precise situation is not clearly exhibited.
4CT IV. SC. i.J HAMLET

ACT IV
Scene I. A room in the castle.
3"
Enter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern.

King. There's matter in these sighs; these profound

heaves
You must translate ; 'tis fit we understand them.
Where is your son ?
Queen. Bestow this place on us a little while. —
\_Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Ah, my good lord, what have I seen to-night ! 5
King. What, Gertrude ? How does Hamlet ?
Queen. Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend

Act iv. Scene i.] Q'76. Pope, Han. Knt.

A room...] A Royal apartment. 4. a little while] Om. Seymour.
Rowe + . The same. Cap. [Exeunt...] Q'76. To Ros. and Guild.
Enter...] Enter King, and Queene, who go out. Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen.
with Rofencraus and Guyldenfterne. Qq Steev. Var. Cald. Sing. Dyce, Sta. Ktly.
(Eenter Q2Q3). Enter King. Ff. Om. QqFf.
I. There's... heaves'] Two lines, Ff. 5. my good] mine own Qq. Jen. Cam.
matter] matters Ff, Rowe. Cla.
sighs; these. ..heaves] Pope + , Jen. to-night !] Han. to night ? QqFf.
Mai. Coll. El. White, fighs. Thefe... 6. Gertrude] Gertrard Q2Q,. Ger-
heaves Ff. Jighes, thefe...heuues, Qq, Sta. trad Q4. Gertard Q$.
Ktly, Huds. sighs y or sighs; these... How] hast thou seen? and how
heaves ; Rowe et cet.
Seymour.
4, &c. Queen.] Ger. or Gert. in Qq. 7. sea] Seas Ff, Rowe + , Knt.
Bestow... while.] Om. Ff, Rowe,

Act iv] Johnson : This modern division into Acts is here not very happy, for
the pause is made at a time when there is more continuity of action than in almost
any other of the scenes. Caldecott suggests, and Elze agrees with him, that Act IV
should begin with the present IV, iv. The latter suggests that probably, as indicated
by the Qq, the Queen goes to seek out the King as soon as Ham. has left her, and
having met him in the gallery, enters with him and his courtiers one of the King's
apartments.
1. heaves] Walker (Crit. iii, 268) prefers the punctuation of the Qq, and under-
standswhich
' ' before ' You.' Corson : The King uses * profound ' equivocally, as
it may mean deep literally, and deep in significance, and upon the latter meaning
* translate ' bears.
7. Mad] Clarke: The Queen both follows her son's injunction of keeping up
the belief in his madness, and, with maternal ingenuity, makes it the excuse for his
 HAMLET
[act rv, sc. i. 15

Which
312 is the mightier : in his lawless fit,
Behind the arras hearing something stir, 10

Whips out his rapier, cries ' a rat, a rat !'

And in this brainish apprehension kills
The unseen good old man.
King, O heavy deed !
It had been so with us, had we been there ;
His liberty is full of threats to all,
To you yourself, to us, to every one.
Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answer'd ?
It will be laid to us, whose providence
Should have kept short, restrain'd, and out of haunt,
This mad young man ; but so much was our love,
We would not understand what was most fit, 20
But, like the owner of a foul disease,
To keep it from divulging, let it feed
Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone ?
Queen. To draw apart the body he hath kill'd ;
Knt, Coll. White, Huds.
8. mightier :~\ mightier; Rowe. migh-
*ur> Q2Q3F=F3F4' mightier C^J^. 13. been] beene Qq. bin Fx. bine F2.
been] beene Q4FXF2. bin Qs>
fit,] fit Ff, Row e.
TO. Whips out... cries'] Qq ( Whyps out 16. answered] anfwered Ff, Dyce i,
QS^3' cryeis Q4Q5)> Cap. Jen. Steev. Sta.
Sing. Glo. + , Dyce ii, Mob. Whips his 18. kept... haunt] rejlrained Q'76.
rapier out, cries Cald. i. He whips his haunt] harm Johns, conj.
rapier out, cries Ktly. He whips his 22. let] let's FXF3F4. lets F3, Rowe.
Rapier out, and cries Ff et cet. Pope.
1 a rat, a rat /'] a rat ! Pope + . 23. Even] Erin Pope + , Jen.
II. this"] his Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han.

rash deed. This affords a clue to Hamlet's original motive in putting ' an antic dis-
position on ' and feigning insanity ; he foresaw that it might be useful to obviate sus-
picion of his having a steadily-pursued object in view, and to account for whatever
hostile attempt he should make.
10. Whips] Clarendon: He, which should govern the verb, is omitted. Com-
pare III, i, 8.
1 1 . brainish] Caldecott : Brain-sick mood, or conceit. Clarendon : It does
not occur again in Sh.
17. to us] Dyce, in a note on IV, v, 89, reads • on us.'
18. short] Clarendon: Kept, as it were, tethered, under control; opposed to
loose,' IV, iii, 2.
18. haunt] Steevens: Out of company. As in Rom. 6° Jul. Ill, i, 45 ; Ai
You Like It, II, i, 15.
act iv, sc. L] HAMLET 313

O'er whom his very madness, like fine ore 25

Among a mineral of metals base,
Shows itself pure. He weeps for what is done.
King. O Gertrude, come away !
The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch,
But we will ship him hence ; and this vile deed 30
We must, with all our majesty and skill,
Both countenance and excuse. — Ho, Guildenstern !
Re-enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Friends both, go join you with some further aid ;

Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain,
And from his mother's closet hath he dragg'd him. 35
Go seek him out ; speak fair, and bring the body
Into the chapel. I pray you, haste in this. —
\Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Come, Gertrude, we'll call up our wisest friends ;
And let them know, both what we mean to do,
25. fine] Walker, fome QqFf et cet. cuse in Ff.
ore~\ Oare FxFaF . 33. you with"] with you Q'76.
26. metals'] Mettels F,. Methals Fa. 35. mother's closet] Mother Cloffets
27. He] a Qq. F,.
what] wat Fa. dragg'd] dreg'd QaQ,.
28. O] Oh Ff. Om. Q4QS, El. 37. I pray] Pray Pope -I- .
30. vile] vilde FfFaF . [Exeunt...] Rowe. Exit Gent. Ff.
31. We must] We mojl Q3. Om. Qq.
32. Two lines, Ff. 39. And let] To let Ff, Rowe, Cald.
Re-enter...] Dyce. Enter Ros. Sta.
& Guild. Qq. (after line 31). After ex-

25. fine] Walker (ii, 299) : Read fine [for some of QqFf] ; the corruption
would perhaps be still easier if ' some ' was written in the MS ut s<zpe : fom.
25. ore] Johnson : Sh. seems to think * ore ' to be or, that is, gold. Claren-
don :In the English-French Diet, appended to Cotgrave ' ore ' is confined to gold.
26. mineral] Steevens : * Minerals ' are mines. Thus, Hall's Satires, b. vi (p.
154, ed. Singer) : ■ Shall it not be a wild-fig in a wall, Or fired brimstone in a min-
erall ?' Malone : Minsheu defines * mineral ' to be ' anything that grows in Mines,
and contains mettals.' Caldecott : It is here used for a mass or compound mine
of metals. Staunton : Rather, a metallic vein in a mine ; we should now say a lode.
26. metals] M. Mason suggests metal, as much improving the construction of
the passage.
27. weeps] Moberly: Either this is an entire invention of the Queen's, or Ham-
27
Vol. let's
TI.]
mockeries had reailv been succeeded by sorrow. [See Doering, in Appendix,
 HAMLET
3H [act iv, sc. iu

And what's untimely done ; so, haply, slander,

Whose whisper o'er the world's diameter,
As level as the cannon to his blank
Transports his poison'd shot, may miss our name
And hit the woundless air. Oh, come away !
My soul is full of discord and dismay. \_Exeunt, 45

Scene II. Another room in the castle.

Enter Hamlet.
40
Ham. Safely stowed.
R°S'
Guil. J\ [Within\ Hamlet! Lord Hamlet!
Ham. But soft, what noise? who calls on Hamlet?
O, here they come.
Enter Rosenorantz and Guildenstern.

Ros. What have you done, my lord, with the dead body ? 5
Another...] Cap. (subs.).
40-44. so,.. .air.'] Ora. Ff, Rowe, Pope,
Han. Enter Hamlet.] Enter Hamlet, Rofen-
craus, and others. Qq.
40. so, haply, slander] Cap. Sleev.
Cald. Bos. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Dyce, 2. Ros. Guil. [Within] ...Hamlet!]
Sta. White, Ktly, Huds. Mob. Eor, haply, Han. Gentlemen within. Hamlet, Lord
slander Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. So Hamlet. Ff, Rowe + . Om. Qq, Jen.
viperous slander Mai. thus calumny 3. But soft,] but foftly Q4Qg. Om.
Sta. conj. Om. QqFf, Glo. + . Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Dyce, Glo. Huds. Mob.
43. his] its Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. After stowed., line I, Cap.

poison'd] poyfned Q2Q3Q4. poy- 4. on] Om. Q'76.

Enter...] Om. Qq.
foned Q .
Scene ii.] Pope.

40. slander] Theobald (Sh. Rest. p. 108) suggested Happily, slander or rumour^
as being at least very near, in substance, the words that had dropped out of this line.
He changed them in his ed. to 'Eor, haply, slander? Capell {Notes, i, 141) says;
*Eor makes not so good connection as so;* and the majority of editors since his day
have adopted this modification. The Cambridge Editors (Note xxiii) : Malice, or
Envy, in the sense in which it is often used by Sh., would suit this passage as well
as ' slander.' Tschischwitz reads by this, suspicion, and understands it as referring
to what the King ' means to do,' viz. send Hamlet to England. He also suggests
that the lines following it down to * woundless air ' may have been an Aside. Strat-
hlANN : I think Tschischwitz's reading the most suitable, but it might, perhaps, be
improved by the substitution of so that for by this.
41. diameter] Moberly: That is, * slander can pass in direct line from hence
to the antipodes without going round by the semi-circumference of the earth.'
42. blank] Steevens : The white mark at which shot or arrows were aimed.
act iv, sc. li.J HAMLET 315

Ham. Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis kin. 6

Ros. Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it thence
And bear it to the chapel.
Ham. Do not believe it.
Ros. Believe what ? io
Ham. That I can keep your counsel and not mine
own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge, what replica-
tion should be made by the son of a king ?
Ros. Take you me for a sponge, my lord ?
Ham. Ay, sir; that soaks up the king's countenance, 15
his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the king
best service in the end ; he keeps them, like an ape doth
nuts, in the corner of his jaw ; first mouthed, to be last
swallowed ; when he needs what you have gleaned, it

6. Compounded'] Compound Q3Q3> spunge ! Cald. Glo. + , Mob.

Jen. 17. like. ..nuts'] Qv Sing. Coll. ii, Sta.
'tis kin] it is kin Q4QS« it is a kin Clarke, Ktly, Huds. like an apple Qq,
Q'76. Pope-f. like an Ape Ff, Rowe, Han. et
12. sponge^] spunge ;— Cap. spunge! — cet.
Steev. Var. Knt, Sing. Dyce, Sta. Ktly.

6. Compounded] Jennens retains the reading of QaQ3 and interprets it as an

imperative, otherwise Ham. tells an untruth, for he had not buried the body.
12. to] For the indefinite use of the infinitive, see III, iii. 85, and Abbott, § 356.
12. of] See I, iv, 18; Macb. Ill, vi, 27 ; Abbott, § 170.
12. sponge,] Corson defends the comma, maintaining, and rightly, that the sen-
tence is not exclamatory. ' In modern English we should say " in being demanded
by a sponge, what," ' &c. Coleridge : Hamlet's madness is made to consist in the
free utterance of all the thoughts that had passed through his mind before ;— in fact,
in telling home-truths.
12. replication] Rushton {Sh. a Lawyer, p. 34) : This is an exception of tht
second degree made by the plaintiff upon the answer of the defendant.
15. soaks] Bailey (ii, 343), in this speech of Hamlet's, would transpose tin
sentences, so that lines 19, 20, containing the simile of a sponge, should follow im-
mediately 'authorities' in line 16; and for 'soaks up' he would read sucks up, and
for ♦ gleaned ' he suggests glutted.
15. countenance . . . authorities] Clarendon: The first means favour, as in
I, iii, 113; V, i, 26. The latter, offices of authority.
17. nuts] Farmer conjectured, • like an ape, an apple.' To this Malone ob-
jected, on the ground that Sh. then would have written • as an ape,' &c, not ' like
an ape.' But Walker (Crit. ii, 116) suspected Farmer to be right, having found
in Hugh Holland a construction precisely similar : 'Where, like in Jove's [braines],
Minerva keeps a coile.'
19. needs] Seymour (ii, 193) finds an equivoque here between to need and to
knead.
31 6 HAMLET [act iv, sc. ii.

is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again. 20

Ros. I understand you not, my lord.
Ham. I am glad of it ; a knavish speech sleeps in a
foolish ear.
Ros. My lord, you must tell us where the body is, and
go with us to the king. 25
Ham. The body is with the king, but the king is not
with the body. The king is a thing —
27. a thing — ] a thing. Qq, Jen. nothing. Han.

22. sponge . . . dry again] Caldecott : ' When princes . . . have used courtiers
as sponges to drinke what juice they can from the poore people, they take pleasure
afterwards to wring them out into their owne cisternes.' — R.C.'s Henr. Steph. Apology
for Herodotus, 1608. Vespasian, when reproached for bestowing high office upon per
sons most rapacious, answered, ' that he served his turne with such officers as with
spunges, which, when they had drunke their fill, were the fittest to be pressed.' — Bar-
nabe Rich's Faultes, faults and nothing but faults, 1606; also Suetonius, Vespas.c. 16.
22. ear] Steevens : A proverb since Shakespeare's time.
26-27. The . . . body] Johnson : This answer I do not comprehend. Perhaps
it should be, — The body is not with the King, for the King is not with the body.
Jennens : The body, being in the palace, might be said to be with the King; though
the King, not being in the same room with the body, was not with the body. Stee-
vens :Perhaps this, — The body is in the King's house (#. e. the present King's), yet
the King (*. e. he who should have been king) is not with the body. Intimating that
the usurper is here, the true King in a better place. Or it may mean — the guilt of
the murder lies with the King, but the King is not where the body lies. Douce : The
body, i. e. the external appearance or person of the monarch, is with his uncle ; but
that the real and lawful king is not in that body. Caldecott : The King is not yet
cut off from life and sovereignty : his carcase remains to the King; but the King is
not with the body or carcase that you seek ; the King is not with Polonius. But
Hamlet's answers are necessarily enigmatical. A more natural meaning is suggested:
The image raised, the impression made upon the King's fears by the fate of Polo-
nius, makes his body or carcase present to the fancy of the King, who knew and has
said that ' it had been so with him had he been there ;' but the King is not with the
body, i. e. is not lying with Polonius. Others interpret, plainly enough, if admissi-
bly :The body is with the King, i. e. intombed, or in the other world with the late,
the real king; but the King, i. e. he who now wears the crown, the usurper, is not
with the body. Singer : It may mean : The King is a body without a kingly soul,
a thing — of nothing. Elze agrees with Eschenburg's explanation : The corpse is
here with the King, but the King is not with it, i. e. he is as yet no corpse. Hud-
son :The meaning of this intended riddle, to the best of my guessing, is : The
King's body is with the King, but not the King's soul : he's a King without kingli-
ness. Moberly : Apparently a sententious maxim from some political book. • The
body politic is joined to the King, yet the King is not to be considered part of the
b^dy politic, but a thing apart.' [The present editor agrees with Clarendon, that
Ham. is talking nonsense designedly.]
act iv, sc. HI] HAMLET 31 7

Guil. ' A thing,' my lord ?

Ham. Of nothing ; bring me to him. Hide fox, and
all after. {Exeunt. 30

Scene III. Another room in the castle.

Enter King, attended.

King. I have sent to seek him, and to find the body.

How dangerous is it that this man goes loose !
Yet must not we put the strong law on him ;
He's loved of the distracted multitude,
Who like not in their judgement, but their eyes ; 5
And where 'tis so, the offender's scourge is weigh'd,
But never the offence. To bear all smooth and even,
This sudden sending him away must seem
Deliberate pause ; diseases desperate grown
28. lA thing'] Nothing Han. King, and two or three. Qq. Enter
lord?] Lord. Qq. King. Ff.
29. Of nothing ;] Of nothing, Qq. 1. I have] I've Pope + ,Dyceii, Huds.
Of nothing? FaF F , Rowe. A thing 3. on] upoti Ktly.
or nothing Han. 6. weighed] wayed Qq.
29, 30. Hide... after.] Om. Qq. 7. never] neerer FfFa. nearer FF.
Scene hi.] Pope. and even] Om. Pope, Theob. Han.
Another...] Cap. Warb. even Jen. (a misprint?).
Enter King, attended.] Cap. Enter
29. Of nothing] Johnson : Should it not be read : Or nothing ? When the
courtiers remark that Ham. has contemptuously called the King a thing, Ham. de-
fends himself by observing that the King must be a thing or nothing. Farmer
and Steevens cite instances of the use of this not uncommon phrase, and Whalley
cites Psalm cxliv, 4 : ' Man is like a thing of nought.' [— Prayer Book Version.
' of vanity.' — Authorized Version.] Nares quotes Beau. & Fl. Humorous Lieu-
tenant, IV, vi : 'And though a thing of nothing, thy thing ever.' [— p. 517, ed.
Dyce.]
29. Hide . . . after] Hanmer : There is a play among children thus called.
Singer : Most probably what is now called • whoop ' or * hide and seek.' White :
The exclamation is merely one of Hamlet's signs of feigned madness. Moberly :
Ham. sheathes his sword (' a Toledo or an English fox' — 'point of fox,' &c, prob-
ably from the name of a celebrated maker like Andrea di Ferrara), and, as if he
were playing hide and seek, cries ' now the fox is hid : let all go after him.'
9, 10. diseases. ..relieved] Rushton {Shakespeare's Euphuism,^. 11): ' But 1
feare me wher so straunge a sicknesse is to be recured of so vnskilfull a Phisition, that
either thou wilt be to bold to practise, or my body too weake to purge. But seeing
a desperate disease is to be committed to a desperate Doctor, I wil follow thy counsel,
and become thy cure.' — \_Euphues, p. 67, ed. Arber.]

27*
31 8 HAMLET [Acr iv, sc ill.

By desperate appliance are relieved, IO

Or not at all. —
Enter Rosencrantz.

How now ! what hath befall'n ?

Ros. Where the dead body is bestow'd, my lord,
We cannot get from him.
King. But where is he ?
Ros. Without, my lord ; guarded, to know your pleasure.
King. Bring him before us. 15
Ros. Ho, Guildenstern ! bring in my lord.
Enter Hamlet and Guildenstern.

King. Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius ?

Ham. At supper.
King. ' At supper ' ? where ?
Ham. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten ; a 20
certain convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your
worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures
else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat

II. Enter...] Enter Rofencraus and lord Hamlet Q''76.

all the reft. Qq. Enter Rofincrane. Fx. Enter...] They enter. Qq.
Enter Rofincros. F2FF. After relieved 19. ' supper'? where ?]f upper where.
Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. El. Q4Qg.
White. 20. he is] a is Q2Q3Q4.
16. Ho, Guildenstern!] Hoa, Guil- 21. convocation] conuacation Q2Q3Q..
denflerne ? Fx. Hoa, Guildenflar? F2F3> politic] politique QaQ3Q4. politick
Ho, Guildenftare ? F4. How, QaQr Qs. Om. Ff, Rowe.
Hoe, Q4Q5- Hoi Cap. e'en] Om. Pope, Han.
my lord] the Lord Qq, Cap. the 23. ourselves] our felfe Fx.

21. politic] Collier (ed. 2): The (MS) reads palated ; perhaps he so misheard
the word • politic,' but although it has considerable fitness with reference to the dain-
tiness ofthe diet of worms, we do not adopt it. Anonymous [New Readings in Sh.,
Blackwood's Maga. Oct. 1853) : ' Convocation' proves ' politic ' to be the right word.
A ' convocation ' is a kind of parliament ; and does not a parliament imply policy ?
' Politic ' here means polite, social, and discriminating. Delius : The worms that
were feeding on so distinguished a politician must needs partake of his character
and become ' politic ;' accordingly their assemblage is likened to a convocation for
religious or political purposes.
21. worirs] Singer: An allusion to the Diets of the Empire convoked at
Worms.

21,22,23.24. your! Fc- this colloquial use, see I, v, 167; and 'me,' II, ii,

4IJ
ACT IV, SC. iii.l HAMLET 3*9

king, and your lean beggar, is but variable service, two

dishes, but to one table ; that's the end. 25
King, Alas, alas !
Ham. A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of__
aJdng, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.
King. What dost thou mean by this ?
Ham. Nothing but to show you how a king may go a 30
progress through the guts of a beggar.
King. Where is Polonius ?
Ham. In heaven ; send thither to see ; if your messen-
ger find him not there, seek him i' the other place yourself.
But indeed, if you find him not within this month, you 35
shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby.
King. [To some Attendants] Go seek him there.
Ham. He will stay till ye come. [Exeunt Attendants.
King. Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety,
Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve 40
For that which thou hast done, must send thee hence
With fiery quickness ; therefore prepare thyself;
The bark is ready and the wind at help,
24. service, two] feniice to Fx. 37. [To some...] Cap. Om. QqFf.
25. but] Om. Pope, Han. 38. He] A Qq.
26-28. King... worm. ] Om. Ff, Rowe. ye] you Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var.
26. Alas, alas /] Alaffe, alaffe. Q4QS- Cald. Knt, Coll. El. Cam. Cla.
[Exeunt...] Cap. Om. QqFf.
27. may fish'] may eat fish Jen.
28. and) Om. Q4Q$, Theob. Warb. 39. deed, for thine] deed of thine, for
Johns. Cald. thine Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Del. i.
31. guts] gut F2F3F4, Rowe. 41. send] feudQ4.
32. Where is] Where's Cald. 42. With fiery quickness ;] Om. Qq.
35. indeed, if] if indeed Qq. therefore] then Pope, Han.
within] Om. Ff, Rowe, Pope,
43. at help] fits fair Q'76. at helm
rlan. Cap. Knt. Johns, conj.

31. progress] Steevens: Royal journeys of state were always styled 'progresses,'
and were familiar enough to the subjects of Elizabeth and James I.
33. messenger] Delius : Heaven is inaccessible to the King, thither he must
send a messenger.
40. tender] To have regard for, as in I, iii, 107. Delius says * dearly' is to be
understood : ' as dearly tender as we grieve.'
42. fiery] Caldecott : As rapid as the progress of flames.
43. at help] For instances of Shakespeare's use of ' at ' instead cf c a,' the con-
traction ofthe Anglosaxon on (still existing in alive, afoot, asleep, &c), see Abbott,
§ 143. In ' at foot,' line 53, ' at ' is not, says Abbott, on, but near, as in « at his
heels.' See ' at he moon,' III, iv, 209. ' The at of price generally requires an
320 HAMLET [act iv, sc. iii.

The associates tend, and every thing is bent 44

For England.
Ham. For England ?
King. Ay, Hamlet.
Ham. Good. 45
King. So is it, if thou knew'st our purposes.
Ham. I see a cherub that sees them. — But, come; for
England !— Farewell, dear mother.
King. Thy loving father, Hamlet.
Ham. My mother ; father and mother is man and wife ; 50
man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother. — Come, for
England ! [Exit
King. Follow him at foot; tempt him with speed aboard;
Delay it not ; I'll have him hence to-night ;
Away ! for every thing is seal'd and done 55
That else leans on the affair ; pray you, make haste. —
\_Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,
And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught, —
As my great power thereof may give thee sense,
44. associates] affotiats Q.Q^ Q^*
is bent] at bent Ff, Rowe. 51. and so] fo Qq, Cap. Jen.
45. For England. ..Good.] As one Come,] Come. Johns.
line, Steev. 53. Follow. .. aboard ;] Rowe. Two
England ?] England. QqFa. lines, the first ending foote, QqFf.
46. is it] is>t Cald. it is Huds. at foot] Om. Q'76.
47. sees] knows Seymour. 56. [Exeunt...] Theob. Om. QqFf.
them] him Ff, Cald. Knt. 57. aught] Han. ought QqFf.
47, 48. for.... mother] Separate line, 58-61. As. ..us, — ]Dyceii. In paren
Johns. Jen. thesis first by Han. As...vs, Qq. As...
48. Farewell... mother] Separate line, us; Ff.

adjective or article, as well as a noun, after it, except in " at all." We have, how-
ever [in line 57 of this scene], " at aught," *. e. at a whit.''
44. is bent] Corson : ' At bent ' is the more forcible, expressing, as it does, the
suspended readiness indicated by what precedes, ' the bark is ready,' • the wind at
help,' ' th' associates tend.'
47. cherub] Caldecott: This beauteous and sudden intimation of heavenly in-
sight and interference, against the insidious purpose of the King's show ofJ regard
for Hamlet's welfare, flashes upon us with a surprise and interest rarely to be found
or equalled, and worthy of this great master of the drama. Collier : ' Him ' [of
the Ff] seems to have no reference, unless Ham. be mentally adverting to his father.
Moberly : The cherubs are angels of love ; they therefore, of course, know of such
true affection as the King's for Ham.
58. As] For instances of ' as ' used parenthetically, equal to for so, see Abbott.
§ 110; IV, vii, 159; V, ii, 323.
act iv, sc. iii.] HAMLET 321

Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red

After the Danish sword, and thy free awe 60
Pays homage to us, — thou mayst not coldly set
Our sovereign process ; which imports at full,
By letters conjuring to that effect,
The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England;
For like the hectic in my blood he rages, 65
And thou must cure me ; till I know 'tis done,
Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun. [Exit.
61. set] let Pope ii. set by Han. Johns. 67. my haps.. .begun] Ff (happes Ft).
Cap. Ktly. rate Anon.* see Coll. (MS). my haps, my ioyes wilt nere begin Qq,
63. conjuring] congruing Qq, Pope, Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. V may
Han. Theob.Warb. Cap. Jen. El. Glo. + . hap, my joys will ne'er begin Heath.

58. thereof] Caldecott: May make thee a very intelligible suggestion to that

effect.
60. free] Clarendon : Awe still felt, though no longer enforced by the presence
of Danish armies.
61. set] M. Mason : One of the common acceptations of the verb ' set ' is to value
or estimate ; as we say, to set at nought. Malone thinks that it is an elliptical ex-
pression for set by. Singer denies the ellipsis, and quotes, without giving the au-
thorityTo
, ' sette or tell the pryce ; astimare.' [Barett's Alvearie has : ' To set, of
tell the price. Indicare,' which makes nothing against Malone; because * To set*
is not used absolutely, but the full phrase is ' to set the price.' Ed.] Clarendon
says that ' set ' would not have been thus used had it not been familiar in the phrases,
set at nought, set at a pin's fee, &c.
6$. conjuring] Theobald (Sh. Rest. 109) : If the ■ letters,' importing the te-
nour of the process, were to that effect, they were certainly congruing ; but of no
great use, when the sovereign process imported the same thing. Now a process
might import a command, and letters conjuring a compliance with it be sent, and be
of great efficacy, where the execution of the command was to be doubted of. More-
over, Ham. when he changed the substance of the commission would be likely to
retain the form, and we find him using 'earnest conjurations.' As to the accent, Sh-
generally accented the first syllable. Clarendon thinks * conjuring ' probably a
misprint, although it yields a fair sense.
65. hectic] Clarendon : Used as a substantive in Cotgrave : • Hectique : Sicke
of an Hectick, or continuall Feauer.' Only here, either as substantive or adjective,
in Sh.
67. haps . . . begun] Johnson : This being the end of a scene, should, accord-
ing to Shakespeare's custom, be rhymed. Perhaps he wrote, ' Howe'er my hopes,
my joys are not begun.' [Collier's (MS) has hopes.] If ' haps ' be retained, the
meaning will be : ' till I know 'tis done, I shall be miserable,' whatever befall me.
Walker (Crit. iii, 268): Begun, certainly; rhyme is demanded here. As to the
rest, £7r^w. Lettsom {Footnote to Walker) : Qt gives at least sense and English.
[See lines 161 2, 1613.] Tschischwitz, having found that gin is used for begin,
suggests, reads, and defends ■ my joys will
V ne'er be gun.1
 HAMLET [ACT IV, SC. IV.
3^2
Scene IV. A plain in Denmark.
Enter Fortinbras, a Captain and Soldiers, marching.
For. Go, captain, from me greet the Danish king ;
Tell him that by his license Fortinbras
Claims the conveyance of a promised march
Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous,,
If that his majesty would aught with us, 5
We shall express our duty in his eye ;
And let him know so.
Cap. I will do't, my lord.
For. Go softly on. [Exeunt Fortinbras and Soldiers.
Enter Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and others.
Ham. Good sir, whose powers are these ?
Cap. They are of Norway, sir. 10
Scene rv.] Pope. Scene ii. Rowe. 5. aught] Han. ought QqFf.
A plain...] Cap. A camp. Rowe. 6. duty] durie Fs.
A camp, on the Frontiers of Denmark. 8-13. Go. ..sir?] As four lines, ending
Theob. these ?... sir ,... Who... sir ? Steev. Bos.
Enter...] Glo. Enter Fortinbrafle with Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. White, Ktly.
his Army over the stage. Qq. Enter For- 8. softly] fafefy Ff, Cald. Knt.
tinbras with an Annie. Ff. Enter For- [Exeunt...] Exit Fortinbras, with
tinbras, and Forces, marching. Cap. the Army. Theob. Exit. Ff. Om. Qq.
Enter.. .and others.] Dyce. Enter
I. greet the"] to the FaF3F4, Rowe. ...Rosincrantz, Guildenstern, &c. Theob.
3. Claims'] Claimes FtFa. Craues Enter Hamlet, Rofencraus, &c. Qq. Om.
Qq, Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. El. Dyce i,
Glo.+. Ff.
4. kingdom] realm Pope+. Ff.9-66. Ham. Good sir, ...worth f] Om.
rendezvous] randeuoits Q3Q3t
834 Jen.
Rendeuous Fx. Rendevouz F„F„F,,. 10. They] The Q4.

6. eye] Steevens: Compare Ant. <5r» Cleo. II, ii, 212. The phrase seems to
have been a formulary for the royal presence. See The Establishment of the House-
hold of Prince Henry, 1610: 'Also the gentleman-usher shall be careful to see
and informe all such as doe service in the Prince's eye, that they perform their
dutyes,' &c. Again, in The Regulations for the Government of the Queerts House-
hold, 1627 : • all such as doe service in the Queen's eye.' [See IV, vii, 45.]
7. let] Delius construes « let * like ' express,' ' We shall ' being understood ; and
he has a comma after ' eye,' as has also Keightley.
8. softly] Staunton: That is, slowly. Clarendon: Compare Bacon, Essay,
vi, p. 19: ■ Like the going softly by one that cannot well see.' Colliers These
words are probably addressed to his troops.
8-66. Enter, &c] Knight: This scene, in which a clue is so beautifully fur-
 IS

ACT IV, SC. iv.] HAMLET 323

Ham. How purposed, sir, I pray you ? II

Cap. Against some part of Poland.
Ham. Who commands them, sir ?
Cap. The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras.
Ham. Goes it against the main of Poland, sir,
Or for some frontier ?
Cap. Truly to speak, and with no addition,
We go to gain a little patch of ground
That hath in it no profit but the name. 20
To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it ;
Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole
A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee.
Ham. Why, then the Polack never will defend it
Cap. Yes, 'tis already garrison'd.
11. purposed] purpofd QaQ3- pro- 17. no] no more Anon.*
20. five ducats, five,] fiue duckets, fitted
pofdQQ. propofd Q'76, Rowe. pro-
posed CaXd. Knt. Qq. Jive ducats— five, Theob. Warb.
12. Against] Sir, against Cap., read- farm it ;] far me it? Q*QS'
ing lines II— 13 as two lines, ending 22. sold] so Rowe ii.
against... sir f 24. Yes, 'tis] Pope + , Steev. Var*
14. nephew] nephews G\o. (misprint?) Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Sta. White,
Ktly, Dyce ii, Del. Huds. O, yes, it is
to] of Q'76, Rowe + , Jen.
17. speak] speak it Pope + . speak , Cap. Nay, His Q'76, Rowe. Yes, it is
sir Cap. Steev. Bos. Dyce ii, Del. Huds.
speak on't Anon.* Qq et cet.

nished to the indecision of Ham., was perhaps omitted in the Ff on account of the
extreme length of the play, and as not helping on the action. Collier : So import-
ant is it as a key to Hamlet's character, that its omission convinces us that the abbre-
viation of the play as we find it in Ft was the work of the players and not of Sh.
Lloyd (Crit. Essay, Singer's 2d ed. p. 345): Beautiful as the soliloquy in this
scene is, I am disposed to think that the excision of it may have been deliberate,—
as unnecessary, prolonging the action, and, it may be, exhibiting the weakness of
Ham. too crudely ; it shows him making the most definite of his resolutions to re-
venge precisely as he turns his back upon the last opportunity by quitting the coun-
try. The passage, however, with some others, is too fine to be suppressed, though I
am inclined to think the poet sacrificed them, and worthily and properly they may
teike their place in brackets.
15. main] Clarendon : The chief power. See II, ii, 56.
20. five] Theobald, in his correspondence with Warburton (Nichols's Lit. Hist.
ii, 575), suggested five ducats fine, but did not adopt nor even allude to the sugges-
tion in his edition. Dyce (ed. ii) says that Mr John Jones proposed the same
reading, taking ' fine' either as a market denomination, or in the sense of ' rent.'
24. garrison'd] See ' I'll . . , him,* Macb. Ill, vi, 49. Walker (Vers. 273) 1
Pronounce garr'son'd. Scan • Yes, 'tis | alrea | dy gam | son'd.*
 324 HAMLET [act iv, sc. iv.
Ham. Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats 2$
Will not debate the question of this straw ;
This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace,
That inward breaks, and shows no cause without
Why the man dies. — I humbly thank you, sir.
Cap. God be wi' you, sir. [Exit.
Ros. Will't please you go, my lord ? 30
Ham. I'll be with you straight. Go a little before.
[Exeunt all except Hamlet.
How all occasions do inform against me,
And spur my dull revenge ! What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed ? a beast, no more. 35
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not

25. Two] Ten Walker. (ending the line straight). Iwill Steev*
twenty thousand] 20,000 Q'76. Var. Cald. Knt, Sta.
many thousand Han. 31. straight] Om. Pope, Han,
30. be wi* you] Cap. buy you Qq. Go] Go on Ktly.
b} w3 ye Q'76, Rowe+, Jen. V wV you [Exeunt...] Dyce. Exe. Manet
Dyce, White. Hamlet. Rowe. Om. Qq.
[Exit.] Dyce. Exit Captain. Cap. 35. feed?] Q'76. feede, Qq.
31. I'll] He Qq {lie QJ. / will Cap. 36. such] fuh Q4.

25, 26. Two . . . straw] As You Like It (Gent. Mag. lx, 403) : These lines
are certainly given to Ham. very wrongfully, as they undoubtedly belong to the Capt.
Ham. appears entirely ignorant of the object of the Norwegian army. The Capt.
speaks with contempt of the little patch of ground, which for five ducats he would
not farm, to recover which so many souls were to be sacrificed and so much money
expended. After this, Ham. begins very properly, « This is an imposthume/ &c.
Tschischwitz goes still farther, and gives the whole speech down to ' dies.' to the
Capt., on the ground that this speech does not accord with what Ham. says after-
wards, where honor is the cause that impels him to the struggle, not an * imposthume
of much wealth and peace.'
27. imposthume] Clarendon : Cotgrave, 'Apostume : f. An Jmpostume ; an in-
ward swelling full of corrupt matter.' Caldecott : Compare I Hen. IV; IV, ii, 32.
34. market] Johnson : That for which he sells his time. Seymour (ii, 195) :
This means his prime of life, the time at which he ought to exert his faculties to the
best advantage and profit. Clarendon : Possibly, the business in which he employs
his time.
36. discourse] See I, ii, 150. Johnson: Such latitude of comprehension, such
power of reviewing the past and anticipating the future.
37. Looking, &c] Theobald : An expression purely Homeric. Conf. Iliad t iii,
109 ; xviii, 250.
act rv, sc. iv.) HAMLET 325

That capability and god-like reason

To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be
Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple 40
Of thinking too precisely on the event, — \
A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom
And ever three parts coward, — I do not know
Why I yet I live to say * This thing's to do,'
Sith have cause, and will, and strength, and means, 45
To do't. Examples, gross as earth, exhort me ;
Witness this army, of such mass and charge,
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Whose spirit with divine ambition pufFd
Makes mouths at the invisible event ; 50
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,
Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
39. fust] rust Rowe, Pope, Theob be great Never to stir Pope, Theob. Han.
Han. Warb. Warb.
43. 44. know. .Jive] know. WJiy yet 54. Xs not] Is not, not Cap. Is, no*
live /Q'37 (MS), Ingleby's copy * ' Mai. Steev. Bos. Cald. Knt, Sing.
53» 54» lightly. ..to stir] *Tis not to
39. fust] Wedgwood : To grow mouldy. From French fuste, a cask, fusti,
fusty, tasting or smelling of the cask.
40. scruple] See Abbott, § i63. Clarendon: Scruple which consists in think-
ing or results from thinking.
44. to do] For instances of the infinitive active where we should use the passive,
cee Abbott, § 359; Macb. V, vi, 5.
45. Sith] See II, ii, 6 ; and Abbott, § 132.
50. mouths] See II, ii, 347
53-56. Rightly . . . stake] Johnson : This sentiment is partly just and partly
romantic. ' Rightly . . . argument ' is exactly philosophical. * But . . stake ' is the
idea of a modern hero. But then, says he, honor is an argument, or subject of de-
bate, sufficiently great ', and when honor is at stake, we must find cause of quarrel in
a straw.
54. Is not to stir] [Does the ' not ' belong to the copula or to the predicate ? I
think it belongs to the copula, and that there should be a comma after it : * Is not,
to stir,' &c. To stir without great argument, upon every trifling occasion, is not an
attribute of greatness; it is rather the attribute of smallness, of a mere love of
fighting ; but it is the attribute of greatness to stir instantly and at a trifle when
honor is touched. The mere fact that For. is astir, and Ham. is still, does not prove
the former to be the greater man, or make him an example to the latter. But be-
cause, for the merest fantasy that his honor was touched, he was going to his grave
28
 326 HAMLET [ACT IV, SC.V.

But greatly to find quarrel in a straw 55

When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd,
Excitements of my reason and my blood,.
And let all sleep, while to my shame I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men, 60
That for a fantasy and trick of fame
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain ? Oh, from this time forth, 65
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth ! [Exit

Scene V Elsinore A room in the castle.

Enter Queen, Horatio, and a Gentleman.

Queen. I will not speak with her.
60. imminent] iminent Qq. eminent Enter...] Pope. Enter Horatio, Ger»
Q'03, Rowe. trard, and a Gentleman. Qq. Enter
62. plot] spot Pope, Han. plat Jen. Queene and Horatio. Ff, Johns. Steev.
conj. Var. Cald. Sing. Knt, Dyce, Del. White,
65. 0,~\ O then Pope + , Cap. Clarke. Enter Queen, Horatio, and At-
Scene v.] Pope. Scene hi. Rowe. tendants. Rowe. Enter Queen, and a
Elsinore. A room...] Cap. A Gentleman. Han. Enter Queen, attend-
Palace. Rowe -re ed; Horatio, and a Gentleman. Cap.

as to a bed, herein lies the contrast and example to Ham. Moreover, when *not*
is joined to the copula, and a comma placed after it, the force of ■ But ■ is felt, thus :
True greatness is not (predicate), but it is this. Include the ' not ' in the predicate,
and * But ' becomes inconsequent : True greatness is (predicate), but it is this. Ca-
PELL perceived this, and added a second not as a compromise, embracing both read-
ings :' Is not, not to stir,' &c. DELIUS does not actually add the second noty but
he says it is understood, or rather that the * not ' belongs to both copula and predicate.
This discussion may seem trifling enough, but we must remember that : Rightly to
punctuate is not, to put a stop without great argument, but greatly to find quarrel in
a comma when Shakespeare's at the stake. Ed.]
58. blood] Clarendon : * Blood,' which is stirred by passion, is here, as fre-
quently, antithetical to reason and reflection. See III, ii, 64.
61. fame] Caldecott: That is, point of honor. Delius: ♦ Of fame' belongs
to ' fantasy ' as well as to ' trick ' = an illusion and a whim that promise fame.
64. continent] Steevens : That which comprehends or encloses. Reed ; ■ and
if there be no fullness, then is the continent greater than the content.' — Bacon, Adv.
yf Learning [p. 6, ed. Wright],
Scene V.] Miles (p. 62) : With this pomp and circumstance of Fortinbras and
act iv, sc. v.] HAMLET 327

Gent. She is importunate, indeed distract; 2

Theob. Han. 2, 3. She. ..pitied.'] As in Cop. Two

2, 4.Cap.
Warb. Coll.Pope,
Jen. Qq,
Gent.] El. Sta. Ktly, Glo. lines, the first ending importunate Qq,
+ , Mob. Hor. Ff, Rowe, Johns et cet. Rowe + , Jen. Prose in Ff.
2. She] Beseech you, madam, she Sey- 2. distract ;... pitied.] dijlradedt and
mour. deferves pity. Q'7o.

his army, — with this flash of a better fortune for Denmark athwart the deepening
drama, the Act should end. Ending here, the interval consumed by the voyage to
England, the return of Laer. from Paris, and the expedition of For. to Poland and
back, is thrown between the Acts, — its natural place. This proposed extension of
the Third Act would make this greatest of tragedies the most symmetrical too ; while
the Fourth Act, relieved of a confusion which is now mistaken for an anticlimax,
would be devoted with a single purpose to its two superb contrasts : the revenge of
Laer. with the revenge of Ham., and the utter madness of Oph. with the semi-
counterfeit lunacy of her lover. A gain almost as great for the closet as for the
stage. Marshall (p. 77) : The interval which elapses between this scene and the
preceding is at least a month, and probably more. [Page 193.] — This may be seen
by an examination of the remaining scenes. No break can occur at the end of this
scene; the conversation between the King and Laer. in sc. vii is evidently part
of that which ends this scene; the time occupied by sc. vi is merely sufficient
for the King to explain to Laer. the circumstances of Polonius's death. We find
from sc. vi that Ham. has returned, having been taken by the pirates on his second
day out ; how long he was detained by them does not appear; it must have been for
some time, since between Acts IV and V there cannot elapse much more than two
days, and at the end of Act V we find ambassadors announcing the death of Ros.
and Guil., and For. returned from Poland, so that it is evident that the break im-
plied bya new Act ought to occur at the end of IV, iv. Moreover, if Ophelia's
madness were introduced at the beginning of a new Act, it would be more effective,
and the interval which is supposed to have occurred would give color to the causes
which produced ft. [See notes on Act IV, p. 311.]
Enter.. .Gentleman] Collier : The omission in the Ff of the Gentleman was,
no doubt, to avoid the employment of another actor. Dyce : There is certainly room
for suspecting that the omission of the * Gentleman ' is to be attributed to the players.
But be that as it may, there can be no doubt that if a modern editor adheres to Ft in
this omission, he ought to restore to Hor. (what comes very awkwardly from the
Queen) lines 14, 15 ; and that, whether he chooses to retain or omit the ' Gentleman,'
he ought to make the Queen's speech begin with line 16. White: I see no reason
for deviating from F,. Lines 14, 15 are much more appropriate in the Queen's
mouth, as a reflection by which she is led to change her determination with regard
to Oph., than as a direct warning to a queen from a subject. CLARKE : We think
there is something exquisitely appropriate in making Hamlet's beloved friend Hor. the
one who watches over and tenderly thinks for Oph. during the Prince's absence, and
brings her to his mother alone. Feeling thus, we believe it to have been Shake-
speare's reconsidered intention. Clarendon: Lines 1 1-1 3, so cautiously obscure,
seem better suited to an ordinary courtier than to Hor.
2. distract] See I, ii, 20.
 HAMLET
[ACT IV, SC. V.

328mood will needs be pitied.

Her
Queen. What would she have ?
Gent. She speaks much of her father ; says she hears
There's tricks i' the world ; and hems and beats her heart ;
Spurns enviously at straws ; speaks things in doubt,
That carry but half sense ; her speech is nothing,
Yet the unshaped use of it doth move IO
The hearers to collection ; they aim at it,
And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts ;
Which, as her winks and nods and gestures yield them,
Indeed would make one think there might be thought,
Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily.
Hor. 'Twere
strew good she were spoken with, for she may
9. aim] ayme FXF9. yawne Qq. Bos. Cald. Knt, Sing. White. Given to
fawn Jen. gape El. (Athenczum, II Hor. Qq, Pope, Theob. Warb. Cap.
Aug.'66). Jen. Steev.'73, El. Lines 14, 15 are
continued to the preceding speaker by
10. botch'] both F3F4, Rowe. Han. Johns. Dyce, Del. Huds. Lines
11. as her] as QAQS- at her F3F4.
12. might] would Ff, Rowe. 14, 15, given to the Queen as an ' aside,
thought] thoughts F3F4, Rowe. and stage-direction [To Hor.] before
14-16. Hor....z#.] Blackstone, Coll. line 16, by White. Lines end with..,
Sta. Ktly, Glo. + , Mob. Given to Queen conjectures. ..in. in Ff.
in Ff, Rowe, Steev.'85, Mai. Steev.'o^,
3. will] See Abbott, § 319.
5. There's] See III, iv, 202.
6. Spurns] Hudson : Kicks.
6. enviously] Nares : Angrily, spitefully. Singer : * Enviously ■ and spitefully
are treated as synonymous by old writers.
6. doubt] Caldecott : Without distinct or certain aim.
9. collection] Mason: To endeavor to collect some meaning from it.
9. aim] Collier: The Qq may possibly be right, though not very likely to be so.
12. thought] Staunton : ' Thought ' is possibly a misprint, caught from the line
above, for meant, or seen, or a word of like import. Clarendon : The general
sense of this ill-expressed sentence is more easily understood than paraphrased.
The speaker is afraid of committing himself to any definite statement. If he had
spoken out he would have said : ' Her words and gestures lead one to infer that some
great misfortune has happened to her.'
13. unhappily] Warburton: Though her meaning cannot be certainly col-
lected, yet there is enough to put a mischievous interpretation to it. Steevens :
That this word once signified mischievous is seen in Holland's Pliny* s Nat. Hist. b.
xix, ch. vii : ' the shrewd and unhappie soules which lie upon the lands, and
eat up the seed new sowne.'
14. she were] Walker (Cril. ii, 202) : Thou wert (sometimes written in the
old poets Th1 wert), you were, I was, &c, occur frequently in places where it is clear
act iv, sc. v.] HAMLET 3 29

Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds. 15

Queen. Let her come in. \Exit Gentleman.
[Aside] To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is,
Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss ;
So full of artless jealousy is guilt,
It spills itself in fearing to be spilt. 20
Re-enter Gentleman, with Ophelia.
Oph. Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark 7
Queen. How now, Ophelia ?

Oph. [Sings'] How should I your true-love know

16. [Exit Gentleman.] Han. Cap. Re-enter Horatio, with Ophelia. Steev.i
Cam. Cla. Om. QqFf, Rowe+, Jen. et cet.
Exit Hor. Johns, et cet. 21. beauteous"] beautious Q3Q3>
16. 17, in. To] in To FaF3F4. 22. Ophelia?] Ophelia. Q4Q$. OpJu-
17. [Aside] Cap. Cam. Cla. Om. Hal Dyce, Glo. + .
QqFf. 23. [Sings] fhee fings, Qq. Om. Ff.
20. Re-enter...] Cam. Cla. Enter 23-26. How...shoon.] Two lines, Qq
Ophelia. Qq (after line 16). Enter Ff, Rowe + , Jen.
Ophelia diftracted. F£, Rowe+, Jen. 23. true-love] Hyphened by Cap.
Enter Horatio, with Ophelia, distracted. Dyce ii.
Johns. Enter Ophelia, wildly. Cap.

they must have been pronounced as one syllable, in whatever manner the contrac-
tion was effected. [See also Abbott, § 461.]
17-20. To... spilt] Collier: It deserves notice that these lines are marked
with inverted commas in the Qq, not for the purpose of showing that the passage
was a quotation, but apparently to enforce it as a maxim. It was not a very unusual
practice. [See I, iii, 59, Knight's and Dyce's notes. Ed.],
18. amiss] Misfortune, disaster. For instances of its use as a substantive, see
NARES, Steevens, and Concordance to Shakespeare's Poems.
19. jealousy] Clarendon : Suspicion. Guilt is so full of suspicion that it un«
skilfully betrays itself in fearing to be betrayed.
20. Ophelia] Hunter (ii, 258) : Perhaps the * lute ' of Q, was banished when
line 21 was added, which must be said running wildly up to the Queen, when the
lute would have been an incumbrance. Sir Joshua Reynolds : There is no part
of this play in its representation on the stage, more pathetick than this scene ; which,
I suppose, proceeds from the utter insensibility Oph. has to her own misfortunes.
A great sensibility, or none at all, seems to produce the same effect. In the latter
the audience supply what she wants, and with the former they sympathize. Cole-
ridge :Ophelia singing. O, note the conjunction here of these two thoughts that
had never subsisted in disjunction, the love of Hamlet and her filial love, with the
guileless floating on the surface of her pure imagination of the cautions so lately ex-
pressed, and the fears not too delicately avowed, by her father and brother, concern-
ing the dangers to which her honor lay exposed. This play of association is in*
stanced in lines 67, 68.
23. [Sings] Knight : The music still sung in the character of Oph. is supposed

28*
 HAMLET
[ACT IV, SC. V.
33Q From another one t
By his cockle -hat and staff 25
And his sandal shoon.
Queen, Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song ?
26. And his] and by his Q'76, Johns. 26. sandal] Sendall Qq.

to be the same or nearly so that was used in Shakespeare's time, and thence trans-
mitted to us by tradition. When Drury-lane Theatre was burnt in 1812, the copy
of these songs shared the fate of the whole musical library. Chappell {Popular
Music of the * Olden Time,' vol. i, p. 236) : The late \V. Linley (an accomplished
amateur, and brother of the highly-gifted Mrs Sheridan) collected and published
• the wild and pathetic melodies of Oph., as he remembered them to have been
exquisitely sung by Mrs Forster, when she was Miss Field, and belonged to Drury-
lane Theatre;' and he says 'the impression remained too strong on his mind to
make him doubt the correctness of the airs, agreeably to her delivery of them.'
Dr Arnold also noted them down from the singing of Mrs Jordan. Mr Ayrton
has followed that version in Knight's Shakespeare. The notes of the air to this first
song of Ophelia's are the same in both ; but in the former it is in three-quarter time, -■
in the latter in common time. The melody is printed in common time in The
Beggar's Opera (1728), to 'You'll think, e'er many days ensue,' and in The Gene-
rous Freemason, 1731. The following is the tune; but in singing Ophelia's frag-
:w
ments, each line should begin on the first of the bar, and not with the note before it.
In the ballad-operas it has the burden, Twang, lang, dildo dee, at the end, with two

rr
additional bars of music :
Moderate time, and smoothly.
J , 1
M
j^-JJfl^
5£E How should I
-a* er one?
And how should I your true-love know From many anoth-
From anoth* er
Oh, by his coc - kle
By his
sen m
3 3
22:

A ^m
f 2 *f*
f=F=g
S
r
S
* and
33=hat staff, And by his sandal shoon. Twang, lar.g, dil • do dee-

mm
And his

3 gj Jnj-y- g j. sL £ m
25. cockle-hat] Warburton : The description of a pilgrim. While this kind
of devotion was in favor, love intrigues were carried on under this mask. Hence
the old ballads and novels made pilgrimages the subjects of their plots. The cockle-
shell hat was one of the essential badges of this vocation; for the chief places of
devotion being beyond sea or on the coasts, the pilgrims were accustomed to put
cockle-shells upon their hats, to denote the intention or performance of their de-
votion.
26. shoon] Delius : This form of the plural was archaic in Shakespeare's time.
Elze: It also occurs in 2 Hen. VI; IV, ii, 195.
ACT IV. SC. V.J HAMLET

Oph. Say you ? nay, pray you, mark.

[Sings] He is dead and go?ie, lady,
He is dead and gone t 3°
At his head a grass-green turf,
At his heels a stone. 331
0,ho!
Queen. Nay, but, Ophelia, —
Oph. Pray you, mark.
[Sings] White his shroud as the mountain snow,"
Enter King.

Queen. Alas, look here, my lord. 35

Oph. [Sings] Larded with sweet flowers ;
Which bewept to the grave did go
With true-love showers.
Ff, Rowe + , Jen.
28. Say you?"] Say you, Qq.
29. [Sings] Song. Qq. Ora. Ff. 36. Sings] Song. Qq (opposite line
29, 30. He is... He is] He's. ..he is Ff. Larded all Qq, Theob,
37). Om.
Larded]
Pope,
Warb. Theob. Johns. He's... he's Han.
Warb. Johns. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald.
29~32' He.. .stone.] Cap. Two lines, Sing. Sta. Ktly.
QqFf, Rowe + , Jen. 37. bewept] beweept Qq.
33. O, ho/] Qq. Om. Ff, Rowe, grave] ground Qq, Cap. Jen.
Pope, Theob. Han. Warb. Knt, Dyce, did] Pope, did not QqFf, Rowe,
Sta. White, Glo. Huds. 0,0! Cap. Oh, Jen. Mai. Cald. Knt, Coll. i, El. Ktly.
ho I Coll. ii. Oh, oh I Cam. Cla. 38. true-love] true toue Qq, Theob.
34. [Sings] Cap. Om. QqFf. Warb. Johns,
his] the Warb. showers] flowers F3F4
Enter King.] After stone, line 32,

29-32, 34-38. The continuation of the same song, and to the same tune.
31. grass-green] Elze adopts green grass of Collier's (MS) and Percy's ReU
iques.
36. Larded] Caldecott : Garnished, set out as a dish. Also in V, ii, 20, and
in < a quiet and retired life, Larded with ease and pleasure.' — Jonson's Sejanus, III,
ii, p. 86, ed. GifFord, 1816.
37. bewept] Keightley : We might read unwept, as in Rich. ILI: II, ii, 6$ ;
or as I have done unbewept, as the initial un is at Hmes omitted.
37. did go] Caldecott : His • shroud,' or corpse, « did not go bewept with true-
love showers,' for his was no love-case ; his death had the tragical character of fierce
outrage, and this was the primary and deepest impression on her lost mind ; she felt
that something more than the ceremonial forms, insisted on by Laer., was wanting.
Collier : The QqFf read ' did not go,' which Pope considered an error, and it
probably was so. Dyce : That any one should fail at once to perceive that the
original reading, * did not go,' is utterly irreconcilable with the preceding, ' Larded
 HAMLET [act IV, SC. V.

32
3King. How do you, pretty lady ?
Oph. Well, God 'ild you! They say the owl was a 40
baker's daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but know
not what we may be. God be at your table !
King. [Aside] Conceit upon her father.
Oph. Pray you, let's have no words of this ; but when
they ask you what it means, say you this : 45
[Sings] To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
39. you] ye Ff, Rowe+. FXF2. Pray lets Qq. Pray let's Q'76,
40. God Hid] Cap. good dild Qq. Cap. Jen. Pray you let us F3F4, Rowe,
Cod dil'd Ff, Rowe, Pope, Theob. Cald. Knt. Pray let us Pope + , Steev.
Codild Han. God yield Warb. God Var. Sing. Ktly.
'ield Johns. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. 46. [Sings] Song. Qq. Om. Ff.
Saint] S. QqFf.
Sta. Ktly, Huds. God 'eld Jen. God
dild Dyce. 46-49. Four lines, Qq, Johns. Two,
41. but know] but we know Johns. Ff. Rowe+.

42. God. .. table !] Om. Q'76. 46. To-morrow is] Good morrow, 'tis
43. [Aside.] Ed. Farmer, Steev. Sing. El.
44. Pray you, let's] Pray you lets
with sweet flowers' ! And that any one should have the folly to suppose that the
ballad now sung by Oph. must apply in minute particulars to her father ! Enough
for her that it is a ditty about death and burial ; no matter that its hero is a youthful
lover, — he was cut off by a sudden fate, and so far resembled Pol. Keightley :
Though the printers often omitted the negative (as once already in this play), they
rarely added it. We have, however, an instance in Much Ado, III, ii, 28, and it
might be better to suppose the same to be the case here.
40. God *ild] * God reward you.' See Macb. I, vi, 13.
41. daughter] Douce: This is a common story among the vulgar in Gloucester-
shire, and is thus related : * Our Saviour went into a baker's shop where they were
baking, and asked for some bread to eat. The mistress of the shop immediately put a
piece of dough into the oven to bake for him, but was reprimanded by her daughter,
who, insisting that the piece of dough was too large, reduced it to a very small size.
The dough, however, immediately afterwards began to swell, and presently became
of a most enormous size. Whereupon the baker's daughter cried out, " Heugh,
heugh, heugh," which owl-like noise probably induced our Saviour for her wicked-
ness to transform her into that bird.' This story is often related to children, in order
to deter them from such illiberal behavior to poor people. Caldecott: The plumage
of the melancholy bird, and the color of the baker, in correspondence with her
father's 'white shroud,' and probably her own habit, may have suggested, to a bewil-
dered mind, this singular allusion. Elze: As little did the baker's daughter expect
to be turned into an owl as it occurred to my father and myself to anticipate the
kind of death we should die. Doering (p. 79) : Oph. feels that she has acted
towards Ham. in an equally heartless manner.
43. conceit] Imagination. See III, iv, 114. Moberly: The King seems to
catch only the word ' daughter,' and so misunderstands.
46. Strachey (p. S$) : If we bear in mind the notorious fact that, in the dread-
 HAMLET 333
ACT IV. SC. V.]
47
All in the morning betime,
A?id I a maid at your window %
To be yonr Valentine.
47. morning] morne Fa. morn F3F+, Rovve H, Cap
ful visitation of mental derangement, delicate and refined women will use language
so coarse that it is difficult to guess where they can ever have even heard such words,
and certain that wherever heard they would have always lain, unknown of, and in-
nocuous, in the mind, unless the hot-bed of mental fever had quickened them for the
first time into life ;— if we remember this fact, and couple it with the consideration
that the infant ears of the motherless Ophelia might have heard the talk and the
songs of such a nurse as that of Juliet, we shall find nothing improbable, nor even
unseemly, in the poor girl's songs — not only nothing to disturb our faith in the un-
sullied purity of her maiden mind, but nothing to cloud the bright beauty of that
purity with even the slightest passing breath. [Mrs Jameson was, I think, the first
to suggest that Oph. may have been sung to sleep in infancy by snatches of old bal-
lads such as these, and Mrs Cowden Clarke has carried out the idea in her story
of The Rose of'Elsinore, where Botilda, the nurse, is scolded for singing this song to
her infant charge.] Hudson {Shakespeare: His Life, Art, &c, Boston, 1872, ii,
281) : The immodesty of some of these songs is surpassingly touching; it tells us,
as nothing else could, that Oph. is utterly unconscious of what she is saying.
l6. [Sings] Chappell {Popular Music of the * Olden Time,' vol. i, p. 227) :
This song is found in several of the ballad-operas, such as The Cobblers' Opera
(1729), The Quaker's Opera (1728), &c. In Pills to purge Melancholy (1707), ii,
44) it is printed to a song in Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, beginning, * Arise, arise,
my juggy, my puggy.' Other versions will be found under the name of ' Who list
to lead a soldier's life ?' and ' Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor.'
Cheerfully.

;gpg ^^b-^J— i5±£C^^^

im^mm
Good morrow, 'tis St Valentine's day. All in the morning be - time,

Wi-^T
afe£ i
E^&E *
And maid at your window To be your Val- en - tine.

m £E
=?2
i y ; ift.

46. Saint Valentine's day] Halliwell : This song*. alludes to the custom of the
first girl seen by a man on the morning of this day being considered his Valentine or
true-love. The custom continued until the last century, and is graphically alluded to
by Gay. The custom of the different sexes choosing themselves mates on St Valen-
tine's day, 14th February, the names being selected either by lots or methods of
divination, is of great antiquity in England. The name so drawn was the Valentine
of the drawer. Douce traces the custom to the Lupercalia of Rome, during which
334 HAMLET [act rv. sc. v.
Then up he rose, and donrid his clothes, 50
And dupp'd the chamber door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
King. Pretty Ophelia !
Oph. Indeed, la, without an oath, I'll make an end on't: 55
[Sings'] By Gis, and by Saint Charity,
Alack, and fie for shame I
Young men will ddt, if they come tdt;
By Cock, they are to blame.
50-53. Four lines, Johns. Two, Qq
Ff, Rowe + . Six in Cap. Ff,55. Indeed,
Rowe, Cald.la,"]Indeede
Johns.Q3Qr
Indeed la f
Indeed
50. donn'd] dond Qq. tforid Cap. QQ. Steev.
ludeed,
Jen. Var.Q»76, Theob.Warb.
Sing. Cap.
Indeed ? Pope,
clothes] close Qq. cloathes F2. Han.
Jen. F4, Rowe.
cloths 56. [Sings] Cap. Om. QqFf.
Gis] gis QqFxF2.
51. dupp'd] dupt QqFf, Rowe+.
ofd Han. ddpt Warb. d'op'd Cap. Saint] S. Ff, Rowe, Pope, Theob.
(T upt Jen. Han. Warb.
52. the maid, that out] the maid, let 56-59. Four lines, QqFf. Six, Cap.
in Fa. a maid, that out F3F4, Rowe, 57. and fie] an fie F3F , Rowe.
Pope, a maid, but out Han. 59. to blame] too blame QaQ3Q4FfF2.

a similar custom prevailed. There is nothing in the life of the Saint himself which
can authorize such a practice, and his day was merely selected as most fit in point
of time whereon to engraft a Christian festival. It was also believed that on this
day birds chose their mates. Pepys gives some quaint notices of * Valentines • in
his Diary under date 14th and 16th Feb., 1666, and 14th and 18th Feb., 1667.
51. dupp'd] Wedgwood : To do up, as doff and don, to do off and do on.
52, 53. Let . . . more] Douce found a French ballad of 1598, of which the con-
clusion runs thus : ' Elle y entra pucelle, Grossette elle en sorta.'
56-63. A continuation of the same song.
56. Gis] Johnson : Rather, * By Cis,y i. e. By St Cecily. Ridley : There is not
the least mention of any saint whose name corresponds with this, either in the Ro-
man Calendar, the service in Usum Sarum, or in the Benedictionary of Bishop
Athelwold. I believe the word to be only a corrupted abbreviation of Jesus, the
letters J. H. S. being anciently all that was set down to denote that sacred name, on
altars, the covers of books, &c. Ritson : Though Gis may be, and I believe is,
only a contraction of Jesus, there is certainly a Saint Gislen, with whose name it
corresponds. Douce: Ridley's conjecture is the true one j but the corruption is
not in the way he has stated. The letters I H S would not be pronounced Gis,
even by those who understood them as a Greek contraction
56. Saint Charity] Steevens : This is a known saint among the Roman Cath-
olics. Spenser mentions her, Eclog. V, 255.
59. Cock] Dyce (Gloss.) : A corruption, or euphemism, for God. This irreve-
rent alteration of the sacred name was formerly very common ; it occurs at least
 ACT IV, SC. V.] HAMLET 335

Quoth she, before you tumbled me, 60

You promised me to wed.
He answers :
So would I JicC done, by yonder sun,
And thou hadst not come to my bed.
King. How long hath she been thus ?
OpJi. I hope all will be well. We must be patient ; but 65
I cannot choose but weep, to think they should lay him i'
the cold ground. My brother shall know of it ; and so I
thank you for your good counsel. — Come, my coach !—
Good night, ladies ; good night, sweet ladies ; good night,
good night. [Exit. JO
King. Follow her close; give her good watch, I pray
you. — [Exit Horatio.
Oh, this' the poison of deep grief; it springs
All from her father's death. O Gertrude, Gertrude,
When sorrows come, they come not single spies,
60. Quoth she, before] Before, quoth Ff(subs.). night. Sweet... night. Qq,
she, Cap. reading Szveel... night, as a separate line.
60, 61. Two lines, Ff, Rowe + . One, 69. sweet ladies] Sweet L aides Q .
Qq. Three, Cap. 70. [Exit.] Om. Qq.
62. He answers :] {He answers.) Qq. 71. Two lines, Ff.
Om. Ff, Rowe + ,Knt, El. Dyce, Sta. [Exit Horatio.] Theob. Exeunt
Glo. Del. Huds. Hor. and Att. Cap. Om. QqFf.
So. ..sun,] Two lines, Cap. 72. Oh, this] This Pope-K
would] should Q4QS> 72. 73. As prose, Qq, Jen.( As verse,
ha' done] ha done Ff. a done Qq. ending the lines with fprings... behold,
63. And] QqFf, Rowe + , Jen. An and reading O Gertrude, Gertrude, as
Han. et cet. a separate line, Steev. Bos. Cald. Coll.
Sing. El. White, Del. Ktly.
64. Knt.
Cald. been thus"] bin this Ft. been this
73. death. O] Pope, death. Oh Ff,
66. should] would Qq, Cap. Coll. El. Rowe. death, and now .behold, 0 Qq.
White. death. And now behold, O Jen. Steev.
69,70. Good. ..good. ..good. ..good] God Ktly. Cald. Coll. Sing. El. White, Del.
Var.
. . .god. . .god. . .god Q2Q3« God. . . God. . . God
...GodQAQs. 74. come, they] comes, they Ff.
night, sweet. ..night.] Theob. as in spies] fpyes Q2Q3.

a dozen times in Heywood's Edward the Fourth, where, in one passage, the Herald
*:ays, ' Sweare ... so help you God,' and King Lewis replies, ' So helpe me Cock.'
72. this'] For instances of the contraction of this is into a monosyllable : this9
(where this line is given as an example), see Walker, Vers. 80; Abbott, §461.
73. Stratmann : I suppose Sh. first wrote and now behold, for which he then sub»
stituted ' O Gertrude, Gertrude.'
74. spies] M. H. {Gent. Maga.\o\. Ix, p. 307) : Read^&j, as more correspond*
ent to battalions.
 HAMLET [act iv. sc. V,

33^in battalions ! First, her father slain ;

But 75 85
Next, your son, gone ; and he most violent author
Of his own just remove ; the people muddied,
Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers,
80
For good Polonius' death ; and we have done but greenly,
In hugger-mugger to inter him ; poor Ophelia
Divided from herself and her fair judgement,
Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts ;
Last, and as much containing as all these,
Her brother is in secret come from France,
Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds,
And wants not buzzers to infect his ear
With pestilent speeches of his father's death ;
Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd,
75. "battalions'] Rowe. battalions Qq. but Q'76. the which we're Pope+,
BattaliaesF^. Battels F3F4. battalias Dyceii, Huds.
Dyce, Sta. Huds. 85. Feeds on his wonder] Johns. Feeds
78. their] Om. Qq. on this wonder Qq, Rowe, Pope, Theob.
79. and we have] We've Pope + . Warb. Keepes on his wonder Ff {Keeps
but greenly^] Om. Q'76. Trans- F3F4). Feeds on his anger Han.
ferred to next line by Cap. 86. buzzers] whi/pers Q'76.
80. In hugger-mugger] Obfcurely 88. Wherein] Where in Ff, Rowe.
Q'76. In private Pope, Theob. Han. Wherein necessity] Whence anU
Warb. Om. Cap. Hyphen by Steev. tnosity Han.
82. the which we are] which we are
77. muddied . . . unwholesome] Delius : These refer primarily to the blood,
and then, with which Sh. here connects them, to the mood of the people. Dyce
(ed. ii) reads mudded, as he does also in A IPs Well, V, ii, 4.
79. greejttly] Johnson : Unskilfully, with greenness, without maturity of judge-
ment.
80. hugger-mugger] Steevens : Sh. probably took the expression from North's
Plutarch, p. 999, ed. 1631 [p. 121, ed. Skeat] : ' Antonius thinking good .... that
his bodie should be honorably buried, and not in hugger-mugger.' Malone : Its
meaning is seen in Florio's Diet. : Dinascoso, secretly ', hiddenlyt in hugger-mugger.
[See Wheatley's Diet, of Reduplicated Words.]
81. Divided] Tschischwitz : Compare V, ii, 221.
85. wonder] Clarendon : The mysterious death of Pol. filled his son with doubt
and amazement.
85. in clouds] Theobald (Nichols's Lit. Hist, ii, 575) : Thirlby has conjectured
inclosed, i.e. private, close in his apartment, and cites IV, vii, 130, in confirmation.
But change is needless ; the text means : 'to be reserved and mysterious in his con-
duct.' Caldecott: At lofty distance and seclusion. Tschischwitz suggests
* keeps in his wonder, wraps himself in clouds.'
88. Wherein] Johnson : Wherein (that is, in which pestilent speeches) neces*
sity, or the obligation of an accuser to support his charge, will nothing stick? &a
 HAMLET
337
ACT IV, SC. V.]

Will nothing stick our person to arraign

In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude, this,
Like to a murdering-piece, in many places
Gives me superfluous death.
[A noise witJiin.
Queen. Alack, what noise is this ?
King. Where are my Switzers ? Let them guard the
door. —
Enter another Gentleman.

What is the matter ?

Gent. 90
Save yourself, my lord ;

89. person] perfons Ff, Rowe+, Cap. 93. are] is QaQ3.

Cald. Knt, Coll. Del. i, El. Switzers] Swijfers Qq.
91. murdering-piece] Hyphen, Q.Q-. 93> 94» Let. ..matter.] One line Fl.
piece,.. .places] Peece... places, Ff, Enter another Gentleman.] Sta.
Rowe, Pope. Enter a Gentleman, hastily. Cap. En-
92. Queen. Alack,.. .this ?] Om. Qq, ter a Meflenger. (after death, line 92)
Pope, Han. QqFf, Rowe, Pope. (after this, line
93. Scene vi. Pope + , Jen. 92) Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. Enter a
Where] Attend, where Qq. At- Gentleman, (after this) Steev.Var. Cald
tend. Wliere Jen. Steev.Var. Cald. Coll. Knt, Coll. Sing. El. White, Ktly.
Sing. El. WTiite, Ktly; all but Jen. 94. Gent.] Gen. Cap. Meffen. Qq
reading Attend ! as a separate line. Mes. Ff, Rowe + .

89. person] Dyce : The King is certainly speaking of himself only. Compare
his reference to himself in other passages on the same subject, IV, i, 13, 15, 17.
also IV, v, 118, 145.
91. murdering-piece] Steevens: 'A case shot is any kinde of small bullets,
nailes, old iron, or the like, to put into the case, to shoot out of the ordinances 01
murderers; these will doe much mischiefe.' — Smith's Sea Grammar, 1627. Thus, in
Beau. & Fl. The Double Marriage, IV, ii, 6 : 'A father's curses . . . like a murder-
ing-piece, aim not at one, But all that stand within the dangerous level.' Singer :
A murdering-piece, or murderer, was a small piece of artillery ; in Fr. meurtriire,
which took its name from the loopholes and embrasures in towers and fortifications,
that were so called. ' Meuririire, c'est un petit canonniere comme celles des
tours et murailles, ainsi appelle, parceque tirant par icelle a desceu, ceux ausquels
on tire sont facilement meurtri.' — Nicot. ' Visiere meurtriire, a port-hole for a mur-
thering Peece in the forecastle of a ship.' — Cotgrave. Dyce (Gloss.) : ' Murdering-
pieces,' if we may trust Coles, were not always ' small,' for he gives ' A murdering-
piece, Tormentum murale? and afterwards 'Tormentum murale, a great gun.' — Lat.
and Eng. Diet.
93. Switzers] Reed : In many of our old plays the guards attendant on kings
are called • 2Switzers,'
9 and that without any regard to the country where the scene
lies. Malone : * Law, logicke and the Switzers, may be hired to fight for any body.'
— Nash, Christ's Teares over Jerusalem, W 1594.
 HAMLET
[ACT IV, SC. V.

3?8 ocean, overpeering of his list,

The 95
Eats not the flats with more impetuous haste
Than young Laertes, in a riotous head,
O'erbears your officers. The rabble call him lord ;
And, as the world were now but to begin, ioo
Antiquity forgot, custom not known,
The ratifiers and props of every word,
They cry ' Choose we ; Laertes shall be king !'
101. Cartwright.
zuord~\ war^Warb.Theob. Johns.
Knt.96. impetuous~\ impitious Q2Q3, Cald.
impittious Yv order

99-101. And.. .word,"] In parenthesis, 102. They cry~\ The cry Qq, Warb.
Anon. {Gent. Mag. 1790, lx, 403).
we ;...king~\ Cap. we P...kingFi.
101. Han. transposes this line to fol- we,.. .king Qq. we Laertes for our king
low 102.
Q'76, Rowe-f. we /...king Sta.

95. overpeering] Petri {Archivf. n. Sprachen, vol. vi, p. 93) suggests overpier
ing, i. e. over the piers, • which is more picturesque, and in accordance with nature.'
95. list] Malone: Boundary, i.e. shore. [For ' of his list,' see I, v, 175; Ab-
bott, §178.]
96. Eats] Dyce (ed. 2): W. W. Williams (under the signature W. D.), in
The Literary Gazette for March 15, 1862, p. 263, would read Beats. But is not
• Eats ' to be defended on classical authority ? ' et ripas radentia flumina rodunt.'
— Lucretius, v, 256. ' Non rura, quse Liris quieta Mordet aqua, taciturnus amnis.'
— Horace, Carm. i, xxxi, 7.
97. head] Clarendon : ' A head' is an armed force, as in 1 Hen. IV: I, iii, 284;
lb. Ill, ii, 167.
98. lord] Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) would warrant us in changing 'lord' to
king ; perhaps the meaning of the rabble was the same, but afterwards they are
represented as exclaiming ' Laertes shall be king.' Perhaps it ought to be king in
both places.
99. as] See III, iv, 135.
100. custom] Moberly : As if the government were to be settled by random
plebiscites at the good pleasure of the rabble.
101. word] Warburton : Certainly Sh. wrote ward, i. e. the security that nature
and law place about the person of a king. Johnson : I think the fault can be mended
at less expense by reading weal, i. e. of every government. Tyrwhitt : I should
be rather for reading work. Capell, who adopted Tyrwhitt's conj., says (Arotes,
i, 143) : Work is work of such sort as the people were about to proceed to. Heath
(p. 544) : By ' word ' is here meant a declaration or proposal, referring to • the rabble
call him lord.' Tollet believed the sense to be ' the ratifiers and props of every
word he utters.'* Caldecott : ' Word ' is term, and means appellation or title ; as
1 lord ' and 'king;' in its more extended sense it must import ' every human establish-
ment.' Elze {AthencBum, 11 Aug. '66) : Read worth. As far as worth is concerned,
Laer. would indeed be a proper person to be elected king. But the king is not
chosen for his worthiness ; antiquity and custom claim a share also ; they are ' the
ratifiers and props of every worth.' Tschischwitz <• I hold wont to be the true
ACT IV, SC. V.] HAMLET 339

Caps, hands, and tongues applaud it to the clouds,

1 Laertes shall be king, Laertes king!'
Queen. How cheerfully on the false trail they cry ! 105
Oh, this is counter, you false Danish dogs ! [Noise witldn.
King. The doors are broke.

Enter Laertes, armed ; Danes following.

Lacr. Where is this king?— Sirs, stand you all without.

Danes. No, let's come in.
Lacr. I pray you, give me leave.
Danes. We will, we will. [They retire without the door. 1 10
Laer. I thank you. Keep the door. — O thou vile king,
Give me my father!
Queen. Calmly, good Laertes.
Laer. That drop; of blood
bastard that's calm proclaims me

Cries cuckold to my father ; brands the harlot

Ff. the king? Sirs! Rowe + , Jen.

103. tongucs~\ shouts Han.
109, no. Danes.] Dan. Cap. All.
applaud~\ applau'd Qq.
104. Laertes king /] Om. Q'76. QqFf, Rowe + . People. White.
[Noise again, and Shouts: Door no. [They retire...] Mai. after Cap.
assaulted. Cap. Exeunt. Theob. Om. QqFf.
106. [Noise within.] A noife within. in, 112. O thou., father /] One line,
Qq, opposite to line 105. Ff, Rowe + , Jen.
107. Enter.. .following.] Cap. Enter 111. vile"] vilde FxF2. vildY^.
Laertes with others. Qq, after line 106. 112. [Laying hold on him. Johns.
Enter Laertes, (after line 106), Ff, Rowe,
113. That... bastard '/] Two lines, Ff.
Pope, Han. Enter Laertes, with a Party that's calm~\ that's calme Q .
at the Door, (after line 106), Theob. + , thats calme Q2Q3Q4« that calmes FtFB
Jen. Enter... People following. White. F . that calms F , Rowe, Cald.
108. this king? Sirs,"] the King >firs ?

reading [and he so prints it. Ed.] See Blackstone's note on I, ii, 109. Cole
ridge : Fearful and self-suspicious as I always feel when I seem to see an js-rror
of judgement in Sh., yet I can not reconcile the cool reflection in these lines with
the anonymousness, or the alarm, of this Gentleman or Messenger.
106. counter] Clarendon : In Holmes's Academy of Armory, Bk II, c. ix, p.
187, 'counter' is defined: 'When a hound hunteth backwards, the same way that
the chase is come.'
113. calm] Corson: Ft reads better. Laer. is under the wildest excitement,
with not a calm drop of blood in his veins, and when the Queen entreats, ' Calmly,
good Laertes,' be or become calm, he replies, ■ That drop of blood that calms,' that
is, that grows calm, or will calm, • proclaims me bastard;' • calms ' and ' proclaims'
are both future in force.
34° HAMLET [act iv, sc. v.

Even here, between the chaste unsmirched brows 115

Of my true mother.
King. What is the cause, Laertes,
That thy rebellion looks so giant-like ?—
Let him go, Gertrude ; do not fear our person ;
There's such divinity doth hedge a king,
That treason can but peep to what it would, 120
Acts little of his will. — Tell me, Laertes,
Why thou art thus incensed. — Let him go, Gertrude. —

115. unsmirched brows'] White, Ktly, 120. can but] cannot Q4Q-.
Dyce ii. vnfmirched browe Q2Q3. vn- can but peep to~\ dares not reacn
fmerched browe Q. vnfmerched brow at Q'76.
Qg. unfmitched brow FaF F , Rowe. 121. Acts] AcT s Qq. Act Han.
brows Q'76. and unsmich'd brow Pope. his] its Pope + .
and unsmirched brow Theob. + . and 122. thou art] art thou F F , Rowe.
unsmirched brows Johns, vnfmirched are you Rowe ii + .
brow Ft, Cap. et cet.

115. unsmirched] Steevens: Clean, not defiled. This seems to be an allusion

to a proverb often introduced in the old comedies. Thus, in The London Prodigal^
1605 : * as true as the skin between any man's brows.' Collier (ed. 2) : This
seems the only place where Sh. uses this word, meaning unsullied. We have else-
where smirched
' ' and ' besmirched ' for dirtied.
115. brows] White: ' Between ' shows that the s is manifestly needed.
116. true] Delius: That is, faithful.
118. fear] See I, iii, 51.
118. person] Delius: It is to be inferred that the Queen throws herself between
her husband and the enraged Laer. Clarendon : She clings round the latter tc
112.]
prevent him from striking. [See Dr Johnson's stage-direction, Textual Notes, line

119-121. There's . . . will] Coleridge: Proof, as indeed all else is, that Sh
never intended us to see the King with Hamlet's eyes ; though, I suspect, the man
agers have long done so.
119. divinity] Boswell: In Chettle's Englandes Mourning Garment is the fol
lowing anecdote of Queen Elizabeth : While her Majesty was on the river nea»
Greenwich, a shot was fired by accident, which struck the royal barge, and hurt »
waterman near her. • The French ambassador being amazed, and all crying Treason,
Treason ! yet she, with an undaunted spirit, came to the open place of the barge,
and bad them never feare, for if the shot were made at her, they durst not shoots
againe : such majestie had her presence, and such boldnesse her heart, that she de-
spised all feare, and was, as all princes are or should be, so full of divine fullnesse,
that guiltie mortalitie durst not beholde her but with dazeled eyes.'
119. hedge] Caldecott: See Job, i, 10 ; and iii, 23.
120, 121. That . . . will] Staunton: This is passed by the critics without com-
ment ;but we shrewdly suspect it has undergone some depravation at the hands cA
transcribers or compositors.
act iv, sc. v.] HAMLET 34 *

Speak, man. 123

Laer. Where's my father?
King. Dead.
Queen. But not by him.
King. Let him demand his fill. 1 25
Laer. How came he dead? I'll not be juggled with.
To hell, allegiance ! vows, to the blackest devil !
Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit !
I dare damnation. To this point I stand :
That both the worlds I give to negligence, 130
Let come what comes ; only I'll be revenged
Most throughly for my father.
King. Who shall stay you ?
Laer. My will, not all the world ;
And for my means, I'll husband them so well,
They shall go far with little.
King. Good Laertes, 135

124. Where's} F,F F, Rowe, Corson. Glo.-f, Huds. Mob. worlds Qq. uorld's
Wheres Fa. Where is Qq et cet. Pope et cet.
Dead} Dead, Laertes Cap. 135. They} The Q4.
127. blackest} black Pope, Han. 135, 136. Good. ..certainty} One line,
128, 129. grace, to... pit ! L} grace, to Qq.
...pit. LFf. grace, to... pit /Qq. I35~I39- Good.. . loser ?} Will you in
132. throughly} thoroughly Sing. Ktly. revenge of your Dear fathers death de-
133. world} Ff, Rowe, Theob. Warb. ftroy both friend and foe ? Q'76.
Johns. Cald. Knt, Dyce, Sta.White, Del.

126. Theobald gives this note of Warburton's, which, not being in Warburton's
own edition, was probably a MS communication: Laertes is a good character. But
being in rebellion, Sh. avoids any appearance of sanctioning such conduct by put-
ting into his mouth absurd and blasphemous sentiments, which excite nothing but
horror at his actions. The jealousy of the two reigns in which Sh. wrote would
not dispense with less exactness. Coleridge : Mercy on Warburton's notion of
goodness ! Please refer to the seventh scene of this Act. Yet I acknowledge that
Sh. evidently wishes, as much as possible, to spare the character of Laer. — to break
the extreme turpitude of his consent to become an agent and accomplice of the
King's treachery; and to this end he re-introduces Oph. at the close of this scene to
afford a probable stimulus of passion in her brother.
128. grace] Caldecott: A religious feeling, a disposition to yield obedience to
the divine laws.
130. worlds] Clarendon : This world and the next. See Macb. Ill, ii, 16,
where it means the terrestrial and the celestial worlds.
133. world] Clarendon: The reading of the Qq is perhaps right. The extrava-
gant hyperbole ' al' thf worH ' which Laer. would thus use in reference to his

29*
 HAMLET
[ACT IV, SC. V.

2 desire to know the certainty

If34you 136
Of your dear father's death, is't writ in your revenge,
That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe,
Winner and loser?
Lacr. None but his enemies.
King, Will you know them then? 140
Lao\ To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my arms ;
And, like the kind life-rendering pelican,
Repast them with my blood.
King. Why, now you speak
Like a good child and a true gentleman.
That I am guiltless of your father's death, 145
A.nd am most sensibly in grief for it,

137. father's death"] fathers death Fx 139. loser?] Q'37*. Lofer. F, Pope.
F2. father Qq,Theob.Warb. Johns. Jen. Loofer. QqFf.
140. then ?] then. F^F .
Rowe. is't] ffl Qq. ?/Ff. if 'tis not
141. his] this Q'76.
is't writ] Om. Pope, Han. ope] hope F2.
138. That, swoopstake] Dyce, Sta. Glo. 142. pelican] Politician Fx.
+ , Del. Huds. That soopflake QaQr
143. Repast] Relieve Q'76.
That foope-flake Q4. That Soopflake Why, now you speak] Wny
Q5Ff, Rowe. ( That sweep- stake,) Pope now ? what noyfe is that ? F F F,.
+ . That, sweep-stake Johns, et cet. 146. sensibly] fencibly Q2Q3- fencible
you will] will you Theob. conj.
Han. Q4. fenfible Q5Ff, Rowe, Theob. Warb.
Johns. Jen. Cald. Dyce i, Sta. Glo. Mob.

former words, ■ both the worlds,' is not unsuitable to his excited state of mind.
[Pope's] reading might be the meaning of the reading of Qq, in which no apostro-
phe is used to distinguish the genitive singular from the nominative plural. White
pronounces Pope's reading ' cramped, literal, inferior.'
138. swoopstake] Clarendon : The metaphor is from a game at cards, where
the winner sweeps or ' draws ' the whole stake. The meaning is somewhat confused
by this admixture of metaphor. Moberly : Are you going to vent your rage on
both friend and foe ; like a gambler who insists on sweeping the stakes, whether the
point is in his favor or not?
142. pelican] Caldecott quotes Dr Sherwen : * By the pelican's dropping
upon its breast its lower bill to enable its young to take from its capacious pouch,
lined with a fine flesh-colored skin, this appearance is, on feeding them, given. H.
B. Forrest [N. 6° Qu., 26 June, 1869) suggests that Sh. might have drawn his
Knowledge on this point from Prodigorum ac Ostentorum Chronicon., Basileae, 1557.
Moreover, in this book there is a full description of ' The Anthropophagi, and men
whose heads Do grow beneath their shoulders.' Rushton {Shakespeare 's Euphu-
ism, p. 9) cites ' the Pelicane, who stricketh bloud out of hir owne bodye to do
others good.' — Euphues and his England (p. 341, ed. Arber). Clarendon: In
Rich. II: II, i, 126, and Lear, III, iv, 77, young pelicans are used as illustrations
l>f filial impiety.
 i47

ACT IV, SC. V.J HAMLET 343

It shall as level to your judgement pierce

As day does to your eye.
Danes. \Withiri\ Let her come in !
Lacr. How now ! what noise is that ?—
Re-enter OPHELIA.

O heat, dry up my brains ! tears seven times salt, 150

155
Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye !—
By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight,
Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May !
Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia !—
O heavens ! is't possible a young maid's wits
Should be as mortal as an old man's life?
Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine
lia, (after eye, line 148) QqFf. Entei
147. pierce] peare Qq. lye Q'76. 'pear
Johns. Jen. Steev. Var. Coll. Dyce ii. Ophelia, fantaftically drefl with Straws
Scene vii. Pope, Han. Warb. and Flowers. Rowe et cet.
Johns. Jen. 151. Burn out] Burn on Pope i.
152. by] Ff, Rowe, Cap. Knt, Coll.
148. eye.~\ eye. A noyfe within. Qq.
Cap. eye. A noife within. Let her come El. Dyce, Sta. White, Del. Glo. Mob.
in (as a stage-direction, in the margin), with Qq et cet.
Ff, Rowe, Theob. Han. Warb. Jen. 153. Till] TellQaQy
Danes. [Within] Cap. Laer. Qq, turn] turne Qq. turnes FtFa.
Pope. Om. Ff, Rowe, Theob. Han. turns F3F4, Rowe, Knt, Coll. El. White.
Warb. Crowd within. Johns. 156. an old] a poore Qq. afickQlb.
148, 149. Let. ..that] One line, Pope. 157-159. Nature. ..loves.] Om. Qq.
149. Re-enter...] Coll. Dyce, El. Sta. 157, 158. fine...fine, ...instance] fire..*
White, Del. Glo. + , Huds. Enter Ophe- fire, ...incense Pope conj.

147. pierce] White : Peare of Qq is an absurd reading, which represents day

as appearing level to the eye, instead of piercing level, i. e. directly, point blank to
the eye. Stratmann : Peare is a misprint for pearce, just as feare for fear ce, in I,
i, 121.
148. Danes. [Within] Stratmann : I rather suspect noise of the Qq is a mis-
print for uoise, i. e. voice.
148. Let . . . in] Theobald (Sh. Pest. p. 112) notes the error of the Qq in-giv-
ing this speech to Laertes ; who could not know that it was his sister that caused
the noise ; and who would not command the guards to let in his sister, and then ask
what the noise meant.
149. Re-enter] Collier : Ophelia has been on the stage before in this scene,
this is therefore only her ' r*?-entrance.' [It is noteworthy that Rowe is the only
authority for the fantastic straws and flowers with which Oph. on the modern stage
is decked. From Qx it is to be inferred that she merely has ' her haire downe.' Ed.]
157. fine] Theobald: In the passion of love, nature becomes more exquisite
of sensation, is more delicate and refined ; and where it is so, as people in love gen-
erally send what tV.ey have of most valuable after their lovers, so poor Ophelia has
 344 HAMLET
[ACT IV. SC. V

It sends some precious instance of itself

After the thing it loves.
OpJi. \Sings\They bore him barefaced on the bier ; 160
Hey non nonny, nonny y hey nonny ;
And on his grave rains many a tear. —
Fare you well, my dove !
Laer. Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge,
It could not move thus. 165
Oph. You must sing, Down a-down, and yon call him
160. barefaced] bare-fa/le Q2Q3« Pope.
[Sings] Cap. Dyce, Sta. Huds. 166, 167. You...a-down-a] In Italics
Glo. -h . Song. Qq. Om. Ff, Rowe et cet. as a song first by Johns. Cap. indicated
161. Hey.. .nonny;] Hey...nony ; or the present text by beginning 'Down'
Hey...noney : Ff. Om. Qq, Pope + , with a capital; Steev. (1778) adopted
Cap. Jen. it, and is followed by all edd. except
162. on] Ff, Rowe + , Cap. Cald. Knt, Sta. Glo. + , who return to Johns, and
Sing. Dyce i, Sta. Ktly. in Qq et cet. insert [Sings] before * You /' and divide
into two lines, the first ending a-down.
rains'] F F^, Rowe, Pope, Theob.
Han. Cap. Cald. Knt, Sing. Sta. Ktly. 166-168. You... daughter] Three lines,
raines FIF2. remains Warb. rain Coll. ending downe, it, daughter. Qq.
Prose, Ff et cet. except Sta. Glo. + .
(MS), rained Qq et cet.
tear.] Q'76. tear, QqFf. 166. Down a-down] a downe a downe
163. Fare. ..dove] As last line of the Qq. a down a down Jen. Sta. Glo.
song (in Italics), Ff, Rowe + , Jen.; (in Cla.
Roman) Qq. As in text first by Cap. 166. and] Ff, Rowe+, Jen. And
164. 165. Hadst... thus.] Prose in Ff, Qq. an Cap. et cet.
sent her most precious senses after the object of her inllamed affection. Warburton :
The cause of Ophelia's madness was grief, occasioned by the violence of her natural
affection for her murdered father; her brother, therefore, with great force of expression,
says : ' Nature is faPn in love, and where 'tis faTnS [Thus Warburton's text.]
To distinguish the passion of natural affection from the passion of love between
the two sexes, i. e. Nature, or natural affection is faPn in love. Johnson : These
lines might have been omitted in the Folio without great loss, for they are obscure
and affected; but, I think, they require no emendation. Love (says Laertes) is the
passion by which nature is most exalted and refined ; and as substances, refitted and
subtilised, easily obey any impulse, or follow any attraction, some part of nature, so
purified and refined, flies off after the attracting object, after the thing it ]oves.
Clarendon: « Fine' seems to mean ' delicately tender,' and ' instance' 'proof or
1 example.' ' The thing it loves ' is here Polonius ; the • precious instance,' Ophelia's
natural soundness of mind. Her sanity has followed her father to the grave. Col-
lier (ed. 2) : Lines 157-159 are struck through with a pen in the (MS), probably
because they were not understood.
160. [Sings] I can fin*? no music to this in Chappell's Popular Music of tht
s Olden Time
161. nonny] Narls : Such unmeaning burdens are common to ballads inmost
languages. It appears from Floric's Diet, that the word had not always a decorous
act iv, sc. v.] HAMLET 345

a-doii'u-a. Oh, how the wheel becomes it! It is the false 167
steward, that stole his master's daughter.
Lacr. This nothing's more than matter.
Oph. There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray 170
167. wheel becomes it] wheele becomes rate line, Ff, Rovve.
it QqFt. wheeles become it F9, Rowe. 170. that's'] that QQ.
wheels become ? FF4- 170, 1 71. pray you] Pray Ff, Rowe + ,
169. nothing's] nothings FfFa. noth- Knt, Dyce i, Glo. Cla.
ing is much Q'76. pray. ..remember] [Sings] Pray,
170. There' s... .remembrance ;] Sepa- love, remember : Sta.
meaning. Steevens : I am informed that among the common people of Norfolk
to nonny signifies to trifle, ox play with.
165. move] Walker (Crit. ii, 261) : ' Move me thus;' at least I am all but sure
that this is the true reading.
166. 167. Down . . . a-down-a] Malone: Florio gives: Filibustacchina, the
burden of a countrie song, as we say hay doune a doune douna. Dyce : Whether
these words are rightly given I cannot determine. (On the modern stage they are
sung by Oph.) Cambridge Editors (Note xxviii) : The late Mr John Taylor, in a
copy of the Var. 1 81 3 now in the Library of Trin. Coll., Cambridge, has made the
following note: 'Oph. gives the song without the Burthen first, and then she in-
structs them, " You must sing a-down a-down, and you (speaking to another) call
him a-down- a.^ '
167. wheel] Warburton : We should read weal. She is now rambling on the
ballad of the steward and his lord's daughter; and in these words speaks of the
state he assumed. Heath : Possibly by ■ wheel ' is here meant the burden of the
ballad. Dyce (Gloss.) says that ' most critics seem now to agree with Steevens [sic]
in ' thus referring it to the burden or refrain ; but Clarendon asserts that no satis-
factory example has been found of the word in this sense. Steevens cites a very
apposite illustration ' from memory, from a book of which ' he could not • recollect
the exact title or date ;' unfortunately when Steevens does not adduce line, page,
and title, his illustrations are to be received with caution ; his wit was too ready at a
pinch, and the simple reference to a ' black-letter quarto in my possession ' was con-
venient, much like Sir Walter Scott's 'Old Play.' The illustration in question
(which has been repeated by several edd. since hb day) is as follows : ' The song
was accounted a good one, thogh it was not moche graced by the wheele, which in
no wise accorded with the subject-matter thereof.' A conclusive quotation, if .
Steevens adds that ' Rota ' is the ancient musical term in Latin for the burden of a
song. Johnson suggests : ■ perhaps the lady stolen by the steward was reduced to
spin /' Malone divests this suggestion of its tragic element by supposing that the
wheel is here used in its ordinary sense, and that these words refer to the occupation
of the girl who is supposed to sing the song alluded to by Oph. Staunton says it
was, perhaps, the practice on the old stage for Oph. to play the ' wheel,' i. e. the
refrain, upon her lute before these words. [If ' wheel ' ever meant refrain, the
meaning apparently had become obsolete when F3 was printed. Ed.]
168. steward] Collier: No such ballad is known. Moberl"! . By the false
steward stealing his master's daughter she may mean that the rollicking chorus, in-
stead of aiding the sense, steals away all its pathos and dirge-like character.
 34-6 HAMLET [act iv, sc. v.

you, love, remember; and there is pansies, that's for 171

thoughts.
Laer. A document in madness : thoughts and remem-
brance fitted.
Oph. There's fennel for you, and columbines; there's 175
171. there is~\ there's F3F4, Rowe + , 171. pansies] Johns. Paconae* Fs.
Cap. (in Errata). Fancies QqF F F4<

169. matter] See II, ii, 95 ; and Lear, IV, vi, 178.
170. rosemary] See Rom. &> Jul. IV, v, 79, and notes. Hunter (ii, 259):
The mind of Oph. is thrown off its poise by the shock which she had received ;
she thinks of marriage : with that comes the idea of rosemary, the sweet-scented
rosemary, and she addresses him who should have been the bridegroom, Ham.
himself, as her * love.' She then feels her disappointment. Ham. is not there, and
she turns to another flower wrought up in her wild attire, pansies, as more fitting her
condition, — a flower connected with melancholy, then often called thought, and
taking its name from it. ' There's a daisy ; I would give you some violets, but,' &c.
When the mind is unsettled, it is usual for some idea to recur which has been intro-
duced at a critical period of the person's life. Now, when Laer. was warning Oph.
against encouraging the attentions of Ham., he urged her to consider his trifling but
as ' A violet in the youth of primy nature.' These words had remained imprinted
on her mind, associated with the idea of Ham. and the idea of her brother, and they
now recur to her memory when she again converses with her brother on the same
unhappy subject. The violets withered when her father died. When Ham. had
slain Pol. there was a final obstacle interposed to their union. Staunton : There
is method in poor Ophelia's distribution. She presents to each the herb popularly
appropriate to his age or disposition. To Laer., whom in her distraction she prob-
ably confounds with her lover, she gives ' rosemary ' as an emblem of his faithful
remembrance ; and ' pansies ' to denote love's ' thoughts ' or troubles. Delius :
Probably these flowers existed only in Ophelia's fantasy, and there was no distribution
of real flowers to the persons present.
171. pansies] Johnson: 'For thoughts, because of its name, pens'ees? In N.
6° Qu., 22 Oct. 1864, Fabius Oxoniensis gives a number of the names by which
this flower is known among rustics and old writers ; see also Beisly (SA. Garden,
p. 156).
173. document] Edinburgh Review {Shakespearian Glossaries, July, 1869):
This word is here used in its earlier and etymological sense of instruction, lesson,
teaching. This early signification is well illustrated in the Fairy Queen [i, 10, 19 —
Clarendon], 'her sacred booke .... She unto him disclosed every whit, And
heavenly documents thereout did preach.' The word was habitually used in this
sense in Shakespeare's day, but has now wholly lost its primitive signification, and
is restricted to its secondary sense of written precepts, instructions, and evidences.
Clarendon : Cotgrave gives ' Document : m. A document, precept ; instruction,
admonition; experiment, example.'
175. fennel] Malone: Oph. gives her fennel and columbines to the King. In
A Handfull of Pleasant Deliles, 1584, the former is thus mentioned : ' Fennel is for
flatterers,' &c. See also Florio : Dare finocchio, to give fennell . ... to flatter, to
4CTiv, sc. v.] HAMLET 347

rue for you ; and here's some for me; we may call it herb 176
of grace o' Sundays ; oh, you must wear your rue with a
176, 177. herb of grace] herbe of 177. Sundays] Sondaies Q3Q,Q4.
Grace Qq. Herbe-Grace FIF2. Herb- oh, you must] you may Qq,
grace F F , Rowe, Cald. Knt, Dyce, Sta. Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Coll. El.
White, Glo. Del. Huds. you must Cald.
177. 0'] Theob. a QqFf, Rowe, Pope.
dissemble. Narf.s : This was generally considered an inflammatory herb, and was
certainly emblematic of flattery. [Several instances are given.] Staunton: For
the King she has 'fennel,' signifying 'flattery' and Must;' and * columbines,'
which marked ingratitude. Dyce {Gloss.): We may certainly suppose that she
offers the King ' flattery,' though we do not agree with Staunton in supposing that
here fennel signifies ' lust' also. Beisly (p. 157) cites Holland's Pliny [p. 77, ed.
1635] : * Fennel hath a singular property to mundifie our sight, and tak.2 away the
filme or web that ouercasteth and dimmeth our eyes.' This property is noticed by
most of our early writers on plants, and it is in reference to this quality that Oph.
presents it to the King to clear his sight, just as the rosemary was given to Laer. to
aid his memory.
175. columbines] Steevens : In All Fools, by Chapman, 1605: 'a columbine?
No; that thankless flower fits not my garden,' — II, i. Gerard and other herbalists
impute few, if any, virtues to them ; and they may therefore be styled lhanhless,
because they appear to make no grateful return for their creation. S[te-phen]
W[eston] : Columbine was an emblem of cuckoldom on account of the horns of its
nectaria, which are remarkable in this plant. Holt White : It was also emblem-
atic of forsaken lovers : ' The columbine in tawny often taken Is then ascribed to
such as are forsaken.' — Browne's Britannia1 s Pastorals, b. i, song ii, 1 613. Dyce
(Gloss.) : But here Oph. is not assigning the columbine to herself, and, except her-
self, there is no ' love-lorn ' person present.
176, 177. rue . . . Sundays] Warburton: The reason why 'rue' was called
' herb of grace ' is because that herb was a principal ingredient in the potion which
the Romish priests used to force the possessed to swallow when they exorcised them.
These exorcisms being performed generally on a Sunday, in church before the whole
congregation, is the reason why she says we call it * herb of grace o' Sundays.'
[Dyce says Warburton was only repeating what he had read in the works of a great
divine, — Jeremy Taylor; see Todd post.] Steevens: I believe there is a quibble
meant in this passage ; ' rue ' anciently signifying the same as ruth, i. e. sorrow. Oph.
gives the Queen some, and keeps a proportion of it for herself. There is the same
kind of play with the same word in Rich. II: III, iv, 104. ' Herb of grace ' is one
of the titles which Tucca gives to William Rufus, in Decker's Satiromastix. I
suppose the first syllable of the surname Rufxxs introduced the quibble. Henley :
The following passage from Greene's Quip for an Upstart Courtier will furnish the
best reason for calling rue herb of grace o' Sundays: ' — some of them smil'd and
said, Rue was called Herbegrace, which, though they scorned in their youth, they
might weare in their age, and that it was never too late to say Miserere.'' Malone:
1 Herb of grace ' was not the Sunday name, but the every-day name of ' rue.' In
the common dictionaries of Shakespeare's time it is called ' herb of grace.' See
Flmrio s. v. ruta, and Cotgrave s. v. rue. There is no ground, therefore, for sup*
34$ HAMLET [act lv, sc. v.

difference. There's a daisy; I would give you some

violets, but they withered all when my father died ; they
say he made a good end, — 180

178. daisy] Day fee Fx. Dafie QqF2 180. he made~\ a made Qq. a' made
F3F4. Cam.

posing with Warburton that ' rue ' was called ' herb of grace ' from its being used in
exorcisms performed in churches on Sundays. Oph. only means, I think, that the
Queen may with peculiar propriety on Sundays, when she solicits pardon for that
crime which she has so much occasion to rue and repent of, call her ' rue' 'herb of
grace.' After having given the Queen ' rue,' to remind her of the sorrow and con-
trition she ought to feel for her incestuous marriage, Oph. tells her she may wear it
with a difference, to distinguish it from that worn by Oph. herself; because her tears
flowed from the loss of a father, those of the Queen ought to flow for her guilt.
Todd (ap. Caldecott) cites Jeremy Taylor's A Dissuasive from Popery, Part I, ch.
ii, sect, ix : * They [the Romish exorcists] are to try the devil by holy water, incense,
sulphur, rue; which from thence, as we suppose, came to be called herb of grace.'
Caldecott cites a passage from Edward Alleyn's letters [ Var. 1821, vol. xxi, p. 390,
and Sh. Soc. vol. ix, p. 26], which seems to imply that 'herb of grace' and 'rue'
were different plants : • Every evening ' [Alleyn is telling his wife, whom he calls
•good sweete mouse,' to take precautions against the plague raging that year, 1593,
in London] ' throwe water before your dore and in your bake sid, and have in your
windowes good store of reue and herbe of grace.' That this ' herb of grace ' was
wormwood Malone shows by referring to the reply from Alleyn's parents to this
letter : ' for your good cownsell .... we all thanck you, which wasse for keping
of our howsse cleane .... and strainge our windowes with wormwode and rewe.'
-Sh. Soc. vol. ix, p. 30.
178. difference] Steevens: This seems to refer to the rules of heraldry, where
the younger brothers of a family bear the same arms with a difference, or mark ot
distinction. So, in Holinshed's Reign of King Richard II, p. 443 : ' — because he
was the youngest of the Spensers, he bare a border gules for a difference.' There
may, however, be somewhat more implied here than is expressed. You, madam
(says Oph. to the Queen), may call your rue by its Sunday name, herb of grace, and
so wear it with a difference to distinguish it from mine, which can never be anything
but merely rue, i.e. sorrow. CALDECOTT: Between the ruth and wretchedness of
guilt, and the ruth and sorrows of misfortune, it would be no difficult matter to dis-
tinguish. Skeat (JV. 6° Qu., 25 Dec. 1869) : There is no difficulty here if we do
not force the words into some heraldic phrase. It merely means this: I offer you
rue, which has two meanings; it is sometimes called herb of grace, and in that sense
I take some for myself; but with a slight difference of spelling it means ruth, and
in that respect it will do for you. This explanation is not mine, — it is Shakespeare's
own; see Rich. II: III, iv, 105, 106. [A discussion on the meaning of this phrase
is also to be found in Edin. Rev. July, 1869; N. 6* Qu. 25 Sept. 1869; 23 Oct.
1869, and 8 Jan. 1870.]
178. daisy] Henley: Greene, in his Quip for an Upstart Courtier, has explained
the significance of this flower : ' — Next them grew the dissembling daisie, to warne
such lightsof love wer.ches not to trust every faire promise that such amorous bache-
ACT IV, SC. V.] HAMLET 349

[Sings'] For bonny szveet Robin is all my joy. i8i

Laer. Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself,
She turns to favour and to prettiness.
Oph. [Sings] And zvill he not come again ?

181. [Sings] Cap. Om. QqFf, Rowe 184. [Sings] Song. Qq. Om. Ff.
+ , Jen. Steev. Del. 184,Cla.
185. he.. .he] a. ..a Qq. a\..a*
Cam.
182. Thought] Thoughts Q'76.
affliction] afflictions Qq.

lors make them.' Dyce {Gloss.)'. Does Oph. mean that the daisy is for herself*
CLARENDON : It does not appear to whom she gives it ; probably either to the King
or Queen.
179. violets] Malone: In A Handfull of Pleasant Delites, above quoted, the
violet is thus characterized : * Violet is for faithfulnesse, Which in me shall abide.'
Clarendon : Perhaps she says this to Hor.
181. [Sings] Chappell [Popular Music of the 'Olden Time? vol. i, p. 233):
This song is contained in Anthony Holborne's Ciltharn Schoole, 1597; in Queen
Elizabeth's Virginal Book; in William Ballet's Lute Book ; and in many other
manuscripts and printed books. There are two copies in William Ballet's Lute
Book, and the second is entitled * Robin Hood is to the greenwood gone ;' it is, there-
fore, probably the tune of a ballad of Robin Hood, now lost. In Fletcher's Two
Noble Kinsmen* II, i, the jailer's daughter, being mad, says, ' I can sing twenty more.
.... I can sing The Broom and Bonny Robin.'' In Robinson's Schoole of Mu-
sicke (1603), and in one of Dowland's Lute Manuscripts (D. d., 2. II, Cambridge),
it is entitled • Robin is to the greenwood gone;' in Addit. MSS. 17,786 (Brit. Mus.),
lMy Robin,' &c.
Slowly, and ad libitum.

3
M^j=^
My Robin is to the greenwood gone.

m j_^ mm 3 5*
P
e
j j
Qa

3*

182. Thought] Malone: 'Thought' here, as in many other places, means mel-
ancholy. Caldecott : See Prompt. Parv. : * Thowhte, or hevynesse yn herte. Me$->
ticia, molestia, tristicia.' [See III, i, 85.]
182. passion] Suffering. See Macb. III. iv, 57. 1*
184. [Sings] Chappell {Popular Music of the 'Olden Time? vol. i, p. 237).
This fragment, sung by Ophelia, was also noted down by W. Linley. It appears to

30
 $

HAMLET
[ACT IV, SC. V

35° And will he not come again ?

Noy no, he is dead,
Go to thy death-bed,
He never will come again.
His beard was white as snow,
IQO
All flaxen zvas Ids poll ;
He is gone, he is gone.
And we cast away moan ;
God hd mercy on his soul/
1 86, 187. Two lines, Johns. One, Qq 191, 192. Two lines, Johns. One,
Ff, Rowe + .
QqFf, Rowe+.
187. Go to thy] Gone to his Coll. ii 193. God ha' mercy] Coll. God a
mercy Qq. Gramercy Ff, Rowe+, Cap.
(MS), El. Cald. Knt, Sta. White. God a? mercy
189. was] Johns, Jen. Coll. ii (MS).
as Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. Cald. Knt, El. Jen. God '« mercy Mai. Steev. Bos.
Sta. Del. is Knt ii. was as Qq et cet.
190. All flaxen] Flaxen Qq, Jen. 193, the 194.
ing aratesong God...
with souls,"]
line, Qq. God buyOne
you line,
in a end-
sep-
poll] Han. pole QqFf.

be a portion of the tune entitled ' The Merry Milkmaids? in The Dancing Master,
1650, and The Milkmaids' Dumps, in several ballads.
Very slowly, and ad libitum.

no, he is dead, Go to thy death-bed, He nev - er will come a

■*m-

^ gain.
^^
187. Go] 3g=;
Collier
(ed. 2) : The reference is to the person who is dead, therefore
the (MS) correctly has Gone.
189. Steevens : This and several circumstances in the character of Oph. seem to
have been ridiculed in Eastward Hoe by Jonson, Chapman, and Marston, 1605 :
' His head as white as milk, All flaxen was his hair; But now he is dead, And lain
in his bed, And never will come again,' III, i. Singer : Hamlet is the name of
a foolish footman in the same scene. I know not why this should have been con-
sidered an attack on Sh.; it was the usual license of comedy to sport with everything
serious and even sacred. Hamlet Travestie may as well be called an invidious
attack on Sh.
193, 194. God . . . souls,] Steevens : This is the common conclusion to many
of the ancient monumental inscriptions. Berthelette, the publisher of Gower's Con-
 195

KCS IV, SC. v.] HAMLET

And of all Christian souls, I pray God. — God be wi' you ! [Exit
Lacr. Do you see this, O God !
King. Laertes, I must commune with your grief,
Or you deny me right. Go but apart,
Make choice of whom your wisest friends you will,
And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and me. 200
If by direct or by collateral hand
They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give,
5'
194. of] Om. Q4QS- on Johns. 194. 195. And... God ?] And peace bt
Christian] Chrijlians Qq. with his foul and tailh all Lovers fouls
I pray God] Om. Qq, Pope + ,
Q'76.
195. Do you see this, O God !] Cap.
Jen. God be wV you] Cap. Separate Doe you this 0 God. Qq. Do you fee
line, QqFf. God buy you Q2Qy God this, you gods ? Ff (Gods FJ, Rowe + .
buy yous QQ. God buy ye FfFa. God 196. commune with] common with F ,
bit' ye F . God b'w'ye F4, Rowe + , Cald. Knt, El. fliare in Q'76.
Jen. Dyce. 6' wi' you White, Huds. 197. deny] deney Q .
200. collateral] colalurall Q2Q,Q..
be wi' ye Glo.
[Exit.] Exeunt Ophelia. Ff. erall F,.ll Q . Cola tera 11 Ft. Collat-
collatura
Om. Qq. Exit dancing distractedly.
Coll. (MS). 201. kingdom] kindome Q .

fessio Amantis, 1554, speaking first of the funeral of Chaucer, and then of Gower,
says : ' he lieth buried in the monasterie of Seynt Peter's at Westminster, &c.
On whose soules and all christen, yesu have mercie? Moberly : So, with this most
touching prayer, Oph. goes to meet her death. It displays admirably her simple and
loving spirit, and seems to be a protest beforehand against the hard-hearted law
Which hinders her having the full Christian burial-rites.
194 of] For instances of ' of used for on, see Abbott, § 175 and § 181.
195. Jennens : ' Do you see this ?' is spoken to the King; and ' O God !' is only
an exclamation expressing the anguish of Laertes's mind on the sight of his sister's
frenzy. [So in Jennens's text. Ed.]
196. commune] Steevens : To common of F, is to 'commune,' which, pro-
nounced as anciently spelt, is still in frequent provincial use. So, in The Last Voy-
age of Captaine Frobisher, by Dionyse Settle, bl. 1., 1577: 'Our Generall, repayred
with the ship boat to common or sign with them.' Again, in Holinshed's account
of Jack Cade's insurrection : ' — to whome were sent from the king the archbishop,
&c, to common with him of his griefs and requests.' Boswell : Surely the word
common in Fx means, I must be allowed to participate in your grief, to feel in com-
mon with you. [Grant White, in his excellent Sh. Scholar, p. 421, was beguileu
by the ' homely strength ' of the Ft text into approval of Boswell's interpretation of
tt, much to Dyce's ' surprise,' who pronounced it ' most erroneous ;' the two words,
common and 'commune,' are mere variations in spelling of the same word ; they were
both accented alike, on the first syllable, — as Grant White afterwards remarked in
his edition. And Hudson says Milton so accents 'commune,' and so also ev«c
Wordswoitii. \L\j.\
108. Clarendon : That is, 'of your wisest friends, whom you will.'
 205
HAMLET
[act iv, sc. vi
Our
352 crown, our life, and all that we call ours,
To you in satisfaction. But if not,
Be you content to lend your patience to us,
And we shall jointly labour with your soul
To give it due content.
Laer. Let this be so ;
His means of death, his obscure burial,
No trophy, sword, nor hatchment, o'er his bones,
No noble rite, nor formal ostentation, 210
Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heaven to earth,
That I must call't in question.
King. So you shall ;
And where the offence is let the great axe fall.
I pray you, go with me.
[Exeunt.
Scene VI. Another room in the castle.
Enter Horatio and a Servant.

Hor. What are they that would speak with me ?

204. patience] paience F2. 211. calVt] callYiy Rowe, Pope.
207. buriat] F3F4, Rowe, Cap. Cald. Scene vi.] Cap. Scene viii. Pope,
Knt, Sing. Dyce, Sta. White, Ktly, Del. Han. Warb. Johns. Jen.
Huds. buriall FxF2. funerall Qq et cet. Another...] Another Room in
the same. Cap.
208. trophy] trophe Q2Q3- trophce
Enter...] Cap. Enter Horatio, with
Q4QS. Trophee Ff. trophey Q'76. an Attendant.
others. Qq. Ff. Enter Horatio and
trophy, sword, ~\ trophe sword,
Q2Q3* trophy sword, Pope, Han. tro-
phee sword, Cap. 1-3. What... in] Verse (ending the
209. rite"] right Qq. lines sir.. .in.), Cap. Steev. Var. Cald.
Knt, Ktly.
210. heaven to earth] earth to heaven
Q'76.
201. touch'd] Clarendon: Implicated in the guilt of Polonius's murder.
207. means] Abbott, § 423 : That is, the means of his death. See I, iv, 73 ;
III, ii, 321.
208. hatchment] Sir J. Hawkins ( Var. 1821) : This practice is uniformly kept
up, to this day. Not only the sword, but the helmet, gauntlet, spurs, and tabard
{i.e. a coat whereon the armorial ensigns were anciently depicted, from whence the
term coat of armor), are hung over the grave of every knight.
209. ostentation] Caldecott : • Ostentation,' or ostent, seems to have been a term
which fashion had in some sort appropriated to funeral pomp or the show of heavy
and deep depression.
211. That] For instances of the omission of so before 'that,' see IV, vii, 148;
and Abbott, § 283.
212. axe] Warburton suggests and reads tax, i. e. penalty, punishment.
act iv, sc. vi.] HAMLET 353

Serv. Sailors, sir; they say they have letters for you.
Hor. Let them come in. — [Exit Servant.
I do not know from what part of the world
I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet. 5
Enter Sailors.

First Sail. God bless you, sir.

Hor. Let him bless thee too.
First Sail. He shall, sir, an't please him. There's a
letter for you, sir, — it comes from the ambassador that was
bound for England, — if your name be Horatio, as I am let 10
to know it is.

Hor. [Reads'] Horatio, when thou shalt have overlooked

this, give these fellows some means to the king ; they have
letters for him. Ere we were two days old at sea, a pirate
of very warlike appointment gave us chase. Finding our- 15
selves too slow of sail, we put on a compelled valour ; in the
grapple I boarded them ; on the instant they got clear of our
ship ; so I alone became their priso?ier. They have dealt
with me like thieves of mercy ; but they knew what they
2. Serv.] Gent, or Gen. Qq. 8. He] A Qq.
Sailors] Saylors FXF2. Sea-faring an't] and Qq. and 't FXF2F .
men Qq, Cam. Cla. 9. comes] came Qq.
3. [Exit...] Han. Om. QqFf. ambassador] Embaffador Qq. Am-
5. greeted, if] greeted. If Qq. baffadours FjF2F . A?7ibaffadour F .
Sailors.] Saylor. Ff (Sailor F ). ambassadors Cald. Knt.
6, 8. First Sail.] 1. S. Cap. Say. Qq 12. Hor. [Reads] Reads the Letter.
F,F,. Sayl. F3. Sail. F4. Ff. Hor. Qq.
God. ..him] Save you Sir Q'76. 16. in] Ff, Rowe, Cap. Knt, Dyce i,
6. you] your Fa. Sta. Del. and in Qq et cet.

10. let to know] Clarendon : Caused to know, informed. Compare the phrase
' do to wit.'
13. means] Caldecott : Means of access, introduction.
14. pirate] Coleridge : This is almost the only play of Sh. in which mere acci
dents, independent of all will, form an essential part of the plot ;— but here how
judiciously in keeping with the character of the over-meditative Ham., ever at last
determined by accident or by a fit of passion.
19. thieves of mercy] Clarendon: Merciful thieves. See note on I,
ii, 4.
19, 20. what they did] Miles (p. 70) maintains that this capture was net accidental,
but was pre-arranged by Ham., who hints at it when he says to the King (IV, iii, 47),
* I see a chemb that sees them,' but alludes to it most positively and specifically at
30* X
354 HAMLET
[act iv, sc. vi.
did ; I am to do a good turn for them. Let the king have 20
the letters I have sent; and repair thou to me with as much
haste as thou would' st fly death. I have words to speak
in thine ear will make thee dumb; yet are they much too
light for the bore of the matter. These good fellows will
bring thee where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstem hold 25
their course for England ; of them I have much to tell thee.
Farewell.
He that thou knowest thi?iey Hamlet.

20. good] Om. Qq. Pope + .

22. haste] hast FtFa. fpeede QaQ3- 24. bore of the] bord of the Qq. Om.
/peedQ4Qs, Cap. Glo. + . Q'76, Pope, Theob. Han. Warb.
would'st] wouldest QaQ3FxFaF3, 26. much] as much FF, Rowe.
Pope + , Jen. White, Cam. Cla. 28. He that... thine ,] So that.. .thine
23. thine] your Ff, Rowe, Cald. thy
Qq. Om. Q'76.
the close of the interview with his mother : ' O 'tis most sweet When in one line
two crafts directly meet.' — * If the word crafts had its present maritime significance
in Shakespeare's time, the pun alone is conclusive of a pre-arranged capture. How
arranged is neither here nor there ; but opportunities of chartering a free cruiser
could not have been wanting to a prince of Denmark, and, what is more significant,
the fleet of Fortinbras was then in port at Elsinor. There is an understanding, just
ever so vaguely glanced at, between the two young princes. But the following lines
admit of but one interpretation: "Let it work; For 'tis the sport to have the en-
giner Hoist with his own petar ; and *t shall go hard But I will delve one
YARD BELOW THEIR MINES AND BLOW THEM AT THE MOON !" One would think
it required a miraculous allowance of critical obtuseness to ignore a counterplot so
strikingly pre-announced. . . . To make assurance doubly sure, comes the letter to
Hor., " In the grapple / boarded them ; on the instant they got clear of our ship ;
so I alone became their prisoner. They dealt with me like thieves of mercy ; BUT
THEY KNEW WHAT THEY DID." Can circumstantial proof go farther? Could any
twelve men of sense, on such a record, acquit Ham. of being an accessory before, as
well as after the fact?' [See Snider, Appendix, Vol. II, p. 183.]
21. as] Clarendon: We must either take 'as' = as though, or supply withal
after * death.'
23. will make] For instances of the omission of the relative, see Abbott, § 244,
and Macb. V, vii, 7.
24. bore] Johnson : The calibre of a gun, or the capacity of the barrel. ' The
matter would carry heavier words.' Tschischwitz cannot persuade himself that
•bore ' is not a verbal substantive from ' to bear,' and means ' capacity for bearing.'
28. Clarke: This simple yet strong conclusion to his sedate but most earnest
letter to his bosom-friend might, we think, fully serve to denote Hamlet's per-
fect sanity. Madmen do not write in a style thus condensed and pertinent; if
they are warm they are violent, if they are fervent they are excited ; but here is
warmth of friendship with staid expression, fervour of feeling with sobriety of
assur mce.
act iv, sc. vii.J HAMLET 355

Come, I will make you way for these your letters ;

And do't the speedier, that you may direct me
To him from whom you brought them.
\_Exeunt.

Scene VII. Another room in the castle.

Enter King and Laertes.

King. Now must your conscience my acquittance seal, 30

And you must put me in your heart for friend,
Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear,
That he which hath your noble father slain
Pursued my life.
Laer. It well appears ; but tell me
Why you proceeded not against these feats,
So crimeful and so capital in nature,
As by your safety, wisdom, all things else,
You mainly were stirr'd up.
King. Oh, for two special reasons,
Which may to you perhaps seem much unsinew'd, 10
But yet to me they are strong. The queen his mother

29. make] QAQ5, Pope + , Jen. Glo. + , Q5. safety, greatness, Jen. Steev. Var.
Dyce ii. Om. Q2Q3. give Ff et cet. Cald. Coll. Sing. El. Ktly, Huds.
31. [Exeunt.] Exit. Ff. 9. O, for two] For two Q'76. Two
Scene vii.] Cap. Scene ix. Pope + , Pope, Theob. Han. Warb.
10. to...unsinew*d] to you perhaps
Jen. Another.. .castle.] Cap. (subs.).
feem weak Q'76.
4. which] who Q'76. unsinew'd] vnfinnow*d Qq. vn~
6. proceeded] proceede Q2Q3Q4- pro- finnowed FxFa. unfinewed FF.
ceed Q5. 11. But] And F(,Rowe + , Jen. Cald.
7. crimefut] criminall Qq, Jen. Coll. Knt, Ktly, Del.
8. safely,] fafetie, greatnes, Q2Q3- they are] thd'r Qq. are Pope+ .
fafety, greatnes, Q4. fafetie, greatnejfe, they're Q'76, Dyce ii, Cam. Huds.

1. acquittance seal] For other similar instances of Shakespeare's use of legal

phraseology in reference to seals, see Rushton, Sh. a Lawyer, p. 29
3. Sith] See II, ii, 6; IV, iv, 45.
7. crimeful] Clarendon : The Ff are probably right in giving this rarer word,
which is not used elsewhere by Sh
8. CLARENDON : The Qq make this line an Alexandrine. But this is no grave
objection, as the next line is Alexandrine also. Walker (Crit. iii, 269) proposed
to make • As by ' .1 line by itself, but withdrew it, as ' much too harsh.'
35 6 HAMLET [act iv, sc. vii.

Lives almost by his looks; and for myself, — 12

My virtue or my plague, be it either which, —
She's so conjunctive to my life and soul,
That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, 15
I could not but by her. The other motive,
Why to a public count I might not go,
Is the great love the general gender bear him ;
Who, dipping all his faults in their affection,
Would, like the spring that turneth wood to stone, 20
Convert his gyves to graces ; so that my arrows,

13. be it] be't Pope + , Jen. Dyce ii, 18. general gender] people Q '76.
Huds. 20. Would] Worke Qq. Work Jen.
either which] either Q'76. either- Mai. Steev. Bos. Coll. El. White.
which Sing, ii, Ktly. 21. gyves] Giues QqF4.
14. She's so conjunctive] She is fo that] Om. Pope, Han.
concliue Qq. She is fo precious Q'76.

13. be . . . which] Abbott, § 273 : There is, perhaps, a confusion between 'be
it either,' and ' be it whichever of the two.' Perhaps, however, ' either ' may be
taken in its original sense of ' one of the two,' so that ' either which ' is ' which-one-
so-ever of the two.'
17. count] Abbott, §460: For account.
18. general gender] Johnson: The common race of the people. Delius:
'Gender' is applied to herbs in Oth. I, iii, 326. CALDECOTT: See ' the general,'
II, ii, 416.
20. Would] Clarendon: The Qq make 'convert' indicative instead of infini
tive. But ' Would convert ' seems required by the context.
20. spring] Johnson : This simile is neither very seasonable in the deep interest
of this conversation, nor very accurately applied. If the spring had changed base
metals to gold, the thought had been more proper. Reed : The allusion is to the
qualities of the dropping-well at Knaresborough, in Yorkshire. Camden (1590, p.
564) thus mentions it: ' Sub quo fons est in quern ex impendentibus rupibus aquae
guttatim distillant, unde Dropping Well vocant, in quern quicquid ligni immittitur,
lapideo cortice brevi obduci et lapidescere observatum est.' Clarendon : Lily
has : ' Would I had sipped of that ryuer in Caria, which tunieth those that drinke
of it to stones.' — Euphues, p. 63, ed. Arber.
21. gyves] Theobald (Nichols's Lit. Hist, ii, 576): I own I do not understand
this. I have conjectured gybes, i. e. even gybes, mocks, fleering, &c, would in him
be construed graces. [This was not repeated in Theobald's ed., but it is adopted
by Tschischwitz. Ed.] Elze : Perhaps we should read crimes. Clarke : That is,
turn all my attempts to restrain him into so many injuries perpetrated against his
innocence and good qualities. Daniel (p. 76) : Read gyres, i. e. his ' wild and
whirling ' actions, his mad eccentricities. Clarendon : Compare, ' And made their
bends adornings.' — Ant. 6° Cleo. II. ii, 213. Elze {Shakespeare- Jahrbuch, xi, 295,
and also The Athenceum, 20 Feb. 1869) : The corruption appears to be here not in
act iv, sc. vii.J HAMLET 357

Too slightly timbcr'd for so loud a wind, 22

Would have reverted to my bow again,
And not where I had aim'd them.
Laer. And so have I a noble father lost ; 25
A sister driven into desperate terms,
Whose worth, if praises may go back again,
Stood challenger on mount of all the age

22. timber 'd] tymbcrd Q3Q3- tym- 24. aim'd] arni'dYx.

bered Q. timbered Q. timbred Ff. 25. have I] I have Q.
loud a wind] loued Arm?d Q3Q,. 26. desperate] defprat QaQ,.
loued armes QQ. loved arms Q J 6. 27. Whose worth] Who was Ff. ff/i*
24. And] But Qq. ^«j Johns. Who, once Quincy (MS).
not] not gone Ktly. 28. mount] the mount Q'76.
had] haue Qq.

' gyves,' but in ' graces.' How can corporeal ' gyves ' be converted into incorporeal,
abstract ' graces ' J That is more than even the well at Knaresborough could do.
An abstract noun in this connection ruins the whole metaphor, and is illogical.
If we substitute some abstract noun for ■ gyves,' while restoring logical propriety,
we deprive the simile of all significant clearness, force, and depth, and to introduce
the wonder-working spring in order to compare together two abstract qualities
would be pointless, and assuredly not in accordance with Shakespeare's genius
and style. Read, therefore : graves. Graves, now spelled greaves, is found also in
2 Hen. IV: IV, iv, 50, where, as here, something mean becomes ennobled. For
the spelling, compare ' thraves,' instead of threaves (Chapman's Iliad, xi, 477) ;
and 'stale,' instead of steale ox stele {lb. iv, 173). Stratmann praises this emen-
dation of Elze's as judicious.
22. Jennens finds the reading of the Ff so unnatural and impossible that he
adopts that of Q2Q3, reading so loved, arm'd, and paraphrases, 'Too slightly timbered
for one so loved and armed with the affections and veneration of the people.' The
armes of Q4 are put for the person armed, and the love applied to them which is
meant for him. In both these readings we have the idea of a suit of armor reverbe-
rating an arrow back to its bow, which is not only possible, but just. Steevens :
The reading of the Ff, however, is supported by Ascham's Toxophilus : ' Weake
bowes, and lyghte shaftes can not stande in a rough wynde.' [p. 151, ed. Arber.]
25, 26. have . . . driven] Abbott, § 425 : Here note that though the first line
could be re-transposed, and Laer. could naturally say, ' I have lost a father,' on the
other hand he could not say, ' I have driven a sister,' without completely changing
the sense. ' Have ' is here used in its original sense, and is equivalent to ' I find.'
When ' have ' is thus used without any notion of action, it is separated from the par-
ticiple passive. See I, ii, 215 ; III, iii, 38.
27. praises] Johnson : If I may praise what has been, but is now to be found
no more.
28. on mount] Caldecott : On the highest ground, in the fullest presence of
the age, to give a general challenge in support of her excellence. [I think Caldecott
failed to see that ' of all the age ' qualifies ' challenger.' Her worth challenged
 HAMLET
[act iv, &c. vii

For her perfections. But my revenge will come.

King.58 Break not your sleeps for that; you must not
think
That we are made of stuff so flat and dull
That we can let our beard be shook with danger
And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more ;
I loved your father, and we love ourself ;
And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine — 35
Enter a Messenger, with letters.
How now ! what news ?
Mess. Letters, my lord, from Hamlet ;
This to your majesty ; this to the queen.
30
King. From Hamlet ? who brought them ?
Mess. Sailors, my lord, they say ; I saw them not ;
They were given me by Claudio ; he received them

29. perfections. But] perfections Enter...] Enter a Meflenger. Ff.

but Theob. Han. Warb. Ktly. ...a Gentleman. Cap. After news? line
my] Om. Pope, Han. 36, Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. Steev.
30. Break. ..think] Two lines, Ff. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. El. White.
36. How. ..Hamlet] Om. Qq, Pope,
32. beard] berd Q^. beards Q'76. Han.
with danger] of danger Cap.
conj. {Notes, i, p. 29). 36,37. Letters... queen] Theob. Prose,
33. pastime] pafltime F2. Ff, Rowe.
shortly shall] shall soon Pope + . 37. This to your] Thefe to your Qq,
34. ourself] your felfe Fa. your f elf Pope + , Cap. Jen. 40
38. Hamlet ?] Hamlet, Qq.
F3F4, Rowe, Pope.
35. imagine — ] imagine. Qq.

all the age to deny her perfection. Ed.] Collier (ed. 2) : The (MS) reads sole
challenger. Moberly : The allusion seems to be the coronation ceremony of the
Emperor of Germany [Austria ?] as King of Hungary ; when on the Mount of De-
fiance, atPresburg, he unsheathes the ancient sword of state, and shaking it towards
North, South, East, and West, challenges the four corners of the world to dispute
his rights.
30. sleeps] See I, i, 173. Dyce quotes from Phaer's Virgil, ALneidos, ii : 'The
towne .... in sleepes [the original somno] and drinking drownd;' and refers to
2 Hen. IV: IV, v, 69, where he also reads • sleeps.'
32. with] For instances of ' with ' equivalent to by, see Macb. Ill, i, 62 ; IV, ii,
32; and Abbott, § 193.
34. I . . . ourself] Seymour (ii, 196), losing sight of the distinction here im-
plied between the feelings of a man and those of a king, says that in tne beginning
of this speech the King seems to have forgotten the pompous dignity of his plural
distinction.
ACT IV, sc. vii.]
HAMLET 359

Of him that brought them.

King.
Laertes, you shall hear them. —
Leave us. \Exit Messenger.
[Reads] High and mighty, You shall knozv I am set
naked on your kingdom. To-morrozv shall I beg leave to
see your kingly eyes ; when I shall \ first asking your pardon 45
thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden and more strange
return- Hamlet.
What should this mean ? Are all the rest come back ?
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? 50
Laer. Know you the hand ?
King. Tis Hamlet's character. * Naked !'
And in a postscript here, he says ' alone !'
Can you advise me ?
Laer. I'm lost in it, my lord. But let him come ; 55
41. 0/...them.] Om. Ff, Rowe + , there-vnto Q3Q,Q4. pardon, thereunto Q .
Cald. Knt. 46. occasion] Occafions Ff, Rowe, Bos.
hear] Om. F3. read F3F4. Knt, Coll. Dyce i, Sta. White, Del. Huds.
41. 42. Laertes... us.] One line, Qq, and more strange] Om. Qq, Pope
Jen. Knt. + ,48.
Cap.Ifamlet.]
Jen. andOm.most
Qq,strange
Jen. Anon.""
42. us.'] us, all — (reading Laertes...
all — as one line) Pope + .
50. abuse, and~\ abufe ? Or Ff, Rowe.
[Exit...] Om. Qq. abuse, or Knt.
43. [Reads] Cap. (after mighty,) Om. 52-54. ''Tis. ..me?] Prose, Ff, Rowe.
Ending the lines {character ;... says)...
QqFf.
44. shall I] I shall Jen. me ? Pope + , Jen. El.
45. 46. first. ..thereunto,] {firft... par-
52-53. ' Naked P ...' alone.1'] As quota-
tions, Johns.
don) thereunto Q'76.
45. asking your] asking you QqF , 54. advise] deuife Qq.
Rowe, Pope.
55. L'm] I am Qq, Cap. Steev. Var
45, 46. pardon thereunto,] pardon, Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly.

41. Of him] Walker (Crit. iii, 208) : 'Him' for them, I suspect. [Would • he
leceived them of them that brought them1 be tolerable? Ed.] Tschischwitz
thinks he has mended matters by giving this speech to a servant instead of to a mes-
senger.
45. eyes] Clarendon: See IV, iv, 6.
47. more strange] Abbott, §6: 'My sudden, and even more strange than
sudden.'
49. should] See Macb. IV, iii, 49, or Abbott, § 325.
52. character] Walker (Crit. iii, 269): The verse seems to require that this
word (character, as it is, frequently at least, accented in the old poets) should be
pronounced cn'ract", as it is in Middleton's The Roaring Girl, Prologue, ' WTith
w-ngs more lofty; thus her character lies.' [— p. 435, ed. Dyce.]
30O HAMLET [act iv, sc. vii.

It warms the very sickness in my heart, 56

That I shall live and tell him to his teeth,
'Thus didest thou.'
King, If it be so, Laertes, —
As how should it be so ? how otherwise ?—
Will you be ruled by me ?
Laer. Ay, my lord ; 60
So you will not o'errule me to a peace.
King. To thine own peace. If he be now return'd,
As checking at his voyage, and that he means
57. shall] Om. Qq. my Lord,fo you will Qq. If fo you? I
and tell] to tell Han. Ff, Rowe, Knt, White. /, so you'll
58. didest] diddefl Ff. didjl Qq, Jen. Pope + . Ay ; so you'll Johns. I will,
diest Marshall, from Qf. my lord ; So you will Cap. Ktly. If
58-60. If it... me ?] Two lines, the you' 11 not Ca.\d.
first ending so ? Ff, Rowe. 62. returned] returned Qq.
60, 61. Ay. ..peace.] One line, QqFf, 63. checking at] the King at Q2Q,.
Rowe + , Jen. Cald. Knt, White. liking not Q4QS, Pope + , Jen. Coll. El.
Ay. ..So you will] Steev. / kecking at Long MS.*

58. Thus . . . thou] Staunton : The reading of Qt may be thought superior by

some.

59. As . . . otherwise] Delius : We should expect ' How should it not be so ?'
Sh. is elsewhere inexact in repeating and in omitting the negative. Keightley (Ex-
positor, p.295) : It is manifest that but or not has been omitted. [Keightley reads
'should it but* in his text.] Clarendon: Perhaps the first clause refers to Hamlet's
return, the second to Laertes's feelings. Marshall (p. 197): If the 'should'
were italicised we might make sense of it, thus : ' If it be so ' — (/. e. if Ham. has
come back because, on consideration, he did not choose to go to England) — ' As
how should it be so ?' (i. e. how should there be any question about it being so ?)—
' How (could it be) otherwise ?' I admit that in this case we should expect ' if '
fo be repeated.
60. Will . . . me ?] White : The most un-Shakespearian want of accord between
the rhythm and the sense of this hemistich, — the accent being thrown upon ' by '
instead of ' me,' — warrants the opinion that the intelligent correction in the Folio is
by authority. [It is to be borne in mind that White supposes ' ruled ' is to be pro-
nounced as a dissyllable. In his text he prints ' rul'd,' and, following the Ff, omits
1 Ay, my lord.' Ed.]
60. my lord] Walker (Crit. iii, 270) : Perhaps ' my good lord.'
63. As] Abbott, § 115: 'As' is used nearly redundantly before participles to
denote a cause, ' inasmuch as.'
63. checking] Steevens : The phrase is from falconry. ' For who knows not,
quoth she, that this hawk, which comes now so fair to the fist, may to-morrow check
at viy lure?' — Hinde's Eliosto Libidinoso, 1606. Dyce (Gloss.) : Applied to a hawk
wnen she forsakes her proper game and follows some other of inferior kind that
crosses her in her flight. Clarendon: Compare Twelfth Night, II, v. 124, and
act iv, sc. vii.] HAMLET 3^1
No more to undertake it, I will work him
To an exploit now ripe in my device, 65
Under the which he shall not choose but fall ;
And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe ;
But even his mother shall uncharge the practice,
And call it accident.
Laer. My lord, I will be ruled ;
The rather, if you could devise it so 70
That I might be the organ.
King. It falls right.
You have been talk'd of since your travel much,
And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality
Wherein, they say, you shine ; your sum of parts
Did not together pluck such envy from him, 75
As did that one, and that, in my regard,
Of the unworthiest siege.
Laer. What part is that, my lord ?
King. A very riband in the cap of youth,
Yet needful too ; for youth no less becomes
The light and careless livery that it wears 80
Than settled age his sables and his weeds,
Importing health and graveness. Two months since,

65. device] deuife Qq, Pope, Cap. 71. organ"] instrument Q'76, Rowe,
67. breathe] breath FXF2, Cap. Pope.
68. even] ev'n Pope + . 78. riband] ribaud Q . feather Q'76,
69. accident] accedent Q2Q3Q4> Rowe, Pope, Theob. Han. Warb.
69-82. Laer. My lord. ..graveness.] 82. Two months since] Some two
Cm. Ff. monthes hence Ff, Cald. Knt.
69. My lord t] Om. Pope + .

Ill, i, 71. The use of the word is not quite the same here, because the voyage was
Hamlet's * proper game,' which he abandons. Collier (ed. 1 ) : * Checking at ' was
doubtless introduced in the Ff as a conjectural emendation. [Not repeated in Col-
lier's ed. 2.] Dyce : The Ff reading is much more in Shakespeare's manner than
liking not.
68. uncharge] Caldecott : Acquit of blame. Clarendon : The word is prob-
ably coined by Sh. for the nonce.
68. practice] Clarendon: Plot, stratagem, treachery. See IV, vii, 139; V,
li, 304.
77. siege] Johnson : Of the lowest rank. Clarendon : Seat, thence rank,
because people sat at table and elsewhere in order of precedence.
82. health] Warburton : But a warm furred gown rather implies sickness than

31
362 HAMLET [act iv. sc. vii

Here was a gentleman of Normandy ;—

I've seen myself, and served against, the French,
And they can well on horseback ; but this gallant 85
Plad witchcraft in't ; he grew into his seat,
And to such wondrous doing brought his horse
As he had been incorpsed and demi-natured
With the brave beast. So far he topp'd my thought
That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks, 90
Come short of what he did.
Laer. A Norman, was't?
King. A Norman.

83. Normandy; — ] Normandy. Ff. $>%. As] And Rowe.

Normandy, Qq, Cald. he had] Q'76. had he QqFi,
84. Pve~\ I haue Qq. Cam. Cla.
against,"] Han. againjl QqFf. 89. topped] topt Qq. paft, Ff, Rowe,
85. can] ran Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt i. Pope, Han. Cald. Knt.
86. into] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Sta. my thought] me thought Qq.
vnto Qq et cet. 91. Come] Came Cap. conj. ( Var.
87. doing] doings Cald. headings, p. 30) Cla.

• health.' , Sh. wrote wealth, i. e. that the wearers are rich burghers and magistrates.
[Moberly: This emendation gives better sense.] Johnson : * Importing ' here
may be not inferring by logical consequence, but producing by physical effect. A
young man regards show in his dress, an old man, health. MALONE : ' Importing
health ' means denoting an attention to health. Steevens : ' Importing ' may only
signify, — implying, denoting. Malone's explanation may be the true one. Claren-
don adopts Malone's explanation. [See Rom. 6° Jul. I, i, 86. May not this be
an instance of what Corson {Cornell Rev. Nov. 1876) calls respective construction,
and ' health ' refer to ' careless livery,' and ' graveness ' to ' sables ' and • weeds ' ?
Compare III, i, 151 : 'The courtier's, scholar's, soldier's, eye, tongue, sword ;' also
Macb. I, iii, 60: ' speak thou to me who neither beg nor fear your favour nor your
hate;' Wint.Tale, III, ii, 164: 'though I with death, and with Reward, did threaten
and encourage him.' For these and other instances of similar construction, see the
Cornell Rev. cited above; and see also II, ii, 382. Ed.]
83, 84. Normandy . . . against] Caldecott : ' With the punctuation of the
QqFf the construction may be : " Here was a gentleman [whom] I've seen myself,
and [I have also] served against the French, And they," ' &c.
85. can] Collier: The ran of Ff is a mere misprint; people do not run on
horseback. See Abbott, § 307, for other instances, found, though very rarely, in
Sh. of this, the original meaning of ' can.' Clarendon : Compare Bacon, Essay
xi, p. 40: ' In evil the best condition is not to will, the second not to can.'
89. topp'd] Dyce (Gloss.): To rise above, to surpass. See Macb. IV, iii, 57;
Lear, I, ii, 21.
90. forgery] tohnson: I could not contrive so many proofs of dexterity as he
tould perform
\ct iv, sc. vii.] HAMLET 3^3

Laer. Upon my life, Lamond.

Ki)ig. The very same.
Lacr. I know him well ; he is the brooch indeed
And gem of all the nation. 95
King. He made confession of you,
And gave you such a masterly report,
For art and exercise in your defence,
And for your rapier most especially,
That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed 100
If one could match you ; the scrimers of their nation,
He swore, had neither motion, guard, nor eye,
If you opposed them. Sir, this report of his
93. Lamond] Pope-t-, Dyce, Sta. 100. sight] fight Rowe ii, Pope.
Glo. + , Huds. Lamound Ff, Rowe, 101. you;] you Sir. Ff, Rowe.
Cald. Knt. Lamont White. Lamord 101, 103. the. ..them] Om. Ff, Rowe,
Qq et cet. Pope, Han.
very] Om. Theob. ii,Warb. Johns. 101. the scrimers] the Scrimures Qa
95. the] our Ff. that Coll. (MS). Qy the fencers Q'76.
96. He made] Hee mad Ff. 103. them] 'cm Theob. Warb. Johns.
99. And] An F . Jen.
especially] especially Fx. efpeciall Sir, this] This Ff, Rowe, Pope,
Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. El. Han.
Cam. Cla.

93. Lamond] Malone : Sh. wrote, I suspect, Lamode. See lines 94, 95, where
he is spoken of as ' the brooch and gem of all the nation.' Clarendon: The name
appears to have been altogether fictitious. C Elliot Browne {Athenaum, 29 July,
1876) : It is not impossible that this is an allusion to Pietro Monte (in a Gallicized
form), the famous cavalier and swordsman, who is mentioned by Castiglione ((J7
Cortegiano' b. i) as the instructor of Louis the Seventh's Master of Horse. In the
English translation he is called ' Peter Mount.' [I regret that these valuable Holes
on Shakespeare' s Hames reached me too late to be inserted in due place in the com-
mentary under the first appearance of each character. They will be found, how-
ever, in the Appendix, Vol. II, p. 241. Ed.]
94. brooch] Nares : An ornamental buckle, pin, or loop. From the French
broche, a spit. It is frequently mentioned as an ornament worn in the hat.
96. confession] Delius : Here used, because Lamond would not willingly ac-
knowledge the superiority of Laer. over the French in the art of fighting.
97. masterly report] Clarendon : A report which describes Laer. as a master
of fence.
98. defence] Johnson : That is, in the science of defence.
101. scrimers] Johnson: Fencers. Malone: From escrimeur, Fr. a fencer.
Collier (ed. 2) : It is not used by any other poet. White: The Qq give a mere
ignorant printing of th' escrimeurs [which White adopts in his text], helped, per-
haps, by an accidental putting of the space on the wrong side of the e. No such
word *\s scrimers has been met with in the books on fencing, or anywhere else.
103. report] Walker (Crit. i, 302) : Is 'report' the object or the subject of
 HAMLET
3^4 [act iv, sc. vii,

Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy

That he could nothing do but wish and beg 105
Your sudden coming o'er, to play with him.
Now, out of this —
Laer. What out of this, my lord ? 107
King. Laertes, was your father dear to you ?
Or are you like the painting of a sorrow,
A face without a heart ?
Laer. Why ask you this ? no
King. Not that I think you did not love your father ;
But that I know, love is begun by time,
And that I see, in passages of proof,
Time qualifies the spark and fire of it.

106. Bos. Coll. Sing. El. Ktly, Huds.

Rowe. o'er'] ore QqFx. over F2F F , 107. this— ] this. QqFxF2F3.
him] you Qq, Cap. Mai. Steev. What] Why Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt

* envenom ' ? If the latter, read * your envy.' Coleridge : Note how the King
first awakens Laertes's vanity by praising the reporter, and then gratifies it by the
report itself, and finally points it by these lines.
in. Walker (Crit. iii, 270) : Here, and in III, iii, 57, and IV, v, 119, Claudius,
like the Ghost, shows something of Hamlet's philosophising turn.
112. begun by time] Johnson: The meaning may be, love is not innate in us,
and co-essential to our nature, but begins at a certain time from some external cause,
and being always subject to the operations of time, suffers change and diminution.
M. Mason : The King reasons thus :— ' I do not suspect that you did not love your
father ; but I know that time abates the force of affection.' I therefore suspect that
we ought to read : ' love is begone by time.' I suppose that Sh. places the syllable
be before gone, as we say <5<?-paint, ^-spatter, <$<?-think, &c, or possibly we should
read ' by-gone.' Bailey (ii, 14) : The dominant idea of the speech is that love
is abated by time. Read ' love is begnawn by time,' an expression which exactly
conveys the sense required, while the change requisite for perverting it into the
received text is slight. Compare Rich. Ill : I, iii, 222 ; Tro. & Cres. IV, v,
293-

112. by time] Seymour (ii, 197): Read betitne. The King means, 'love begins
at an early period of life, but as our affections ripen this affection suffers abatement.'
Keightley : I cannot make any good sense out of this. I suspect that ' time '
may be owing to the same word lower down. The love spoken of seems to be that
of children for parents, and possibly the word was childhood, birth.
113. proof] Johnson: In transactions of daily experience. Clarendon: Cir-
cumstances which prove that time abates love. Compare II, i, 38.
1 14. fire] For other instances of the lengthened pronunciation of this word, see
Walker, Very 144 ; Abbott, § 480.
kct iv, sc. vii.] HAMLET 365

There lives within the very flame of love 1 15

A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it ;
And nothing is at a like goodness still,
For goodness, growing to a plurisy,
Dies in his own too-much ; that we would do
1 15-124. There... ulce r ;] Om. Ff. ///07 Han.
116. wick~\ Rowe ii. weeke Qq. 119. too-much\ Mai. too much Qq.
wieke Q'76. wiek Rowe i. that'] what Pope + .
118. plurisy'] plurifle Qq. pleurifie would] should Seymour.
Q'76, Rowe, Pope, Theob. Warb. ple-

117. still] Always, constantly. See Rom. 6° Jul. V, iii, 106, and notes.
118. plurisy] Warburton : I would believe, for the honor of Sh., that he wrote
plethory. But I observe the dramatic writers of that time frequently call a fulness
of blood a. pleurisy, as if it came not from ir?^vfjd, but from plus, pluris. [This
emendation Warburton communicated by letter to Theobald, who replied that it had
also occurred to him, but that he was doubtful of it, partly from • the accental sylla-
ble falling so wrong in the verse, the 0 being long ' [here Theobald's Greek misled
him], and partly because Sh. might have mistaken the nature of pleurisie, as Beau
& Fl. seem to have done: • those too many excellencies, that feed Your pride, turn tc
a pleurisy.' — Ctcstom of the Country [II, i, p. 417, ed. Dyce]. In his edition Theobald
added : • thou grand decider . . . that heal'st The earth when it is sick, and cur'st
the world O' the pleurisy of people.' — Two Noble Kinsmen [V, i, p. 417, ed. Dyce].
Tollet, in the Var. 1821, cites: Mascal's Treatise on Cattle, 1662, p. 187, 'Against
the blood, or plurisie of blood. The disease of blood is, some young horses will
feed, and being fat will increase blood, and so grow to a plurisie, and die.1 Malone
cites : ' Must your hot itch and plurisy of lust ... be fed Up to a surfeit.' — ' Tis
Pity She's a Whore, IV, iii [Ford's Works, p. 177, ed. Dyce]. Other instances are
given by M. Mason and Nares, in all of which the word is spelled ' plurisy,' and
means a surfeit, a plethory. Whence Nares affirms that it means ' a plethora or
redundancy of blood. Not the same as pleurisy, but derived from plus, pluris,
more.' And Nares is followed in the derivation from plus, phiris, by Dyce, Col-
lier, Staunton, White, and Hudson. Gifford also explains : ' Thy plurisy of
goodness is thy ill' (Massinger's Unnatural Combat, IV, i, p. 196, ed. Gifford) by
• thy superabundance of goodness : the thought is from Sh.,' and cites the present
passage from Hamlet. Coleridge, in his Notes, says, ' I rather think that Sh. meant
pleurisy, but involved in it the thought of plethora, as supposing pleurisy to arise
from too much blood; otherwise I can not explain "this ' should ' is like a spend-
thrift sigh That hurts by easing." In a stitch in the side every one must have
heaved a sigh that " hurt by easing." Since writing the above I feel confirmed
that "pleurisy" is the right word; for I find that in the old medical dictionaries the
pleurisy is often called the " plethory." ' In fine, Sh. and the early dramatists were
misled by the sound into supposing that pleurisy was the same as plethory, and it
was accordingly spelled 'plurisy,' as indicating the symptoms implied in its supposed
derivation from plus, pluris. It is better to retain that spelling, although there is no
disease, I believe, so named, or rather so spelled, at present. Ed.]
*!9~I22. that . . . accidents] Tschischwitz : The fundamental idea o( the

31*
 HAMLET
[act iv, sc. vii.
366
We should do when we would ; for this ' would ' changes 120
And hath abatements and delays as many
As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents,
And then this ' should ' is like a spendthrift sigh,
That hurts by easing. But, to the quick o' the ulcer :
Hamlet comes back; what would you undertake, 125
To show yourself your father's son in deed
More than in words ?
Laer. To cut his throat i' the church.
King. No place indeed should murder sanctuarize ;

120, 123. 'would'...1 should'] Italics, 126. your. ..in deed] your fathers
fonne indeed FfF3. your father's fon
122. accidents] accedents Q3Q3Q4- indeed F3, Pope + , Jen. El. indeede
your fathers fonne Qq, Cap. in deed
123. spendthrift sigh~\ fpend- thrift Ktly.
feh Q'76. fpend thirfts figh Q2Q3. your father's son Steev. Var. Sing.
fpend-thrifts figh QfX, Pope, Cap.
Coll. Sing, spendthrift-sigh Ktly. 128. murder sanctuarize] protect a
murderer Q'76.
F .125.Hamlet,
Hamletcome
comes"]
F . Hamlet comeFa sanctuarize] Sanclurize F .

whole tragedy. Grant White {Hamlet the Younger, Galaxy, April, 1870, p. 544)
says the same.
119. too-much] Moberly : Like ' a great amiss,' ■ the why and wherefore,' and
the like. English had at this time something like the flexibility of the Greek, and
had no difficulty in throwing out phrases like rb ayav and to npiv.
120. should . . . would] See I, v, 32 ; III, iii, 75 ; Macb. I, v, 19, and III, vi, 19.
128. spendthrift sigh] Warburton: This nonsense should be read ' a spend-
thrift's sign,' 1. e. though a spendthrift's entering into bonds or mortgages gives him
a present relief from his straits, yet it ends in much greater distresses. Heath :
This refers to a very idle opinion, still prevalent among the common people, that
every sigh draws drops of blood from the heart and tends to shorten life. Calde-
cott cites Dr Sherwen : To have conceived, previous to the discovery of the cir-
culation of the blood, that sighing sucked the blood, was an idea natural enough
for after, orrathcr during, a deep sigh the blood flows more freely through the pul-
monary artery and its ramifications in the different lobes of the lungs ; and it might
have appeared to the old physiologists to be thus drawn away from the heart and the
general mass into the lungs. How it got back again into the heart, they did not
know. Clarendon : The meaning is that the mere recognition of a duty without
the will to perform it, while it satisfies for a moment, enfeebles the moral nature.
We have the same notion of sighs wasting the vital powers in 2 Hen. VI: III, ii,
63; Mid. N. £>., Ill, ii, 97. [See Rom. & Jul. Ill, v, 58.] Moberly: He who
vainly acknowledges that he • should ' have done a thing is like a spendthrift sighing
for his squandered estate.
128. sanctuarize] Clarendon: This verb is probably invented by Sh. No
plac? should protect murder (such as that which Ham. has perpetrated) from punish-
ment. Compare Rich. Ill III, i, 42 ; Cor. I, x, 19.
act iv, sc vii.] HAMLET ?>6j

Revenge should have no bounds. But, good Laertes,

Will you do this, keep close within your chamber. 130
Hamlet return'd shall know you are come home ;
We'll put on those shall praise your excellence
And set a double varnish on the fame
The Frenchman gave you ; bring you, in fine, together
And wager on your heads ; he, being remiss, 135
Most generous and free from all contriving,
Will not peruse the foils, so that with ease,
Or with a little shuffling, you may choose
A sword unbated, and in a pass of practice

130. Will.
this,. ..this'] Om. Q'76.
...chamber.] Coll. i, El. 133.
134. fame'] fame QSF,F4.
Frenchman] Frenchmen Warb.
Dyce, Sta. White, Del. Huds. Glo. + . 135. on] ore Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var.
this,.. .chamber, QaQJ^. this,.. .chamber Cald. Sing. Huds.
Q4Q$. this, ...chamber? F3F3F4, Rowe, 137. foils,] Foiles ? Ff.
Pope, Knt. this?. ...chamber; Theob. -f, 139. unbated] unbaited FgF3, Rowe.
Jen. this /...chamber ? Cap. this,... un- baited F^F .
chamber: Steev. Var. Sing. this?... pass] paffe FfFa. pace Qq.
chamber! Cald. this?. ..chamber. Coll. ii.

132. those] For instances of the omission of the relative, see IV, vi, 23; Abbott,
§ 244; Macb. V, vii, 7.
135. remiss] Clarendon : A word seldom if ever used now, except with refer-
ence to some particular act of negligence. Here it means careless, indifferent. So
in 1 Hen. VI: IV, iii, 59.
137. peruse] See II, i, 90.
139. unbated] Pope (ed. 2) : Not blunted, as foils are. Or, as one edition has
it, embaited or envenomed. [No edition has yet been found with this reading. Two
years before Pope's second edition was published in 1728, Theobald, in his Sh. Re-
stored, p.119, in a note on this passage had conjectured imbaited, and also on the
same page suggested 'imbaited and envenom'd' for 'unbated and envenom'd,' V,
ii, 704. Hence arose, probably, Pope's error. Theobald, in the Appendix, p. 192,
withdrew these conjectures, and supposes that ' unbated ' may here mean unabated,
or not robbed of its point ; nor, he adds, can the conjecture hold in the second pas-
sage without tautology, because ' envenom'd ' signifies the same as imbaited. Ed.]
Steevens : In North's Plutarch it is said of one of the Metelli, that ' he shewed
the people the cruel fight of fencers at unrebated swords.' Malone : Not blunted,
as foils are by a button fixed to the end. So in Love's Lab. I, i, 6 : • That honour,
which shall bate his scythe's keen edge.' Clarendon : See Rich. Ill : V, v, 35.
Also, ■ rebate,' Meas. for Meas. I, iv, 60.
139. practice] Johnson: Although the meaning of stratagem, ox privy treason,
is not incongruous here, yet I rather believe that nothing more is meant than a thrust
for exercise. M. Mason : It means a favorite pass, one that Laer. was well prac-
tised in. The treachery lay in the use of a sword unbated and envenomed. Claa
endon : A treacherous thrust. See line 68 of this scene.
 HAMLET
[act iv, sc. vii.
368 him for your father.
Requite 145

Laer. I will do't; 140

And for that purpose I'll anoint my sword.
I bought an unction of a mountebank,
So mortal that but dip a knife in it,
Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare,
Collected from all sirrples that have virtue
Under the moon, can save the thing from death
That is but scratch'd withal ; I'll touch my point
With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly
It may be death.
King. Let's further think of this ;
Weigh what convenience both of time and means 150
May fit us to our shape. If this should fail,
And that our drift look through our bad performance,
'Twere better not assay'd ; therefore this project
Should have a back or second, that might hold
141. that] Om. Q2Q3. the Q4Q5, 150. convenience] conueiance Q.Q-.
Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Mai. Cald. 151. us] it Han.
Sing. El. Ktly. shape. If...fail,] Rowe + ,Jen.
Coll. El. White, Ktly, Del. Huds. fhape
anoint'] cnnoiot F2.
143. that but dip] that but dippe Q2Q3 if.fayle, Qq. Jkape, if.faile; FXF2F3.
Q4. I but dipt Yi. Jhape if ...fail ; F4. shape: if. .fail,
148, 149. With. ...death.] One line, Cap. et cet. substantially.

150. Weigh] 152. look] lookt F4. looked Rowe.

Wey Q2Q3Q4-
Qq.
141. anoint] Moberly: Laer. shows by this horrid suggestion how little need
there was for the King to prepare the temptation as carefully as he did.
142. mountebank] Clarendon : Quack-doctor. See Oth. I, iii, 61 ; and in
Bacon's Advancement of Learning, ii, 10, § 2 : ' Nay, we see the weakness and
credulity of men is such, as they will often prefer a mountebank or witch before a
learned physician.' In Jonson's Fox, Volpone, disguised as a mountebank, has a
multitude of medicines to sell. In Italian he is called ciarlatano, whence the French
charlatan, for which among others Cotgrave gives as equivalents, « A Mountebanke,
a cousening drug-seller, a pratling quack-saluer.'
145. simples] Clarendon : Herbs, so-called as being the simple ingredients of
compound mixtures. See Rom. &* Jul. V, i, 40.
146. moon] To gather simples by moonlight was supposed to add to their medi-
cinal power or ' virtue.'
148. contagion] Clarendon: Used like 'unction,' line 142, for a material ob-
ject, abstract for concrete, the thing which gives contagion.
148. that] For 'so that,' see IV, v, 211.
151. shape] Johnson: May enable us to assume proper characters, and to act
oir part.
 155

act rv, sc. vii.] HAMLET 369

If this should blast in proof. Soft !— let me see 1—

We'll make a solemn wager on your cunnings ;
I ha't :
When in your motion you are hot and dry, —
As make your bouts more violent to that end, —
I6c
And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepared him
A chalice for the nonce ; whereon but sipping,
Warb.
155. should] did Q(\, Cap. Cam. Cla.
Soft!—] Coll. Soft, Ff. Soft 159. As] And Pope, Han. Ktly.
Qq. Soft — Rowe + , Jen. Soft; Cap. ma he your] make you Jen.
et cet. that end] the end Ff, Rowe,
156. cunnings] commings FxFaF3, th% end Pope, Han.
Cald. Knt. comings F4. 160. prepared] prepared 'Ff. prefard
157. I ha't] I hate QaQ3. Lhau'tQA Steev.
Q3Q3* Bos. Coll. El. prefer" d Cap. Mai.
Preferd%%
Q5, Jen. Sing. Ktly. That— Rowe.
157, 158. 7* ha't... dry] Johns. One 161. nonce] once QQ. purpofe(^'j6.
line, QqFf, Rowe + , Jen. Sta. Ktly.
sipping] tafling Q'76.
158. and dry] Om. Pope, Theob. Han.

155. proof] Steevens : A metaphor taken from the trying or proving of fire-armi
or cannon, which blast or burst in the proof.
156. cunnings] Caldecott, followed by Knight, plausibly explains commings
of F, as a meeting in assault, bout, or pass at fence. Minsheu: 'Comming, Gall.
Venue.' Cotgrave : ' Venue", f. A comming ; also, a vennie in fencing.'
159. As] Equivalent to ' For so.' See IV, iii, 58.
160. that] Clarendon: 'That' follows • when,' after a parenthesis or other in
tervening words (compare Lear, II, i, 45), completing the conjunction * When that,'
which is used by Sh., as e. g. yul. Cas. Ill, ii, 96 : ' When that the poor havo
cried.'
160. prepared] White: The Qq are decidedly wrong. 'A goblet might be
well spoken of as prepared for the nonce, but not as preferred [offered] for the
nonce.'
161. nonce] Clarendon: For the special occasion. The phrase was originally
'for the once,' the 'n' being added for euphony. [See Matzner, vol. i, p. 181.]
Hunter (ii, 260) : There is little in our poet's writings more painful than such a
scene as this ; the cool deliberation with which Laer. comes into such a plot is so
inconsistent with his character as exhibited in the other parts of the play ; the clum-
siness of the whole contrivance, and the barefaced manner in which the King is
made to expose his villainous purpose to one who is already half his enemy, that
one is tempted to ask where the mighty spirit is fled which dictated some portions of
this most unequal performance. What an abandonment also of the great design of
the tragedy (as announced in the First Act), that there should be a train laid which
is to bring about the catastrophe while the principal actor is not cognizant of it, and
has, of course, no part in it. The death of the King is in consequence brought
about without that intention of the mind of Ham. which was necessary to connect
it with the early scenes of the play, and to give dignity to the great catastrophe.
 370 HAMLET [act iv, *c. vii

If he by chance escape your venom'd stuck, 162

Our purpose may hold there. But stay, what noise ?—
Enter Queen.
How now, sweet queen !
Queen. One woe doth tread upon another's heel, 165
So fast they follow. — Your sister's drown'd, Laertes.
Laer. ' Drown'd !' Oh, where ?
Queen. There is a willow grows aslant a brook,
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream ;

162. stuck"] tuck Q'76, Rowe + , Jen. 166. So...follow~\ Separate line. Cap.
White. they] theft F,F-. they'll F3F4,
163. But. .. noise .<?] Om. Ff, Rovve + , Rowe.
Knt, Dyce, Sta. White, Huds. Glo. 168. grows aslant] growing <?' re Q1 76.
Enter Queen.] After queen ! Ff, aslant a] afcaunt the Qq, Cap.
\ Rowe, Tope, Han. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Coll. El. Ktly.
164. How... queen /] Om. Qq. aslant the Sing. White, as c aunt a Sta.
Hozu nozv\ how Fx, Coll. 169. hoar~\ hore FXF2. horry Q2Q,.
165. Scene X. Pope +, Jen. hoary Q , Jen. hoarie Q .

162. stuck] Blackstone: Read tuck, a common name for a rapier. Malone:
•Stuck,' a term of the fencing-school, means thrust. Dyce (Gloss.): More prop-
erly slock, an abbreviation of stoccado. White speaks of an • old copy ' which
reads, ' your venom'd trick.1 [I have been unable to find any old copy which so
reads. Ed.]
163. noise] Jennens finds great significance in these words, as an expression of
the King's guilt, and fear of being overheard.
165. Steevens: Compare Per. I, iv, 63. Ritson calls attention to a similar
thought in Locrine, one of the Spurious Plays, first published in 1595. Sabren
drowns herself, and Queen Gwendoline exclaims : ' One mischief follows another's
neck.' [So it reads in the last column of the last page of F .]
168. Thomas Campbell [?] (Blackwood's Maga. March, 1833): The Queen was
affected after a fashion by the picturesque mode of Ophelia's death, and takes more
pleasure in describing it than any one would who really had a heart. Gertrude was
a gossip, — and she is gross even in her grief.
168. willow] Hunter (ii, 261) : She resorted to the willow 'to make her a gar-
land, as being forsaken,' as Benedick says of the Count.
168. aslant] Collier : Ascaunt has nearly the same meaning as 'aslant.' Beis-
LEY (p. 159) : This willow, the Salix alba, grows on the banks of most of our
small streams, particularly the Avon, near Stratford, and from the looseness of the
soil the trees partly lose their hold, and bend ' aslant ' over the stream.
169. hoar] Clarke: Willow leaves are green on the upper side, but silvery-grey,
or hoary, on the under side, which it shows in the glassy stream. Clarendon :
Compare Virgil, Georgics, ii, 13 : ' Glauca canentia fronde salicta.' Lowell (Among
My Books, p. 185) : Sh. understood perfectly the charm of indirectness, of making
nis readers seem to discover for themselves what he means to show them. If he
wishes to tell that the leaves of the willow are gray on the under side, he does not
act iv, sc. vii.] HAMLET 37 1

There with fantastic garlands did she come 17a

Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,
That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,
But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them ;
There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds
Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke; 175
When down her weedy trophies and herself
170. There with... come] Therewith... fingers Tsch.
make QaQ3, Cap. Steev. Var. Coll. El. 174. There] Then Cap.
There with. ..make Q4QS» Jen. Near pendent] Om. Q'76.
which. ..JJie did make Q '76. coronet] cronet QaQ3«
172. give] gave F . 175. sliver] Jluer Q4QS- fiiiver Q'7b.
name] name to Rowe, Warb. 176. her] the Ff, Rowe. these Cald
173. cold] cull-cold Qq (culcold Q5). trophies] trophas Q4QS-
dead men1 s fingers] deadman's
make it a mere fact of observation by bluntly saying so, but makes it picturesquely
reveal itself to us as it might in Nature.
170. come] Jennens interprets the Qq: With the willow she made a garland,
and stuck flowers in it. Knight says : To ■ make,' of the Qq, here means to ' come,'
to ' make way,' to ' proceed.'
171. Farren {Mania and Madness, &c, p. 62) : This line is an exquisite speci-
men of emblematic or picture-writing. The ' crow-flower,' according to Parkinson,
was called The fay re Mayde of France ; the ' long purples ' are dead men's fingers ;
the ' daisy ' imports pure virginity or spring of life, as being itself ' the virgin bloom
of the year.' The order runs thus, with the meaning of each flower beneath :
Crow-flowers, Nettles, Daisies, Long Purples.
f stung to virgin cold hand 1
Fayre Mayde \ the quick, bloom of death. /

1 A fair maid stung to the quick, her virgin bloom under the cold hand of death.'
Beisley (p. 159): 'Crow-flowers' are the bulbous crowfoot, Ranunculus bulbosus,
and the meadow crowfoot, R. acris. The most common • nettles ' which blossom
early are the white dead-nettle, Lamium album, and the purple dead-nettle, L. pur-
pureum. ' Daisy,' Bellis perennis ; the only British species, blossoms all the year,
and is one of the earliest flowers of spring.
171. long purples] Steevens: In Lyte's Herbal, 1578, its various names, too
gross for repetition, are preserved. Malone : One of the grosser names Gertrude
had a particular reason to avoid, — the rampant widow. Beisley (p. 160) : This is
the early purple orchis, Orchis mascula, which blossoms in April and May. The
* cold maids ' mistook one of the other orchids, having palmated roots, for ■ long
purples.' The spotted palmate orchis, Orchis maculata, and the marsh orchis, O.
latifolia, have palmated roots, and are called ' dead men's fingers,' which they some-
what resemble. [See also The Garden, 19 Sept. 1874.]
172. liberal] Reed: Licentious. See Much Ado, IV, i, 93. Malone : Free-
kpoken Clarendon: As in Rich. II: II, i, 229.
173. cold] Delius : In opposition to 'liberal.'
175 sliver] See Macb. IV, i, 28.
 HAMLET ACT IV, SC. V1L

372in the weeping brook.

Fell Her clothes spread wide,
And, mermaid-like, a while they bore her up ;
Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes, 1 80
As one incapable of her own distress, 185
Or like a creature native and indued
Unto that element ; but long it could not be
Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,
Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay
To muddy death.
Laer. Alas, then, is she drown'd?
178. tnermaid\ Marmaide 183. their] her Ff.
Maremaid F Sing. 185. poor wretch] poore wench Q.Q-.
a while] awhile Q2Q3, Q3Q3-
gentle maid Q'76.
Dyce, Glo. + ,Ktly, Del. lay] buy, Ff. by, FaF3. by F4.
bore] bear F , Rowe. 185. is she drown 'd 7] Ff, Rowe, Jen.
Knt, Coll. Sing. El. Sta. White, Del.
179. snatches] remnants Q'76. lauds
tunes] laudes Q2Q3Q4. Ktly. Jhe is drownd. QaQ3- is Jhe
Pope,
Qj., Jen. Coll. El. Ktly. drownd. Q4. is Jhe drowrid. Q.. she is
181. indued] indewed Qq, drown1 d I Pope + , Cam. she is drown' d ?
Theob. deduced F8F3F4, Rowe. Cap. et cet.
4'

duced Coll. (MS).

179. Which time] For instances of the omission of the preposition in adverbial
expressions of time, manner, &c, see Abbott, § 202.
179. tunes] Jennens : The reading, re- ' tunes,' of the Ff is vague, while lauds of
the Qq, i. e. hymns or psalms, tells us just what kind of music she died singing.
Singer : Lauds were so called from the psalm Laudate Dominum. White : Lauds
of the Qq is a word singularly inappropriate here. Hudson : Lauds might well
be preferred, as agreeing better with chanted, and as conveying a touch of pathos
which ' tunes ' does not quite reach.
180. incapable] MALONE: Having no understanding or knowledge. See • capa-
ble,' III, ii, 11; III, iv, 127. RlTSON: That is, insensible. Caldecott: Thus:
* conducted into the great hall of the gods, Mercury sprinkled me with water, which
made me capable of their divine presence.' — Greene's Orpharion, 1599.
181. native] See I, ii, 47.
181. indued] MASON: We should read either inured or indured. Sh. seems to
have forgotten himself in this scene, as there is not a single circumstance in this rela-
tion which implies that Oph. had drowned herself intentionally. Malone : * Indued '
is clothed, endowed, or furnished with properties suited to the element of water.
Our old writers used indued and endowed indiscriminately.
184. poor wretch] Clarendon: So Ham. is called, II, ii, 167.
185. muddy] Caldecott: Sh. uses 'mudded' twice in reference to drowning;
lee Temp. Ill, iii, 102; lb. V, i, 151.
185. death] Malone: In the first scene of the next Act we find Oph. buried
with such rites as betoken she foredid her own life. It should be remembered that
the account hevf given is that of a friend, and that the Queen could not possibly
act iv, sc. vii.J HAMLET m

Queen, Drown'd, drown'd. 186

Laer, Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,
And therefore I forbid my tears ; but yet -^
It is our trick ; nature her custom holds, Q^JjlA^
Let shame say' what it will; when these are gone, 190
The woman will be out. — Adieu, my lord ;

know what passed in the mind of Oph. when she placed herself in so perilous a situ-
ation. After the facts had been weighed and considered, the priest in the next Act
pronounces that her death was doubtful. Seymour (ii, 197) : As the Queen seems
to give this description from ocular knowledge, it may be asked why, apprised as
she was of Ophelia's distraction, she did not take steps to prevent the fatal catastro-
phe, especially as there was so fair an opportunity of saving her while she was, by
her clothes, borne ' mermaidlike-up,' and the Queen was at leisure to hear her
' chanting old tunes.' T. C. [Thomas Campbell ?] {Blackwood's Maga., Feb.
1818, p. 5 1 1 ) : Perhaps this description by the Queen is poetical rather than dramatic ;
but its exquisite beauty prevails, and Oph., dying and dead, is still the same Oph.
that first won our love. Perhaps the very forgetfulness of her throughout the re-
mainder of the play, leaves the soul at full liberty to dream of the departed. She
has passed away from the earth like a beautiful air, — a delightful dream. There
would have been no place for her in the agitation and tempest of the final catas-
trophe. We are satisfied that she is in her grave. And in place of beholding her
involved in the shocking troubles of the closing scene, we remember that her heart
lies at rest, and the remembrance is like the returning voice of melancholy music.
Hudson : This passage is deservedly celebrated, and aptly illustrates the Poet's power
of making the description of a thing better than the thing itself, by giving us
his eyes to see it with. CLARENDON : This speech of the Queen is certainly un-
worthy of its author and of the occasion. The enumeration of plants is quite as
unsuitable to so tragical a scene as the description of the Dover cliff, in Lear, IV,
vi, 1 1-24. Besides, there was no one by to witness the death of Oph., else she
would have been rescued.
185. drown'd ?] Corson : It would appear from the Queen's reply that Laertes's
speech must have been meant to be interrogative. If exclamatory, the iteration
thereupon of the Queen, ' Drown'd, drown'd,' is almost ludicrous, and makes one
feel that the poor girl has had indeed, as Laer. says in the next speech, ' too much
of water.'
186. drown'd] Warburton : Beau. & Fl. ridicule this passage: • I will run mad
first, and if that get not pity, I'll drown myself to a most dismal ditty.' — The Scorn-
full Lady, III, ii, p. 68, ed. Dyce. Elze finds another allusion to this passage in
the same play of The Scornfull Lady, II, iii, p. 41 : 'Drown'd, drown'd at sea.'
[But this allusion is doubtful ; the plot hinges on the supposed drowning at sea of
the hero, and such a phrase could hardly be avoided. There are, however, undoubt-
edly other allusions to Hamlet elsewhere in the play. Ed.]
189. trick] Caldecott: Our habit, a property that makes a part of us. Clar
ENDON : See AlPs Well, III, ii, 9; Love's Lab. V, ii, 416. [Lear, IV, vi, 105.]
191. woman] Steevens : See Hen. V: IV, vi, 31. Caldecott: When thes*
teaio ire shed this womanish passion will be over.

32
 3 74 HAMLET [ ^ct v, sc. i.
I have a speech of fire that fain would blaze, 192
But that this folly douts it. [Exit.
King. Let's follow, Gertrude ;
How much I had to do to calm his rage !
Now fear I this will give it start again; 195
Therefore let's follow. {Exeunt

ACT V
Scene I. A churchyard.

Enter two Clowns, with spades, &C.

First Clo. Is she to be buried in Christian burial that

wilfully seeks her own salvation ?

192. of fire~\ afire Qq. Rowe+, Jen.

193. douts'] Knt, Dyce, White, Del. Enter...] Cap. Enter... fpades and
Glo. -f. doubts Fs, Cald. drownes Qq mattocks. Q'76, Rowe+. Enter two
Fs. drowns FF, Rowe et cet. Clownes. QqFf.
Let's] Om. Pope + . 1, 6, &c. First Clo.] 1 Clown. Rowe.
194. J had] had /Pope ii + ,Walker. Clowne, or Clown, or Clow, or Clo.
195. fear I this] this I fear Anon. QqFf.
Act v. Scene i.] Q'76. Om. QqFf. 1. that] whenfhe Qq, Jen. Tsch.
A churchyard.] Cap. A Church.

193. douts] Caldecott: That is, does out, extinguishes. Collier: Shake-
speare's word may have been ' douts,' but drowns seems preferable. Stratmann :
If doubts is equivalent to ' douts,' it suits the context better than drowns.
193. Coleridge: That Laer. might be excused in some degree for not cooling,
the Act concludes with the affecting death of Oph., — who in the beginning lay like
a little projection of land into a lake or stream, covered with spray-flowers, quietly
reflected in the quiet waters, but at length is undermined or loosened, and becomes
a fairy isle, and after a brief vagrancy sinks almost without an eddy.
Scene I.] Schlegel (ii, 194): The only circumstance from which this piece
might be found less theatrical than other tragedies of Sh. is, that in the last scenes
the main action either stands still or appears to retrograde. This, however, was in-
evitable, and lies in the nature of the thing. The whole is intended to show that a
consideration, which would exhaust all the relations and possible consequences of a
detti to the very limits of human foresight, cripples the power of acting.
Strachey (p. 88) : The Clowns open this scene, partly to carry on the action
partly to form, by their utter indifference to the tragedy that is enacting, a back-
ground which shall throw that tragedy and its actors into strong relief; and in
act v, sc. I] HAMLET 375
Sec. Clo. I tell thee she is; and therefore make her
grave straight ; the crowner hath sat on her, and finds it
Christian burial. 5
First Clo. How can that be, unless she drowned herself
m her own defence ?
Sec. Clo. Why, 'tis found so.
First Clo. It must be se offendendo ; it cannot be else.
For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it ar- 10
gues an act, and an act hath three branches : it is, to act, to
do, and to perform ; argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
3, 8, &c. Sec. Clo.] 2 Clown. Rowe. 9. se offendendo] Ff (in Italics). Jo
Other, or Othe. or Oth. Qq. Other. Ff. offended Qq.
3. and] Om. Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen. \\. to act, to do,~] an Acle to doe, Ff
Steev. Var. El. {doe Fx) an Act to do, Rowe, Pope i.
4. sat] set Mai. Steev. Bos. Cald. 12. and to perform ; argal,"] to per-
Coll. White. forme, or all ; Qq.
5. Christian] a christian Knt.

particular to bring out Hamlet's character by contrasting it with such extreme

opposites.
Halliwell : Until within a very recent period it was customary for one of the
Grave-diggers to preface his labors by divesting himself of about a dozen waistcoats,
an operation which always created great merriment, and which, perhaps, had come
down by tradition from the players of Shakespeare's own time. The Doctor, in The
Duchess of Malfi, according to a stage-direction in ed. 1708, ' puts off his four cloaks,
one after another,' — a similar stratagem to create the laughter of the audience.
4. straight] Johnson : Make her grave from east to west, in a direct line, parallel
to the church ; not from north to south, athwart the regular line. Jennens first
pointed out that • straight ' here means s,\mp]y forthwith ; and Steevens corroborated
it by citations from III, iv, 1 ; Oth. Ill, iii, 87; Merry Wives, IV, ii, 81. Malone
added from Herbert's Jacula Prudentum : ' There is no churchyard so handsome
that a man would desire straight to be buried there.' Douce (ii, 261) believes that
the Clown refers to the place where the grave should be; suicides were buried on
the north side of the church, in unconsecrated ground.
4. crowner] Rushton (Sh. Illustrated by Old Authors, p. 72) : This word is
generally supposed to be a corruption of the Clown's, but it is merely the English of
the Law Latin coronator, from corona, a crown, which Holinshed also uses.
9. se offendendo] Caldecott : Used for se defendendo, a finding of the jury in
justifiable homicide.
11. three branches] Warburton : Ridicule on scholastic divisions without
distinction and of distinctions without difference. Elze calls attention to the fre-
quency in The Hystorie of Hamblet of these threefold ' branches of the same idea,
e.g. : 'rob, pill, and spoyle;' 'A valiant, hardy, and courageous prince;' 'ges-
tures, countenances, and words;' 'time, means, and occasions,' &c. Tschisch-
witz says that this threefold tautological form belongs to the most ancient Ger-
man''" legal usage, and cites Grimm as an authority that it is also true of the Old
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. i
76 Clo. Nay, but hear you, goodman delver, —
3Sec.
First Clo. Give me leave. Here lies the water ; good ;
here stands the man ; good; if the man go to this water and 15
drown himself, it is, will he nill he, he goes; mark you
that ; but if the water come to him and drown him, he
drowns not himself; argal, he that is not guilty of his own
death shortens not his own life.
Sec. Clo. But is this law ? 20
First Clo. Ay, marry, is't ; Crowner's Quest law.
13. hear] here Fa.
delver, — ] Dyce, Sta. Glo. delver; Q'76.
17. that;] that, Qq. that?YxY9Y3.
Cap. Delver. Y^A. Deluer. FtFa et cet. 21. Crowner's Quest] crowned s- quest
Cap. Steev.Var. Cald. Knt, White, Ktly.
14. Here~\ Clown, here Johns.
15. this] his F3. Quest law] quest-law Theob.
16. himself] himfele Fx. Warb. Johns. Jen. Coll. Dyce, El. Del
Sta.
nill he, he goes ;] nill he; he goes,

French. A parallel to the present passage is to be found in Grimm : « egeris, feceris,

gesserisve.'
13. delver] Walker (Grit. Hi, 270): Hence it would appear that the Second
Clown is not a gravedigger.
21. Crowner's Quest law] Sir John Hawkins: I strongly suspect that this
is in ridicule of a case of forfeiture of a lease to the Crown, reported by Plowden
in his 3 Eliza. It seems that Sir James Hales drowned himself in a river in a fit of
insanity (produced, it is supposed, by his having been one of the judges who con-
demned Lady Jane Grey), and the question was whether this did not work a forfeit-
ure to the Crown of his lease. The coroner sat on him, and a verdict of felo de se
was rendered. The legal and logical subtilties arising in the course of the case
gave a very fair opportunity of sneering at * Crowner's Quest law' :— Walsh said that
the act consists of three parts. The first is the imagination, which is a reflection or
meditation of the mind, whether or no it is convenient for him to destroy himself,
and what way it can be done. The second is the resolution, which is a determina-
tion of the mind to destroy himself, and to do it in this or that particular way. The
third is the perfection, which is the execution of what the mind has resolved to do.
And this perfection consists of two parts, viz. the beginning and the end. The be-
ginning isthe doing of the act which causes death, and the end is the death, which is
only a sequel to the act.' Much subtilty was expended in finding out whether Sir
James was the agent or the patient ; or, in other words, whether he went to the water
or the water came to him : — ' Sir James Hales was dead, and how came he to his
death? It may be answered, by drowning; and who drowned him? Sir James
Hales; and when did he drown him? In his life time. So that Sir James Hales
being alive caused Sir James Hales to die, and the act of the living man was the
death of the dead man. And then for this offence it is reasonable to punish the
living man who committed the offence, and not the dead man. But how can he be
said to be punished alive when the punishment comes after death ?' &c, &c. Ma«
IONE thinks that Sh. must have heard of this case in conversation, for it was deter-
act v, sc. i.] HAMLE T 377

Sec. Clo. Will you ha' the truth on't? If this had not 22
been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o'
Christian burial.
First Clo. Why, there thou say'st; and the more pity that 25
great folk should have countenance in this world to drown
or hang themselves, more than their even-Christen. — Come,
my spade. There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners,
ditchers, and grave-makers; they hold up Adam's profession.
Sec. Clo. Was he a gentleman ? 30
^2. ha'] ha QqFjF,. have Q'76. theyr euen Chrijlen Qq. weQ'j6. other
on't] arit Qq, Jen. Christians Rowe, Pope, Theob. Han.
23. out o1] Jen. Glo. + , Mob. out a their even Chrijlian Ff et cet.
Qq. without Q' 7 6. out of Ff et cet. 27. Come,"] Come. Johns.
26. folk should] folks should Mai. 28. spade.] spade, [strips, and falls to
Steev. Sing. Ktly. folks shall Bos. Cald. digging. Cap.
folk shall Coll. White. gardeners] Gardners Qq. Gar-
27. their] your Coll. ii, conj. diners Ff, Rowe, Cap.
their even- Christen] Ed. after Cap.

mined before he was born, and Plowden's Commentaries were not translated until
towards the end of the eighteenth century.
25. thou say'st] Caldecott : That is, speak'st something to the purpose.
Walker (Crit. iii, 270) : Surely, — * thou say'st true? Dyce (ed. 2) : The expres-
sion is elliptical. [May not the full phrase have been ' thou say'st iV,' as we find it
in Luke xxiii, 3 ; the mere dental sound, into which, in rapid pronunciation, it de-
generates being absorbed by the t of say's/? Ed.]
27. even-Christen] Thirlby (Nichols's //lust, ii, 229) was the first to point out
that this is equivalent to fe//ow- Christian, and a remnant of the Anglosaxon emne
christen, citing Spelman's G/oss., where Spelman erroneously distinguishes between
emne and even. Steevens cites Chaucer: ' Despitous, is he that hath desdayn of his
neighebour, that is to say, of his evencristen.' — The Persones Ta/e, iii, 294, ed. Morris.
Nares cites Sir Thos. More's Works, fol. p. 83 : ' Proudly judging the lives of their
even Christen ;' and ' thei maie not fighte against the Turke, [but] arise in greate
plumpes to fighte against their even Christen.' — /b. p. 277. Clarendon : In Anglo-
Saxon we find the compound efen-bisceop, a co-bishop, efen-esne, a fellow-servant. In
Forshall and Madden's G/ossary to the Wyck/ifjite Versions of the Pib/e, we find
•euene-caytif,' a fellow-prisoner, * euen-seruaunt,' fellow-servant, and others. [Other
instances are given in Caldecott ad /oc., in Hunter (New ///ust. ii, 261), and in
The Myroure of oure Ladye (E. E. Text Soc. p. 73) : * we ar en formed to haue
. . . loue eche to other, and to all oure euen crystens.' In a note on this passage
Blunt cites : ' Therfore Thomas that is seid Didymus, seide to euen disciplis. —
Wick/iffite N. 71, John xi, 16; and adds: * The word is also spelt emecristen or
emcristen, as in Piers P/owman. It occurs in Swedish in the form jamncristen
where j3mn is merely the Swedish spelling of our even.']
30. gentleman] Douce (ii, 262) : Gerard Leigh, one of the oldest writers on
Heraldry, speaks of • Jesus Christ, a gentleman of great linage, and King of the
Jewes.' And again, ■ Frvr tha* it might be known that even anon after the creation

32*
 HAMLET [act v, sc. L
78 Clo.
3First A' was the first that ever bore arms.
Sec. Clo. Why, he had none.
First Clo. What, art a heathen ? How dost thou under-
stand the Scripture ? The Scripture says ' Adam digged ' ;
could he dig without arms ? I'll put another question to 35
thee ; if thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess

Sec. —Clo.
thyself Go to.
First Clo. What is he that builds stronger than either
the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter ?
Sec. Clo. The gallows-maker ; for that frame outlives a
thousand tenants.
3
First Clo. I like thy wit well, in good faith ; the gallows
does well ; but how does it well ? it does well to those that
do ill ; now, thou dost ill to say the gallows is built stronger
than the church; argal, the gallows may do well to thee.
To't again, come.
Sec. Clo. 'Who builds stronger than a mason, a ship- 45
wright, or a carpenter ?'
37. thyself—1 thyfelfe— FXF2. thy 40
31. A'] Cam. Cla. A Qq. He Ff
et cet.
/•etf-F3VA. thyfelfe.Qq.
32-35. Sec. Clo. Why. ..arms?] Om. 41. frame] Om. Qq, Jen.
43. in good faith] Om. Q'76.
33. a heathen] heathen Cap. conj. 48. ' Who... carpenter''] As a quota-
{Notes,
Qq. i, 31). tion, Glo. + , Dyce ii.
49. carpenter ?] carpenter. Qq.
36. not'] Om. Warb.
of Adam, there was both gentlenes and ungentlenes, you shall understand that the
second man that was born was a gentleman, whose name was Abell. I say a gentle-
man both of vertue and lignage, with whose sacrifice God was much pleased. His
brother Cain was ungentle, for he offered God the worst of his fruites.' — Accedence
of Armorie, 1591. There is still a concealed piece of wit in the Clown's allusion to
the spade. Adam's spade is set down in some of the books of heraldry as the most
ancient form of escutcheons ; nor is it improbable that the lower part of this utensil
suggested the well-known form of the old triangular shields.
36. confess thyself] Malone: And be hanged, the Clown would have said if
he had not been interrupted. This was a common proverbial sentence. See Oth.
IV, i, 39. Seymour (ii, 198) thinks that it may perhaps mean that he is to go to
the priest and make confession of heathenish ignorance.
39. What is he] Steevens refers to a collection of similar queries (' which per
haps composed the chief festivity of our ancestors by an evening fire '), preserved in
a volume in the University Library at Cambridge. • The innocence of these De-
maundes foyous may deserve a praise which is not always due to their delicacy.'
Collier gives a specimen from a small book, called Demaundes joyous, printed by
act v, sc. L] HAMLET 379

First Clo. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke. 50

Sec. Clo. Marry, now I can tell.
First Clo. To *t.
Sec. Clo. Mass, I cannot tell.
Enter HAMLET and HORATIO, afar off.

First Clo. Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your
dull ass will not mend his pace with beating, and when 55
you are asked this question next, say ' a grave-maker ;' the
houses that he makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee to
Yaughan ; fetch me a stoup of liquor. [Exit Sec. Clown.
[He digs, and sings.
53. Enter...] Ff, Cam. Cla. Enter Coll. ii (MS), to ye ale and Anon*
Hamlet and Horatio. Qq, after line 62. 58. fetc/i] and fetch Qq, Theob.Warb.
EDter...at a distance. Rowe et cet. Johns. Cap. Jen. Steev.Var. Cald. Sing.
57. that"] Om. Qq, Pope + , Jen. Ktly.
/as/] lafls Q2Q3Q5FIF3F3. stoup\ Jloupe Ff. Jloape Fa. ftoap
/i//~\/e//QA. /e/Q5. Fr foope Qq, Jen. floop Q'76.
57,58. /o Yaughan'] Ff (Yaughan in [Exit Sec. Clown.] Exit 2 Clown.
Italics), in, Q,Q3, Jen. Rann. El. in Rowe. Om. QqFf.
QAQ.. /oYoughan Roweii, Pope,Theob. [He digs, and sings.] Rowe.
Han. Warb. /o Yaughan's Cap. conj. Song. Qq. Sings. Ff, Cap.
{Notes, i, 31 ). to Vaughan Sing. i. to yon

Wynkyn de Worde, 1511: ' Demaunde. What almes is worst bestowed that men
gyve ? A. That is to a blynde man ; for as he hathe ony thynge gyven hym, he
wolde, with good wyll, see hym hanged by the necke that gave it hym.'
50. unyoke] Caldecott : That is, unravel this, and your day's work is done,
your team you may then unharness.
58. Yaughan] Collier (ed. i) : It is just possible that this was a misspelt stage-
direction to inform the player that he was to yawn at this point. Collier (ed. 2) :
The emendation of the (MS), which we accept, is as much as to say, ' get thee to yon
alehouse; fetch me a jug of liquor.' We must suppose the alehouse understood,
and pointed to by the First Clo. White : I suspect that this is a misprint for
Tavern. But some local allusion understood at the day may lurk under it. J. San
{N. & Qu., 5 Oct. 1 861) : This is merely Shakespeare's English way of representing
the Danish Johan, — John. Nicholson (JV. &° Qu., 29 July, 1871) : Most probably
Yaughan was the well-known keeper of a tavern near the theatre; and we have
three items of corroborative evidence which show : First, that a little before the tirce
of this allusion by Sh., which is not found in the Qq, there was about town ' a Jew,
one Yohan,' most probably a German Jew, who was a perruquier, — he is mentioned
by Jonson in Every Man out of his Humour, V, vi ; Second, i» The A/chemist, I, i,
which was produced eleven years afterwards, Subtle speaks of ' an alehouse, darker
than deaf John,' a name which sounds like that of our foreign John, anglicised,
and it* owner grown deaf by lapse of time ; Third, that there was actually an ale-
house attached to the Globe Theatre is proved by the ' Sonnett upon the Burneing' of
that playhous* 'see Collier's Anna/s of the Stage, i, 388). Is it then unlikely that
38o HAMLET [act v, sc. i.
In youth, when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet, 60
To contract, Oh ! the time, for, Ah ! my behove,
Oh, methought, there was nothing meet.
61. contract, Ok,"] contracl-a Anon.* 62. there was] Ff. there a was Qq.
Oh! the time] Coll. ii, after Theob. there, a, was Jen. there-a was Cam. Cla.
Othe F2F3F4,Rowe,Pope. 0,thenRa.nn. nothing meet] Ff. nothing a meet
for, Ah /] Coll. ii, after Cap. for Qq. nothing, a, meet Jen. nothing so
a QqFf, Rowe, Pope, for, a, Theob. + , meet Han. + , Cap. notking-a meet Cam.
Jen. for-a Cam. Del. Cla. for all Tsch. Del. Cla.

our wandering Jew, either in search of a business, or as a profitable extension of his

theatrical connection, set up * the Globe Public-house ;' and was thus, as the known
refresher of the thirsty actors and audience, mentioned by both Sh. and Jonson ?
Clarendon : It is impossible to detect the meaning which lies under this corruption.
Elze (Shakespeare- fahrbuch, xi, 297), who accepts without qualification San's
and Nicholson's suggestion, asks whether there be not an allusion to the same Johan
in the sneering * Johannes factotum ' that Greene applies to Sh. C Elliot Browne
(Athenaum, 29 July, 1876) : Yaughan is a common Welsh name, and it is surely only
necessary to suppose that it was borne by some Welsh tavern-keeper near the theatre.
58. stoup] Clarendon : This word, meaning a * drinking-cup,' is still used in
college halls. It was applied to vessels of various sizes, and occurs elsewhere in Sh.
[See V, ii, 254.] Jennens : Soope of the Qq represents the clownish pronunciation
of sup.

59-62, &c. THEOBALD was the first to discover that the Clown here sings some
stanzas from a poem, which, because it was printed in a collection of Songes and
Sonnettes, written by the ryghl honorable Lorde Henry Howard, late Earle of Surrey,
and other, and published by Tottel in 1557, Theobald inferred was written by the
noble lord whose name by precedence of rank stood on the title-page. But Gas-
coign e, who was ten years old when Surrey was beheaded, attributes the poem in
question to Lord Vaux, in an Epistle to a Young Gentleman, prefixed to his Posies :
1 The L. Vaux his dittie, beginning thus I loath, was thought by some to be made
upon his death-bed,' &c. And WARTON, in his Hist, of Eng. Poetry, iii, 45, con-
siders that ' undoubted evidence ' is found that Thomas Lord Vaux was the author,
in a manuscript in the British Museum (Harleian MS, 1703) in which we have a
copy of this poem, beginning / lothe that I did love, with this title : ' A dyttye or
sonet made by the lord Vaus ['vaux,' ap. Arber, p. xiii], in the time of the noble
quene Marye, representing the image of Death.' It is thus given in Arber's Re-
print of Tottel's Miscellany, p. 173 :
The aged louer renounceth loue.
I lothe that I did loue,
In youth that I thought swete :
As time requires for my behoue
Me thinkes they are not mete,
My lustes they do me leeue,
My fansies all be fledde :
And tract of time begins to weauc
Gray neaies vpon my hedde
act v, sc. i.J HAMLET 38 1

[59-62. For
' Inageyouth, when I did love.*]
with stcyling steppes,
Hath clawed me with his cowche [crowch],
And lusty life away she leapes,
As there had bene none such.
My muse dothe not delight
Me as she did before :
My hand and pen are not in plight,
As they haue bene of yore.
For reason me denies,
This youthly, idle rime:
And day by day to me she cryes,
Leaue of these toyes in time.
The wrinckles in my brow,
The furrowes in my face :
Say limpyng age will hedge him now
Where youth must geue him place.
The harbinger of death,
To me I see him ride :
The cough, the colde, the gaspyng breath,
Doth bid me to prouide,
A pikeax and a spade
And eke a shrowdyng shete,
A house of claye for to be made,
For such a gest most mete.
Me thinkes I heare the clarke,
That knols the careful knell :
And bids me leue my wofull warke,
Er nature me compell.
My kepers knit the knot,
That youth did laugh to scorne :
Of me that clene shalbe forgot,
As I had not ben borne.
Thus must I youth geue vp,
Whose badge I long did weare :
To them I yelde the wanton cup
That may it better beare.
Loe here the bared scull.
By whose bald signe I know :
That stoupyng age away shall pull,
Which youthfull yeres did sowe.
For beauty with her bande
These croked cares hath wrought :
And shipped me into the lande,
From whence I first was brought.
And ye that bide behinde,
Haue ye none other trust :
As ye of claye were cast by kinde.
So shall ye waste to dust.

PfcRCY in his Reliques suggests that the different corruptions in these stanzas <**
sung by the Grave-digger [notably line 61] may have been designed by Sh. 'the
better to paint the character of an illiterate clown.' Of course there have not been
wanting critics who would fain ' offer these lines cur'd and perfect of their limbes,
but the task is hopeless, and we must be consoled, as Elze says, by the reflection
that the common people in all times and in all climes have sung nonsense. The
' oh ' and the ' ah,' as Jennens notes, form no part of the song, but are « only the
breath forced out by the strokes of the mattock.' M. Mason suggests that instead
 HAMLET
382 [act V, sc, I

Ham. Has this fellow no feeling of his business, that

he sings at grave-making ?
Hor. Custom hath made it in him a property of easi- 65
ness.

Ham. Tis e'en so : the hand of little employment hath

the daintier sense.
Sing, ii, Ktly.
63. of] in Q'76.
63, 64. that he sings at\ a fngs in
65. in
Warb. him~\ to him Pope ii, Theob.
Johns.
Qq. he fings in Q'76, Cap. Jen. he 68. daintier] dintier Q2Q,.
sings at Steev. Var. Sing. i. a? sings in

of ■ for, ah,' we reader aye, because the Clown means that, though he was in love,
it was not meet to contract himself for ever. Clarendon thinks that *for-a,' there-a,
nothing-a (see Text. Notes), represent the drawling notes in which the Clown sings,
like 'stile-a' and ' mile-a,' in Wint. Tale, IV, ii, 133. The first two lines of each
of the stanzas sung by the Clown are used by Goethe in the Second Part of Faust,
for a part of the song chanted by the Lemures while digging Faust's grave. It is
noteworthy that Goethe adopted the ' crutch * of the original instead of < clutch.' See
the note on that passage in Bayard Taylor's most admirable translation of Faust,
vol. ii, p. 528. Chappell (i, 216) : On the margin of a copy of the Earl of Surrey's
poems, some of the little airs to which his favorite songs were sung are written in
characters of the times. From this copy the following tune for * I lothe that I did
love ' is taken. On the stage the Grave-digger in Hamlet now sings them to the
tune of The Children in the Wood. [See line 89 of this scene.]
Slow.
— 1 cm;
-(' aLizaj zig:
S. fefe *

I
-y-
loathe that I did love, youth
*
that I
£e£
thought sweet : As

£ E my ga . £ 2± 122:

:«£:
1U^-J-J: m 5?=:

e
time re - quires for be - hove Me - thinks
S7 they are not meet.
izr
£ ^ f=f=f
65. property of easiness] Clarendon: 'Property' here means individual
peculiarity, and ' of easiness ' is used with adjectival force, as in I, ii, 4.
68. daintier] Clarendon : Compare Tro. 6° Cres. I, i, 59.
68. sense] Bucknill (p. 119) : This line is but half truth. Does custom blunt the
fingers of a watchmaker, the eyes of a printer, or the auditory nerve of a musician ?
Did the grave-digger do his own sombre work with less skill because he had been
accustomed to it for thirty years ? Custom blunts our sensations to those impressions
which we do not attend to, and it sharpens them to those which we do. Custom in
Ham. himself had sharpened the sj eculative faculties which he exercised, while it
 383
,\. i v. sc. i.] HAMLET

First Clo. [Sings] But aget with his stealing steps,

Hath claw'd mc in his clutch, JO
And hath shipped me intil the /and,
As if I had never bee?i such.
[ Throws up a skull.
Ham. That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing
once; how the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were
Cain's jaw-bone, that did the first murder ! It might be 75
the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'er-reaches ;
one that would circumvent God, might it not ?
69 and 89. First Clo. [Sings] Cap.
73. in it] inft Cap.
Clowne sings. Ff. Song. Qq. 74. it were] twere Q2Q3Q4- fwert
69-71. steps. ..shipped me intil the~\
sand... shifted vie into his Johns, conj. 75. // might] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt,
70. claw'd] Pope, clawed Qq. caught Dyce ii, Glo. + . This might Qq et cet.
Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Sta. 76. the pate] y pate Q4>
71. hath] Om. Cap. % Jen.
now o'er-reaches] now ore-reaches
intil] infill Yf. into Qq, Pope + , Qq. o're
o' re- Offi ces Offices
F3 6 )Fx. ore- Offices
re-offices F . Yi
Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Sing. El.
the land] his land Han. Warb.
Rann. offices
reaches Rowe+,
Sta. Cald. Knt, Del.
o'er
o er-
72. had never] never had FF, Rowe. 77. would] could Ff, Rowe, Pope,
ne'er had Pope, Han. Han. Cald. Knt, Sta.
[Throws up a skull.] Cap. Om.
God] Heaven Q'76.
QqFf.
had dulled the active powers which depend upon that resolution which he did not
practise.
74. jowls] Clarke : If proof were wanted of the exquisite propriety and force
of effect with which Sh. uses words, and words of even homely fashion, there could
hardly be a more pointed instance than the verb ' jowls ' here. What strength it
gives to the impression of the head and cheek-bone smiting against the earth ! and
how it makes the imagination feel the bruise in sympathy !
75. that] Abbott, § 262 : The antecedent pronoun is probably to be repeated
immediately before the relative : ' (him) that did.'
76. politician] Staunton : A plotter, a schemer for his own advantage ; thus
1 Hen. IV: I, iii, 241 ; Twelfth Night, III, ii, 34. Clarendon : The word is
always used in a bad sense by Sh.
76. o'er-reaches] Warburton : People in office, at that time, were so over
bearing, that Sh., speaking of insolence at the height, calls it ' insolence in office.'
[Ham. Ill, i, 73.] Johnson: It is a strong exaggeration to remark, that an ass can
over-reach him who would once have tried to circumvent — . I believe both the words
of the Qq and Ff were Shakespeare's. An author in revising his work, when his
original ideas have faded from his mind, and new observations have produced new
sentiments, easily introduces images which have been more newly impressed upon
him, without observing their want of congruity to the general texture of his original
design. Jennens: It is applied to a politician, not as an insolent office* , but as a
 HAMLET
384 [act v, sc. t

Hor. It might, my lord.

X Ham. Or of a courtier, which could say ' Good mor-

row, sweet lord ! How dost thou, good lord ?' This might 80
be my lord Such-a-one, that praised my lord Such-a-one's
horse, when he meant to beg it,— might it not ?
fHor. Ay, my lord.
Ham. Why, e'en so ; and now , my Lady Worm's ;
chapless, and knocked about the mazzard with a sexton's 85
spade; here's fine revolution, an we had the trick to see't.
Did these bones cost no more the breeding, but to play at
loggats with 'em ? mine ache to think on 't.
80. sweet lord ] my lord Q4QS, Jen. Chap-lefs,Y%. Lady Worm's, Chaplefs, F4.
85. mazzard] Mazard Ff. mafflen*
good lord"] fweet lord Qq, Cap.
Jen. Cam. Cla. Q2Q3. mazer QQ.
81. Such-a-one"] such a one's Han. 86. fine] a fine Q'76, Popeii, Theob.
Warb. Johns.
Johns.
82. when he meant] when a went Q2
an] Cap. and Qq. if 'Ff, Row<»
Q3. when a ment Q . when a meant Q . + , Jen. Knt, Sta.
beg it] beg him Q'76. 88. loggats] loggits Qq. Loggets Ft
84. now] now 'tis Rowe. F3F . Loggers F4, Rowe, Pope.
84, 85. Lady Worm's; chapless,] with 'em?] Ff, Rowe + , Jen.
Johns. LadywormesChoples,Qq. Lady Dyce, Sta. Glo. + , Mob. with them
Wormes, Chaplejfe FXF9. Lady Worme's, Qq. with them t Q'76 et cet.

circumventing, scheming, man. CORSON : The Ff, without doubt, give the more
expressive term.
81. Such-a-one] Steevens: See Timon, I, ii, 216.
84. Worm's] Johnson : The scull that was my lord Such-a-one's is now my
lady Worm's.
85. mazzard] Nares: Ahead; usually derived, but with very little probability,
from machoirc, French, which means only a jaw. The fact is, that it has always
been a burlesque word, and was as likely to be made from mazer, a bowl, as from
anything else ; comparing the head to a large goblet. Wedgwood confirms Nares's
derivation. ' In a similar way, Italian zucca, properly a gourd, and thence a drink
ing cup, is used to signify a skull.'
86. trick] Caldecott : Knack, faculty.
87. the breeding] See Macb. I, iv, 8.
88. loggats] The nature of this game has been much discussed, but what appears
to be the most exact description is thus given by Clarendon : • "Loggats," diminu-
tive of log. The game so called resembles bowls, but with notable differences. First,
rt is played not on a green, but on a floor strewed with ashes. The Jack is a wheel
of lignum-vitae or other hard wood, nine inches in diameter and three or four inches
thick. The loggat, made of apple-wood, is a truncated cone 26 or 27 inches in length,
tapering from a girth of %y2 or 9 inches at the one end to t>Yz or 4 inches at the
other. Each player has three loggats which he throws, holding lightly the thin end.
The object is to lie as near the Jack as possible. The only place we have heard of
 $S

ACT V, SC. i.] HAMLET

First Clo. [Sings'] A pick-axe,

For and and sheet
a shrouding a spade,
; a spade,
Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
[Throws up another skull*
90. For and] For, — aw^/Theob. Han. Knt, Coll. i. For and, Pope.
Warb. Johns. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. 92. [Throws...] Cap. Om. QqFf.

where this once popular game is now played is the Hampshire Hog Inn, Norwich.
We have to thank the Rev. G. Gould for a detailed description of the game, which
we have abridged as above. Perhaps Ham. meant to compare the skull to the Jack
90
at which the bones were thrown. In Jonson's Tale of a Tub, IV, vi : " Now are
they tossing of his legs and arms Like loggats at a pear tree." '
89. [Sings] Chappell (i, 200) : The traditions of the stage give the following
tune of The Children in the Wood os the air of the Grave-digger's song in Hamlet*
* A pickaxe and a spade ' :
Slowly and smoothly.
t s
9 1 m *=:

A pick-axe and a spade, a spade, For and a shroud - =•=*

ing

*m=? 2 r* 3 2

wm f-l^-JX^
* #

pp3f sheet. Oh, a pit of clay for

P
to be made
f ris
For such a guest meet
SH 3 f
ps
90. For and] Dyce {Remarks, &c, p. 218) : The break after ■ For' inserted by
modern edd. is quite wrong. ■ For and,.' in the present version of the stanza, answers
to * And eke ' in that given by Percy {Rel. of A. E. P. vol. i, 192, ed. 1812). Com-
pare the following passages (to which many others might be added) : ' Syr Gy, Syr
Gawen, Syr Cayus, for and Syr Olyuere.' — Skelton, Works, i, 119, ed. Dyce. *
and with him comes the lady, For, and the Squire of Damsels.' — Beau. & FL.
Knight of the Burning Pestle, II, iii : 'A hippocrene, a tweak, for and a fucus.*—
Middleton's Fair Quarrel, V, i. [In Lettsom's MS note in my copy of Dyce's
Remarks attention is called to the Scotch usage of But and as equivalent to this
* For and,' e.g. ' Or I will burn yoursel therein, Bot and zour babies three.' — Edom
J Gordon, Percy's Ballads, i, 125. * He has broke three ribs in that ane's side, But
and his collar bane.' — Johnnie of Breadislee, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, ii,
345, ed. 1825. Clarendon, in a note on the present passage in Hamlet, says:
4 " But and " seems to mean both besides and except? Ed.]
91. for to] See III, i, 167.
92. guest] Lowell {Among My Books, p. 210) : This Grave-diggers' scene always
impresses me as one of the most pathetic in the whole tragedy. That Sh. introduced
Z
2>Z6 HAMLET [actv, sc. L

Ham. There's another; why may not that be the skull 93

of a lawyer? Where be his quiddits now, his quillets, his
93. may] might Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Glo. + , Tsch. Mob.
Sta. 94. quillets'] quillites Q2Q-. quillities
94. of] of of Fx Q4QS> Cap. Jen. Tsch.
quiddits] quiddities Qq, Cap. Jen.

such scenes and such characters with deliberate intention, and with a view to artistic
relief and contrast, there can hardly be a doubt. We must take it for granted that
a man whose works show everywhere the results of judgement sometimes acted with
forethought. I find the springs of the profoundest sorrow and pity in this hardened
indifference of the Grave-diggers, in their careless discussion as to whether Ophelia's
death was by suicide or no, in their singing and jesting at their dreary work. We
know who is to be the guest of this earthen hospitality, — how much beauty, love,
and heart-break are to be covered in that pit of clay. All we remember of Oph.
reacts upon us with tenfold force, and we recoil from our amusement at the ghastly
drollery of the two delvers with a shock of horror. That the unconscious Ham.
should stumble on this grave of all others, that it should be here that he should pause
to muse humorously on death and decay, — all this prepares us for the revulsion of
passion in the next scene, and for the frantic confession: 'I loved Ophelia; forty
thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity of love Make up my sum !' And
it is only here that such an asseveration would be true even to the feeling of the
moment ; for it is plain from all we know of Ham. that he could not so have loved
Oph., that he was incapable of the self-abandonment of a true passion, that he would
have analyzed this emotion as he does all others, would have peeped and botanized
upon it till it became to him a mere matter of scientific interest. All this force of
contrast, and this horror of surprise, were necessary so to intensify his remorseful
regret that he should believe himself for once in earnest. . The speech of the King,
'Oh, he is mad, Laertes,' recalls him to himself, and he at once begins to rave.
94. lawyer] C. ELLIOT Browne {Athenceum, 22 May, 1875) : There is a striking
imitation of this passage in Raynoldes's Dolarny^s Primerose, 1 606 [which, despite
the eulogy of Sh. contained in it, Caldecott pronounces ' a very mean perform-
ance.' Ed.] :
'Why might not this hauc beene some lawier's pate,
The which sometimes brib'd, brawl'd, and tooke a fee
And lawe exacted to the highest rate;
Why might not this be such a one as he?
Your quirks and quillets, now Sir, where be they ?
Now he is mute and not a word can say,' &c.
94. quiddits] Nares : A contraction of quiddity, which is from [Mid. Lat.J
miditasy not from quidlibet. It was used, as quiddity also was, for a subtilty, or nice
efinement. Generally applied to the subtilties of lawyers. Wedgwood : Mid. Lat.
quiditas, the whatness or distinctive nature of a thing, brought into a by-word by the
nice distinction of the schools.
94. quillets] Malone: Nice and frivolous distinctions. The word is rendered
by Cole, Lat. Diet. ; res frivola. Nares follows Bailey in deriving it from quibblett
a diminutive of quibble. Douce (i, 231) derives it from quidlibet. But Nares
objects to this, that the scholastic phrase was uniformly quodlibet, never quidlibet.
"WEDGWOOD: Notwithstanding Nares's objection that the scholastic phrase was quod
ACT v, sc. i.] HAMLET 387

cases, his tenures, and his tricks? why does he suffer this 95
rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty
shovel, and will not tell him of his action of battery? Hum!
This fellow might be in 's time a great buyer of land, with
his statutes, his recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers,
his recoveries; is this the fine of his fines and the recovery IOO
of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt ? will
his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and dou-
96. rude] madde Q2Q3. mad Q4Q5> 98. in's] in his Klly.
Jen. 100,101. is this. ..recoveries] Om. Qq.
97. action"] actions Q . 102. his vouchers] vouchers Qq, Jen.
Hum] Humph Mai. Steev. Bos. 102, 103. double ones too] doubles Qq,
Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. White, Ktly. Jen.
Zibet, and not quidlibcl, the derivation from this source was probably correct. F. J.
V. (AT. &> Qu.t 18 Sept. 1875) : As 'quiddit' is from the logical term quiditas, why
may not ' quillet ' or * quilit ' be from another logical term, qualitas ? The word may
have been originally qualil, then the a may have been thinned into i to make it
jingle with 'quiddit.'
94-103. Lord Campbell (p. no): These terms of art are all used seemingly
with a full knowledge of their import ; and it would puzzle some practising barristers
with whom I am acquainted to go over the whole seriatim, and to define each of
them satisfactorily.
95. tenures] Elze [The Athenamm, 20 Feb. XS69) thinks that this word has
slipped out of place, that it belongs to the law-terms relative to property, and should
therefore be inserted between ' recognizances ' and * fines ' in line 99.
96. sconce] Clarendon : A colloquial and jocose term, like costard, pate, maz-
zard, &c.
99. 100. statutes, recognizances, fines, double vouchers, recoveries] Rit
SON : A recovery with double voucher is the one usually suffered, and is so denomi-
nated from two persons (the latter of whom is always the common crier, or some
such inferior person) being successively vouched, or called upon, to warrant the
tenant's title. Both * fines ' and ' recoveries ' are fictions of law, used to convert
an estate tail into a fee simple. ' Statutes ' are (not acts of parliament, but) statutes-
merchant and staple, particular modes of recognizance or acknowledgement for se-
curing debts, which thereby become a charge upon the party's land. * Statutes ' and
' recognizances ' are constantly mentioned together in the covenants of a purchase
deed.
100. fine of his fines] Caldecott: This is the end of, or utmost attained byr
the operation of all this legal machinery. RUSHTON (Sh. a Lawyer, p. 10) : The
first 'fine' means not a penalty, but an end. Clarendon: Compare AIVs Well,
IV, iv, 35.
101. fine dirt] Walker (Crit. i, 316): Foule? Dyce (ed. 2): I believe the
old text is right here. Rushton (Sh. a Lawyer, p. 10) acutely interprets this * fine,'
like the preceding ' fine,' in the sense of last. * His fine pate is filled, not with fine
dirt, but with the last dirt which will ever occupy it, leaving a satirical inference to
be drawn, that even in his lifetime his head was filled with dirt.'
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. L
ble388ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of inden-
tures ? The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in
this box ; and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha ? 105
Hor. Not a jot more, my lord.
Ham. Is not parchment made of sheep-skins ?
Hor. Ay, my lord, and of calf-skins too.
Ham. They are sheep and calves which seek out as-
surance inthat X will speak to this fellow. — Whose grave's 1 10
this, sirrah ?
First Clo. Mine, sir. —

[Sings'] Oh, a pit of clay for to be made

For such a guest is meet.
Ham. I think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in't 1 15
First Clo. You lie out on't, sir, and therefore it is not
yours ; for my part, I do not lie in't, and yet it is mine.
a.. .made, (as one line) Qq.
104. lands'] land Q'76, Jen.
hardly"] fcarcely Qq, Jen. 113. [Sings] Cap. Om. QqFf.
108. calf-skins] Calue-skinnes QJFX 114. For.. .meet.] Om. Qq, Cap.
F3F3. Calue-skins QSF4< Calues-skinnes guest] ghost Rowe ii, Pope.
Q2Q3, Cap. Jen. Steev. Mai. Cald. Knt. 1 15. it be] it Qs. it's Q'76.
109. which] (hat Ff, Rowe+, Knt, 116. it is] lis Qq. 'tis Q'76, Jen.
Sta. Cam. Cla.
111. sirrah] firra Qq. SirFf, Rowe, 117. and yet] yet Qq, Pope+, Cap.
Cald. Knt, Coll. Dyce i, Sta. White, Huds. Jen. Steev. Mai. Cald. Sing. El. Ktly.
112, 113. Mine. . .made] Mine fir, or
it is] it's Q'76.

103. indentures] Clarendon : • Indentures were agreements made out in dupli-

cate, of which each party kept one. Both were written on the same sheet, which
was cut in two in a crooked or indented line, in order that the fitting of the two
parts might prove the genuineness of both in case of dispute.
105. box] Rushton (Sh. a Lawyer, p. 10) : Ham. compares a grave to a box,
because conveyancers and attorneys keep their deeds in wooden or tin boxes.
105 . STAUNTON cites some passages parallel to the foregoing dozen b'nes from
Randolph's comedy of The jealous Lovers, published at Oxford, 1668.
109. assurance] Clarendon.: * Assurance of lands is where lands or tenements
are conveyed by deed.' — Jacob, Law Diet. Here, of course, there is a reference
also to the ordinary meaning.
1 10. Coleridge: O, the rich contrast between the Clowns and Ham. as two
extremes ! You see in the former the mockery of logic, and a traditional wit valued,
like truth, for its antiquity, and treasured up, like a tune, for use.
111. sirrah] See Mac3.1V, ii, 30.
115, 116. thine . . .You] Note that throughout this dialogue Ham. addresses
the Clown in the second person singular, while the Clown replies in the second per-
son plural. Ed.
act v, sc. i.'j HAMLET 389
Ham. Thou dost lie in't, to be in't and say it is thine ; %
'tis for the dead, not for the quick ; therefore thou liest.
First Go. Tis a quick lie, sir; 'twill away again, from 120
me to you.
Ham. What man dost thou dig it for ?
First Clo. For no man, sir.
Ham. What woman then ?
First Clo. For none, neither. 1 25
Ham. Who is to be buried in't?
First Clo. One that was a woman, sir ; but, rest her soul,
she's dead.
Ham. How absolute the knave is ! we must speak by
the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, 1 30
Horatio, these three years I have taken note of it ; the age
is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so

118. it is] 'tis Ff, Rowe + , Sta. White. 13 1. these] this Qq, Cam. Cla.
120. away] Om. Q'76. taken] tooke Qq.
130. undo] vndoo Qq. vndoe Fx. note] notice Q'76.
follow F2F3F4, Rowe, Pope, Han. 132. that] and F2F3F4, Rowe.

129. absolute] Dyce {Gloss.) : Positive, certain.

130. card] Johnson explained this as the card on which the different points of
the compass are described, as in Macb. I, iii, 17. Malone understood it as only
another name for chart, and paraphrased its use in the present instance by : * we
must speak with the same precision and accuracy as is observed in marking the true
distances of coasts, the heights, courses, &c, in a sea-chart.' Dyce selected this as
the definition of the present passage in his Glossary. Staunton says it is ' rather
an allusion to the card and calendar of etiquette, or book of manners, of which more
than one were published during Shakespeare's age.' Ritson notes its use by Osric,
V, ii, 109. Whatsoever its immediate derivation, 'to speak by the card' undoubt-
edly means to speak with precision.
131. These three years] Capell (i, 146) : Just so many years had King James
"been in England, bringing with him a Danish queen, when the Quarto that is- our
guide in this play made its appearance.
132. picked] Hanmer: Smart, sharp. Johnson: There was, about that time, a
picked shoe, that is a shoe with a long pointed toe, in fashion, to which the allusion
saems likewise to be made. Steevens : This fashion was carried to such excess that
it was restrained by proclamation in the fifth year of Edward IV, when it was ordered,
' that the beaks or pykes of shoes and boots should not pass two inches upon pain
of cursing by the clergy, and forfeiting twenty shillings Before this time, and
since 1482, the pykes of shoes and boots were of such length that they were fain to
be tied up to the knee with chains of silver, and gilt, or at least silken, laces.' Ma-
lone :That is, so spruce, so quaint, so affected. There is no allusion to picked or
pointed shoes. [Douce agrees with Malone here, because this fashion had expired

33*
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. i.
390 the heel of the courtier, he galls his kibe. — How long
near
hast thou been a grave-maker ?
First Clo. Of all the days i' the year, I came to't that 135
day that our last king Hamlet o'ercame Fortinbras.
Ham. How long is that since ?
First Clo. Cannot you tell that? every fool can tell
that; it was the very day that young Hamlet was born;
he that is mad, and sent into England. 14a
Ham. Ay, marry ; why was he sent into England ?
First Clo. Why because a* was mad ; a* shall recover
his wits there ; or, if a* do not, it's no great matter there.
Ham. Why ?
First Clo. Twill not be seen in him there; there the 145
men are as mad as he.
133. heel] keeles Fx. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. Sing. Ktly,
the courtier] our Courtier Ff, Cam.
Rowe -f . (Countier Rowe.) your cour- 140. is] was Ff, Rowe-t-, Knt, Sta..
tier White conj.
134. a] Om. Q2Q3. Ff 142, 143. a'] Cam. Cla. a Qq. he
et cet.
135. all] Om. Qq. 143. it's] tis Qq. 'tis Cap. Jen. Steev.
136. overcame] Rowe + , Jen. Knt, Var. Cald. Sing. Coll. White, Ktly, Cam.
Dyce, White, Cam. o'recame Ff. ouer- 145, 146. him there ; there the men
came Qq et cet. are] Cap. him there, there the men ars
137. long is] long's Mai. Steev. Bos. Q2Q3- him there, tkere the are men Q4.
Cald. him there, there are men Q . him, there
139. the very] that very Qq, Pope+, the men are Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Sta.

long before Shakespeare's time.] ' Picked' was a common word in Shakespeare's age
in this sense. Clarendon : * Cotgrave gives : "Miste, Neat, spruce, compt, quaint,
picked, minion, trickesie, fine, gay." There may possibly be a covert reference to the
pointed shoes.'
133. kibe] Hunter (ii, 264) : This should probably be kibes in the plural. It is
the same as chilblains ; thus, Florio, Ital. Diet. : Bugancia, kibes or chilblains. [My
copy of Florio, 1598, reads Bugancie, the plural, which, I am afraid, galls Hunter's
conjecture. Ed.]
135. Of. . .year] Clarendon: Compare Rom. &•» Jul. I, iii, 16.
139. the . . . born] Blackstone : By this scene it appears that Ham. was then
thirty years old, and knew Yorick well, who had been dead twenty-three years. And
yet in the beginning of the play he is spoken of as a very yozing man, one that de-
signed to go back to school, i. e. to the University of Wittenberg. The poet in the
Fifth Act had forgot what he wrote in the First. Tschischwitz : Blackstone's criticism
is founded on a very erroneous idea of German Universities and their arrangements.
It is well known that A. v. Humboldt, up to an advanced age, attended lectures
{Collegia horte) under his friend Boekh.
146. Clarendon: Compare Marston's Malcontent, III, i: 'Your lordship shall
ever finde . . . amongst a hundred Englishmen fourscore and ten madmen.'
 act v, sc. i.] HAMLET 39 1
Ham. How came he mad ? 147
First Clo. Veiy strangely, they say.
Ham. How ' strangely ' ?
First Clo. Faith, e'en with losing his wits. 1 50
Ham. Upon what ground ?
First Clo. Why, here in Denmark ; I have been sexton
here, man and boy, thirty years.

Cla. 149. 'strangely'] Quotation, Cam. Fx. 152.Sexe/lone

sexton"] Fa.Sexten Q2Q3. F fixetcene
Sex/lone .
150. losing] loofing QqF^Fg. 153. here] Om. Q'76.
152. I have] where J have Q'76. thirty] twenty Hal.

153. [The words of the Grave-digger are so explicit that the age of Ham. has been
generally accepted as that of thirty years, and none the less generally has it been
felt that this age does not accord, as Blackstone says, with the impression of his
youth which Ham. in the earlier scenes gives us. Halliwell [see Text. Notes] at-
tempts to avoid the difficulty by the aid of Qx,but this aid will hardly bear analysis. In
line 1922 of Qr the Clown says l heres a scull hath bin here this dozen yeare ;' the con
versation for sixteen lines then turns upon Ham., and his being sent to England. At
the end of it Ham. says, ' whose scull was this ?' It is by no means certain that the
former skull is here referred to ; the Clown may have just turned up another. It
does not follow, therefore, of necessity that it was Yorick's skull that had lain in the
ground a dozen years, and Qr fails us here at the most important point. Grant
White, at the beginning of his story of Hamlet the Younger, says that the Prince
was twenty years old when the tragedy opens, and at the close his essay, probably
overlooking this statement, says that Ham. was thirty years of age in the Fifth Act.
No one would impute to so shrewd a scholar as Grant White the supposition that
the action of the tragedy lasted ten years. Eduard and Otto Devrient, in their
ed. of Sh., contend, and with much force, for Hamlet's extreme youth [see Ap-
pendix, Vol. II], and modify their text accordingly. Furnivall (New Sh. Soc.
Trans, Part ii, 1874, p. 494), speaking of the 'startling inconsistencies' in regard
to Hamlet's age, says : ' We know how early, in olden time, young men of rank were
put to arms ; how early, if they went to a University, they left it for training in Camp
and Court. Ham., at a University, could hardly have passt 20 ; and with this age
the plain mention of youth [in I, iii, 7; I, iii, 11-12; and I, iii, 123-4] agrees.
With this, too, agrees the King's reproach to Ham. for his intent in going back to
Wittenberg ; and Hamlet's own revclt-of-nature at his mother's quick marriage to
his uncle. Had he been much past 21, and had he had more experience of then
v/omen, he'd have taken his mother's changeableness more coolly. I look on it as
certain, that when Sh. began the play he conceivd Ham. as quite a young man.
But as the play grew, as greater weight of reflection, of insight into character, of
knowledge of life, &c, were wanted, Sh. necessarily and haturally made Ham. a
formd man; and, by the time that he got to the Grave-diggers' scene, told us the Prince
was 30, — the right age for him then ; but not his age when Laer. and Pol. warnd
Oph. against his blood that burnd, his youthful fancy for her, — " a toy in blood"—
&c. The two parts of the play are inconsistent on this main point in Hamlets state.
39 2 HAMLET [act v, sc. i

[153. Hamlet's age.]

What matter? Who wants 'em made consistent by the modification of either part ?
The " thirty " is not in Qx ; yet who wants to go back to that ?' Minto ( The Exam*
iner, 6 Mar. 1875) contends that apart from the Grave-digger's speech and the thirty
years of the wedded life of the Player King and the Player Queen (and he is at a
loss to understand how these passages came into the play). ' the natural construction
is that Ham. and his associates were youths of seventeen, fresh from the University.
That was the usual age in Shakespeare's time at which young nobles set out on their
travels, and there is no reason to suppose that he thought of altering the University
age in his play, and no hint that Ham. was so very much older than his companions.'
. . . . « A proper conception of Hamlet's age is essential to the understanding of the
play. He is a youth called home from the University by his father's death ; a youth
of the age of Romeo, or of young Prince Hal at the time of his father's accession.'
. . . . « Hamlet's action is not the weak and petulant action of an emasculated man of
thirty, but the daring, wilful, defiant action of a* high-spirited sensitive youth, rudely
summoned from the gay pursuits of youth, and confronted suddenly with monstrous
treachery, with crime that blurs the modesty and grace of nature, that makes the
very sunlight fire, and loads the sweet air of heaven with pestilence.' Marshall
(p. 181) thinks that Sh. intended Ham. to be nearer twenty than thirty; the general
features of his character are those of youth, and the frequent allusions throughout
the play to his being very young forbid the belief that he was really thirty years old.
The Grave-digger may mean that ' he began to serve his apprenticeship thirty years
before ; but he may not have come to the trade of grave-maker till some years later ;
so that it does not necessarily follow that the day when King Hamlet overcame For«
tinbras was thirty years previously.' . . . . « The most material objection against Ham*
let's being more than between twenty and Iwenty-three years of age is that if he
were older his mother could scarcely have been the object of such a passion as that
of Claudius.'
Minto afterwards (in The Academy, 18 December, 1875) expressed his views at
greater length. Against the weighty authority of the Grave-digger is to be placed
Laer., whose advice to Oph. in simple prose means that she was not to trust Ham.,
because he was at an age of changeful fancies and fleeting attachments. Who would
speak of the love of a man of thirty as 'a violet in the youth of primy nature'?
The very idea is a profanation of words, which carry such fragrance with them when
applied to the first love of budding youth. Again, the University age of young
noblemen at that time was from seventeen to nineteen, and Laer. had just left the
University ; Ham. wanted to go back to it, and Hor. is under suspicion of playing
« truant.' The play is full of allusions to the youth of the personages coeval with
Ham. Fort, is * Young Fortinbras,' Laer. is * Young Laertes,' — the epithet in both
cases being repeated. The King speaks of skill with the rapier as a * very riband
in the cap of youth.' Hamlet's envy of Laertes's fame with the rapier has an
almost boyish air. Making Ham. thirty also adds some improbability to the suc-
cession of Claudius to his murdered brother; if at that age Ham. had tamely sub-
mitted to such a usurpation, and desired to go back to school in Wittenberg, he
would have been too contemptible a character to be fitted for any dramatist's hero.
Prof. Dowden having pronounced, in a notice of Werder's Hamlet ( The Academy ;
4 Dec. 1875), that theory incredible which 'makes Ham., the utterer of the saddest
 act v, sc. i.] HAMLET 393

[153. Hamlet's age.]

and most thoughtful soliloquies to be found in Sh., a boy of seventeen/ MiNTO
replies that we are apt to underrate the precocity of boys of seventeen. * I venture to
say that sad and thoughtful questionings of the mysteries of life are more common
among boys under twenty than among men of thirty.' * Not only is it possible for sad
thoughts to come to a youth of seventeen, but it is at such an age, when the character
is not deeply founded, that the shattering of first ideals is most overwhelming. The
terrible circumstances that overthrew Hamlet's noble mind gave a stimulus to the
development of his thoughtfulness apart from an increase of years. The fresher
and brighter our conception of the gay boy-world out of which he was summoned,
the deeper becomes the monstrous tint of the horrible ambition, murder, and in-
cest, which appalled his vision and paralyzed the clear working of his mind when
he was first called upon to play a man's part in the battle of life. Too much ha*
been said of the philosophic temperament of Ham. ; impulse and passion were more
in his nature than philosophy ; his philosophy was not a serene growth, a natural de-
velopment ofa mind predisposed to thought; it was wrung out of him by circumstances
terrible enough to make the most obtuse mind pause and reflect.' Prof. Dowden
{The Academy, 25 Dec. 1875) urged the following considerations in condemnation
of the theory that Ham. was a youth of seventeen : ' The poet's youngest heroine:
(children of the South) are aged fourteen (Juliet, Marina) and fifteen (Miranda).
The age of Perdita is sixteen. Sh. loved these earliest years of budding woman-
hood. What is the corresponding period of early manhood that charms the poet's
imagination ? At what age does Sh. conceive that boyhood is blooming into adult
strength and beauty ? I answer, from twenty-one to twenty-five. The stolen sons
of Cymbeline, boys just ready to be men, are aged twenty-three and twenty-two j
Florizel looks about twenty-one ( Wint. Tale, V, i, 126) ; Troilus, a beardless youth
(two or three hairs upon his chin), is older: ■ he ne'er saw three-and-twenty.' I am
not aware that we can determine Romeo's age. Prince Hal at the time of hii
father's accession was some twelve years old, but Sh. represents him as considerably
older. When the battle of Shrewsbury took place (Henry being in fact sixteen
years old), Sh., I believe, intends his age to be ■ twenty-two or thereabouts' (1 Hen,
IV. : III, iii, 212). WTien Henry V ascended the throne, his age was twenty-six,
and there is no reason to suppose that Sh., who had up to that point made him older
than the Prince Henry of history, now represented him as younger. The Bishop of
Ely says : ' My thrice puissant liege Is in the very May-morn of his youth* Test
the theory of Hamlet's extreme youth by the other plays. Are we to imagine the
utterer of the soliloquy, * To be or not to be,' as five or six years the junior of the
boys of old Belarius, and that at a period of life when each added year counts for
much ? Is Florizel, — one of Shakespeare's ideals of youthful grace, — four years
older than Ham. ? Did Ham. begin his observations on society (V, i, 150) at four-
teen ? Were his schoolfellows, — dispatched on a critical mission to England, — also
youths of seventeen ? Can it be proved that any chief male personage in Shake-
speare's plays is aged seventeen, or eighteen, or even nineteen ? The dating of the
Player-King's marriage is important in this discussion. His thirty years' wife (rep-
resenting Gertrude) is not too old to win a second husband's love ; therefore Ger-
trude, although the 'hey-day of her blood' is 'tame,' is not necessarily too old; we
may imagine her forty-seven. But I am not greatly concerned to maintain the
394 HAMLET
[act v, sc. U

Ham. How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot ?
First Clo. I'faith, if a* be not rotten before a* die, — as 155
we have many pocky corses now-a-days, that will scarce
hold the laying in,— a' will last you some eight year or nine
year ; a tanner will last you nine year.
Ham. Why he more than another?
First Clo. Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade 160
that a* will keep out water a great while ; and your water is
a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. Here's a skull
155. Pfaith] Rowe+, Dyce, Sta. F3F . you nine years F , Rowe+*
Glo.-K IfaithYi. Fayth Q^. Faith 160. so] Om. F3F4, Rowe.
or 'Faith Q4 et cet. 161. your] you Rowe ii.
not] Om. F3F4. 162. whoreson] horfon F,.
155, 157, and 161. a'] Cam. Cla. a 162, 163. Here 's a skull. ..skull] Here**
Qq. he Ff et cet. a skull now Qq,Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev*
156. now-a-days] Om. Qq. Var. Sing. Ktly (Heer's Qq).
158. you nine year] you nine year es

Player-King's and the Grave-digger's dates, except for the sake of resisting rash
tampering v/ith Shakespeare's text. I can imagine Ham. as a man in the • May-
morn of his youth ' at twenty-six or twenty-five. I am much concerned, however,
to oppose such a misreading of the play as would not only render the conception of
Ham. incoherent, but would pervert our view of an entire group of lovely charac-
ters,— the Florizels and Polydores and Ferdinands of Sh. And I would note that
Sh. found it possible to think of thirty as a youthful age. The Grave-digger him*
self speaks of * young Hamlet/ In Much Ado we read (of fashions in clothes) :
* How giddily a' turns about all the hot bloods between fourteen and five-and-thirty.'
In the Sonnets Sh. names forty (not thirty) as the age when time has marred the
face. In the Elegy on Burbadge, that great actor is praised for his equal success
in the part of ' young Hamlet ' and of ' old Hieronymo.' If Burbadge represented
Ham. as thirty years of age, still, in spite of the thirty years, Burbadge's Ham.
passed for young. I will, however, yield something, and if any critic will effi-
ciently knock upon the mazzard that * absolute ' knave, the Clown, I accept as
satisfactory the age assigned by Marshall, — twenty-five.'
In The Academy y II March, 1876, J. W. Hales cites the following quotation from
a well-known book as noteworthy with regard to Hamlet's age : ' For fashion sake
some [Danes] will put their children to schoole, but they set them not to it till
they are fourteene years old; so that you shall see a great boy with a beard
learne his ABC, and sit weeping under the rod when he is thirty years old.'— •
Nash's Pierce Penniless 's Supplication to the Devil, ed. Collier, for the Sh. Soc.
p. 27. « So, after all,' adds Hales, * there is perhaps less inconsistency in the play
than has been supposed. I do not mean that there is none.'
157. you] An ethical dative. See II, ii, 414; also Corson {Cornell Rev. Oct*
1876, p. 42).
ACT V, SC. i.] HAMLET 395

now; this skull has lain in the earth three and twenty years.
Ham. Whose was it ?
First Clo. A whoreson mad fellow's it was; whose do 165
you think it was ?
Ham. Nay, I know not.
First Clo. A pestilence on him for a mad
is me
poured a flagon of Rhenish on my head once, Th sa a*
rogue!
skull, sir, was Yorick's skull, the king's jester. 170
Ham. This ?
First Clo. E'en that.
Ham. Let me see. [Takes the s&ulli] — Alas, poor
163. has lain] hath lyen you Qq, Jen. Rowe, Knt, Coll. Del. Sta. White, Ktly.
hath lain you Cap. Steev. Var. Sing. 170, Yorick's] fir Yoricks Qq, Cap.
Coll. EL Del. White, Ktly, Huds.
three and twenty] 23. QaQ3Q4. 173. Let me see] Om. Qq, Pope+f
twenty three Q$. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Sing. i.
165, 166. A. ..was?] Two lines, Ff, [Takes the skull.] After This?
Rowe. Jen.171, Cap. Steev. Var. Sing, i, Cald.
line
Coll. Del. El. White. After see. line
168. a'] Coll. a QqFf, Rowe, Knt.
he Q'76, Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. 173, Sing, ii, Dyce, Sta. Ktly, Glo.+,
Cald. El. Mob. Huds. Om. QqFf, Rowe +,
Knt.
169, 170. This, .sir] Twice in Ff,

163. three and twenty] Halliwell: I have ventured to alter the text here to
a dozen by the aid of Q:, in order to avoid a chronological difficulty, and for a similar
reason to alter « thirty' to twenty in line 153. It must be remembered that Ham. is
alluded to in the First Act as a very young man.
169, 170. This . . . sir] White: If the repetition of these words were accidental
in the Ff, the chance must be reckoned among gli inganni felici. Dyce (ed. 2) : I
wish White had told us what force is added to the dialogue by the repetition. COR.
SON partially answers Dyce's question by saying that the repetition serves to exhibit
the Clown's * sense of his official importance as he turns the skull over in his hands ;'
[there also lurks in it a tone of hesitation, as though deliberating carefully the posi-
tion of the skull in the earth whence it was exhumed before deciding on the owner-
ship. Ed.]
170. Yorick] J. San (N. &> Qu., 5 Oct. 1861) : This is the German and Danish
Georg, Jorg, our George; the English^ represents the foreign/, which has the same
sound. Clarendon : Mr Magnusson suggests to us that this name may be a cor-
ruption of Rorick, Saxo's Roricus, Hamlet's grandfather on the mother's side.
Latham (Two Dissertations, &c, 1 872, pp. 93 and 145): Name for name, the
* Yorick * of Six. seems to be the Eric of Der bestrafte Briider?nord. If so, the
King is his own Jester. Be it so. A Chronicon Erici Regis actually exists. A
Gesta Erici Regis may have existed. Hence, by a confusion of which we only get
a general notion, out of Gesta Erici Regis may have come Yorick, the King's Jester.
[' Jerick' is the name of a ' Dutch Bowr' in Chapman's A/phonsus. Ed.]
173. Let .• .'. see] Knight: This supersedes any stage-direction.
 HAMLET [act v, sc. i.
Yorick
39<5 !— I knew him, Horatio ; a fellow of infinite jest, of
most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a 175
thousand times ; and now how abhorred in my imagination
it is! my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I Ls
have kissecTT know not how oft. — Where be your gibes 4^H/
now ? your gambols ? your songs ? your flashes of merri-
ment, that were wont to set the table on a roar ? Not one 1 80
now, to mock your own grinning? quite chop-fallen? Now
get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint
an inch thick, to this favour she must come; make her
laugh at that. — Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.
Hor. What's that, my lord ? 185
Ham. Dost thou think Alexander looked o* this fashion
i' the earth ?
Hor. E'en so.
175. borne] bore Qq. 180. Not one] No one Ff, Rowe,
White.
176. and now how] And how Ff,
Rowe. 181 . grinning] jfeering Ff, Rowe,
176, 177. in.. .is] my imagination is Cald. Knt.
Ff, Knt, Del. White, my imagination 182. chamber] table Qq, Jen. Tsch.
is now Rowe. 183. favour] savour Warb. (mis*
179. gambols] jests Q'76. print?).
180. on a roar] in a roar Pope+, 186. d] a Qq. on Q'76.
Mob.

176. abhorred in] White: What is abhorred ? At what does Hamlet's gorge
rise ? At the skull ? He is not speaking of that. What he abhors, what his gorge
rises at, is his imagination that here hung the lips that he has kissed. This construc-
tion issustained by the reading of Qt : ' those lippes . . . they abhorre me.' Clarke :
• It ' in this sentence, and in « my gorge rises at it* is used in reference to the idea
of having been borne on t&e back of him whose skeleton remains 'are thus suddenly
presented to the speaker's gaze, the idea of having caressed and been fondled by one
whose mouldering fleshless skull is now held in the speaker's hand.
177. gorge] Dyce (Gloss.): Throat, swallow, equivalent to stomach (Fr. gorge).
180. on a roar] Clarendon: We still say 'to set on fire,' and in Exodus, xix,
18, we find « on a smoke' for ' smoking.*
181. grinning] Collier : The skull did not jeer, though it 'grinned.'
182. chamber] Steevens: The table of the Qq means her dressing-table. DoUCE
(ii, 264) : There is good reason for supposing that Sh. borrowed this thought from
some print or picture he had seen. There are several which represent a lady at her
toilet, and an old man presenting a skull before the mirror.
183. favour] Steevens: Countenance or complexion. Clarendon: So in
Bacon, Essay xliii : ' In beauty, that of favour is more than that of colour, and that
of decent and gracious motion more than that of favour.'
ACT V, SC. i.] HAMLET 397

Ham. And smelt so ? puh ! \Pnts down the skull. 190 I9S
Hor. E'en so, my lord.
Ham. To what base uses we may return, Horatio!
Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alex-
ander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole ?
Hor. 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.
Ham. No, faith, not a jot ; but to follow him thither
with modesty enough and likelihood to lead it ; as thus :
Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander return-
eth into dust ; the dust is earth ; of earth we make loam ;
and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might
200
they not stop a beer-barrel ?
^
Imperious Csesar, dead and turn'd to clay,
197. returneth] returned Coll. ii
189. so? puh'] Ff,Rowe + ,Knt,White.
fopak Q2Qy fo : pah Q4Q$. so ? pah
Q'76 et cet. 198. into] to Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen,
(MS).
[Puts down...] Coll. Throws it Steev. Var. Cald. Sing. El.
down. Cap. Steev. Var. Sing. Smelling 199. that loam. ..was] this earth. ..was
to the Scull. Rowe+, Jen. Om. QqFf. or that loam. ..may have been Seymour.
193. he] a Qq. 200. beer-barret] Beare-barrell Q3Q-
find] found Jen.
194. consider too] conftder ; to F,. 201. Imperious] Qq, Jen. Steev. Var.
conftder : too F2F3F4. Sing. Ktly, Glo. + , Dyce ii. Imperial!
195. thither] thether QqFx. FIF3. Imperial F3F4 et cet.
196. as thus :] Om. Qq, Jen.
191. we may] Walker (Crit. ii, 248) : Surely the old syntax requires may we.
201-204. Dyce (ed. 1) : Are these four lines a quotation? Collier {Notes, &c,
p. 445) : They are marked in the (MS) as a quotation; and they seemed to have oc-
curred to the speaker as extremely apposite to what he had himself just said. We
have no notion whence the passage was taken. Dyce (ed. 2) repeats his query,
and answers : ■ I believe not.* Clarke : Ham. is merely putting into rhyming
form the fancy that for the moment passes through his mind. Sh. has made this a
marked characteristic with Ham. — a tendency to doggerelize when he is speaking
lightly or excitedly; thus III, ii, 281, 282. Again at the close of the present scene,
where it is not so much a couplet that conventionally closes a scene as it is a fleer
extemporaneously put into rhyme, by way of light turning off from serious thought
and remonstrance to a manner that shall favor the belief in his madness.
201. Imperious] Malone: This is used in the same sense as imperial. See
Tro. c>* Cres. IV, v, 172; and Cymb. IV, ii, 35. There are other instances in the
Folio of a familiar term being substituted in the room of a more ancient word ;
e.g. rites for 'crants,' line 220. Dyce {Few Notes, &c, p. 144): 'Imperious' in
Shakespeare's time was the usual form of the word. Thus, ■ The scepters promis'd
of imperious Rome.' — Countess of Pembroke's Tragedie of Antonie (trans, from
the French), 1595. Even in Fletcher's Prophetess, written long after Hamlet: * 'tis
Imperious Rome,' II, iii. Caldecott : It was so used down to at least the middle
34
 205
HAMLET
[act v, sc. i.

398 Might stop a hole to keep the wind away ;

202

Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,

Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw !
But soft ! but soft ! aside ! here comes the king,

Enter Priests, "&c, in procession; the Corpse of Ophelia, Laertes and Mourners
following it; King, Queen, their trains, &>c.
The queen, the courtiers ; who is that they follow?
And with such maimed rites ? This doth betoken
The corse they follow did with desperate hand,
Fordo it own life ; 't was of some estate.
Rowe+. After line 204, Sing. Ktly.
203. that that'] that the Jen. Cald. 206. Scene ii. Pope + , Jen.
204. Should] Shoulp Q4. Soidd Q .
to expel] f expell QqFxF3F4, who is that] Ff, Cald. Knt, Coll.
Rowe+ , Jen. Coll. White, expell Fa. Dyce, Sta. White, Huds-. Who is't that
winter's] waters Qq, Jen. F2. What wV that F3F4, Rowe. What
is that Pope + . who is this Qq et cet.
205. aside] awhile Qq. a while Q'76,
Pope + , Jen. Coll. El. White. 207. rites] rights F2F3F4, Rowe,
Enter...] Mai. after Cap. Enter
Pope i.
K. Q. Laertes and the corfe. Qq (in 209. it] QqFtFa, White, Ktly, Cla.
margin). Enter King, Queene, Laertes, it's F3F4, Rowe, Cap. its Q'76 et cet.
and a Coffin, with Lords attendant. Ff, of] Om. Ff, Rowe, Johns. Cald.

of the next century. See Drayton's Mttse's Elysium : * Or Jove's emperious Queene.'
Dyce : We find, indeed, * imperial Caesar ' in Cymb, V, v, 474 ; but then that play
comes to us only through the Folio.
204. patch a wall] Caldecott cites the following passage from Harrison's De-
scription ofEngland, to show that the text gives no very unfaithful picture of the
general state of habitations in the days of Shakespeare's youth : ' in the open
champaine countries they are enforced for want of stuffe to vse no studs at all, but
onlie posts .... with here and there a girding, wherevnto they fasten their splints or
radels, and then cast it all ouer with claie to keepe out the wind, which otherwise
would annoie them. Certes this rude kind of building made the Spaniards in
queene Maries daies to woonder, but cheefiie when they saw what large diet was
vsed in manie of these so homelie cottages; in so much that one of no small repu-
tation amongst them said after this maner : " These English (quoth he) haue their
houses made of sticks and durt, but they fare commonlie so well as the king " ' (p.
233, ed. New Sh. Soc).
204. flaw] Malone : A sudden gust of wind. ' Groppo, a flawe or berrie of
winde.' — Florio, Ital. Diet. 1598. Dyce (Gloss.) : 'A flaw (or gust) of wind. Tour-
billon de vent? — Cotgrave. * A flaw of wind is a gust, which is very violent upon a
sudden, but quickly endeth.' — Smith's Sea Grammar, 1627.
206. that] Corson: 'That,' per se, is better than this, Ham. and Hor. being
supposed to be at some distance from the procession; and then ' This,' occurring in
the next line, referring to ' maimed rites,' adds to the preferableness of the Ff reading,
209. Fordo] See II, i, 103.
209. it] See I, ii, 216.
ACT T, SC. i.] HAMLET 399

Couch wc awhile, and mark. [Retiring with Horatio. 210

Lacr. What ceremony else ?
Ham. That is Laertes, a very noble youth ; mark.
Lacr. What ceremony else ?
First Priest. Her obsequies have been as far enlarged
As we have warrantise; her death was doubtful ; 215
And, but that great command o'ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged
Till the last trumpet ; for charitable prayers,

210. Couch we] Stand by Q'76.

we] me Rowe ii. 215. warrantise] Dyce, Sta. White,
[Retiring...] Cap. Om. QqFf. Johns.
Knt ii, Del. ii, Glo. Huds. Cla. war*
211. [to the Priests. Cap. rantisYx. warrantieQ2QF2FFA. war
211, 213. ceremony] Cerimony Yx. rantize Cap. conj. ( Var. Readings, p.
212. [to Horatio. Cap. 32). warranties Cald. Knt i. war*
That. ..mark] One line, QqFf,
ranty Q4Q, et cet.
Rowe + , Jen. Cam. Cla. Two half-lines bin217.
Qs. unsanctified] unfancl ied FaF .
(dividing at Laertes), Cap. et cet. have] been Q3Qy beene Q4i
very] most Pope + .
mark] make Q^Qj. Om. Q'76. 218. Tilt... trumpet] Om. Q'76.
214, 223. First Priest.] I. P. Cap. trumpet] trump Pope + .
Prieft. Ff. Docl. Qq. prayers] prayer Ff, Rowe, Sta.
214. as far] so far Theob. ii, Warb.

209. estate] Johnson : Some person of high rank.

210. couch] Clarendon: Lie down, and so hide.
215. warrantise] Whalley: Is there any allusion here to the coroner's war-
rant, directed to the minister and churchwardens of a parish, and permitting the
body of a person who comes to an untimely end to receive Christian burial ? Clar-
endon :This suggestion of Whalley's receives support from the conversation of the
Clowns at the beginning of the scene, but is scarcely consistent with what follows in
the next line, where 'great command' evidently refers to the influence of the king,
which had been exercised so as to interfere with the usual proceedings. The rubric
before the Burial Office forbids it to be used for persons who have laid violent hands
upon themselves. For the word • warrantise/ see Cotgrave : ' Garentage : m. War-
rantie, warrantize, warrantage.'
215. doubtful] Seymour (ii, 199) : But the Queen, who was witness of the factr
has told us that the death was accidental, from the breaking of an ' envious sliver '
of a tree. Moberly : Only so far as that she was a lunatic, and had died by her
own act ; the presumption in such a case being held to be that the act was wilful ;
and there being always a doubt whether Christian burial could then be demanded ;
although, as Burn's Ecclesiastical Law states, there is no record of its having been
actually refused in any instance.
216. order] Caldecott: That is, the course which ecclesiastical rules prescribe.
2 1 8. for] For instances of * for,' meaning instead of, see I, iii. 131, and Abbott,
§148.
400 HAMLET [act v, SC. L

Shards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on her ;

Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants, 220
219. Shards'] Om. Qq. 220. crants] Crants Qq. Rites Ff.
pebbles] Peebles QqFxF2. Rowe+, Cap. Jen. Cald. Knt, Del. i.
220. allow'd] allowed Ff, Rowe. "White, Huds.

219. Shards] Fragments of broken tiles or pots. See Macb. Ill, ii, 42.
220. crants] Warburton pronounced this an * evident corruption of chant?, the
true word,' on the ground that a specific rather than a generic term was required to
answer to ' maiden strewments.' Edwards, whose book, Canons of Criticism, was
written in ridicule of Warburton's edition, suggests derisively (7th ed., p. 147) that
Warburton had better have ' pitched upon grants, wants, pants, or any other, pro-
vided itrhymes to chants ; because it would seem by the very next speech of the
Priest that these same chants were the only things denied her ['-To sing a requiem '].
If Warburton's reading be approved, we should, to restore integrity, make a slight
alteration in line 221, and read " Her maiden 'struments " for instruments. Music,
not only vocal, but instrumental also.' Heath supposes ' crants ' to be a misprint
for jrants, that is, ' the ceremonies granted by custom to those who died unmarried/
and that Sh. afterwards substituted rites. Johnson, on the authority of an anonymous
con espondent, was the first to explain ' crants ' as the German word for garlands ;
adding, that ' to carry garlands before the bier of a maiden, and to hang them over
her grave, is still the practice in rural parishes.' ' Crants,' therefore, was the original"
word, which Sh., discovering to be provincial, and perhaps not understood, changed
to a* term more intelligible, but less proper. ' Maiden rites ' give no certain or
definite image. Malone doubted whether this and many other changes in the
Folio were made by Sh., as an attentive comparison of the Qq and Ff would show.
Dyce (ed. i) emphasises the fact on which both Warburton and Dr Johnson lay
stress, viz. : that a specific, definitive image is here essential, and that rites does not
fulfil this requirement, while * crants ' does. Of the advocates for rites, Knight and
White are the chief; the former urges that 'the "maiden strewments" are the
flowers, the garlands, which piety scatters over the bier of the young and innocent.
The rites included these.' White agrees with him, that • crants ' would hereby be a
mere repetition. Elze cannot avoid the conviction that • crants ' is a sophistication,
since a most unusual and foreign word would never be applied to a most usual and
domestic ceremony. In Dyce's second ed. he gives this note of Lettsom's : ' Most
of the edd. explain 'crants' by garlands ; but the German Kranz is singular, and
the singular seems indispensable here. From a note to Prior's Danish Ballads, it
would seem that young unmarried Danish ladies wear, or wore, chaplets of pearl ;
at least, 'fair Elsey' is described as wearing one; and the translator (vol. ill, p. in)
says that this is the same as the 'virgin frant (sic) of Oph.' Guided by this, Dyce,
in his Gloss., defines ' crants,' a crown, a chaplet, a garland, and cites Jamieson,
Etym. Did. of the Scottish Lang. : ' Crance .... Teut. krants, corona, corolla,
sertum, strophium, Kilian. Germ. Kranz? &c. It is perhaps worth noting that
Jamieson, in this same passage cited by Dyce, gives an instance of the plural : ' Thair
heids wer garnisht gallandlie With costly crancis maid of gold.' — Watson's Collec-
tion ofChoice Songs, &c, ii, 10. Halliwell gives a wood-cut of a funeral garland
seen by Fairholt. in 1844, suspended in St Albans Abbey. ' It was then.' says
ACTV.sc. i.] HAMLET 40I

Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home 221

Of bell and burial.
Lacr. Must there no more be done?
First Priest. No more be done :
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her 225
As to peace-parted souls.
22-1. maiden strewments] maiden- (MS), such requiem White, false
strewments Theob. ii.Warb. Johns. Jen. requiem Anon.*
223. there] Om. Pope + . 226. peace-parted] peace-departed F3
225. a requiem] /age Requiem Ff, F^.
Rowe, Cald. Knt. sad requiem Coll. [Coffin lay'd in. Cap.

Fairholt, * very old, and I was told by "the sexton that such garlands were once com.
monly borne before the bodies of unmarried women to the grave, and suspended in
the church afterwards, but that the custom had ceased tv/enty years before this time.
The substructure was formed of wooden hoops, to which were affixed rosettes of
coloured paper, and flowers, real and artificial, covered the whole ; when I &aw it
nothing but the remains of the artificial decorations remained ; but the sexton ex-
plained to me that the whole had been originally thickly covered with flowers.'
According to Nares no other instance of the use of this word had been found ; it
was reserved for Elze to discover two examples of it elsewhere. In Chapman's
Alphonsus (ed. Elze, 1867, p. 82) there is the following stage-direction: 'Enter
.... Saxon, Mentz like Clowns with each of them a Mitre with Corances on
their heads.' In a note on « corances,' Elze says, referring to the present passage
in Hamlet: • Sh., in my opinion, made the acquaintance of this German importation
at the Steelyard, or he witnessed the funeral, in London, of some young German
girl, where the coffin was decked, according to the German custom, with "crances;"
nay, both may have been the case. From the present passage it would appear that
we ought to write crance. See Cooper's List of Foreign Protestants and Aliens,
where "Hans" is usually spelt "Hance" or " Haunce." * The second instance
occurs on p. 117, ' When thou hast stolen her dainty rose-corance.'
221. strewments] Clarendon: Compare Rom. <5^ Jul. IV, v, 79 and 89; lb.
V, iii, 280; Wint. Tale, IV, iv, 128; Cymb. IV, ii, 218.
221. bringing home] Clarendon: In these words reference is still made to
the marriage rites, which in the case of maidens are sadly parodied in the funeral
rites. See Rom. & Jul. IV, v, 85-90. As the bride was brought home to her
husband's house with bell and wedding festivity, so the dead maiden is brought to
her last home « with bell and burial.'
222. Of] Equivalent to with. See Abbott, § 193, which most nearly explains
the use of ' of ' here.
225. a requiem] Caldecott : Sage of the Ff is grave and solemn. Knight :
We suspect some corruption of the text. Collier : The (MS) alters sage to sadt
which may be the true word. Dyce : But qy. is it not rather a mistake for such ?
Singer : ' Requiem ' is so called from the words of the service : * Requiem aeternam
dona eis, Domine.'
226. peace-parted] Clarendon: A singularly-formed compound, of which there
34* 2A
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. i.
402
Laer. Lay her i' the earth ;— 226
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
May violets spring !— I tell thee, churlish priest,
A ministering angel shall my sister be,
When thou liest howling.
Ham. What, the fair Ophelia ? 230
Queen. [Scattering \flowers\ Sweets to the sweet; farewell!
I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife.
I thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid,
And not t' have strew'd thy grave.
Laer. Oh, treble woes
Fall ten times treble on that cursed head 23$
Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense
Deprived thee of! — Hold off the earth awhile,
Till I have caught her once more in mine arms.
[Leaps into the grave.
2^1. [Scattering flowers] Johns. Om. 234. treble woes] Ed. Walker conj.
trebble woe Q4Q5- terrible woer Fx. ter-
rible wooer F2F F , Rowe. treble woe
Sweets.. .farewell'] Sweets to the
QqFf. farewell
fweet, Qq. Sweets, to the fweet
farewell FXF2. Sweets, to thee fweet 235. treble] trebble FtFa. double Qq,
farewell FF. Sweets, to thee sweet, Jen. treble
Q2Q3 et cet. woes Rowe.
farewell Rowe. cursed] curs1 d Rowe.
232. shouldst] would' st F3F4, Rowe, 236. 237. deed.. .of I] deeds deprived
Pope.
thee of Thy mofl ingenuous fense : Q'76.
234. /' have] Ff, Rowe, Knt, Sing, ii, 238. mine] my Rowe+.
Sta. White, to have Coll. Del. i, El. [Leaps into the grave.] Leaps
Ktly, Hal. haue Qq et cet. in the graue. FXF2F3. Om. Qq.

is no other example, for ' peacefully parted,' ' departed in peace.' A similar irregu-
larity isfound in the compound * death-practised.' — Lear, IV, vi, 284.
228. violets] Steevens : Thus Persius, Sat. i, 37.
232> 233- shouldst have been ... to have decked] Abbott, § 360 : It is now
commonly asserted that such expressions as • I hoped to have seen him yesterday ' are
ungrammatical. But in the Elizabethan, as in Early English authors, after verbs of
hoping, intending, or verbs signifying that something ought to have been done, but
was not, the Complete Present Infinitive is used.
234. woe] Walker (Crit. iii, 271) conjectures woes. In a footnote Lettsom
says : It is whimsical enough that the Qq, which in this line correctly read treble for
the Ff terrible, in the very next line read double for the Ff correct treble. I men-
tion this that they may not be trusted too confidently for ' woe ' in preference to
« woes.' [I think it likely that either the r in woer of Fx is a misprint for s, or else
the compositor mistook the s in the MS from which he set up. Moreover, the plural
somewhat avoids the cacophony of the singular: 'Oh, treble woe.' Ed.]
236. ingenious sense] Caldecott : Compare Lear, IV, vi, 287, 288.
act v, sc. i.] HAMLET 4°3

Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,

Till of this flat a mountain you have made 240
To o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head
Of blue Olympus.
Ham. \Advancing\ What is he whose grief
Bears such an emphasis ? whose phrase of sorrow
Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded hearers ? This is I, 245
Hamlet the Dane ! [Leaps into the grave.
Laer. The devil take thy soul !
[Grappling with him.
Ham. Thou pray'st not well.
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat ;
For, though I am not splenitive and rash,
Yet have I something in me dangerous, 250

241. To o'ertop'] Tdretop Q2Q3Q4- Q'76.

To retop Q . T oretop Q'76. T o'er- 246. [Grappling...] Rowe. Om. QqFf.
top Pope + , Jen. Dyce ii. 247, 248. Thou. ..throat] One line, Qq.
242. blue] blew QqFIF3F3. 249. For] Sir Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt.
[Advancing] Cap. Discovering splenitive] Theob. ii. fpleenative
himself. Pope + . Om. QqFf. QqFf, Rowe. fplenative Pope, Theob.
242, 243. grief Bears] griefe Beares splenetive Plan. Knt, Coll. Sing. White,
Qq. griefes Beares FXF2. griefs Bears Ktly. splenetic Coll. (MS).
F . griefs Bear F4, Rowe+, Cald. and] Om. Qq.
244. Conjures] Coniure Ft. 250. I.. .dangerous] I dangerous in
245. This is] tis Q^QS. me something Tsch.
246. [Leaps...] Hamlet leaps... Rowe. something in me] Ff, Rowe, Knt,
Om. QqFf. [leaps too in the Grave. Cap. Del. Dyce, Sta. Glo. Huds. Cla. Mob.
The. ..soul] Perdition catch thee in me fomething Qq et cet.
244. wandering stars] Clarendon : The planets, of which Cotgrave says {5.
v. Pianette), 'they bee also called Wandering starres, because they neuer keepe one
certaine place or station in the firmament.' In Albumazar, I, i, they are called
' wanderers.'
245. This . . . Dane] Grant White {Hamlet the Younger, p. 543) : With a
tremendous revulsion of feeling Ham. breaks forth into passionate exclamations of
love and grief; and then, too, at this strange unfitting time he claims his royal rank,
and announces himself as ' The Dane.' Werder (p. 202) interprets this as the
answer to the question Ham. has just asked.
247. Thou . . . well] Moberly : A litotes marking the perfect self-possession of
Ham. at first, and his real love for Laer.
249. For] See Walker {Crit. ii, 290) on the confounding of Sir for for, in the
Folio.
249. splenitive] Clarendon: Sh. uses 'spleeny,' Hen. VIII: III, ii, 99; and
'spleenful, Tit. And. II, iii, 191, in the same sense. The spleen was supposed to
be the seat of anger. Compare 1 Hen. IV: V, ii, 19.
404 HAMLET [act v, sc. i.
Which let thy wisdom fear. Hold off thy hand ! 251
King. Pluck them asunder.
Queen. Hamlet, Hamlet!
All. Gentlemen, —
Hor. Good my lord, be quiet.
[The Atte?idants part themf and they come out
of the grave.
Ham. Why, I will fight with him upon this theme
Until my eyelids will no longer wag. 255
Queen. O my son, what theme ?
Ham. I loved Ophelia ; forty thousand brothers
Could not, with all their quantity of love,
Make up my sum. — What wilt thou do for her?
King. Oh, he is mad, Laertes. 260

251. wisdom] ivifeneffe FjF,,. wife- 253. Hor.] Gen. Ff, Rowe, Cald.
nefs F3F4, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Del. Dyce Knt.
i, Sta. Glo. Mob. [to Hamlet. Cap.
Hold off"] AwayYi, Rowe, Cald. [The Attendants part them]
Knt, Dyce i, Sta. Rowe. After Gentlemen, Cap. Om.
hand!] hand, Q2Qr hand? Q4 QqFf.
Q$. and they.... grave] Cap. Om.
253. All. Gentlemen,—] All. Gentle- QqFf.
men. Qq. Att. Gentlemen, — Cap. Om. 254. this] his Rowe.
Ff, Rowe + , Cald. Knt, Sta. 258. their] there F,.

255. wag] Clarendon : The word had not the grotesque signification which it
now has, and might be used without incongruity in the most serious passages. Com-
pare III, iv, 39, and Mer. of Ven. IV, i, 76, where the verb is transitive. It is in-
transitive, ashere, in Tit. And. V, ii, 87.
258. quantity] Clarendon : Compare III, ii, 38 ; III, iv, 75 ; where, as here,
the context implies that the word has a depreciatory meaning.
259. do for her] F. G. T. (N. &> Qu., vol. iv, p. 156, 1851) denies that Ham. really
rants : ' Ham., a prince, is openly cursed, and even seized by Laer., and yet he only
remonstrates. He uses phrases so homely that there is something very like scorn in
them: "What wilt thou do for her?" is the quietude of contempt for Laertes's insult-
ing rant ; and so, if my memory deceive me not, the elder Kean gave it. "Do for
her" being contrasted with Laertes's braggadocio "say.11 Then come the possibilities :
weep, fight, fast, tear thyself (all, be it noted, common lovers' tricks), drink up eisel,
eat a crocodile. Here the crocodile probably refers to those put up in spirits in
apothecaries' shops. Here we have possibilities put against the rant of Laer. ; the
doing against the saying; things that could be done, for Ham. ends with " I'll do it."
But his quick imagination has caught an impetus from its own motion, and he goes
on : " Nay, I'll even out-prate you," and then follows his superior rant, not uttered
with vehemence, but with quiet philosophic scorn.'
ACT v, sc. i.] HAMLET 4°5
Queen. For love of God, forbear him. 26 1
Ham, 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do ;
Woo't weep ? woo't fight? woo't fast? woo't tear thysdf?
Woo't drink up eisel ? eat a crocodile ?

261. For.. .God,"] Om. Q'76. 263. woo't fast] Om. Ff,Rowe. wouTt
262. 'Sivounds] S' wounds Qq, Jen. storm Coll. (MS).
Om. Q'76. Come Ff, Rowe+, Knt, Sta. 264. eiset\ Eise/' iheob. Warb. Johns,
1 Zounds Cap. Mai. Steev. Bos. Cald. Jen. Mai. Dyce, Sta. Glo. + , Mob. Efdl
thou' It] th' owt Q3Q3. th' out Qq, Pope, Coll Del. White, Hal. Huds.
Q4QS. thou't Q'76, Cap. ' E/i/e (in Italics) Ff, Rowe (in Roman),
263,264. Woo't] Wilt Q'76. Wou't Sing. Esil Steev. Bos. Cald. Knt. Esule
Cap. WouVt Mai. Steev. Bos. Cald. Tsch.
Knt, Coll.

263. Woo't] Singer : Woo't, or woot'o, in the northern counties, is the common
contraction of wouldst thou. Walker (Crit. iii, 271): Can any good reason be
given why we should write woo't or wouVt here and not elsewhere? Lettsom
{Footnote to Walker) : Halliwell, in his Diet., has fWoot. Will thee. West.' In
the passage before us the context requires wilt, and this, indeed, is the text of Qf.
Clarendon : A colloquialism by which Ham. marks his contempt for Laer. In
Ant. cV Cleo. IV, ii, 7; IV, xv, 59, it indicates affectionate familiarity.
264. eisel] With the exception of ' the dram of eale,' no word or phrase in this
tragedy has occasioned more discussion than this Est// or Esi/ey which, as it stands,
represents nothing in the heavens above, or the earth beneath, or the waters under
the earth, if from the last we exclude the vesse/s of Qx. Rowe and Pope blindly fol-
lowed the blind compositors of the QqFf. Theobald saw the difficulty so clearly
that subsequent criticism has chiefly ranged itself on one or other of the two interpre-
tations suggested by him, viz. that the word either represents the name of a river,
or is an old word, meaning vinegar. Theobald's objection to its being the name of a
river is that it must be some river in Denmark, and that he knew of none there so
called, nor any other, idem sonans, nearer than ' the Yssel, from which the Province
of Over-yssel derives its title in German Flanders.' This objection comes strangely
from Theobald, for none knew better than he that Sh., who did not hesitate to make
Ham. swear by St Patrick, would have been just as likely to mention a river in
farthest Ind as in Denmark, if the name flashed into his mind, and would have been
intelligible to his audience. 'Besides/ continues Theobald, ' Ham. is not proposing
impossibilities to Laer., as the drinking up a river would be, but he rather seems to
mean, Wilt thou resolve to do things the most shocking and distasteful ? and, behold,
I am as resolute.' Hanmer, forgetful of his own good rule of not giving * a loose to
fancy,' changed ' Esill ' into Ni/e, without a note or comment, in his first edition, to
indicate that it was not Shakespeare's word; and then, to fill up the measure of the
verse, introduced another woo't before ' eat.' Capell (Notes, &c, i, 146) says it is
* palpable ' that a river is. intended, but there is no absolute necessity, because a croco*
dile is mentioned, that the river must be the Nile, and Hanmer's better reading would
have been JVi/us, which would have suited the metre without the addition of woo't,
(See post Elze.) Capell then goes on to say that ' Sh. sought a river in Denmark,
and, finding none that would do for him, coin'd the word — Elsil ; in a supposition
406 HAMLET [act v, SG L

[264. * drink up eisel.']

that there might be a brook so denominated, which Elsinour stood upon, and took it's
name from.' Capell therefore printed Elsil in his text, in Italics. Steevens says that
Ham. certainly meant (for he says he will rant) to dare Laer. to attempt anything,
however difficult or unnatural, such as draining the channel of a river, or trying his
teeth on an animal whose scales are supposed to be impenetrable, ' Theobald's
Yssell,' adds Steevens, • would serve Hamlet's turn or mine. The river is twice
mentioned by Stowe, p. 725 : " It standeth a good distance from the river Issel, but
hath a sconce on Issell of incredible strength." Again, by Drayton, in Polyolbion,
The twenty-fourth Song, p. 359, ed. 1748 : " Th' one o'er Isell's banks the ancient
Saxon's taught : At Over-Isell rests," &c. But in an old Latin account of Danemark
and the neighboring provinces I find the names of several rivers little differing from
Est/, or Eisel!, in spelling or pronunciation. Such are the Essa, the Oesil, and some
others. . c . . Sh. might have written the Weisel, a considerable river which falls into
the Baltic Ocean, and could not be unknown to any Prince of Denmark.' Malone,
in his first edition, 1790, having adopted Theobald's eisel, discarded it in the Var. 1821,
and adopted Steevens's interpretation on the ground that such hyperbole was common
among ancient poets. So in Eastward Hoe, 1609 : ' Come drink up Rhine, Thames,
and Meander dry.' Also Greene's Orlando Furioso, 1599: 'Else would I set my
mouth to Tygris' streames, And drinke up overflowing Euphrates.' And in Mar-
lowe's Jew of Malta : 'As sooner shalt thou drink the ocean dry, Than conquer
Malta.' Boswell cites Tro. 6° Cres. Ill, ii, 84, as containing a ' similar exaggera-
tion,' but the similarity is by no means exact. More to the purpose is his reference to
Chaucer's Romaunt of the Rose [1. 5712, ed. Morris] : * He undirfongith a gret peyne,
That undirtakith to drynk up Seyne.' Nares considers the challenge to drink vinegar,
in such rant, so inconsistent and even ridiculous that we must decide for the river,
whether its name can be exactly found or not. Caldecott agrees with Steevens,
that it refers to the Yssel, the most northern branch of the Rhine, one which flows
nearest to Denmark, and by Zutphen into the Zuyder Zee. Caldecott adds strength
to Steevens's supposition, that it might refer to the Vistula or Weissel, by showing,
in a passage from King Alfred's Anglosaxon version of Orosius, that Denmark's
possessions once extended as far as the Weissel-mouth ; but very sensibly adds that
even if Weissel were nearer to the text, both to the eye and ear, than it is, it is very
little likely that Sh. was read in the early Danish geographies, or that he gave him-
self any concern about them ; Sh. took his geography from more accessible sources,
and from points nearer home. Knight adopts Caldecott's interpretation. In N. &
Qu., vol. ii, p. 241, 1850, Singer started a discussion of the meaning of this phrase
by asserting that ' eisel ' means Wormwood Wine, a nauseously bitter medicament
much in vogue in Shakespeare's time. Could he have proved this, the discovery"
would have been valuable, but unfortunately the premises from which he drew his
conclusion were weak. ' In Thomas's Ital. Diet. 1562,' says Singer, ' we have " As-
sentio, Eysell," and Florio renders Assentio by Wormwood. What is meant, how-
ever, isAbsinthites or Wormwood wine? The inference here is that Florio refers to
a liquid Wormwood, whereas he defines ' Assentio, .... the herbe Wornnuood,*
which, I am afraid, weakens Singer's conclusion. In the same journal (vol. iv, p.
64, 185 1 ) J. S. W. sums up the controversy, and decides in favor of a river, because
to drink a potion of vinegar ' is utterly tame and spiritless in a place where anything
but tameness is wanted, and where it is quite out of keeping with the rest of the
4CT v, sc. L] HAMLET 407

[264. 4 drink up eisel.']

speech.' Elze contends vigorously for Nilus, not only because * crocodiles' are
immediately mentioned, but because in Elizabethan times the Nile was the home,
and the synonym, for everything wondrous and monstrous, and was moreover held
lo be one of the mightiest of rivers, if not the mightiest. To drink up the bound-
less Nile is an hyperbole than which nothing could better befit the occasion ; Ham.
wished to express a pure impossibility. To Delius's well-put objection that it is
difficult to see how so familiar a word as Nile could be sophisticated into vessels,
Esile, and Esill, Elze opposes the supposition that the Dutch Yssel or the Danish
Oesil was a marginal gloss of some wiseacre who thought it more appropriate to the
unities of the drama, and which by accident crept into the text. In N. cV Qu., 12
Feb. 1859, Cuthbert Bede offers a citation which would bring the river much
closer to the doors of the Globe theatre than any yet proposed : ' The Saxon etymon
of Iseldon, according to Mr Sharon Turner, is Ysseldune, i. e. the Down of the Yssel,
which I take to have been the original name of some river, most likely of the river
of Wells, which flowed into the Fleet River; but I consider also that Ysel or Eysel is
the same as Ouse/, the diminutive of Onse or Eyse, in the British language, signify-
ing either a river or water.' — Yseldon ; a Percmibidation of Islington, by T. E.
Tomkins, Esq. Halliwell thinks that the Oesil or Isell is referred to, and adds,
' obscure streams certainly, but the reading is hardly to be rejected on that account,
for the name would be at least as familiar to an Elizabethan audience as that of the
mountain of Ossa, mentioned in the same speech. Sh. in all probability adopted
both names from the older play on Hamlet? Dr. Scadding (Canadian Journal,
No. LXI, 1866, p. 70) also advocates Nilus, and attributes to 'indistinctness of
writing, perhaps, the wrong orthography of a_y for an i, and an accidental transposi-
tion of syllables in the printing-office' the conversion of 'Nilus into Eysell, Eisil or
Esil (in these several ways the modern text is given), conjectured by the commenta-
tors to be variously esil (that is, perhaps, vinegar in the sense of poison-] or vessels
(that is, huge caldrons) or' some proper name. Keightley adopts Yssel, because
its name may have been familiar to the English mind from the fact that it was at
Zutphen, on its banks, that Sir Philip Sidney received his death-wound.
Thus far I have cited only those who are in favor of the name of a river, and have
given all their arguments except one, which I have not repeated in every instance, be-
cause all more or less emphasize it; and this argument, which many find convincing,
lies in the words ' drink up ;' this, it is claimed, means to drain, to exhaust, and must
apply to a river or to something concrete, — it cannot apply to vinegar or to anything
in the abstract; Ham. never could have challenged Laer. to drink up all the vinegar
in the world, — there was a limit even to professed rant. Malone was the first to note
that this phrase, * drink up,' does not of necessity mean to exhaust totally, citing in
proof Shakespeare's 114th Sonnet, where it is synonymous with merely to drink:
'Drink up the monarch's plague, this flattery,' and again in the same Sonnet : 'And
my great mind most kingly drinks it up ;' and in Tro. <5r» Crcs. II, iii, 21 1, ' his silence
drinks up his applause ' (through an oversight Malone cites this from Timon). ' In
Shakespeare's time,' adds Malone, ' to drink up often meant no more than simply to
drink. So in Florio, Ital. Diet. 1598 : " Sorbire, to sip or sup up any drink." In like
manner we sometimes say, " when you have swallowed down this potion," meaning
when you have swallowed it.' He might have cited from Hamlet, I, iv, 10 : ' drains
his draughts of Rhenish down.' Gifford is more emphatic on this point in a note
408 HAMLET [act v, sc. i .

[264. * drink up eisel.']

on Jonson's Every Man in his Humour, IV, v (Works, p. 122, ed. 1816, cited by
Dyce) : * It may just be observed that off, out, and up, are continually used by the
purest and most excellent of our old writers, after verbs of destroying, consuming,
eating, drinking, &c. ; to us, who are less conversant with the power of language,
they appear, indeed, somewhat like expletives ; but they undoubtedly contributed
something to the force, and something to the roundness, of the sentence.' In con-
firmation ofthis use of up, Dyce cites the following passages : Love's Lab. Lost,
IV, iii, ^305; AWs Well, IV, iii, 250; King John, IV, iii, 133; As You Like Lt, II,
i, 62; Tro. 6° Cres. Ill, ii, 189. If more instances be needed, at least half a dozen
can be found by reference to Schmidt's invaluable Lexicon, s. v. 7 ; or to Mrs
Furness's Concordance to Shakespeare 's Poems, s. v. « up.' The passages, however,
cited by Malone and Dyce do not satisfy Grant White of the soundness of Gif-
ford's explanation ; he thinks that in all of them ' up ' conveys the sense either of
totality or completeness, as in the lines from Love's Lab. Lost, AWs Well, and Tro.
&> Cres. Ill, ii, 189 (and herein Schmidt agrees with him); or of eagerness or in-
satiability, asin the lines from 114th Sonnet and Tro. 6° Cres. II, iii, 211. The
use of « up ' in the present passage seemed, therefore, to Grant White fatal to the in-
terpretation of' eisel,' or vinegar. But granting that the sense of ' totality or com-
pletenes is
' inapplicable here, is not ' eagerness or insatiability ' the very sense
required? I cannot but believe, therefore, that in the present passage, 'drink up
esill,' means no more than ' to quaff esill,' whatever that may be.
I now turn to the second interpretation by Theobald, who says : ' I am persuaded
the poet wrote " eisel," that is, Wilt thou swallow down large draughts of vinegar f
The proposition, indeed, is not very grand ; but the doing it might be as distasteful
and unsavory as eating the flesh of a crocodile. And now there is neither an im-
possibility nor an anticlimax; and the lowness of the idea is in some measure re-
moved bythe uncommon term.' Thereupon he cites Chaucer, The Romaunt of the
Rose, line 217 : ' breed Kneden with eisel strong and egre ;' Shakespeare's 111th
Sonnet: * Potions of eisel 'gainst my strong infection;' and Sir Thomas More's
Poems (p. 21, ed. 1557): * remember therewithal How Christ for thee tasted eisel
and gall.' CAPELL, in his dissent from this interpretation, indulges in a gird of
most unusual humour for him : * if Eisel, an old word that signifies vinegar, be the
right reading, it must be because 'tis wanted for sauce to the crocodile.* Steevens,
too, has his merry fling at it : ' neither is that challenge very magnificent which only
provokes an adversary to hazard a fit of the heart-burn or the colic' Hunter (ii,
263) thinks that the ' Potions of eysell ' in the 111th Sonnet prove that it was not
any river so called, but a desperate drink. * The word,' he adds, ' occurs often in a
sense of which acetum is the -best representative, associated with verjuice and vine-
gar. It is a term used for one ingredient of the bitter potion given to our Saviour
on the cross, about the composition of which the commentators are divided. Thus,
the eighth prayer .... in the Salisbury Primer, 1555, begins thus: — uO blessed
Jesu I .... I beseech thee for the bitterness of the aysell and gall that thou tasted,"
&c.' Singer (ed. 2) : It was a fashion of the gallants of Shakespeare's time to do some
extravagant feat as a proof of their love in honor of their mistresses, and among other
the swallowing of some nauseous potion was the most frequent In Thomas's
Ital. Diet., 1562, we have ' Assentio. Eysell,' and Florio renders the same word by
Wormwood. Dyce: • For my own part I certainly believe that eisel is meant here-
ACT v, SC. i.] HAMLET 409

I'll do't. Dost thou come here to whine ? 265

To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her, and so will I.
And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw

265. I'll do't'] Til ddt, Til doU Coll. 266. grave ?] grave, Qq.
(MS). Plldo it too Anon.* 267. her,] her; Rowe+, Cap.
thou] Om. Qq. /.] /, F4.
here J hither F-F^t ROWC. hither 268. mountains,] Mountaines ; Ff,
£«/Pope+ Rowe.
266. in] in to F4. into Rowe.

the word (and it was common enough formerly) is' spelled Eysell \n the I nth Son*
net, ed. 1609. 'In the " hyperbolical " passages cited by Malone, what rivers do
those poets mention ? The Rhine, the Thames, the Meander, the Euphrates, — and
not such obscure streams as the Yssell, the existence of which the commentators
had some difficulty in detecting.' Collier says that the (MS) makes no change in
Esile. Grant White confesses himself unable to conjecture what the word means;
if a river be intended, * we must regard the word as a remnant of a play, or tale, un-
known to us, which preceded Shakespeare's tragedy.' In N. dr3 Qu. (Aug. 10, 1872),
John DE Soyres says that he remembers in a book of Scandinavian legends an
account of Thor's trials of strength with the Giants, and that one of these trials was
to drink a lake Esyl dry, and suggests that this is Hamlet's allusion. The CLAREN-
DON Editors * consulted Mr Magnusson on this point, and he writes as follows :
" No such lake as Esyl is known to Norse mythology or folklore. Thor's only trial
at drinking an impossible draught was at Utgaroaloki's, where he had to empty a horn,
the other end of which mouthed into the sea : in consequence, he only achieved
drinking the ocean down to the ebb mark.'" The citation from the inth Sonnet
convinces Moberly that the same word there, is used here ; Moberly adds : ' a large
draught of vinegar would be very dangerous to life.' There yet remain, however,
four interpretations to be mentioned. First: In N. cV Qu. (Oct. 5, 1872) John
Kershaw calls attention to a passage in Fletcher's Wife for a Month, IV, iv [p. 566,
ed. Dyce], where Alphonso [who is burning up with poison and indulges in the most
extravagant figures of speech] says : * I'll lie upon my back, and swallow vessels.*
'What more probable, therefore, than that Fletcher's "swallow vessels" had its
origin in Shakespeare's " drinke up vessels " of Qx ?' Second : Tschischwitz prints
Esule in his text, and explains it as Euphorbia Esula, spurge, a poisonous plant,
whose juice was employed anciently as an emetic. Third : Schmidt (Sh. Lexicon, s. v.
Eysell) : ' Hamlet's questions are apparently ludicrous, and drinking vinegar, in order
to exhibit deep grief by a wry face, seems much more to the purpose than drinking
up rivers. As for the crocodile, it must perhaps be remembered that it is a mournful
animal.' Fourth : The late Rev. J. B. Dykes, Mus. Doc. (in a MS note sent to me
by Dr Ingleby), suggests the old English word isyl, signifying ashes, mentioned in
HalliwelPs Archaic and Provincial Diet. s. v. Isles [where Halliwell cites : * Isyl
of fyre, favilla* Pr. Parv. p. 266]. ' One might possibly extract a meaning out of
this : "feeding on ashes," or swallowing flame; but this again is far-fetched and im«
possible.' In conclusion, the present Editor believes Esill and Esile to be mis-
prints for Eysell
35
4 10 HAMLET [ACT V. SC. L

Millions of acres on us, till our ground,

Singeing his pate against the burning zone, 270
Make Ossa like a wart ! Nay, an thou'lt mouth,
I'll rant as well as thou.
Queen, This is mere madness ;
And thus a while the fit will work on him ;
Anon, as patient as the female dove
When that her golden couplets are disclosed, 27 $
His silence will sit drooping.
Ham. Hear you, sir ;
What is the reason that you use me thus?

270. Singeing]Sindging QqF(,'Rowet 273. awhile] awhile Jen. Steev Dyce,

Pope, Han. Cap. Singing Jen. (mis- Del. Glo.-K
print?). 274. the] a Q„.
zone] Sun Warb. dove] Doe Q4Q$.
271. an] and QqFf, Rowe. 275. When that] When firjl (^76.
mouth] mouthe Q3Q3F2F?. E'er that Warb. Ere that Johns.
272. Queen.] Kin. Ff. King. F8F couplets] cuplets Qq. Cupiet Ff,
F4, Rowe, Pope, Cald. Rowe. couplet Del. Tsch.
273. thus] this Qq.

272-276. This . . . drooping] Caldecott, who follows the Ff in giving these

lines to the King, thinks this distribution may be justified on the ground that the King
was fearful lest Laertes's rage and rebellion should break out anew ; and that his
interference would be more likely to have weight with Laer. than that of the Queen,
and after what had been concerted between him and Laer., his affected tenderness
for Ham. would be perfectly understood. Knight : The assignment in the Ff of so
beautiful and tender an image as that of * the female dove ' to a man represented as
a Coarse sensualist proceeds from a typographical error.
274-276. Anon .... drooping] Collier (Notes, &c, ed. 2, p. 445) : A new
prefix by the (MS) assigns these lines to the Queen, while the two preceding are
given to the King. Jt seems likely that the King should interpose to tell the
spectators of the funeral, ' This is mere madness, And thus a while the fit will work on
him.' In some consistency with this view,. the King just afterwards desires Hor. to
follow Ham., who has rushed out. [Collier, in his ed. 2, adopted this distribution
of the speeches.]

275. When that] Warburton reads E'er that, because « it is the patience of
birds, during incubation, that is here spoken of. The pigeon generally sits upon
two eggs, and her young when first disclosed are covered with a yellow down.'
Heath (p. 547) : The young nestlings of the pigeon when first disclosed stand in
need of the kindly warmth of the hen for a considerable time. Steevens : During
three days after she has hatched her couplets, the pigeon never quits her nest, except
for a few minutes in quest of a little food for herself; as all her young require in
ihat early state is to be kept warm, an office which she never entrusts to the male,
Johnson : Perhaps it should be E'er yet. Yet andyt are easily confounded.
275. disclosed] See III, i, 166, and notes.
act v, sc 1.1 HAMLET 411

I loved you ever. — But it is no matter ;

Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew, and dog will have his day [Exit. 280
King. I pray you, good Horatio, wait upon him. —
[Exit Horatio.
[To Laertes] Strengthen your patience m our last night's
speech ;
We'll put the matter to the present push. —
278. loved] loud1 F2. Horatio. Qq (opposite the next line).
ever. — ] Cald. ever, Qq. ever... 2S1. you~\ thee Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev.
Ktly. ever ; or ever: Ff et cet. Mai. Cald. Cam. Cla.
2 So. and dog] a dogge Q,. a Dog Qs, [Exit Horatio.] Om. Ff.
Theob. i. the dog Theob. ii, Warb. 282. [To Laertes] Om. QqFf.
Johns. Sing, i, El. your] you FXF3.
[Exit.] Exit Hamlet Qq. and

279. 280. Let . . . day] Caldecott : * Things have their appointed course ,
nor have we power to divert it,' may be the sense here conveyed, though the pro-
verb is usually applied to those who for a time fill stations to which their merits
give them no claim. Tschischwitz detects here a reference to Laer., the King,
and to Ham. himself. ' Let the herculean power of Laer. do what it may, and
the cat, which creeps stealthily in the dark, mew, the faithful dog will have his
turn at last.'
280. day] B. Street (Athenaum, 5 Sept, 1868) : These lines are so familiar thai
we pay little attention to their wording, and what seems the correct reading, ■ dog
will have its bay J has not been suspected. That it is bay, and not * day,' appears
so probable as to be almost certain if we consider that a dog might have its day of
popularity without any detraction from a very Hercules, — at least without any ex-
pressed disparagement of him ; the idea is the expression of detraction on the part
of an inferior against his better. Each animal severally employing its natural utter-
ances in carping at worthiness ; the cat mewing its cavils, the dog barking its dislike.
In The Athenaum, 3 Oct. 1868, 'A. O. S.' showed that the phrase is older than Sh.
by giving an extract from a letter from the Princess Elizabeth to her sister, Queen
Mary : ' as a doge hathe a day, so may I,' &c. In The Athencsum, 19 Nov.
1870, P. A. Daniel adduced two other instances of the use of the phrase. In The
Interlude (printed in 1573), entitled New Custom, II, iii : * Well if it chaunce that
a dogge hath a day,' &c. Also, in Jonson's Tale of a Tub, II, i : * A man hath his
hour, and a dog his day.' This was written in 1663, 'later,' adds Daniel, 'than
Hamlet, no doubt, but Jonson would scarcely have adopted a meaningless bit of
slang.' Elze (Shakespeare- Jahrbuch, Bd. xi) adds a fourth example from Sum-
mer's Last Will and Testament, ed. Dodsley, vol. ix, p. 37.
282. in] Abbott, § 162 : ' In ' is here used metaphorically, where we should say,
* in the thought of.'
283. push] Clarendon : The instant test. For ' present,' see Wint. Tale, I, ii,
281. For 'push' in the sense of 'crisis,' 'critical moment,' see the same play, V,
Hi. 129, and Macb. V, iii, 20.
 285

HAMLET
[act v, sc. ii.
412 Gertrude, set some watch over your son. —
Good
This grave shall have a living monument ;
An hour of quiet thereby shall we see ;
Till then, in patience our proceeding be. [Exeunt

Scene II. A hall in the castle.

Enter Hamlet and Horatio.

Ham. So much for this, sir ; now let me see the other ;
You do remember all the circumstance ?
Hor. Remember it, my lord ?
Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind pf fighting,
That would not let me sleep; methought I lay
Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly, —
284. [Exit Queen. Sta. Rowe. mutineers in Pope, Han.
286. An] In an Ktly. 6. bilboes.] bilboes; Rowe. Bilboes^
thereby] Q3Q4Q5, Cap. Jen. Coll. Ff. bilbo, Q2Q3. bilbo's, QQ.
Sing. El. Ktly, Hal. thirtie Q2. Jliortly 6, 7. Rashly, — And. ...it, let] Ed.
Ff et cet. rajlily, And. ..it : let Qq. raJJily, (And
287. Till] TellQq. ...it) let Ff, Rowe (prais'd Rowe).
Scene ii.] Rowe. Scene hi. Pope, rashness (And. ..it) lets Pope, Theob.
Han. Om. QqFf. Han. i, Warb. rashness (And. ..it) let
A. hall...] Cap. A Hall. Rowe. A Han. ii. Rashly, And.. At — Let Johns.
Hall, in the Palace. Theob. Steev. Var. Sing. i. Rashness (And..,
1. sir] Om. Pope, Theob. Han.Warb. it!) lets Cap. Rashly And...it, — (Let
now let me] youjhall now Q'76. Jen., ending parenthesis after will, line
let me] Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Del. 1 1 . Rashly, And praise.. . it,— Let Cald.
Dyce, Sta. White. Jhall you Qq et cet. Knt. Rashly,— And... it,—let Coll. Del.
2. circumstance?] Theob. circum- El. White, Hal. Rashly,— (And. ..it /—
/lance. QqFf, Rowe, Coll. El. let Sing, ii, ending parenthesis after cet'
3. my lord?] my Lord.QqFJ?3FA. tain, line II. Rashly, And. ..it, — let
5. methought] my thought Q3Q3. me Dyce i, Sta. Rashly, And. ..it, let Glo. + ,
thought Q4QsFf. Mob. Rashly, — And... it ; let Dyce ii.
6. mutines in the] mutineers in the Rashly— And. ..it !... Let Ktly.

285. living] Clarendon: Perhaps it is usee? by the speaker in a double sense;

first, that of enduring, as the Queen would understand it ; secondly, Laer. would be
cognizant of the deeper meaning, by which the life of Ham. is menaced.
I. sir] Tschischwitz calls attention to the distant tone with which Ham. speaks
to Hor. ; twice in the first four lines, and afterwards, also, he addresses him as Sir ;
furthermore, throughout the dialogue the frequent omission of the personal pronoun
(as * had my desire,' &c.), and the more frequent use of participial and infinitive
clauses, justify the suspicion that the first fifty-five lines are not Shakespeare's.
6. mutines] Malone. For mutiner or mutineer ; see the verb in III, iv, $3.
6. bilboes] Steevens : This is a bar of iron with fetters annexed to it, by which
act v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 41 3

And praised be rashness for it, let us know, J

Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well

7. praised
Cald. Knt. '] prayfd Qq. praife Ff, Steev.
8. sometimes']
Mai. Cam.fometime Q2Q3QA, Cap.
7, 8. know] own Coll. (MS).

mutinous or disorderly sailors anciently were linked together. The word is derived
from Bilboa, a place in Spain, where instruments of steel were fabricated in the
utmost perfection. To understand Shakespeare's allusion completely, it should be
known that, as these fetters connect the legs of the offenders very close together,
their attempts to rest must be as fruitless as those of Ham., in whose mind there was
a kind of fighting that would not let him sleep. Every motion of one must disturb
his partner in confinement. The bilboes are still shown in the Tower of London
among the other spoils of the Spanish Armada.
6. Rashly] Johnson : Ham., delivering an account of his escape, begins with
saying, That he rashly — , and then is carried into a reflection upon the weakness of
human wisdom. I rashly — praised be rashness for it— Let us not think these events
casual, but let us know, that is. take notice and remember, that we sometimes succeed
by indiscretion when we fail by deep plots, and infer the perpetual superintendence
and agency of the Divinity. The observation is just, and will be allowed by every
human being who shall reflect on the course of his own life. TYRWHITT suggested
that the rest of Hamlet's speech after ■ Rashly,' and Horatio's reply, ■ That is
most certain,' should be put in a parenthesis, so that ' Rashly ' may be joined in
construction with * in the dark Groped I,' &c. He also reads : • And praised be
rashness, for it lets us know,' and does not put a period after ' will ' at the end of
the speech, but prints ■ will ;— '. Although Staunton in a note said that he agreed
with Tyrwhitt's suggestion, he nevertheless did not conform his text thereto. Un»
doubtedly there is force in Tyrwhitt's arrangement. Collier : The reasoning in
this passage is consecutive in Hamlet's mind, but, perhaps, hardly so in his expres-
sions. Tschischwitz follows Tyrwhitt, except that he prints « for it let us know,'
because ■ let ' is clearly the perfect tense, since Ham. is speaking of an act that is
past.
6-1 1. Strachey (p. 93) : That is to say, that when we have exhausted all our
powers of thought and reasoning upon the consideration of the course we should
pursue, and when it yet remains dark to us, — • sicklied o'er with the pale cast of
thought,' — then a higher wisdom and providence than our own will assuredly come
to our aid, and employ some apparently unimportant accident, — something which to
us seems merely a rashness or indiscretion, — to strike the hour and give command
for action. This is Hamlet's final, crowning, discovery; a discovery which every
man of Hamlet's tendency of mind must make for himself before it is possible foi
him to turn his intellectual powers to practical account and to make his philosophi-
cal speculations available to the every-day service of God and man. Till such a
man has learnt the value of accidents in breaking the thread of his meditations
when it is spun long enough, and has formed the habit of seizing and using these
accidents, he must remain an unpractical visionary.
8. Our] Warburton prints: « Rashness .... lets us know; Or indiscretion,
&c, and vaguely interprets, « Rashness acquaints us with what we cannot penetrate
to by plots.' Heath (p. 547) exposed the futility of this change.

35*
4 14 HAMLET [act v, sc. ii.
When our deep plots do fail ; and that should teach us
There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 10
Rough-hew them how we will.

9. deep"] deepe Q2Q3Q4- deare FtF2. Ei. Dyce ii, Huds. fall Q3QA. fal Qs.
dear F3F4, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Dyce i, paule FtF2F3. pall Q2F4 et cet.
Del. Sta. 9. teach] learne Qq, Jen. Cam. Cla.
fail] Pope + , Cap. Jen. Coll. (MS), 11. Rough-hew] Hyphen in Ff.

9. fail] MALONE thinks that pall and « fail ' were by no means likely to have been
confounded ; he therefore adheres to the Ff, and cites Ant. 6° Cleo: II, vii, 88.
Caldecott says that pall means • lose their spirit, poignancy, and virtue ; become
abortive.' Dyce (in his first ed. retaining /a// in his text) cites the parallel phrase:
•And if I fail not in my deep intent? Rich. Ill : I, i, 149. Collier (ed. 2) : Very
possibly * fail* of the (MS) is the true word. Clarendon interprets pall: 'to grow
vapid, and tasteless, like wine ; hence to become vain and worthless,' and cites the
passage from Ant. & Cleo. cited by Malone. Ingleby ( The Sh. Fabrications, p.
115) suggests that fall and 'fail* were used as synonymous by Sh., and cites in
proof Cent, of Err. I, ii, 37 ; and Merry Wives, I, i, 262 ; and Sir John Old castle :
* London* you say, is safely look'd unto, Alas, poor rebels, there your aid must fall.'-
In a note on c if ye fall in't ' in The Two Noble Kinsmen, III, vi, 236, Littledale
says that Ingleby has confirmed him in thinking that ' fall,' and not fail, is the right
reading in that passage, and he gives a fuller note from Ingleby than is contained in
The Sh. Fabrications cited above, as follows : Compare line 272 [of this same scene
in The Two Noble Kins?nen] : « Let it not fall agen, Sir.' There are remarkable
instances of the use of this intransitive verb as a synonym of fail. Sh. affords us
only two certain examples of this : * her better judgement May fall to match you
with her country forms And happily repent.' — Oth. Ill, iii, 237. Here ' fall' is not
happen (Schmidt, wrongly, begin, get into), but fail. [The second instance is the
present passage in Hamlet, where] pall is nonsense; and fall makes sense. Fall,
of course, is the opposite of succeed. Now our word for this is ' fail.' There is
also one example in The London Prodigal, and two in Isaiah, xxxi, 3, and lvii, 14,
15. [Dyce disapproved of this suggestion of Ingleby's. Ed.]
10. ends] Steevens : Dr Farmer informs me that £hese words are merely tech-
nical. A wool-man, butcher, and dealer in skewers, lately observed to him that his
nephew (an idle lad) could only assist him making them : « — he could rough-hew
them, but I was obliged to shape their ends? Whoever recollects the profession of
Shakespeare's father will admit that his son might be no stranger to such terms.
I have frequently seen packages of wool pinned up with skewers. Caldecott says
that the phrase is doubtless technical, in so far as it is drawn from a handicraft, and
that, as the use of tools is general, the phrases belonging to them pass into general
use. Knight fleers at Farmer's suggestion ; and Hunter (ii, 264) says ' the sooner
it is expunged the better. Rough-hew is ijot and never was technical. It is a com-
mon English word applicable to all kinds of work where there is room for Ordinary
manual labor before the master comes and applies a skilfuL hand. Thus, in Pals-
grave's Table of Verbs, 1530 : " I rough -hewe a pece of tymber to make an ymage
of;" Florio, 1598: "Abbozzare, to rough hew any first draught, to bungle ill—
favouredly." * Staunton has a note to the same effect, and cites Baret's Ahearie,
 15

415
ACT v, sc. ii.] HAMLET

Hor. That is most certain.

Ham. Up from my cabin, it
My sea-gown scarf d about me, in the dark
Groped I to find out them ; had my desire,
Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew
To mine own room again ; making so bold,
My fears forgetting manners, to unseal
Their grand commission ; where I found, Horatio,-
O royal knavery !— an exact command, 20
Larded with many several sorts of reasons,
17. unseal] vnfeale F F
13. scarf d~\ wrapt Q'76. vnfold
me, in the dark] Q'76. me in the Qq, Jen. Coll. i, El. Hal.
darke Qq. me in the darke, Ff {dark, 19. O] Cald. Oh Ff, Rowe. A Qq,
FF). Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Sing. i.
14. Groped I] Igrofd Q'76. O royal knavery I— ] Om. Q'76.
16. again; making so] cgaine making, knavery I— ] knauery, Qq. kna-
uery : Ff. knavery! Rowe.
16, 17. bold, My... manners] bold, {My 20. sorts] forts F2.
reasons] reafon Ff, Rowe, Cald.
...manners') Ff, Pope, Theob.. Han.
Warb. bold My... manners Qq. Knt, Sta.
17. fears] teares FaF3. tears F4.

11. certain] Moberly: Hor. for once expresses a slight impatience, which cuts
short Hamlet's generalisation.
13. sea-gown] Singer: lEsclavine .... a sea-gowne; or a course, high-col-
lered, and short-sleeued gowne, reaching down to the mid leg, and vsed most by
sea-men, and Saviors.' — Cotgrave.
13. scarf 'd] Clarendon : Thrown on like a scarf, i. e. without putting the amis
through the sleeves. Compare Much Ado, II, i, 197.
14. find out them] Clarendon : This is here used as if it were a compound
verb. Comp. Rom. &> Jul. IV, ii, 41; Jul. Cces. I, iii, 134. The objective personal
pronoun is frequently placed after, and not before, the preposition which belongs to
the verb. Modem usage only admits this order when the pronoun is emphatic. S6e
Abbott, § 240. [Also II, ii, 150.]
t$. fingered] Hanmer (Some Remarks, &c, p. 46) : Hamlet's stratagem was
possible, but not very probable ; mahinks their commission was kept in a very negli»
gent manner to be thus got from them without their knowing it.
16, 17. so . c . to] See Macb. II, iii, 47; III, i, 87, 88; and Abbott, § 281.
17. unseal] Delius: It was the breaking of the seal that was the violation of
good manners. Thus, in Lear, IV, vi, 264. White : The terminal syllable of the
line above probably misled the compositors of the Qq. Here Sh. would have
avoided a rhyme; and from line 52 it is plain that he broke a seal.
19. O] Delius (Sh. Lex.): In the careless printing of the Qq, «A' probably
signified ' Ah.'
20. Larded] Caldzcctt : See IV, v, 36;
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. ii.
416
Importing Denmark's health and England's too, 21
With, ho ! such bugs and goblins in my life,
That, on the supervise, no leisure bated,
No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,
My head should be struck off
Her. Is't possible ? 25
Ham. Here's the commission ; read it at more leisure.
But wilt thou hear me how I did proceed ?
Hor. I beseech you.
Ham. Being thus be-netted round with villainies, —
Ere I could make a prologue to my brains, 30
22. ho /] hoe Qq. hoo, Ff, Rowe. villaines, Or.. .play, I Qq, El. Villaines,
24. grinding] gringding F2, Ere...Play. /Ff {Villains Ere Y^^,
25. struck] Jlrucke F2. Jlrooke Qq. Rowe, Pope, villainy, {Ere. ..prologue,
strook Cap. to my bane They... play :) I Theob. vil-
27. me] now Qq, Pope + , Cap. Jen. lains, and Ere. ..brains, They having
Steev. Var. El. Cam. Om. FaF3F4, ...play; /Han. villains, {Ere I could
Rowe. mark the prologue to my bane They had
28. /beseech] Ay, 'beseech Cap. Steev. . . play .*) / Warb. villains, Ere. ..play : \
Mai. Cald. Sing. Knt, Del. ii, Ktly I Johns. Jen. Cald. Knt, Sing. ii. vil-
Ay, beseech Sta. lainies,— Or. ..play; — / Cap. Steev. Var.
29. be-netted] Hyphened, QJX* Dyce, Sing, i, Cam. Cla. {play, — Cam. Cla.).
Sta. Glo. + , Mob. villains, — Ere... play, — / Coll. Del. i,
29-3 r . villainies, — Ere. ..play, — L\ White, Hal. Ktly {villainy Ktly).
Dyce, Sta. Glo. DeL ii, Huds. Mob.

21. Importing] Clarendon: See I, ii, 23 ; IV, vii, 82. Here the word is used
in a somewhat different sense : * gravely affecting,' * concerning.' Compare LovSs
Lab. Lost, IV, i, 57.
22. ho !] Delius : This is an exclamation of horror.
22. such . . . life] Caldecott : Such multiplied causes of alarm, such bugbears,
if I were suffered to live.
22. bugs] Clarendon : Bugbears, objects of terror. Compare Wint. TaU} III,
ii, 93. In Coverdale's translation of the Psalms {Ps. xc, or according to the present
numbering xci, 5) we find : « So yl thou shalt not nede to be afrayed for eny buggesi
by night ner for arrowe that fiyeth by daye.* In Cotgrave * Goblin ' and * Bug ' are
given as translations of the French Gobelin.
23. supervise] Clarendon : On the supervision, on the first reading. The verb
occurs in Love's Lab. Lost, IV, ii, 124. See I, i, 57.
23. bated] Malone : Without any abatement or intermission of time. Clar-
endon: The execution must follow immediately without any exception of leisure.
29. villainies] For other instances of the confusion of villaine and villainie in the
Folio, see Walker {Crit. ii, 44).
30, 31. prologue . . . play] Theobald paraphrased his emendation (which he
Says he owed in part to Warburton and Bishop) thus : Being in their snares, e're I
could make a Prologue (take the least previous step) to ward off danger, they had
act v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 4* 7

They had begun the play, — I sat me down ; 31

Devised a new commission; wrote it fair;
I once did hold it, as our statists do,
A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much
How to forget that learning; but, sir, now 35
It did me yeoman's service. Wilt thou know
The effect of what I wrote ?
Hor. Ay, good my lord.

31. saf\ sate Ff, Rowe+. 36. yeomari s~\ yemans QaQ3Q4.
34. labour 'd] laboured F^F^ 37. effect] effecls Ff, Rowe, Knt. Sta.

begun the play (put their schemes into action) which was to terminate in my de»
struction. Warburton : They had begun to act, to my destruction, before I knew
there was a Play towards. Ere I could mark the prologue. Heath (p. 549)
agrees with his predecessors in thinking that * They ' refers to * villains,* not to
1 brains,' and paraphrases : Before I could take the very first step towards forming
my own scheme, they had already proceeded a considerable way in the execution
of theirs. JOHNSON was the first to refer ' They' to its right antecedent, ' brains':
'Before he could summon his faculties, and propose to himself what should be
done, a complete scheme of action presented itself to him. His mind operated be-
fore he had excited it.' Caldecott returns to Heath's interpretation, as do Delius
and Elze, but, with these exceptions, all the rest follow Johnson. Clarke sees
herein a vivid picture of Shakespeare's own mode of composition, his teeming brains
beginning a play, and seeing all its scope and bearings, ere he had well penned the
opening words. Moberly : ' Before I formed my real plan, my brains had done
the work. This line should be carefully remarked. Ham. writes the commission
under a strong impulse rather of imagination than will, the ingenuity of the trick
captivating him. Then the encounter with the pirate puts an end to the chance of
undoing it ; and thus he is driven, somewhat uneasily, to justify his action to Hor.
As the latter receives his narrative with something like surprise, and even with a
touch of compassion, we may conclude with safety that Hamlet's kindly nature
would have cancelled the letters but for the accident which hindered his doing

23. statists] Steevens : Statesmen. Blackstone : Most of the great men of

so.'
Shakespeare's time, whose autographs have been preserved, wrote very bad hands ;
their secretaries very neat ones. Ritson : ' I have in my time, (says Montaigne)
Seene some, who by writing did earnestly get both their titles and living, to disavow
their apprentissage, marre their pen, and affect the ignorance of so vulgar a qualitie.'
Florio's translation, 1603, p. 125.
36. yeoman's service] Steevens : The ancient yeomen were famous for their
military valor. < These were the goode archers in times past,' says Sir Thomas
Smith, 'and the stable troop of footmen that affraide all France.' Clarendon:
They composed the mass of the infantry. Their formidable character is mentioned
by Bacon in his Essay : Of the true greatnesse of Kingdomes and Estates, p. 122. ecL
W. A Wright.
2B
41 S HAMLET [act v, sc. ii.

Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king,

As England was his faithful tributary,
As love between them like the palm might flourish, 40
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear
And stand a comma 'tween their amities,
40. like] as Ff, Rowe, Knt, Del. Sta. Huds. commercing Anon. (ap. Sing.
might"] should Ff, Rowe, Knt, er's Sh. Vind. p. 268). a comare Nich-
Del. Sta. olson.*
42. a comma] a cement Han. White,

38. conjuration] See Rom. &•> Jul. V, iii, 68, where this passage seems to have
been overlooked by the critics.
42. comma] Theobald (Nichols's Lit. Hist, ii, 579), writing to his 'most affec-
tionate friend,' Warburton, says that it should be either ' no comma,' i. e. as no bar
should stand between their friendships: — Or, 'And stand a comma 'tween their
enmities? i. e. as peace should intervene and prevent enmities.' He did not repeat
these suggestions in his ed., but adopted Warburton's emendation, and justifies it in a
note which he attributes to Warburton : 'The poet without doubt wrote, "And stand
a Commere" i. e. a guarantee, a common mother. Nothing can be more picturesque
than this image of Peace's standing, drest in her wheaten garland, between the two
Princes, and extending a hand to each. We thus frequently see her on Roman coins.'
But Warburton, in his ed., goes further, and says that Commere here means 'a traf-
ficker in love, one who brings people together, a procuress.' [Cotgrave sustains
him in this meaning.] Capell {Notes, &c, i, 147) was taken by this allusion to
Peace as represented on coins, and so adopted Commere. Heath (p. 549) well
interprets : ' As a comma stands between two several members of a sentence, without
separating them otherwise than by distinguishing the one from the other, in like
manner peace personized, or the Goddess of Peace, is understood to stand between
the amities of the two kings.* [Dyce (ed. ii) cites this paraphrase of Heath's, and
adds : ' Perhaps so.'] JOHNSON : The comma is the note of connection and conti-
nuity of sentences j the period is the note of abruption and disjunction. Sh. had it
perhaps in his mind to write, — That unless England complied with the mandate,
war should put a period to their amity; he altered his mode of diction, and thought
that, in an opposite sense, he might put, that peace should stand a comma between
their amities. Becket (Shakespeare' s Himself Again, i, 73) suggested, ' And stand
a co-mate? i. e. 'companion ; peace should be associate with them.' Staunton con-
sidered this ' co-mate within the range of possibility.' And Elze (Athen&um, 1 1
Aug. 1866) lit upon the same conjecture independently of Becket, and thinks that
this coincidence adds strength. It should be added that Elze, one of the very
best English scholars in Germany, had merely heard at the time of Becket's conjec-
ture, and had no knowledge of the quality of the rest of that wild ' Nonsense Book.*
Tschischwitz follows Becket. Caldecott cites : ' I feare the point of the sword
will make a comma to your cunning.' — N. Breton's Packet of Letters, p. 23, 1 637.
Hunter (ii, 264) thinks Sh. meant to ridicule such an absurd expression in some
speech or document of the time. Singer (ed. ii) reads, ' And stand a co-mere,* i. e<
'as a mark defining them. Mere is a boundary mark, the lapis terminalis of the
ancients; and it should be remembered that the god of meres or bounds, Terminus,
act v, sc. H.] HAMLET 4 19

And many such-like ^es of great charge, 43

43. such-like As«] fuch like Affis Ff. fuck like, as fir Qq.

was wont to end the strifes and controversies of people in dividing their lands.' To
this suggestion Dyce (ed. i) adds : ' But our author's text is not to be amended by
the insertion of words coined expressly for the occasion ; and to me at least all this
tampering of critics with the passage does not prove that it is corrupt.' White
finds ■ comma' incomprehensible, and adopts Hanmer's reading, cement, which 'is
supported, in accent and all, by Ant. &° Cleo. Ill, ii, 29. And see Octavia's subse-
quent description of herself, scene iv, as standing between, praying for both parts.
Clarke: 'Comma' is here employed as the term applied by theoretical musicians
to express * the least of all the sensible intervals in music,' showing the exact pro-
portions between accords. Tuners of organs and piano-fortes use the word 'comma*
thus to the present day. The term in its musical sense is fully explained in Hawkins's
Hist, of Music (pp. 28,122,410, ed. Novello, 1853). From the context of the
present passage, there is far greater probability that Sh. had in view a term refer-
ring to concord, than one alluding to the method of stopping ; and we think that he
here uses the word ' comma' to express a link of amicably harmonious connection.
That he was well acquainted with various technical terms in music we have several
proofs in his writings. Bailey (i, 55) : 'That Peace wearing a garland should stand
as a punctuation-mark between persons or abstractions of any kind is as pure non-
sense as ever flowed from penman or printer. I suggest, " And hold her olive 'tween
their amities." ' Compare Shakespeare's use of ' the olive ' elsewhere in 2 Hen.
IV, and Twelfth Night. The transformation of holds her olive into 'stands a
comma' arose ' by a very simple blunder. It is clearly a case of the incorporation
of a marginal direction into the text. The compositor had before him the genuine
line, and put it accurately into type, except that he omitted to place the mark of
elision (') before tween, and the proof-reader wrote the correction in full, 'a comma,'
in the margin ; this the compositor inserted in the text under the misconception that
• a comma ' was to be substituted for ' her olive.' And thus ' hold a comma ' was
next changed into ' stand a comma.' In Q2 ' there is no elision mark [if Bailey
had said comma here, would it not have revealed the fallacy of his whole theory?
would the proof-reader have called for ' comma ' when he meant an apostrophe ?
Ed.] before tween, which is just what my theory requires; for, supposing the error
to have been made originally in Q2, it is obvious that the words a comma would
be introduced into the text instead of the elision mark.' CartWright {New
Readings, &c, p. 37) proposed, ' And stand as one atween ;' two years later (N,
<5r* Qu., 20 June, 1868) he conjectured, ' And stand as concord' J. Wetherell
(N. 6° Qu., 27 June, 1868) : Read: 'And stand at-one between their majesties'
43. Ases] Johnson : A quibble is intended between as the conditional particle,
and ass the beast of burthen. That charg>d anciently signified loaded may be proved
from the following passage in The Widow's Tears, by Chapman, 1612: 'Thou must
be the ass charged with crowns, to make way.' Malone : It should be remembered
that the letter s in the particle as in the midland counties is usually pronounced
hard, as in the pronoun us. Dr Johnson himself always pronounced the particle as
hard, and so I have no doubt did Sh. It is so pronounced in Warwickshire at this
day. Clarendon: Compare Twelfth Night, II, iii, 184, 185.
4-20 HAMLET [act v, sc. ii.

That, on the view and knowing of these contents,

Without debatement further, more, or less, 45
He should the bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving-time allow'd.
44. knowing of] Qq, Johns. Cap. Jen. 47. Nof\ No F4, Rowe, Pope, Han.
Steev. Var. El. Glo. 4- , Dyce ii, Mob. shriving-time] Hyphen, Theob.
knowingTopQfTheob. Han.Warb. know ii. thriving time Jen. (misprint?).
of Ff et cet. allow' W] alow'd Q^Q.Q.. allowed
45. further'] farther Coll. White. Ff, Rowe, Cald.
46. the bearers] thofe bearers Qq, Jen.

44. knowing] Contracted, or slurred in pronunciation, into a monosyllable. See

Walker (Vers. p. 119), and Abbott, §470. Stratmann: As know cannot be,
nor has ever been, used substantively, it must be a misprint in the Ff.
47. shriving-time] Hunter (ii, 265) : This was a term in common use for any
short period. All Ham. meant was that they should be put to instant death.
47. allow'd] HaNMER (Some Remarks, &c, p. 46) : The punishment of Ros. and
Guil. was just, because they had devoted themselves to the service of the Usurper in
whatever he should command. Malone: From The Hystorie of Hamblet, it appears
that the faithful ministers of Fengon were not unacquainted with the import of the
letters they bore [see Vol. II, p. 103]. Sh. probably meant to describe their representa-
tives, Ros. and Guil., as equally guilty. So that Hamlet's procuring their execution,
though certainly not absolutely necessary to his own safety, does not appear to have
been a wanton and unprovoked cruelty. Steevens : I apprehend that a critic and
a juryman are bound to form their opinions on what they see and hear in the cause
before them, and not to be influenced by extraneous particulars unsupported by legal
evidence in open court. I persist in observing, that from Shakespeare's drama no
proofs of the guilt of Ros. and Guil. can be collected. They may be convicted by
the old Hystorie ; but if the tragedy forbears to criminate, it has no right to sentence
them. This is sufficient for the commentator's purpose. It is not his office to inter-
pret the plays of Sh. according to the novels on which they are founded, — novels
which the poet sometimes followed, but as often materially deserted. Perhaps he
never confined himself strictly to the plan of any one of his originals. His negli-
gence of poetic justice is notorious; nor can we expect that he who was content to
sacrifice the pious Oph. should have been more scrupulous about the worthless lives
of Ros. and Guil. Therefore I assert that in the tragedy before us their deaths ap-
pear wanton and unprovoked; and the critic, like Bayes, must have recourse to
somewhat long before the beginning of the play to justify the conduct of its hero.
Pye (p. 326) : There is not one word uttered by Ros. and Guil. throughout the
play that does not proclaim them to the most superficial observer as creatures
of the King, purposely employed to-feetxa^LHam., their friend and fellow-student.
Strachey (p. 96) : Something more than Hamlet's own preservation is at stake; he
is the representative and avenger of the rights of the crown and laws of Denmark,
outraged by a murderer and a usurper, (for he was only elected because he con-
trived to murder the rightful possessor at a moment when his natural heir was ab»
sent) ; and he has to act under those circumstances, which at rare and long intervals
in the history of every country, call on some man to maintain the spirit of the laws
by disregarding for a moment their letter. It is Hamlet's duty to avenge the crown
ACT V, SC. ii.] HAMLET

Hor. How was this seal'd ? 47

Ham. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant.
I had my father's signet in my purse,
Which was the model of that Danish seal ;
421
Folded the writ up in form of the other ;
Subscribed it; gave't the impression; placed it safely,
The changeling never known. Now, the next day
Was our sea-fight ; and what to this was sequent
Thou know'st already.
Hor. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't.
Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this 55
ployment ;
They are not near my conscience; their defeat SO
Does by their own insinuation grow. em-
'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes 60
Between the pass and fell incensed points
Of mighty opposites.
Hor. Why, what a king is this !
48. ordinant] ordinate Ff, Rowe, F4. So, Guildenstern and Rosineraus,
Pope, Cald. Knt. go Rowe i. So,.. go Pope + , Jen.
51. Folded] I folded Rowe-h, Cap
Ktly, 56. go]
57. Whywent employment;
Q'76. Ora. Qq,
in form] in the forme Qq, Jen. Pope, Han.
Dyce ii, Cam. Cla. 58. defeat] debate Ff, Rowe.
52. Subscribed] Subcribe Q2Q3> 59. Does] Dooes Q2Q3Q4. Doth Ff,
gave't the] gau't tft1 QqFf. gav* Rowe+, Jen. Dyce ii.
60. the baser] bafer FaF F , Rowe,
th' F2F3F4. gave th' Rowe + .
53. changeling] change was Pope, Pope.
Han. changing Anon.* the baser.. .comes] baser natures
54. sequent] fement Ff. sequell Coll. come Han.
(MS). 6 1 . fell incensed] fell-incensed WaXker,
55. know* si] knowefl Qq. Sta. Dyce ii, Huds.
56. So. ..go] So...Roftncrance, go Ff. 62. opposites] apposites Jen, (a mis-
So Guildenflare and Rqfcncros, goe F2 print?).
F . So, Guildenflare and Rofincrofs, go is this f] is this ? Ff, Pope.

and laws of Denmark by putting the tyrant to death ; and if as a means to that end he
has to sacrifice also the base instruments of the tyrant's will, he is justified in doing it.
48. was . . . ordinant] Clarendon : Compare ' was sequent,' post 1. 54,
50. model] M ALONE: The copy, the imitation; see Rich. II: III, ii, 153.
51. in form] For the omission of the definite article, compare III, iv, 144.
59. insinuation] Malone : By their having insinuated or thrust themselves into
the- employment.
61. Between the pass] Moberly: So as to get the dangerous woui d which
comes from the ■ redding-straik.'

36
42 2 HAMLET [act v, SC. ii.

Ham. Does it not, thinks't thee, stand me now upon —

He that hath kill'd my king, and whored my mother;
Popp'd in between the election and my hopes ; 65
Thrown out his angle for my proper life,
And with such cozenage — is't not perfect conscience
63. thinks 7 tkee~\ Walker, Dyce, Glo. 64. my king~\ your king Anon.*
-f, Del. ii. thinkjl thee Fx. think'Jl 65. Popfd] Stept Q1'76.
thee F2F3F4, Sing, ii, Sta. White, Knt ii, 66. Thrown... life'] His angle for my
Ktly, Clarke, Mob. Huds. thinke thee proper life thrown out Coll. (MS).
Q2Q3Q&- think thee Q , Cap. jen. Steev. 67. cozenage — ] Bos. Coll. El. Dyce,
Var. Sing, i, Cald. Knt i, Coll. Del. i, Sta. White, Glo. + , Mob. aifnage, Q2
El. Hal. think you Q''76. think'st thou Q3. cofnage, Q4Q5* coozenage; Fx. cou-
Rovve + . s'nage; Cap. cozenage; F2F F4 et cet.
upon — ] Bos. Coll. El. Dyce, Sta. conscience] Jen. Dyce ii, Huds.
White, Glo. + , Mob. vppon? Q2Q3QA. confcience? Qq. conscience, Ff et cet.
upon Fx. upon, F2 F3F4. upon ? Q et cet.

63. thinks't thee] The editors who follow Q,. interpret this as equivalent to
' bethink thee.' Walker in dealing with this passage exhibited, as his admirable
editor, Lettsom, well says, profound critical sagacity, and, almost entirely unaided
by any old copies, put aside ancient and modern corruptions, and made his way at
once to the genuine reading: * It may be observed* ( Vers. 281) 'that thinks it thee
also occurs in the Elizabethan poets in the sense of fitiv donel col.1 He then cites the
present passage, and gives the reading of the present text; and also corrects the same
phrase in Cartwright, The Ordinary, III, ii (Dodsley, x, 216): '" Little think'st
thee how diligent thou art To little purpose." Thinks't thee, of course. (I under-
stand, bythe way, that the thinks in methinks is, originally and etymologically, not
the same with our present verb to think ; but that it is a corruption of another verb
signifying to seem; so that methinks is as it appears to me. y Clarendon offers
another solution : Perhaps the true reading is * thinks thee,' the final s of the Quarto
being mistaken for e. The word ' think ' in this passage is not the same in origin
as ' think * used personally, but comes from Anglosaxon thincan, to seem, appear,
which is used impersonally with all personal pronouns. The other word is then-
can, to think, and the distinction is maintained in the German dilnken and
denken. In Rich. Ill : III, i, 63 : 'Where it seems best unto your royal self,' for
' seems,' which is the reading of the earliest Qq, the later editions have ' thinkst '
or « think'st.'
63. stand me] Abbott, § 204 : This phrase cannot be explained, though it is
influenced, by the custom of transposition. Almost inextricable confusion seems to
have been made by the Elizabethan authors between two distinct idioms: (1) 'it
stands on' (adv.), or 'at hand,' or 'upon' (comp. 'instat,' irpooquei), i.e. 'it is of
importance,' 'it concerns,' 'it is a matter of duty;' and (2) ' I stand upon' (adj.),
i. e. ' I insist upon.' In (1) the full phrase would be: ' it stands on, upon, to me,'
but, owing to the fact that ' to me1 or • ' me' {the dative infection) is unemphatic, and
* upon ' is emphatic and often used at the end of the sentence, the words were trans-
posed into, ' it stands me upon? ' Me' was thus naturally taken for the object of
upon. [In the present passage] it means ' it is imperative on me.' Clarendon 1
The construction is here interrupted by the parenthesis.
 ACT V, SC. ii.] HAMLET 423

To quit him with this arm ? and is't not to be damn'd,

To let this canker of our nature come
In further evil ?
Hor. It must be shortly known to him from England
What is the issue of the business there.
Ham. It will be short; the interim is mine;
And a man's life's no more than to say ' One/
But I 'am very sorry, good Horatio,
That to Laertes I forgot myself; 75
For, by the image of my cause, I see
70
The portraiture of his ; I'll court his favours ;
68-80. To quit. ..here?} Om. Qq. Rowe+, Sing. ii.

68. this'] his F2F3F4, Rowe. 74. life's] life Reed'03, Bos. Cald.
this arm] his own Coll. (MS). Coll. Sing. DeL White, Ktly, Hal.
Huds.
and] Om. Han.
70. further] farther Coll. White. 'One '] one Ff. Quotation, Glo.
evil?] Rowe. evill. or evil. Ff. + , Dyce ii, Mob. Italics, Han. Sta.
Huds.
73-75. Itwill...Horatio]1la.n. Three
lines, ending short,.. .more. ..Horatio, Ff, 78. court his favours] Rowe. count
Row.e. Four, ending short... more... one his favours Ff, Jen. Steev. Var. Cald.
...Horatio, Pope, Theob. Warb. Johns. Knt, Coll. i. court his favour Theob.
Walker. Han. Warb. Johns. El.
73. interi?n is] Han. interim's Ff,

68. quit] Johnson : To requite him.

70. In] For other instances of in equivalent to inlo9*see II, ii, 112; V, i, 266;
Macb. I, iii, 126; and Abbott, § 159.
71, 72. It . . . there] Strachey (p. 94) : Note the usual cautiousness of Hor.,
who contrives to suggest to Ham. the very strongest of all motives for instantly put-
ting the King to death, under an indirect and very innocently-sounding remark.
73. mine] Miles (p. 80) : You never suspect the errand Ham. is on until yo;;
happen to hear that little word, * The interim is mine /' It means more mischief
than all the monologues ! No threats, no imprecations, no more mention of smiling
damned villain; no more self-accusal ; but solely and briefly, 'It will be short ; the
interim is mine !' Then, for the first time, we recognize the extent of the change
that has been wrought in Ham. ; then, for the first time, we perfectly comprehend
his quiet jesting with the Clown, his tranquil musings with Hor. The man is trans-
formed bya great resolve : his mind is made up / The return of the vessel from
England will be the signal for his own execution, and therefore the moral problem
is solved : the only chance of saving his life from a lawless murderer is to slay him ;
it has become an act of self-defence ; he can do it with perfect conscience. He has
calculated the return voyage ; he has allowed the longest duration to his own exist-
ence and the King's. At the very moment he encounters the Clown in the church-
yard he is on his death-march to the palace at Elsinore.
78. court] Steevens, Caldecott, and Clarke justify count in the sense of
make account of reckon zip, value.
424 HAMLET [act v, SC. ii

But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me

Into a towering passion.
Hor. Peace ! who comes here ? 80

Enter OSRIC.

Osr. Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark*

Ham. I humbly thank you, sir. — [Aside to Hor!] Dost
know this water-fly?
Hor. [Aside to Ham!] No, my good lord.
Ham. [Aside to Hor.] Thy state is the more gracious, 85
for 'tis a vice to know him. He hath much land, and fertile >
let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand at the
king's mess : 'tis a chough, but, as I say, spacious in the pos-
session ofdirt

80. Hor.] 2 Hor. F8. cod smells /] Dost Cald. from Qr

Osric] young Ofricke. Ft. a 82, 84, 85. Aside...] Dyce ii, Ktly,
Courtier. Qq. Clarke, Huds. As an Aside, first by
81. Scene rv. Pope +, Jen. Cap.
81. &c. Osr.] Cour. Qq. 88. 'tis] // is Johns.
82. J humbly. ..water-fly?] Two lines, chough] cough Cap. (corrected in
Qq. Errata).
sir.— Dost] Sir, dojl ¥t¥r fir; say]fawFt.
dofl F3F4. #>.«— \foh, how the muske>

79. bravery] DYCE (Gloss.): Bravado.

80. Osric] C. Elliot Browne (The Athenaum, 29 July, 1876) : This was a
name well known at the time. Henslowe's company performed an Oseryck in 1597,
perhaps Heywood's lost play of Marshal Osrick.
83. water-fly] Johnson: A water-fly skips up and down upon the surface of
the water without any apparent purpose or reason, and is thence the proper emblem
of a busy trifler. Clarendon : The name is given to several kinds of flies haunting
water in Mouffet's Theater of Insects, ed. 1 658, p. 943.
SS. chough] Johnson says this is a kind of jackdaw. Harting (p. 115) calls
it the Red-legged Crow, or the Cornish Chough, as it is sometimes called, from its
being considered a bird peculiar to the south-west coast of England, though now
known to be much more widely distributed. As to its pronunciation, Skinner
derives the name & sono naturali quern avis edit, and Cotgrave translates Cau6
(clearly a case of onomatopoeia), and Cauvette, by A Chough or Jacke Daw. Fi-
nally, Ritson (p. 92) says that the name of the Cornish bird is pronounced by
the natives chow, which is conclusive. CaldeCOTT doubts much if, in the present
instance, from its association with wealth, it have any relation to that bird, but in-
clines to think it should be chuff. [Is not Caldecott right here? The chow is,
perhaps, applicable to Osr. on the score of chattering, but how about the spacious
possession of dirt, the special application made by Ham. ? If chuff be here meant
ACT V, SC. ii.] HAMLET 425

Osr. Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure, I 90

should impart a thing to you from his majesty.
Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit.
Put your bonnet to his right use ; 'tis for the head.
Osr. I thank your lordship, 'tis very hot.
Ham. No, believe me, 'tis very cold ; the wind is north- 95
erly.
Osr. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed.
Ham. But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my
complexion.

98. But yet] Om. Ff, Rowe, Pope,

90. lordship'] Lordjhippe
friend/Jiip Ff, Rowe, Knt, Del. Q3Q3QV
i. Han. Knt, Dyce i, Sta.
leisure] lea/ure Q2Q3Q4F,« kjr* sultry] foultry Q4QsFf. fully
Jure F,.
92. sir] Om. Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Dyce i, 98, 99. hot for my complexion.] Ff,
Sta. Rowe+, Cald. Knt, Coll. Del. Dyce,
93. Put] Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. Knt, Sta. White, Hal. Glo. Huds. hot, or
Dyce, Sta. White, Glo. + , Mob. Om. my compaction. Qq [complexion. Q.QS).
Qq et cet. hot, or my complexion — Warb. Cap.
94. 'tis] it is Qq, Jen. Glo. + , Dyce ii, Jen.
Mob,Steev.Var. Sing. El. Ktly, Cam. Cla.
Mob.

its application accords with Cotgrave's use of the word : ■ Franc-gontier. A sub-
stanciall yonker, wealthie chuffe ;' or again, * Maschefouyn : A chuffe, boore, lob-
cocke, lozell; one that is fitter to feed with cattell, then to conuerse with men.'
GlFFORD (Massinger's Duke of Milan, III, i, p. 279, ed. Gifford) says ' chuff is
always used in a bad sense, and means a coarse, unmannered clown, at once sordid
and wealthy.' Dyce (Gloss, s. v. chuff) adds instances corroborating Gifford from
A Gorgious Gallery of Gallant Inventions, 1 578, and Marlowe's Ovid's Elegies*
Whether it be chow or chuff, the whole speech is puzzling. Ed.]
90. Sweet] Mommsen (p. 258) shows by manifold examples that 'sweet' was
a common mode of address in the Elizabethan court language > it occurs very fre-
quently inMarlowe. See III, ii, 48.
91. a] Abbott, §81 : 'A' is here used emphatically for 'some,' 'a certain.'
92. diligence of spirit] Caldecott : In ridicule of the style of the airy, affected
insect that was playing around him.
94. hot] Theobald : ' igniculum brumse si tempore poscas, Accipit endro*
midem; si dixeris, sestuo, sudat.'— Juvenal, Sat. iii.
99. complexion] Those who follow the Qq adopt Warburton's explanation :
Ham. was going on to say ' or my complexion deceives me? but the over- complai-
sance of Osr. interrupted him. Walker (Crit. ii, 322) follows the Qq, because
'for* of the Ff is so frequently misprinted for or. Lettsom upholds the Ff,
Daniel (p. 76) suspects that Hamlet's speech should end at ' hot,' and that ' for
my complexion ' is a petty oath ('Fore my complexion I), which should be given,
to Osr. See Rosalind in As You Like It: * Good my complexion I' III, ii, 204,

36*
426 HAMLET [act v, SC, ii.

Osr, Exceedingly, my lord ; it is very sultry, — as 'twere, ioo

—I cannot tell how. But, my lord, his majesty bade me
signify to you that he has laid a great wager on your head.
Sir, this is the matter —
Ham, I beseech you, remember —
[Hamlet moves him to put on his hat
Osr. Nay, in good faith ; for mine ease, in good faith. 105

ioo. sultry] foultery QaQ3. foultry 104. remember — ] Pope, remember,

Q4QsFf. QqFf.
101. But] Om. Qq, Pope+,Cap. Jen. [Hamlet., hat.] Johns. Ora.
Steev. Var. Sing. El. Ktly. QqFf, Cap.
bade] bid F4, Rowe+. bad Qq 105. in good faith] Ff, Rowe+,Cald.
F,F3F , Cap. Jen. Knt, Coll. Dyce, Sta. White, good my
102. to you] unto you Q'76. lord Qq et cet.
he] a Qq. mine] my Qq. Cap. Jen. Steev.
103. matter — ] Rowe. matter. QqFf, Var. Sing El. Ktly
Knt, Sta. matter ; — Cap.

104. remember] Malone, in his ed., 1790, conjectured that Ham. was about
to say * remember not your courtesy/ because he could not possibly have said ' re-
member your courtesy ' when he wanted Osr. to put his hat on. Malone be-
lieved that courtesy meant to uncover the head, and accordingly in Love's Lab. Lost,
V, i, 103, he added not in Armado's speech, * I do beseech thee remember not thy
courtesy; I beseech thee apparel thy head,' and "Dyce shared this opinion, for he
considered the ' not ' as indispensable. STAUNTON discarded the * not ' in Love's
Lab. Lost, and in a note on the passage says; ' Whatever may have been the mean-
ing of the words, or whether they were a mere complimentary periphrasis, without
any precise signification, the following quotations prove beyond a question that the
old text is right, and that the expression refers to the Pedant's standing bareheaded :
— " I pray you be remembred, and cover your head." — Lusty juventus, ed. Haw-
kins, p. 142. '* Pray you remember your courts' y Nay, pray you be cover' d."
— Every Man in His Humour, I, i, ed. Gilford.' Grant White (The Galaxy,
Oct. 1869) upholds Staunton, adding: It seems clear that Osric's completed speech
would have been, * remember your courtesy? The phrase was a conventional one
for * be Covered.* But why ? The removal of the hat, in Shakespeare's time, even
more than now, was regarded as a mark of courtesy. I am unable to offer any
explanation of the phrase which is acceptable even to myself. I can only suggest
that the difficulty lies not in courtesy, but in some peculiar and, perhaps, elliptical
use of remember. Elze suggests * remember thy bonnet?
105. for mine ease] Farmer : This seems to have been the affected phrase of
the time. Thus, in Marston's Malcontent, 1604 : « I beseech you, sir, be covered.—
No, in good faith for my Case'.' And in other places. Malone : It appears to
have been the common language of ceremony in our author's time. « Why do you
stand bareheaded ? (says one of the speakers in Florio's Second Frutes, 1591,) you
do yourself wrong. Pardon me, good sir, (replies his friend;) I do it for 7tiy ease?
Again, in A New Way to Pay Old Debts, by Massinger, II, iii, 1 633: « Is't
ACT v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 42 J

Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes ; believe me, an ab- 106
solute gentleman, full of most excellent differences, of very
soft society and great showing; indeed, to speak feelingly of
him, he is the card or calendar of gentry, for you shall find
in him the continent of what part a gentleman would see. 1 10
Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you ;
106-138. Sir, here...unfello2ved.] Qq. Warb. Johns.
Sir, you are not ignorant of what excel- 108. feelingly] fellingly Q3Q3«
lence Laertes is at his weapon. Ff, Rowe, 109. the card] the very card Cap.
Pope, Han. no. part] parts Nicholson.*
107. gentleman] gentlemen Q3Q,. part. ..see] port. ..use Anon.*
108. showing] fliew Q'76, Theob.
for your ease You keep your hat off?' [In Marston's Malcontent several of Shake-
speare's fellow-players are introduced by name; among them William Sly, and some
of Osric's affected speeches are there put into his mouth, e.g. the present line, just
cited by Farmer; wherefore Malone (Var.'2l, vol. iii, 206) inferred that he was
the original performer of this part of Osr. See also Collier's Memoirs of Actors*
Sh. Soc. p. 154.]
106-138. Knight conjectures that this passage was cut out of the Ff because it
prolonged the main business too much.
107. excellent differences] Caldecott : That is, is master of every nice punc-
tilio of good breeding; of every form and distinction that place or occasion may
require. Delius thinks it equivalent to different excellences. Clarendon inter-
prets :' distinctions marking him out from the rest of men, This affected phrase
was probably suggested by the heraldic use of the word.'
108. feelingly] Jennens and Collier agree in thinking that Q2Q3 may possibly
be right, with an allusion to the praises which a seller gives to his wares. Steevens
cites Love's Lab. IV, iii, 240. [Indeed, no interpretation, hov/ever far-fetched, would
seem out of place in this scene ; perhaps the farther the better.] Caldecott inter-
prets it[and Dyce {Strictures, &c., p. 191) says: 'rightly'], 'to speak with insight
and intelligence.*
109. card or calendar] Johnson: The general preceptor of elegance ; the card
by which a gentleman is to direct his course; the calendar by which he is to choose
his time, that what he does may be both excellent and seasonable. Clarendon :
One of Greene's pamphlets (1584) is called ' Gwydonitis, The carde of Fancied
109. gentry] Clarendon : Equivalent to gentility. See II, ii, 22.
no. continent . . . see] Johnson: You shall find him containing and com*
prising every quality which a gentleman would desire to contemplate for imitation.
I know not but it should be read : ' You shall find him the continent.' Clarendon :
' Part ' is here used in a double sense, first keeping up the simile of a map, and next
in the same sense as in IV, vii, 74.
in. definement] Warburton : This is designed as a specimen and ridicule of
the court -jargon amongst the precieux of that time. The sense is in English: 'Sir,
he suffers nothing in your account of him, though to enumerate his good qualities
particularly would be endless ; yet when we had done our best, it would still come
short of him. However, in strictness of truth he is a great genius, and of a cha-
racter so rarely met with, that to find anything like him we must look into his mirror,
428 HAMLET [act v, sc. il
though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy the 112
arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw neither, in respect
112. inventorially] inventorily Coll. Glo. + , Mob. yet but raw QQAQ<,
ii (misprint ?). Theob. Johns. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var.
dizzy] dizzie Q4Q$. dofie Q8. Sing, i, Cald. Knt, Coll. Clarke, yet
dazzie Q3. defy Anon. but slow Warb. it but yaw Dyce, Del.
113. yet but yaw] Q2, El. Sta. Ktly, Sing, ii, White, Hal. Huds.

and his imitators will appear no more than his shadows.' Clarendon : The only
illustration which can be given of this dialogue, in which Ham. talks nonsense in-
tentionally and Osr. unintentionally, is the dialect of Parolles in AWs Well, and of
Don Armado and Holofernes in Love's Lab. Lost.
113. yet but yaw] Johnson: I believe raw to be the right word; it is a wora
of great latitude ; it signifies unripe, immature, thence unformed, imperfect, unskil-
ful. The best account of him would be imperfect in respect of his quick sail. The
phrase ' quick sail ' was, I suppose, a proverbial term for activity of mind. HEATH :
The meaning undoubtedly is that Laer. was but young (raw) in proportion to the
quick progress he had made in all gentlemanly accomplishments. Caldecott :
Raw is unready, untrained, and awkward. Compare Per. IV, ii, 60; As You Like
It, III, ii, 76. Dyce (Remarks, &c, p. 220) : • Nothing, I think, can be more cer-
tain than that the passage should stand thus : " and it [which was often mistaken by
our early printers for * yet,' perhaps because it was written yf\ but yaw neither in
respect of his quick sail.'* " To yaw (as a ship), hue illuc vacillare, capite nutare."
—Coles's Diet The substantive " yaw " occurs in Massinger : " O, the yaws that
she will make ! Look to your stern, dear mistress, and steer right, Here's that will
work as high as the Bay of Portugal." — Very Woman, III, v ; Works, iv, 293, ed.
1805, where GifTord remarks : " A yaw is that unsteady motion which a ship makes
in a great swell, when, in steering, she inclines to the right or left of her course." '
Elze thinks the possible solution of this difficulty is to consider ' yaw ' as a transitive
verb, and he thus interprets: ' An inventory of Laertes s excellences would dizzy the
arithmetic of memory ; yet it would not let it stagger hither and thither (like a badly-
steered ship), in view of his quick sail/ A quick-sailing ship holds a steadier course
than one that sails slowly. Staunton says he must admit his inability to understand
Dyce's reading, and adds: * Yet' is certainly suspicious, but the word displaced we
have always thought was wit, not il, and the drift of Hamlet's jargon to be this : his
qualifications are so numerous, and so far surpass all ordinary reckoning, that memory
would grow giddy in cataloguing, and wit be distanced in attempting to keep pace
with them. White: There seems0 to be no doubt that 'yt} was mistaken for 'yet.'
Clarke believes raw to be used in the same sense as in As You Like It, and inter-
prets :' your description is but inefficient and inadequate after all.' Abbott, § 128 :
The ellipsis of the negative explains ' neither.' That is, * do nothing but lag clum-
sily behind neither.' * Neither,' for our either, is in Shakespeare's manner, after a
negative expressed or implied. TSCHISCHWITZ says raw is merely a misprint for row,
and so gives it in his text, and thus interprets : ' Memory, even with the help of arith-
metic, cannot overtake this swift sailer, but can only row while he sails. At the
present day we should say : and yet but sail neither in respect of his full steam.'
CLARENDON: If this passage stands as Sh. wrote it, any meaning it may have has
defied the penetration of commentators to detect. If 'vet' is a mistake for yt or it,
act v, sc. IL] HAMLET 429
of his quick sail. But, in the verity of extolment, I take
him to be a soul of great article, and his infusion of such 1 15
dearth and rareness, as, to make true diction of him, his
semblable is his mirror, and who else would trace him, his
umbrage, nothing more.
Osr. Your lordship speaks most infallibly of him.
Ham. The concernancy, sir? why do we wrap the 120
gentleman in our more rawer breath ?
' Osr. Sir?
Hor. Is't not possible to understand in another tongue ?
You will do't, sir, really
116. as] ns Q4. let. Cap. [To Osrick. Rann.
120. sir? why] Cap. fir, why Qq. 123. tongue ?~\ Theob. tongue, Qq.
sir? — [To Horatio] Why Theob. Warb. 124- You. ..really] Johns, you will
121. more] Om. Q'76. loo't fir really Q2. you will dod't fr
122. Sirf\ Cap. Sir Qq. Sir,— really Q3Q4Q$. you will do't, sir, rareh
Theob. Warb. Johns. Theob. Warb. Cap. Walker
123, 124. Is' t...really] Aside To Ham-

we should require some such word as let or make to precede. The sense would then
be: 'to attempt to catalogue his perfections would dizzy the arithmetic of memory,
and make it stagger, as it were, in pursuit of his swift-sailing ship.' ' The two meta-
phors are a little difficult to separate.'
114. sail] Collier (ed. 2) prints sale, and thinks that sellingly of the Qq in line
108 may very possibly be right when taken in connection with it, and * inventorily,'
line 112. Sale has reference to the value, and speedy sale of the qualifications, of
Laer.
115. article] Johnson : This is obscure. I once thought it might have been ' of
great altitude, but I suppose it means ' a soul of large comprehension, of many con-
tents ;'•the particulars of an inventory are called articles. Caldecott defines it :
* Of great account or value/
115, 116. infusion . . . rareness] Johnson: 'Dearth' is dearness, value, price.
* And his internal qualities of such value and rarity.' Caldecott : The qualities
with which he is imbued or tinctured are of a description so scarce and choice.
Clarendon defines ' infusion,'. essential qualities.
117. trace] Clarendon: Follow. Compare 1 Hen. IV: III, i, 48; and Gorges's
Trans, of Lucan, bk i, p. 36 (ed. 1614) : ' And in their turnes next to them trace
Prelates of an inferior place.'
121. more rawer] See II, i, 11.
123. Is't o . . tongue] Johnson: This may mean, Might not all this be under-
stood in plainer language ? But then, ' you will do it, sir, really,' seems to have no
use, for who could doubt but plain language would be intelligible ? I would there-
fore read : Is't possible not to be understood in a mother tongue ? You will do it,
sir, really. Heath (p. 550): Read,- 'It is not possible to understand in another
tongue.' That is, such language as this is the only one which communicates ideas
43° HAMLET [act v, SC. il

Ham. What imports the nomination of this gentleman? 125

Osr. Of Laertes?
Hor. [Aside to Ham!] His purse is empty already ; all's
golden words are spent.
Ham. Of him, sir.
Osr. I know you are not ignorant — 130
Ham. I would you did, sir ; yet, in faith, if you did, it
would not much approve me. Well, sir ?
126. Laertes ?~\ Laertes. Qq, Jen. 130. ignorant — ] Theob. ignorant.
127. Aside...] Cap. Dyce ii, Huds. Qq.
Om. Qqetcet. 132. me. Well, sir?] Glo. + , Mob.
airs'] Qq, Theob. Warb. Johns. me, well fir. Qq. me. Well, sir. Theob.
Cap. Jen. Steev.'85, Dyce, Sta. Glo. + , Warb. Johns. Jen. Knt, Coll. Sing. El.
Del. Mob, all his Mai. et cet. Sta. White, Ktly, Del. me .•— Well, sir
129. sir.] sir? Cap. Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Dyce.
to us. It is spoken ironically. Jennens : This speech is addressed to Osr. Hor.
rinding him posed says, ' Is't not possible to understand ? In another tongue you
will do't, sir, really,' i. e. Are you defeated at your own weapons ? Can't you un-
derstand your own kind of jargon? If so, you had better speak in another tongue,
make use of common sense without any flourishes, and you'll not be in danger of
being put out of countenance. Malone: This speech is addressed to Ham.
'Another tongue' does not mean, as I conceive, plainer language (as Dr Johnson
supposed), but 'language so fantastical and affected as to have the appearance of a
foreign tongue /' and in the following words Hor., I think, means to praise Ham.
for imitating this kind of babble so happily. I suspect, however, that the poet
wrote : ' Is't possible not to understand in a mother tongue /" The very same error
occurs in Bacon's Advancement of Learning, 4to, 1605, b. ii, p. 60: ' — the art of
grammar, whereof the use in another tongue is small, in a foreine tongue more.'
The author, in his table of Errata, says it should have been printed, — in mother
tongue. Staunton: Should we not read, 'in's mother tongue?' Walker (Crit.
iii, 273) : Surely read, ' a mother tongue,' with Johnson. [Tschischwitz adopted
it.] Hudson : Hor. means to imply, that what with Osric's euphuism, and what
with Hamlet's catching of Osric's style, they are not speaking in a tongue that
can be understood ; and he hints that they try another tongue, that is, the common
one. Moberly : ' Can't you understand your own absurd language on another's
tongue ? Use your wits, sir, and you'll soon be at the bottom of it.'
124. You . . . really] Heath (p. 550) : Undoubtedly read, ' You do't, sir, rarely,'
t. e. You have exactly hit upon the humour of this language. HeussI : This is
undoubtedly addressed to Osr. To Ham. he would not have used ' sir,' but ' my

132. approve] Johnson: If you knew I was not ignorant, your esteem would
lord.'
not much advance my reputation. To 'approve' is to recommend to approbation.
Singer (ed. 2) : 'If you did, it would not tend much toward proving me, or eon»
firming me.' What Ham. would have added, we know not; but surely Shake*
speare's use of the word 'approve,' upon all occasions, is against Johnson's explana*
tion of it. Clarendon : ' Would not be much to my credit.''
ACT V, SC. ii.] HAMLET

Osr. You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is—

Ham. I dare not confess that, lest I should compare 43 «
with him in excellence; but, to know a man woll, were to 135
know himself.
Osr. I mean, sir, for his weapon ; but in the imputation
laid on him by them, in his meed he's unfellowed.
Ham. What's his weapon ?
Osr. Rapier and dagger. 140
Ham. That's two of his weapons ; but, well.
Osr. The king, sir, hath wagered with him six Barbary
horses ; against the which he has imponed, as I take it, six
French rapiers and poniards, with their assigns, as girdle,
hangers, and so ; three of the carriages, in faith, are very .145
133' no* ignorant] ignorant Q4Q5- 142. hath wagered] hath wager d
is— ] Mai. is : Cap. is. Qq, Qq. ha's wag'd Fx. has wag'd F2F3F4,
Thcob. Warb. Johns. Jen. is at his Rowe + . kath wag'd Johns. Cald.
weapon ? Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. Cald. Knt, St* White, Huds.
Knt. 143. he has imponed] Theob. hee
137. for his] Q'76. for this Qq, Cald.
Knt. has i?npaund Qq. he has impawned
Q'76, Mai. Steev. Bos. El. he import d
138. them ,.... meed] Steev. them.... Ff, Rowe, Pope, .Han.
meed, Qq, Theob. Warb. Johns. Jen. 145. hangers] hanger Qq, Cap. Jen.
them :...tkis meed Cap. Cam.
141. but, well.] Cap. but well. QqFf, and so] or fo Ff, Rowe, Pope,
Rowe + , Jen. El. but, well? Anon. Han. Cald. Knt.
142. king, sir] fir King FJ.

134-136. I . . , himself ] Johnson: 'I dare not pretend to know him, lest I
should pretend to an equality ; no man can completely know another but by kno\v \ig
himself, which is the utmost extent of human wisdom.'
135. but] Walker (Crit. iii, 274): Surely the sense requires for. [So in
Capell's text.]
138. by them] Caldecott: There is nothing here to refer to, no antecedent to
« them.' It must mean ' the qualities ascribed to him by the public voice.*
138. meed] Johnson: Excellence. Caldecott: 'Reward, or recompense;'
it seems here used fantastically for that which challenges it merendot i.e. 'merit,1
and means : ' In this his particular excellence.'
142. wagered] White : The reading of the Ff is in perfect accordance with
Shakespeare's usage, and that of his contemporaries. So in Cym. I, iv, 144.
143. imponed] Johnson: Perhaps it should be deponed. So Hudibras : 'I
would upon this cause depone, As much as any I have known.' But, perhaps, 'im-
poned' ispledged, impawned, so spelt to ridicule the affectation of uttering English
words with French pronunciation. Collier and Dyce (Gloss.) agree in accepting
this explanation : that it is Osric's affected pronunciation of impawned.
145. hangers] Steevens : Under this term were comprehended four graduated
 HAMLET [act v, sc. il

432 to fancy, very responsive to the hilts, most delicate

dear 146
carriages, and of very liberal conceit
Ham. What call you the carriages ?
Hor. [Aside to Ham^\ I knew you must be edified by
the margent ere you had done. 150
Osr. The carriages, sir, are the hangers.
Ham. The phrase would be more germane to the
matter if we could carry cannon by our sides ; I would
it might be hangers till then. But, on : six Barbary horses
against six French swords, their assigns, and three liberal- 155
conceited carriages; that's the French bet against the
Danish. Why is this ' imponed/ as you call it ?
Osr. The king, sir, hath laid, sir, that in a dozen
passes between yourself and him, he shall not exceed you
three hits; he hath laid on twelve for nine; and it would 1 60

149. [Aside...] Theob. Warb. Cap. 155. 156. liberal-conceited] Hyphen

Dyce ii, Huds. Om. QqFf et cet. by Pope.
149, 150. Om. Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han. 156. French bet] French but Fx,
151. carriages] carriage Qq. French, but F2F3F4. French ; but Rowe.
152. germane] F3F4, Rowe + , Cap. 157. Danish. Why] Johns. Danifh;
why Ff, Pope + . Danijh, why Qq,
Jen. Cam. Cla. Ger?naine Fx. Ger-
mane Fa. lerman Q2Q3> German Q4 Rowe.
this ' imponed? as] this impon'd
Q5.153.german Q'76 et cet. as Ff. this all Qq. As a quotation, Sta.
matter if] matter : If Ff.
cannon] Ff, Rowe+, Cald. Knt, cet.158. sir, that] Qq, Jen. Coll. El.
Dyce, Sta. Glo. Del. Mob. Huds. a White, Hal. Cam. Del. Cla. that Ff et
canon or a cannon Qq et cet.
154. it might be] it be Q2. it be 159. yourself] yotcr felfe Qq. you
might Q3. Ff, Rowe + , Knt, Sta.
on :] Pope, on Fx, Cald. on, 160. laid on] layd on Q3Q3Q. one Ft,
QqF9F3F4, Rowe. on. Ktly. nine] mine Ff.
Barba ry] Barbry Q3Q3» it] that Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt,
155. swords,] Swords : Ff. Coll. Del. White, Hal.

straps by which the sword was attached to the girdle. See Chapman's Iliad, xi, 27 ;
* The scaberd was of silver-plate, with golden hangers grae'd.' Knight and Haz-
LIWELL give pictorial illustrations.
147. liberal conceit] Clarendon : Elaborate design.
149. margent] In old books explanatory comments were printed in the margin.
See Rom. cV» Jul. I, iii, $6.
152. germane] Johnson: More akin.
160. twelve for nine] Johnson: This wager I do not understand. In a dozen
passes one must exceed the other more or less than three hits. Nor can I compre-
hend how, in a dozen, there can be twelve to nine. The passage is of no import-
ance ;it is sufficient that there was a wager. Malone : The King hath laid that
act v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 433

come to immediate trial, if your lordship would vouchsafe 161

the answer.
Ham. How if I answer No ?

in a game of a doz:n passes, or bouts, Laer. does not exceed you three hits ; the
King hath laid on the principle of him whd makes a bet, with the chance of gaining
twelve for nine that he may lose; or the King (by the advantage allowed to Ham.)
hath odds, tantamount to four to three. If the words, ' he hath laid on/ refer to
Laer., it means that he has laid on the principle of one who undertakes to make
twelve passes for nine that his adversary shall make ; on the ratio of twelve to
nine. Ritson (p. 212) maintains that there were to be but twelve passes in all,
and ' Laer., to win, must have got eight hits, v/hereas Ham. would have won if he
had got only five; so that he had clearly the advantage of Laer., in point of number,
three whole passes or hits, and the odds were eight to five, which is in the same arith-
metical proportion of twelve to nine, in Hamlet's favor before they began to play.1
[This is, I think, virtually the same explanation as that given by Elze.] Seymour
(ii, 203) : « If in the dozen passes Ham. shall be hit seven times, and Laer. only three,
the King will lose his wager.' Mitford {Gent. Mag. 1845) : The reading of the
Ff of one for Maid on' may be an error for won, or on; indeed the whole phrase,
'he hath laid on twelve for nine,' seems very like an interpolation from the margin.
One might say that, by a loose manner of speaking, not exceeding three hits may
mean not exceeding more than two. It may also be observed that these numbers
were probably represented by Arabic figures, and not by letters, and were more
liable to be altered and made corrupt. Quarterly Review (March, 1847, vol. lxxix,
p. 332) : Osric never stoops to use the language of ordinary mortals. ' He hath laid
on twelve for nine ' is not he has laid twelve to nine, but he has wagered for nine
out of twelve. The King backs Ham. Laer., who is the celebrated fencer of the
age, is to give the Prince great odds :— the King stipulates out of the twelve passes
for nine hits from Laer. without his being declared winner. So also in the for-
mer part of the sentence, ' he shall not exceed you three hits,' does not mean that
the sum of Laertes's hits over Hamlet's shall not be more than three. In a dozen
passes six hits each would place them on a par, and Osric calls Laertes's excess the
number of hits that he makes above his own half. This, the King bets, will not
surpass three, rendering the total amount to nine, which tallies with the other form
under which the bet is expressed. Moberly : ' Each is to attack twelve times,
going on till a hit is made : and Laer. bets that he will hit Ham. twelve times before
Ham. can hit him nine times. That is : Ham. has three points given him, and with
these odds he trusts that he shall win.' Tschischwitz assumes that ' a dozen ' is
merely an indefinite number, and gives an elaborate calculation on the basis of
twenty-one rounds. [It may be said of all these calculations what Clarendon says
of one of them, they are doubtless correct, but do not explain- the form in which the
wager is put.] Steevens refers this very * unimportant passage ' to the members of
the Jockey Club, at Newmarket, « who on such subjects may prove the most enlight-
ened commentators, and most successfully bestir themselves in the cold unpoetic
dabble of calculation.'
162. the answer] Caldecott: Meet his wishes. Clarendon: Compare Cymb.
IV, ii, 161.
37 2C
434 HAMLET
[act v, SC. ii.
Osk I mean, my lord, the opposition of your person in
trial. 165
Ham. Sir, I will walk here in the hall ; if it please his
majesty, 'tis the breathing time of day with me ; let the
foils be brought ; the gentleman willing, and the king hold
his purpose, I will win for him if I can ; if not, I will gain
nothing but my shame and the odd hits. 170
Osr. Shall I re-deliver you e'en so ?
Ham. To this effect, sir, after what flourish your nature
will.
Osr. I commend my duty to your lordship.
Ham. Yours, yours. — [Exit Osric.'] He does well to 175
commend it himself; there are no tongues else for's turn.
Hon This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.
1 66. 167. hall; if...majesty, it] hall, Cald. Knt, Dyce, Sta. White, Glo. + ,
if...maiejlie, it Qq. Del. Mob. Huds. (hyphen, first by
167. majesty, 'tis.. .me; let] majesty, Cald.). deliver you so Qq et cet.
— 'tis. ..me, — let Sta. 172. this] that Cap.
*tis] Ff, Rowe + , Jen. Dyce, Sta. 175. Yours.. ..does] Cap. Dyce, Sta.
Glo. Mob. it is Qq et cet. Clarke, Glo. + , Del. ii, Mob. Huds.
168. hold] holding Cap. Yours, yours; he does Ff [hee Fx) ,Rowe + .
169. purpose,] Theob. purpose; Qq Yours doo's Qq. Yours. He does Jen.
Ff, Rowe, Pope. Yours, yours. — He does Steev. et cet.
if] and Qq. an Cap. Glo.+, [Exit...] After line 174, F2F3F4,
Dyce ii, Mob. Rowe + , Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, ColL
/ will gain] lie gaine FXF3. Sing. El. White, Ktly.
Pie gain F . I'll gain F4, Rowe + , 176. it himself] itfelfQ'76.
Sta. White. I gain Coll. (MS). for's] for his Q5, Ktly.
171. re-deliver you e'en so] Ff, Rowe, turn] turne Qq. tongue Ff.

167. breathing time] Clarendon: The time of relaxation and rest. Compare
Much Ado, II, i, 378; Tro. dr3 Cres. II, iii, 121. Seymour (ii, 203) proposes, 'Sir,
I will .... hall : It is the breathing .... me — if it please his majesty, let,' &c,
or else, ' Sir, I will .... hall, if it please his majesty. It is the breathing time/
&c. It was Hamlet's customary breathing time, whether his majesty pleased
or not

169. will gain] For instances of 'will' used for shall, see Walker ( Vers. 238;
and Crit. ii, 348). Abbott, §319, says that ' will* is probably used here by attrac-
tion with a jesting reference to the previous ■' will.' • My purpose is to win if I can,
or, if not, to gain shame and the odd hits/
177. lapwing] Johnson : I see no particular propriety in this image. Osr. did
not run away till he had finished his business. We may read :— ' ran away,' i. e.
'This fellow was full of unimportant bustle from his birth.' Jennens: Osr. is
shoitly after spoken of as ' young Osric,' he may therefore be supposed to be but a
half-formed courtier ; and under this image of the lapwing Hor. ridicules his. for-
ACT v, SC. ii.] HAMLET 435

Ham. He did comply with his dug before he sucked

it. Thus has he, and many more of the same bevy that
I know the drossy age dotes on, only got the tune of the 180

178. He did comply wit h~\ Ff {Com- 179. has he] had he Ff.
fflieY^. A did 'fr with Q2. A did fo many] mine Fx. nine FXF^
fir with. Q3Q4Q5- He did so, sir, with Rowe.
Theob. Jen. He did so with Rowe, bevy"] Cald. Beauy Fx. Beavy
Pope. He did compliment with Han. F2F3F4, Rowe. breede Q2Q3Q4. breed
Warb. Johns. Cap. Steev. '85 (comple- Qs, Pope + , Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Coll.
ment Han.). El. Cam. Cla.
before he~\ before a Qq.

wardness of talk and self-conceit, — his putting on the courtier before he was prop-
erly qualified. Steevens : Thus, in Greene's Never Too Late, 1616: 'Are you no
6ooner hatched, with the lapwing, but you will run away with the shell on your
head?' Malone: In Meres's Wit's Treasury, 1598: 'As the lapwing runneth
away with the shell on her head as soon as she is hatched.' Caldecott : ' He is
prematurely hasty, starts almost before he has means, ere he has found legs or mes-
sage, to carry or be carried.' Clarendon : The lapwing was also a symbol of in-
sincerity, from its habit of alluring intruders from its nest by crying far away from
it. Osr. was both forward and insincere. [See Harting, Ornithology of Sh.t
p. 220.]
178. comply] Warburton: The true reading is: compliment, i.e. stand upon
ceremony with his dug, to show that he was born a courtier.' Capell (i, 148) :
• He must have ask'd the dug's pardon before he handi'd it.' Jennens justifies the
reading of Q2 : ' Do you wonder,' says Ham., in effect, ' at his affecting the cour-
tier now? Why he had done it from his very cradle.' Caldecott well para-
phrases :He was complaisant with, treated it with apish ceremony. The same
idea, and partly the same phrase itself, occurs in Ulpian Fulwel's Arte of Flatterie,
1579: ' Flatterie hath taken such habit in man's affections, that it is in moste men
altera natura : yea, the very sucking babes hath a kind of adulation towards their
nurses for the dugge.' — Preface to the Reader. Reed : ' Comply ' is right. So in
Fuller's Historie of the Holy Warre, p. 80 : ' Some weeks were spent in complying,
entertainments, and visiting holy places,' In Reed's Var. 1803 and 1813 he added
the remark : 'To compliment was, however, by no means an unusual term in Shake-
speare's time.' ' This,' says Caldecott, ' was said [by Reed] in answer to Malone's
assertion in the Pseudo-Rowleian controversy, " that the verb, to compliment, was un-
known for half a century after Elizabeth's reign." Reed having, however, omitted
to produce any instance, and none having been given from any other quarter, we
shall instance Lord Burleigh, who died 1598; and who, in his Letter of Advice to
his son, says : " Be sure to keep some great man Compliment him often with
many, but small, gifts, and of little charge." So "free from inhumane austeritie on
the one side and voyde of fond and idle complementing indulgence on the other."—
Chadwith's Funeral Sermon, 1613.' [See II, ii, 354; both there and here Singer
maintains his interpretation of 'embrace.']
179. bevy] Tollet: He has just called Osr. a lapwing, hence the propriety of
* bevy.' White : It is a more characteristic classification of Osr. than breed.
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. ii.
43<5and outward habit of encounter; a kind of yesty col- 181
time
lection, which carries them through and through the most
fond and winnowed opinions; and do but blow them to
their trial, the bubbles are out.

l8l. and outward] and out of an and renowned Ql 6. fanned and win*
Qq, and Jen., who puts out of.. .encoun- nowed Warb. Han. Cap. Sing. Dyce,
ter in parenthesis, an outward Cap. Coll. ii, Sta. White, Ktly. sound and
yesty] hijly QaQy mifly Q4, winnowed Mason, Rann. conj. fand
Jen. miflie Q . and winnowed Hal. proven and re*
183. fond and winnowed"] Ff, Rowe, nowned Bullock.* fond unwinnowed
Pope, Theob. Johns. Steev. Var. Cald. Fleay MS conj.
Knt, Coll. i, Del. El. Clarke, Glo. + , 184. triaf] try alls FjF,. TryalsY^^
Mob. Huds. prophane and trennowed Rowe + , Knt, Sta.
Q2Q3. prophane and trennowned Q4< 184-196. Enter... instructs me.] Om.
profane and trennowned Q . prophane Ff.

181. the time] The present age. See Macb. I, v, 61 ; I, vii, 81 ; V, viii, 24.
181. outward habit] Henley: Exterior politeness of address.
181. yesty] Clarendon : Histy of Q2Q3 may have been a mistake for hasty.
183. fond and winnowed] Warburton: 'Fond' should undoubtedly be fann'd,
alluding to corn separated by the fan from chaff. The opinions here spoken of may
mean the opinions of great men and courtiers, men separated by their quality from
the vulgar, as corn is separated from the chaff. This * yesty collection ' insinuates
itself into people of the highest Quality, as yeast into the finest flour. Johnson :
' If Qs preserved any traces of the original, Sh. wrote " sane and renowned" which is
better than "fann'd and winnowed." The meaning is : these men have got the cant
of the day, a superficial readiness of slight and cursory conversation, a kind of frothy
collection of fashionable prattle which yet carries them through the most select and
approving judgements. This airy facility of talk sometimes imposes upon wise men.
Who has not seen this observation verified ?' Jennens follows Q2, but modifies it in
his text to ' profane and tres-renowned,' ' which is the French method of forming
superlatives, i. e. the most renowned ;' and paraphrases : such a superficial collec-
tion of knowledge as carries them through the most common {profane) and even
the most renowned opinions, i. e. opinions, or branches of learning, which bring re-
nown to the learned in them. Steevens : ' Fond,' i. e. foolish, is evidently opposed
to ' winnowed,' i. e. sifted, examined. Their conversation was yet successful enough
to make them passable not only with the weak, but with those of sounder judgement.
The same opposition in terms is in the readings of the Qq : profane and vulgar are
opposed to trenowned or thrice renowned. Tollet : Fanned and ' winnowed ' occur
together in Markham's Husbandry, pp. 1 8, 76, 77. So also ' fan and wind ' in Tro. &*
Cres. V, iii, 41 . Caldecott interpreted the phrase : * All judgements, not the simplest
only, but the most sifted and wisest.' Dyce. [Remarks, &c, p. 221) pronounces
Warburton's emendation ' admirable,' and one which * evidently restores the genuine
reading.' White (Sh. Scholar, p. 422) advocates • fond and winnowed,' and inter-
prets :' They go through and through (/. e. they stop at no absurdity in) the most
fond (i.e. affected or foolish) and winnowed (*'. e. elaborately sought out) opinions.'
But White, having found that 'fan' and 'winnow' are 'often coupled in the
 ACT v, SC. U. HAMLET 437

Enter a Lord.

Lord. My lord, his majesty commended him to you by 1 85

young Osric, who brings back to him, that you attend him
186. Osric] Oflricke Qq.

writings of Shakespeare's day,* and '' that ''fond" {foolish) sorts ill with "win-
nowed "in its figurative sense,' in his subsequent edition agreed with Warburton and
Dyce that 'fond' of the Ff is a misprint for /and, and added, 'of the meaning
of the passage in this form I am not quite sure, though it is probably to be found in
Dr Johnson's paraphrase.' Clarke: 'Probably "fond" is here used to express
"fondly cherished," " dearly esteemed," while " winnowed" means " choice," " se-
lect." "Fond " is thus used in I, v, 99.' B. Nicholson (N. cV Qu., 16 Jan. 1864) :
Ham. of course means that Osr. and his compeers have not that inward wit neces-
sary to parley true euphuism, but only the outward trick of the language, which
while it passed with folks of like mind, would not stand the trial of better judge-
ment If for ' winnowed' or trennowed, we read vinewed or vinnewed—a.nd
blue vinney is Dorsetshire, and vinewedst is spelt in the Ff of Tro. <5r» Cres. ' whinidst,'
—we have a change that restores the sense, — a word not incongruous with, but sug-
gested by, the metaphorical yesty collection, and a repetition of that Shakespearian
expresssion, a ' mouldy wit.' .... The ' yesty collection ' is the frothiness of sour
and stale beer, which passes with those of corrupted and vitiated taste ; but when
tried and blown upon by the more sober judgement flies off, and does not remain
like the true head of sound liquor or wit. Subsequently (iV. <5r* Qu., 31 Dec. 1864),
Nicholson added that he had forgotten the variant of vinewed, which is fenowed or
fennowed. ' The last was doubtless the form chosen by Sh. in this passage.'
Bailey (ii, 17) changes this whole passage thus: 'only got the tune of the time,
and out of the habit of encounter [got] a kind of yesty diction which .... the most
profound and renowned opinions.' In support, he adds: 1. That the verb 'got'
governs both the ' tune of the time ' and ' a kind of yesty diction, the latter of which
the persons concerned got, ' out of the habit of encounter.' 2. That diction has been
used by Ham. just before in the phrase, ' to make true diction of him.' 3. That
' most profound and renowned ' comes much nearer the old reading than ' most fond
and winnowed.' Besides, most winnowed is not English. We should not say of
one sack of wheat amongst several that it was the most winnowed, but that it was
the best winnowed. Tschischwitz proposed and adopted in his text : 'profound
and winnowed,' on the ground that two opposite ideas, like ' fond' and 'winnowed,'
cannot be connected by 'and' so long as 'most,' by qualifying both, combined
them in one idea. ' People of Osric's class are like chaff that is to be found in
a deep and well-sifted heap of wheat.' Hudson : ' Opinions conceitedly fine and
winnowed clean of the dust of common sense; such opinions as are affected by
lingual exquisites of all times. Clarendon inclines to Tschischwitz's reading:
'profound and winnowed' as affording a proper contrast with 'yesty collection.'
Moberly : ' A set of frothy expressions suited perpetually to express the absurdest
and most over-refined notions.'
184. trial] Walker (Crit. i, 264) : I suspect that, according to the old grammar,
we ought to read, with the Ff, trials*

37*
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. ii.
38
in4 the hall ; he sends to know if your pleasure hold to play 187
with Laertes, or that you will take longer time.
Ham. I am constant to my purposes ; they follow the
king's pleasure; if his fitness speaks, mine is ready; now or 190
whensoever, provided I be so able as now.
Lord. The king, and queen, and all are coming down.
Ham. In happy time.
Lord. The queen desires you to use some gentle enter-
tainment toLaertes before you fall to play. 195
Ham. She well instructs me. [Exit Lord.
Hor. You will lose this wager, my lord.
Ham. I do not think so ; since he went into France, I
have been in continual practice; I shall win at the odds.
But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here about my 200
heart ; but it is no matter.
Hor. Nay, good my lord, —
Ham. It is but foolery ; but it is such a kind of gain-
giving as would perhaps trouble a woman.
White, Huds.
194. to use~\ use Walker (Crit. i, 1 6),
reading lines 193-196 as verse, ending 200. how ill alPs] how all Ff. how
Use. ..Laertes. ..me. all's Rowe. how ill all is Coll. (MS).
195. fall] goe Q4. go Qs, Rowe, Knt. 202. good my] my good Theob. ii,
196. [Exit Lord.] Theob. Om. Qq Warb. Johns.
Ff. Exit Courtier. Cap. lord,—] Cap. lord. QqFf, Cald.
197. lose this wager] loofe Qq. lofe 203, 204. gain-giving] gamgiuing
Q'76, Jen. El. Cap.
Q2Q3- game-giza'ngQ^Q , "Pope i. boding
200. 'But] but Yi. Om. Qq, Cap. Jen. Q'76. misgiving Pope ii. 'gaingiving
Coll. Sing. Del. El. Ktly.
wouldst] wouldejl Ff, Rowe,

189, 190. purposes . . . pleasure . . . fitness] Walker (Crit. iii, 274) : Note
the double meaning. Tschischwitz : Hamlet's purpose is unchanged to kill the
King and avenge his father, when the King is Jit for it in the hour of his unholy
pleasure. Caldecott expresses a doubt whether ' fitness' applies to the King or to
Laer.
193. In happy time] Like the French d la bonne heure. See Rom. &* Jul. Ill,
v, no, and notes. Clarendon refers to Rich. Ill : III, iv, 22; Oth. Ill, i, 32.
194. entertainment] Caldecott : Conciliating behavior.
199. odds] Malone: 'With the advantage that I am allowed.'
200. Coleridge: Sh. seems to mean all Hamlet's character to be brought together
before his final disappearance from the scene: his meditative excess in the grave-
digging, his yielding to passion with Laer., his love for Oph. blazing out, his tend-
ency to generalize on all occasions in the dialogue with Hor., his fine gentlemanly
manners with Osr., and his and Shakespeare's own fondness for presentiment.
ACT v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 439

Hor. If .your mind dislike any thing, obey it. I will 20$
forestal their repair hither, and say you are not fit.
Ham. Not a whit; we defy augury; there's a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to
come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now,
yet it will come; the readiness is all. Since no man, of 2IO
aught he leaves, knows, what is't to leave betimes ? Let be.
205. obey it."] obey. Ff, Rowe, Knt. What is't Ff (subs.), man has aught 0/
207. there's a"] Ff, Rowe, Knt, Dyce, what he leaves, what is't Rowe, Pope,
Sta. Glo. Mob. there is Qq, Cap. Jen. Theob.Cald. Knt, Del. Dyce, Sta.White,
Cam. Cla. there's Pope, Han. there is Glo. + , Mob. {ought Rowe, Pope), man
a Q'76, Theob. et cet. owes aught of what he leaves, what is't
208. now~\ Om. Qq, Jen. Han. man k)iows aught of what he leaves,
210. will] well QaQ3. what is't Johns. Steev.'73,'78, '85, Rann.
all.] Pope + Jen. Coll. El.White, man,. ..leaves, — knows; — what is't Sing.
Ktly, Hal. Del. all, QqFf. all : ox all ; i. man. ..leaves knows what 'tis Qq, !'76,
Rowe et cet. '83, '95, '03. man,... leaves, knows what
210, 2X1. man, of aught he leaves, it is Ktly (marking the sentence as un-
knows, what is't] Warb. Cap. Jen. finished: betimes...).
Steev.'93, Var. Coll. Sing, ii, El. Clarke, 211. Let be] Om. Ff, Rowe, Pope,
Hal. Tsch. Huds. {ought Warb. Cap.). Theob. Han. Johns. Knt, Dyce, Sta,
man of ought he leaues, knowes what ifl Glo. Mob.
Qq. man ha's ought of what he leaues.

203. gain-giving] Theobald {Sh. Restored, p. 127): The same as mis-giving.

We thus use gainsay.
206. repair] See I, i, 57.
207. augury] Cornhill Magazine ('Presentiments,' October, 1866, p. 459):
This passage is one of the simplest, as it is one of the strongest, proofs of Shakespeare's
belief in presentiments. In all the instances he gives us, the moral to be drawn is
that the warning is neglected and the fate comes. At first we might think that
Hamlet's feeling was natural. He had detected the King's villainy, and he knew
his own counterplot would not long be secret. But it is plain that he suspected
nothing in the challenge to fence with Laer. He never once examined the foils, of
measured them, but picked up the first that came to hand, and took the length on
trust. Just before, when Hor. warned him, he had said, ' The interim is mine,' and
he clearly looked forward to having things his own way till the next news from
England. [See Rom. &> Jul. V, i, I.]
208-211. If. . .betimes ?] Tschischwitz {Sh. Forschungen, i, 62) calls attention
to an ' exactly parallel ' passage in the Dedication to Giordano Bruno's Candelajo .
4 By this philosophy my soul is elevated and my capacity for thinking enlarged. But
"whatsoever may be the appointed hour of that evening which I am awaiting, when
the change will take place, I, who am in the night, await the day, and those who
are in the day await the night. Everything that exists is either at hand or at a dis-
tance, near or far, now or later, instantly or hereafter.'
210, 211. man . . . is't] Warburton: * It is true that, by death, we lose all the
goods of life; yet seeing this loss is no otherwise an evil than as we are sensible-
of it; and since death removes all sense of it, what matters it how soon we lose
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. ii.
40
4 King, Queen, Laertes, and Lords, Osric and other Attendants with Foils
Enter
and Gauntlets ; a Table and Flagons of Wine on it.

King. Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me. 212
[The King puts Laertes's hand into Hamlet's.
Ham. Give me your pardon, sir ; I've done you wrong ;
But pardon 't, as you are a gentleman
212. Scene v. Pope + , Jen. by the hand. StaT
Enter...] Ff (subs.). A table [The King...] Dyce. .Gives him
prepard, Trumpets, Drums and officers the hand of Laertes. Han. King .puts
with Cufhions, King, Queene, and all the hand of Laertes into the hand of
the flate, Foiles, daggers, and Laertes. Hamlet. Johns. Om. QqFf.
213. rve~\ L haue Qq, Cap. Steev.
Qq. El. Osric and other Attendants...] Mai. Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly.
Osrick with other Attendants... Theob. 214, 215. One line, Qq.
with other Attendants.,. Ff.
214. pardon1/] pardon it Steev. Mal#
King.] King. [Taking Laertes Cald.

them ? Therefore, come what will, I am prepared.' Johnson : * The reading of the
Quarto was right, but in some other copy the harshness of the transposition was
softened, and the passage stood thus : Since -no man knows aught of what he leaves.
For knoivs was printed in the later copies has by a slight blunder in such typographers.
I do not think Warburton's interpretation of the passage the best that it will admit.
The meaning may be this : Since no man knows aught of the state of life which he
leaves, since he cannot judge what other years may produce, why should he be
afraid of leaving life betimes ? Why should he dread an early death, of which he
cannot tell whether it is an exclusion of happiness or an interception of calamity ?
I despise the superstition of augury and omens, which has no ground in reason or
piety; my comfort is, that I cannot fall but by the direction of Providence. Han-
mer's conjecture is not very reprehensible : Since no man can call any possession
certain, what is it to leave ?' The Ff have received their best interpretation from
Caldecott, viz. : ' Since no man has (i. e. has any secure hold, or can properly be
denominated the possessor, of) any portion of that which he leaves, or must leave,
behind him, of what moment is it that this leave-taking, or parting with a possession
so frail, should be made thus early?' Collier truly remarks that no old copy is at
all well printed in this scene; and Dyce pronounces the present passage suspi-
cious. White thinks the Qq are manifestly wrong. Clarke prefers the Qq on
what, I think, is the true ground, so finely paraphrased by Johnson : That it is more
characteristic of Ham. to think little of leaving life, because he cannot solve its
many mysteries, than because he cannot carry with him life's goods. CLARENDON
thinks that Johnson's is perhaps the true reading.
213. pardon] Johnson: I wish Ham. had made some other defence; it is un-
suitable to the character of a brave or a good man to shelter himself in falsehood.
Seymour (ii, 204) believes that the passage from • This presence,' &c, line 215,
down to 'enemy,' line 226, is an interpolation. The falsehood contained in it
is too ignoble. Walker (Cril. iii, 274) : Arrange: ' — I 'have done you wrong ;
but pardon 't, As you1 re a gentleman. This presence knows.' [That is, in two lines,
the first ending ' pardon 't. Ed.]
 215

ACT V, SC. ii.] HAMLET

This presence knows,

And you must needs have heard, how I am punish'd
With sore distraction. What I have done,
That might your nature, honour, and exception 441
Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. 220 225

Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes ? Never Hamlet ;

If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away,
And, when he's not himself, does wrong Laertes,
Then Hamlet does it not ; Hamlet denies it.
Who does it then ? His madness; if't be so,
Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd ;
His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.
Sir, in this audience,
Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil
Free me so far in your most generous thoughts,
230
That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house,
And hurt my brother,
Laer I am satisfied in nature,
Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most

215-217. This. ..done] Three lines, Fx. natures honour F3FF {honor F2).
ending heard. ..distraction. ..done, Rowe native honour Anon.*
4- , Jen. Steev Mai. Sing, i, Cald. Knt, 224. madness;"] Cap. madnejfe. Qq,
Sta. Rowe + , Jen. Coll. El. White, Ktly {mad-
216. punish' d~\ punished Rowe ii, nesQJ. Madnejfe? F,Fa. madnefsfY^^
Pope, Han. 225. wrong'd] wronged Qq.
227. Sir... audience^] Om. Qq,Pope + f
Cap.
217. sore~\ a fore Qq, Theob. Warb.
Johns. Jen. Steev. Mai. Sing. Cald. Knt,
Sta. Ktly. 230. That] As that Ktly.
distraction."] diflracTion, Q^Qy mine] my Qq, Cap. Jen. Steev.
diflraclion : Q£ls> diflradlion ? Ff. Var. Cald. Sing. Ktly, Huds. Mob.
218. nature, honour] nature honour 231 brother] Mother Ff, Rowe.

215. presence] Clarendon : The abstract for the concrete. Compare ' audience,'
line 227.
218. exception] Clarendon: This word, in the sense of 'objection,' 'dislike,'
occurs most commonly in the phrase, ' to take exception.' The best comment on
this passage is All's Well, I, ii, 40.
231. brother] Hunter (ii, 265) : The change in Ff might be made by Sh. after
he retired to Stratford, the passage as it originally stood coming too near to an in-
cident which had recently occurred in the family of Greville in that neighborhood,
where one of them had by misadventure killed his brother with an arrow.
231. nature] Steevens: A piece of satire on fantastical honor. Though nature
is satisfied, yet he will ask advice of older men of the sword whether artificial honor
ought to be contented with Hamlet's submission.
 HAMLET
[ACT V, SC. ii

To442my revenge ; but in my terms of honour

I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement,
Till by some elder masters of known honour 235
I have a voice and precedent of peace,
To keep my name ungored. But till that time
I do receive your offer'd love like love,
And will not wrong it.
Ham. I embrace it freely,
And will this brother's wager frankly play.— 240
Give us the foils. — Come on.
Laer. Come, one for me.
Ham. I'll be your foil, Laertes ; in mine ignorance
Your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest night,
Stick fiery off indeed.
Laer. You mock me, sir.
Ham. No, by this hand. 245
King. Give them the foils, young Osric. — Cousin Hamlet,
mann conj.
236. precedent] Johns, prefident Qq
Ff, Rowe+, Jen.. 243. darkest] brightest F3F3F4, Rowe.
237. keep] keepe FxFa. Om. Qq. 244. Stick. ..indeed] Appear Q'76.
ungored] vngord Q3Q3> t
off] '/Qq.
goSd Q4QS. ungorgd Ff, Rowe. 245. by this hand] on my honour
till] all Qq.
238. offer 'd] offered Qg. 246. 247. Give.. .wager?] Two lines,
Q'76.
239. I] I do FXF3F4, Rowe. / doe the first ending Osricke, Ff, Rowe + ,
246. them] Om. FaF3F4, Rowe.
239, 240. /...play] Prose, Qq. Osric] Ostricke or Ostrick Qq.
241. Come on.] Om. Qq, Pope,Theob. Hamlet] Om.
Cousin] Pope + .
Bam. Q4Q$.
Warb. Johns. Jen. El. Come, one. Strat-

235. masters . . . honour] Walker (Crit. i, 244) suspects that c masters' is a

misprint for master, and that one of the two ' honours,' — the latter, — has originated
in the other in line 233.
236. peace] Clarendon : ' An opinion and precedent which will justify me in
making peace.' Clarke: The stiffness of egotistical susceptibility, the petty anxiety
to preserve the world's good opinion, the regard to social claims rather than to natu-
ral affections, the artificial and not the true gentleman, — all are admirably embodied
in Laertes.
241. Come on] Jennens; This being a phrase used immediately before attack-
ing, cannot be proper here; they had not yet received the foils.
244. Stick] Caldecott: This seems to have been a favorite phrase with Sh.
See Cor. V, iii, 73 ; Ant. <Sr» Cleo. I, iv, 13. Clarendon : « Stand in brilliant re-
lief.'Indeed
' ' seems rather to belong to Laertes's speech. Keightley (Exposi-
tor, p. 297) : In my edition I most rashly read Strike. In the language of the time,
stick off meant set off, show off, display.
ACT v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 443

You know the wager ?

Ham. Very well, my lord ; 247
Your grace hath laid the odds o' the weaker side.
King. I do not fear it ; I have seen you both ;
But since he is better'd, we have therefore odds. 250
Lacr. This is too heavy ; let me see another.
Ham. This likes me well. — These foils have all a length ?
0:r. Ay, my good lord. [They prepare to play.
247. wager?] Cap. wager. QqFf, Huds.
Rowe + , Jen. 250. better'd] better Qq.
Very well ] Well Pope + . we] you Cap.
248. hath] has Qq, Cam. 251, 252. Four lines, Ff, Rowe,
laid] layed QaQy layde Q4. 251. too] to Qq.
hide Fx. 252. have] have have Fa.
the odds d the] upon the Han. length ?] length. QqFf.
Johns. 253. [They prepare...] Prepare... Ff,
0' the] d tJC F . a' th Qq. a' Rowe. Om. Qq. Prepares... Rowe ii + ,
JN FIF3F3. Jen. After line 250, Cap. As in text,
weaker] weeker QQ-> Sta. After line 252, Ff et cet.
249. Two lines. Ff. Cap. [Enter Attendants, with Wine.]
250. he is] he's Pope + , Steev. Mai.
Cald. Knt, Sing. Sta. Ktly, Dyce ii, Del.

247, 248. Very . . . side] Heath (p. 550) pronounces this passage, as at present
punctuated, stark nonsense, which is to be remedied by a comma after 'lord,' and
a semicolon after 'laid;' That is: 'Your wager, my lord, is prudently laid; you
have given odds to the weaker side.' And the King's reply is in proof: 'But since
that time he is greatly improved, therefore we are allowed odds.' JOHNSON : The
odds were on the side of Laer., who was to hit Ham. twelve times to nine. It
was perhaps the author's slip. Jennens solved the difficulty, in noting that the odds
here alluded to are those that were laid in the wager, viz. the greater value of the
King's stake as compared with Laertes's, and not to the number of hits, which is
what the King refers to in his reply. Ritson computes the value of the King's six
Barbary horses in comparison with the rapiers, &c., as about twentymo one, and adds,
4 these are the odds here meant.' Moberly : ' I understand that your grace has
taken care that points shall be given me ; but for all that, I fear that I shall be the
weaker. No, replies the King, I have seen you both, and the points given will
counterbalance his Paris improvement.'
250. better'd . . . odds] Jennens : ' Since the wager he gains if he should win
is better than what we shall gain if he loses, therefore we have odds, that is, we are
not to make as many hits as Laer.' Caldecott : ' Better'd,' i. e. stands higher in
estimation, Delius (and Moberly in the preceding note) refer ' better'd ' to La-
ertes's proficiency acquired in Paris. Keightley {Expositor, p. 298) : If he {£. e.
Laer.) was bettered, in the ordinary sense of the word, how could the odds lie against
him ? You're would give better sense than ' he's ;' but it does not satisfy me. A
line has evidently been lost, and the latter part may be addressed to the Queen.
The lost line may have been something like this : « 'Tis true he did neglect his
444 HAMLET [act V, SC. il

King. Set me the stoups of wine upon that table.—

If Hamlet give the first or second hit, 255
Or quit in answer of the third exchange,
Let all the battlements their ordnance fire ;
The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath ;
And in the cup an union shall he throw,
Richer than that which four successive kings 260
In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups ;
And let the kettle to the trumpet speak,
The trumpet to the cannoneer without,
The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to earth,
254. stoups] Johns. Jloopes Q2Q3Q4. Onix Qg. Onyx Q'76, Pope.
/loops Qs, Pope + . Slopes Ff, Rowe. 261. Two lines, Ff.
that'] the Q4Q,' 262. trumpet] trumpets Ff, Rowe-t-.
255. give] gives Theob. Warb. Mob. 263. trumpet] trumpets FF, Rowe
256. 0/ the third] of a third F3F4, + (Trupels Rowe). trumpeter White.
Rowe. to the third Q'03. 264. heavens to] heaven to QaQ,Ff,
257. ordnance] Ordinance Ff. Rowe, Cap. Mai. Steev. Cald. Knt,
259. union] Vnice Q2. Onixe Q3QA> Sing. Bos. Cam. Huds. Cla.

exercises.' Ham. had said that he had « foregone all custom of exercise.' In my
edition I have made an Aside here to the Queen, who may have made a sign of
dissent ; but a speech of the Queen's to the same effect may have been what is
lost.
252. This likes me well] See II, ii, 80.
252. a length] For instances of ' a' being used for one, see Abbott, § 81. Also
Rom. &Jul. II, iv, 187 : ' Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter?'
Compare the Scotch ' ae.'
256. quit . . . exchange] Clarendon : That is, pay off Laer. in meeting him at
the third encounter.
259. union] Theobald: The finest sort of pearl, which has its place in all
crowns and coronets. The King afterwards refers to it, line 269. Malone : Florio,
Ital. Diet. t 1598, gives 'Vnione .... Also a faire, great, orient pearle, called an
vnion.' And Bullokar, Eng. Expositor, 1621, to the same effect. Steevens : See
Holland's trans, of Pliny, p. 255: ' . . . . our dainties and delicates here at Rome,
haue deuised this name for them, and call them Vnions ; as a man would say, Sing-
ular, and by themselves alone.' It may be observed that pearls were supposed to
possess an exhilarating quality. Thus, Rondelet, lib, i, de Testae, c. xv : ' Uniones
quae a conchis, &c, valde cordiales sunt.' Clarendon : Mr King (Nat. Hist, of
Precious Stones, &c, p. 267) says : ' As no two pearls were ever found exactly alike,
this circumstance gave origin to the name " unio " (unique). But in Low Latin
" Margarita(um)," and "perla" became a generic name, "unio" being restricted
to the fine spherical specimens.'
262. kettle] Nares: Tor kettledrum.
263. cannoneer] Walker ( Vers. 225) : The flow of the verse seems to require
tannoner.
 445
ACT V, SC. ii.] HAMLET

1 Now the king drinks to Hamlet !'— Come, begin ;— 265

And you, the judges, bear a wary eye.
Ham. Come on, sir.
Laer. Come, my lord. [They play
Ham. One.
Laer. No.
Ham. Judgement.
Osr. A hit, a very palpable hit.
Laer. Well; again.
King. Stay; give me drink. — Hamlet, this pearl is thine;
Here's to thy health. —
[Trumpets sound, a?id cannon shot off within.
Give him the cup. 270
Ham. I'll play this bout first ; set it by awhile. —
Come. [They play] Another hit ; what say you ?
Laer. A touch, a touch, I do confess.
265. ' Now Hamlet*] Quotation 270. cup. [Trumpets...] Mai. Om,
marks, Coll. Dyce, El. White, Hal. Qq. Trumpets found, and (hot goes off.
Glo. + , Del. Mob. Roman, QqFf, Ff. Trumpet founa, lhot goes off. FaF3
Rowe+, Jen. Knt. Italics, Cap. Steev. F4. drinks, and puts Poison in the Cup.
Var. Cald. Sing. Sta. Ktly, Huds. Flourish. Ordinance within. Cap. After
[Trumpets the while. Qq. health. Cap. Dyce, Sta. Glo. + , Clarke,
267. Come, my lord.] Come on fir. Mob. After cup. Ff et cet.
Ff, Rowe, Cald. Knt, Sta. So on, sir 271. set it] fetYi.
Rowe ii. 272. Come.] Johns. Come; Ft Come,
[They play.] Om. Qq. Qq. Come — Rowe + .
Judgement.] Judgement ? Cap. [They play.] As in text, Cap.
268. hit.] kit. Drum, trumpets and (reading: [play]), Glo, + , Dyce ii,
(hot. Florifh, a peece goes off. Qq. Clarke, Huds. Del. ii, Mob. Om. QqFf,
hit. Flourish. El. Jen. After awhile. Pope + . After say
Well;] Well: Ff. Well, Qq, you ? Rowe (reading : They play again)
Cap. Well, — Rowe+, Jen. Steev. Var. et cet.
Cald. Knt, Sing. Ktly. Well;— Coll. 273. A touch, a touch] Om. Qq, Cap.
El. Dyce, Sta. White. Jen. Ktly.
again.] again — Rowe + , Jen. confess] confejl Qq. confefs*t
269. Two lines, Ff. Q'76, Cap. Jen.

269. pearl] Steevens : Under pretence of throwing a ' pearl ' into the cup, the
King may be supposed to drop some poisonous drug into the wine. [See Capell's
stage-direction at line 270, in Text. Notes.] Hani, seems to suspect this, when he
afterwards discovers the effects of the poison, and tauntingly asks him, ' Is thy union

here?'
273. a touch] Elze: Laer. distinguishes between *a hit * and 'a touch,' and
confesses that he was touched, but not hit. Keightley {Expositor, p. 298):
With the Qq I omit these words, as needless to the sense and injuricus to the
measure.

38
44-6 HAMLET [act v, sc. iL
King, Our son shall win.
Queex He's fat and scant of breath. —
Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows ; 275
The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.
Ham. Good madam, —
275. Here.. .napkin] Here's a napkin rub thy trows, my son. Coll. (MS.).
Ff. Here's a napkin F2F3F4, Rowe, 276. carouses to] falutes Q'7 6.
Cald. 277- Good] Thank you, good Cap.
napkin, rub] Handkerchief, wipe madam, — ] Rowe. madam. Qq
Q'76. Ff, Cap. Knt, Sta. madam! Dyce,
Here... br ows ;] Here is a napkin, Glo. + , Clarke, Huds. Del. Mob.

274. fat] Roberts, the player, in his Answer to Pope, 1729, stated that John
Lowin acted Henry VIII and Hamlet; it is also known on the authority of Wright,
in his Historia Histrionica, 1699, that Lowin acted Falstaff. Hence Steevens con-
jectured that, if the man who was corpulent enough to act Falstaff and Henry VIII
should also appear as Hamlet, this observation was put by Sh. into ' the mouth of her
majesty to apologize for the want of such elegance of person as an audience might
expect to meet with in the representative of the youthful Prince of Denmark, whom
Oph. speaks of as the "glass of fashion and the mould of form/' ' Malone : Wright
and Downes, the prompter, concur in saying that Taylor was the performer of Hamlet.
Roberts alone has asserted (and apparently without authority) that Lowin acted this
part. But, in truth, I am convinced it was neither Taylor nor. Lowin, but prob-
ably Burbadge. Taylor apparently was not of the company till late, perhaps after
1 61 5, and Lowin not till after 1603. Collier, in his Memoirs of the Principal
Actors in the Plays of Sh., Sh. Soc. Publications, 1846, p. 51, shows conclusively
that Burbadge was the original Hamlet, and cites in proof the Elegy upon him,
copied from a MS in the possession of Heber, containing an enumeration of the
various parts in which Burbadge was distinguished. Shakespeare's words are there
used in reference to the fatness of the actor : * No more young Hamlet, though but
scant of breath, shall cry " Revenge !" for his dear father's death.' Staunton :
Does the Queen refer to Ham. or Laer. ? Clarke : We believe that this refers not
to Burbadge, but to Ham. himself, who, as a sedentary student, a man of contem-
plative habits, one given rather to reflection than to action, might naturally be sup-
posed to be of somewhat plethoric constitution. This accords well with his not
daring to ' drink ' while he is heated with the fencing bout ; with his being of a
* complexion ' that makes him feel the weather * sultry and hot ;' with his custom of
walking * four hours together in the lobby;' with his having a special 'breathing
time of the day ;' and with his telling Hor. that he has ' been in continual practice '
of fencing, — as though he took set exercise for the purpose of counteracting his
constitutional tendency to that full habit of body which is apt to be the result of
sedentary occupation and a too sedulous addiction to scholarly pursuits. W. Aldis
Wright {N. 6° Qu., 9 March, 1867, p. 202) states that, in 1864, he received a letter
from Dr Ingleby, communicating a * fine reading ' proposed by « Mr H. Wyeth, of
Winchester,' of faint for 'fat.' Plehwe {Hamlet, Prinz von Danemark, Ham-
burg, 1862, p. 214) refers to IV, vii, 158, and conjectures that the same word is
here used : hot.
277. Good madam J Moberly : Many thanks, madam.
 447
ACT V. SC ii.] HAMLET

King. Gertrude, do not drink ! 277

Queen. I will, my lord ; I pray you, pardon me.
King. [Aside"] It is the poisoned cup ! it is too late !
Ham. I dare not drink yet, madam ; by and by. 280
Queen. Come, let me wipe thy face.
Laer. My lord, I'll hit him now.
King. I do not think't.
Laer. [Aside] And yet 'tis almost 'gainst my conscience.
Ham. Come, for the third, Laertes ; you but dally ;
I pray you, pass with your best violence ; 285
I am afeard you make a wanton of me.
Laer. Say you so ? come on. [They play.
Osr. Nothing, neither way.
277. Gertrude] Gertrude, Gertrude 284. Two lines, Ff.
Ktly. thirds Laertes ; you] Cald. Knt,
278. Two lines, Ff. Sing. Dyce, Ktly, Glo. + . third Laertes,
[Drinks. Han. drinks, and you doe Qq. third. Laertes, you Ff,
tenders the Cup to Hamlet. Cap. Rowe. third, Laertes. You Johns.
279. 283. [Aside] Rowe. Coll. El. White, Del. Huds. third, La-
280. Two lines, Ff. ertes, you Pope + . third ; Laertes, you
282. My lord,] Om. Pope + . Han. Cap. Sta. third, Laertes ; you do
think't] think it Mai. Steev.Var. Jen. Steev. Var.
Cald. Knt, Coll. El. Huds. Del. 286. afeard] affeaSd Fx. affeard
283. 'tis..? gainst] Ff, Rowe, Sing, ii, F3. fure Qq, Jen. afraid Rowe +
Dyce, Sta. Ktly, Glo. Huds. Mob. ii 287. [They play.] Play. Ff. Om. Qq.
is...againfi Qq et cet.

281. Come . . .face] Steevens: These very words (the present repetition of
which might have been spared) are addressed by Doll Tearsheet to Falstaff, when
he was heated by his pursuit of Pistol.
283. conscience] Clarke : This symptom of relenting is not only a redeeming
touch in the character of Laer. (and Sh., in his large tolerance and true knowledge
of human nature, is fond of giving these redeeming touches even to his worst cha-
racters), but it forms a judiciously interposed link between the young man's previous
determination to take the Prince's- life treacherously, and his subsequent revealment
of the treachery. From the deliberate malice of becoming the agent in such a plot,
to the remorseful candor which confesses it, would have been too violent and too
abrupt a moral change, had not the dramatist, with his usual skill, introduced this
connecting point of half compunction.
286. wanton] Ritson : You trifle with me as if you were playing with a child.
Hudson : This is a quiet but very significant stroke of delineation. Laer. is not
playing his best, and it is the conscience of what is at the point of his foil that
keeps him from doing so; and the effects are perceptible to Ham., though he dreams
not of the reason.
443 HAMLET [act v, sc. ii
Laer. Have at you now ! 289
[Laertes wounds Hamlet ; then, in scuffling, they
change rapiers, and Hamlet wounds Laertes.
289. now f] now. [play again. Cap. fcuffling they change Rapiers. Ff. Om,
[Laertes.. .Laertes.] Rowe. In Qq.

289. Stage-direction] Seymour (ii, 204) : It is common in the exercise of the

sword for one combatant to disarm the other by throwing, with a quick and strong
parry, the foil out of his hand ; and Ham., having done this, might, agreeably to
the urbanity of his nature, have presented his own foil to Laer., while he stooped
to take up that of Iiis adversaiy ; and Laer., who was only half a villain, could not
have hesitated to accept the perilous accommodation, and, indeed, had not time
allowed him to avoid it. M. C. {New Monthly Maga. vol. xiii, p. 301, March,
1820) : After Ham. is hurt in the next round Laer. should master his foil. Ham.
thus on the point of being disarmed, should by a vigorous effort seize the sword of
Laer. Thus both parties would hold both weapons, and in separating each would
retain that of which he had a better hold. By these means an exchange might
easily take place. It is quite unnecessary that the parties should be ignorant of the
circumstance. Ham. is not aware of its importance ; but Laer. sees his imminent
peril. Horror, remorse, and shame would make him parry imperfectly in the next
round, wherein he receives his mortal wound. TlECK (Zudwig Tieck von Rud.
Kopke, Leipzig, 1855, ii, 220, cited by Elze) thus explains the exchange of rapiers :
At the back of the stage there is a table, on which lie the rapiers. The combat-
ants take them up, fight a round, and replace them on the table, and conversation
occupies the pause between the rounds. The King then lets Osric, or some other
courtier, change the rapiers unobserved, so that the poisoned one falls to Ham. and
is taken up by him. For the King, whose character is always consistent, cannot
permit Laer. to survive, who had just headed a rebellion, and was moreover privy
to the whole plot against Ham. [See Tieck, Appendix, Vol. II.] Elze thinks
that in scuffling the rapiers are dropped, and are accidentally changed in picking
them up, and that Laer is too excited and Ham. too unsuspicious to notice the
change. Heussi attaches but little importance to the whole matter, — actors have
more adroitness in managing such things than scholars at their desks, anyhow ; the
spectators need not see so very exactly that there has been an actual exchange. It
is enough that the combatants become violently incensed, and that a spectator at a
distance could not rightly say what was done in the scuffle. The issue makes it
clear enough. [No aid, that I can find, is to be obtained from Vincentio Saviolo his
Practise, 1595. In sig. H 3, directions are given for ' fastning your left hand on the
hiltes of your enemies swoord.' — Ed.] The following stage-directions are given in
Tom TAYLOR'S Acting Edition of Hamlet, 1873 : ' [Laertes wounds Hamlet ; who
in return disarms him, and catches his foil. ~\ After * Ham. Nay, come again,' line
290: — ' \_He throws Laertes a foil, but, by mistake, retains the one he had disarmed
him of, and wounds him with it.]' In A Study of Hamlet, by E. B. H. (London,
1875), the passage is thus given :— ' [Laertes wounds Hamlet, who in return disarms
him — Laertes then, to prevent himself being struck by Hamlet, rushes on him and
clutches his foil — they struggle."] King. Part them ! they are incens'd. [Hamlet
leaves his foil in Laertes's grasp and picks up the poisoned one.'] Ham. Nay, come
ACT v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 449

King. Part them ! they are incensed.

Ham. Nay, come, again. {The Queen falls.
Osk Look to the queen there, ho ! 290
Hor. They bleed on both sides. — How is it, my lord ?
Osk How is't, Laertes ?
Laer. Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric ;
I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery.
Ham. How does the queen ?
King. She swoons to see them bleed. 295
Queen. No, no, the drink, the drink, — O my dear Ham- 296

let,—
The drink, the drink !— I am poison'd ! {Dies.
Ham. O villany !— Ho ! let the door be lock'd !
Treachery ! seek it out ! {Laertes falls.
290. come, again.] Dyce. come, ii, Huds.
againe. Fx. come againe. QqFa. come 295. swoons] Q'76. founds QqFfFa
again. FF, Johns. Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Cald. /wounds F3F4, Glo. + , Mob.
Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. Sta. Del. come 296. drink, — ] Cap. drink. Ft,
again — Rowe+. come, again — Han. drinke,
Rowe + .or drink, QqFaF3F4. drink —
[The Queen falls.] Cap. Om.
296, 297. O my. ..drink /] One line,
QqFf. there, ho /] F^ there hoa FIF2F3. Ff, Rowe + , Jen.
there howe Q7Q3. there hoe Q^Q5' there. 296. Hamlet,] Ham Q4. Ham, Q$.
—Ho / Sta. Del.
297. poison'd!] poyfned. Qq. poyforid,
291. Two half-lines, Cap. FxFa. poison'd— Rowe + , Jen.
is it] is't Ff, Rowe, Pope,Theob. [Dies.] Queen dies. Rowe. Om.
Warb. Johns. Cap. Jen. Sing. Huds.
298
292. How is't, Laertes?] Hojl ifl 298. villany] villaine Qs. villain
Laeres? Q4.
293. Two lines, Ff. Q'76. Ho!] Theob. ii. how Q2Qr Hoe
QqFf.
to mine] in my Q'76, Han. Q4QS, Pope, Theob. i. How? Ff, Rowe,
mine own] mine Fx. my F2F Knt, Coll. ho Q'76. how?— Jen.
F4, Rowe. my own Pope+, Cap. Jen. How! Cald. Ktly.
Steev. Mai. 298, 299. Ho!. ..out /] One line, Ktly.
springe] fprindge Q3Q3QAFf, 299. out !] out. QqFf. out — Rowe+,
Rowe, Pope, Theob. Han. Cap.
Osric] OJlrick Qq. [Laertes falls.] Cap. Om. Qq
294. I am] I'm Pope + , Hal. Dyce Ff, Rowe-f, Dyce, Glo. + , Mob.

again, [and rushing furiously on Laertes, Jen.

wounds him and he falls.* [See
also Vol. II: Edwin Booth; Marquard; Flathe; Doering; von Frtf-
sen. Ed.]
290. ho !] Staunton: The exclamation, *hol' meaning stop ! should perhaps be
addressed to the combatants, and not to those who are to raise the Queen.
293. woodcock] F. J. V. (^V. 6* Qu., 8 Aug. 1874) : This bird is trained to decoy
other birds, and sometimes, while strutting incautiously too near the springe, it be-
comes itself entangled.
38* 2D
 HAMLET
[act v, sc. ii.
o
45Laer. It is here, Hamlet Hamlet, thou art slain ; 300
No medicine in the world can do thee good,
In thee there is not half an hour of life ;
The treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
Unbated and envenom'd ; the foul practice
Hath tum'd itself on me; lo, here I lie, 305
Never to rise again ; thy mother's poison'd ;
I can no more, — the king — the king's to blame.
Ham. The point envenom'd too !—
Then, venom, to thy work ! \_Stabs the King,
All. Treason! treason! 310
King. Oh, yet defend me, friends ; I am but hurt.
Ham. Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane,
300. // is... slain ;] Two lines, Ff. more> — Bos. more. Coll. El. White.
more ; Cap. et cet.
Rowe, Coll.here, El. Hamlet. Hamlet-]
White, Ktly, Del. Huds.F4, 307. to blame] too blame QqFx.
here Hamlet. Hamlet F,F2F3. here 308. envenom'd too /] inuenom'd to9
Hamlet Qq. here. Hamlet Pope, Theob. QjjQj. enuenom'd to, Q^Q^
Han. here, Hamlet, Warb. here, Ham- 308, 309. The... work.] One line, Qq,
White.
let. Johns. Jen. here, Hamlet : Hamlet
Cap. et cet. 308. 309. envenom' d.. ...work !] One
301. medicine] medcin Q2Q3QA> med- line, Steev. Bos. Cald. Knt, Sing. Coll.
El. Hal. Ktly, Huds.
eeine Q . medicine Johns. Cap.
302. hour of] houres Qq. hour's 309. to thy] do thy Theob. ii +
Q'76, Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. Sing. [Stabs the King.] Rowe. Hurts
the King. Ff. Om. Qq.
303. thy hand] my hand Qq.
304. Unbated] Imbaited Theob. conj. 310. All.] Osr. and Lords. Mai.
(withdrawn, Sh. Rest. p. 1 92). Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Sing. Sta. Ktly.
312. Here] Heare Q3Qr
305. lo,] so Q'83. damned Dane,] One line, Ff.
306. poison'd] poyfortd FXF2. poy- incestuous] incejlious Qq.
fned Qq.
307. can] am Q . murderous] murdrous Fx F .
more — ] Rowe+, Jen. more, tnurcProus F3F4, Rowe + . Om. Qq.
QqFf. more; — Steev. Mai. Dyce. murderous, damned] Om. Q'76.

308. too] Staunton : Recurring to what Laer. had just said, * Unbated and en-
venom'd,' Ham. examines the foil, and, finding the button gone, exclaims : ' The
point — ,' and then, without finishing the sentence, — ■ unblunted '— hurries on to —
'envenom'd too!' &c. [Staunton's text, followed by Delius, thus reads: 'The point
—envenom'd too !— ']
311. but hurt] RoHRBACH (p. 37): Claudius's last words are characteristic; he
says that he is merely wounded, although he knows that the sword which has stabbed
him is poisoned. Thus tenacious is he of that which he has, this present life, until
Ham. forces down his throat the poisoned drink. To his latest breath he is the type
of strength and quick decision. Even his death, his last step, is quick and decided,
as had always been his style of action.
act v, sc. ii.] HAMLET 45 1
Drink off this potion ! Is thy union here ?
Follow my mother ! [King dies.
Laer. He is justly served ;
It is a poison temper'd by himself. — 3 '5
Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet ;
Mine and my father's death come not upon thee,
Nor thine on me ! [Dies.
Ham. Heaven make thee free of it ! I follow thee. —
I am dead, Horatio. — Wretched queen, adieu !— 320
You that look pale and tremble at this chance,
That are but mutes or audience to this act,
Had I but time (as this fell sergeant, death,
313. off this] of this Qq. 3 1 8. me!] Pope. me. QqFf.
thy union'] the Onixe Qq. the [Dies.] On. Qq.
Onyx Q'76, Pope, the union Theob. + , 319. thee free"] the free Theob. i.
Cap. Jen. Steev. Var. El. Hal. 320. lam] I*m Pope + , Huds.
314. [King dies.] Om. Qq. adieu] farewelQld.
314, 315. He... himself.] One line, Qq. 322. to this] at this FaF3F4, Rowe.
315. tempered] Rowe. temperd Qq. 323, 324. time {as. ..arrest) oh] time
tempered Ff. as...arrejl. O Q^QS>
317. upon] on Theob. Warb. Johns.

313. Drink] Capell (i, 149) : The literal sense of these words leads us to
imagine that Ham. pours some of the poisoned cup into the mouth of the King as
he lies gasping, or else dashes what is left on't upon him. But how, then, could
Hor. in either case say what he does in line 329 ? Ham. would hardly pour it so
gently as to leave much behind. It is probable that the expression is figurative, and
spoken upon making the King, who had declared he was only ' hurt,' taste again of
his * sword.'
313. union] Caldecott: There may be a play here upon the word* union.'
Moberly : Was this cursed drug the pearl that you said you were putting in ?
315. temper'd] Clarendon: Mixed, compounded. Compare Exodus, xxix, 2 ;
* cakes unleavened tempered with oil.'
318. Dies] Caldecott: We here find Laer., who was not wounded till after
Ham., first dying of a poison described as singularly quick in its operation. The
purposes of the drama might require that Ham. should survive, and the same quan-
tity of poison may affect different constitutions differently, but the poison of the
• anointed ' sword, which had first entered the body, and was steeped with the blood,
of Ham., must, one would think, in the second instance have lost something of
its active quality, and would consequently have been more slowly operative upon
Laer. [Possibly Ham. gave Laer. a mortal thrust in return for the 'scratch,' which
was all that Laer. was aiming at. So that Laer. dies of the wound, Ham. of the
poison. Ed.]
322. mutes] Johnson : That are either auditors of this catastrophe, or at most
only mute performers, that fill the stage without any part in the action.
 HAMLET [ACT V, SC. il

2
Is45strict in his arrest) oh, I could tell you —
But let it be. — Horatio, I am dead ; 32S
Thou livest ; report me and my cause aright
To the unsatisfied.
Hok Never believe it ;
I am more an antique Roman than a Dane ;
Here's yet some liquor left.
Ham. As thou'rt a man,
Give me the cup ; let go ; by heaven, I'll have't.—
O God !— Horatio, what a wounded name,
Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me !

324. strict] Jlrick'd 329. thou'rt] Cap. th'art QqFf,

Rowe+.
his] this F2F3F4.Fx. Jlrick't F8.
you—] Pope, you, Q2Q3F2F3F4, 330. by heaven?] Om. Q'76.
Rowe. you I Q4QS« you. Fx. you; have't] hate Qq. hav't F3F4. 330
Q'76. ha't Cap. have it Steev. Var. Cald.
325. be.—] Coll. be; Qq. be: Ff. Knt, Coll. i, White, Hal. Del.
be — Rowe + . [Struggling, Hamlet gets it.
Coll. (MS).
326. cause aright] cause a right Q.
Q3. causes right Ff, Rowe. 331. O God !— Horatio,] Cap. Ogod
327. the] be F3F4. Horatio, QQ. O God Horatio ! Qfis.
Never believe] Never ; believe O Horatio Q'76. Oh good Horatio, F,
Han.
F2F3, Pope + , Del. Dyce, Glo. + , Mob.
[takes the cup. Coll. (MS). Oh, good Horatio, F4, Rowe, Knt, Sta.
328. I am] I'm Pope + , Dyce ii. 332. live] I leave Qq, Jen. leave
antique] anticke Q2Q,. antike White.
Q4QSF1F3. AnHckYf,. me!] Jen. me? Qq, Rowe + ,
329» 330* As. ..cup] Separate line, Ff, Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt, Coll. i, El.
Rowe. White, me. Ff.

323. as] See IV, iii, 58. Abbott (§ 1 10) : An ellipsis must be supplied here :
' Had I but time (which I have not) — as,' &c.
323. sergeant] Ritson : The bailiff or sheriff's officer. M ALONE: So in Sil-
vester's Du Bartas :— 'And Death, drad serjant of th' eternall Judge, Comes very
late to his sole-seated Lodge.' — The Third Day of the first Week, p. 30, ed. 1633.
Hunter (ii, 266) : Silvester is the earlier writer, but Shakespeare's substitution of
« fell ' for • dread ' shows a master hand.
326. cause aright] Delius (ed. i) : Perhaps the text of the Ff should read
' cause's right.' [Not repeated in ed. ii.]
328. Roman] Franz Horn (ii, 91) : This allusion is characteristic; in the very
first scene Hor. described vividly the omens that took place ' ere the mightiest Juliu?

332. live behind] Staunton: Compare, 'No glory lives behind the back of
fell.'
such.' — Much Ado, III, i, no. White: The reading of the Ff infelicitously
makes ' Things standing thus unknown ' parenthetical, and as Q3 has ' shall I leave
behind me,' and Qx, 'What a scandal wouldst thou leave behind,' I have no doubt
act v, sc. «.] HAMLET 453

If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,

Absent thee from felicity awhile,
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, 335
To tell my story. — [March afar off, and shot within.
What warlike noise is this ?
Osr. Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland,
To the ambassadors of England gives
This warlike volley.
Ham. Oh, I die, Horatio ;
The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit ; 340
I cannot live to hear the news from England.
But I do prophesy the election lights
On Fortinbras ; he has my dying voice ;
So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less,
334. [Firings within. Cap. 338. To the] To tk* Q2Q3Ff, Rowe.
336. story] tale Pope, Theob. Han. Tk th* Q4. Tk' Q$.
Warb. 338, 339. To.. ..volley.] Pope. One
[March. ...shot within.] Steev. line, QqFf, Rowe.
March afarre off, and (hout within. Ff. 338. ambassadors] ambassador Han.
A march a farre off. Qq. March at some 340. quite] quie F3.
distance.. .within. Dyce ii. Om. Cap. d er-crows] ore-growes Q.QS'
this?] this? [Exit Osrick. Jen. der-grows Pope + , Jen. El. oertkrows
337. Scene vi. Pope + , Jen. E. B. H.
[Enter Ofrick. QqFf, Rowe+, 344. and less] or less F, Rowe + , Jen.
Jen. Sing, i, Cald.
that in the Folio there is a slight misprint. The possible objection that Ham., and
net the things unknown, would leave the name, is of a prosaic sort that need not be
regarded. Stratmann : It can hardly be denied that the reading of the Qq is more
natural than that of the Ff.
334. felicity] Delius : The joys of heaven.
340. o'er-crows] Jennens : As a victorious cock crows over his defeated antago-
nist. Steevens : This expression is also found in Chapman's Odyssey, lib. xxi :—
* and told his foe It was not fair, nor equal, t' overcrow The poorest guest.' Ma-
LONE: Again, in the epistle prefixed to Nash's Apologie of Pierce Pennilesse, 1593:
' About two yeeres since a certayne demi-divine took upon him to set his foote on
mine, and overcrowe me with comparative terms.' Clarendon : Johnson quotes
from Spenser's View of tke Present State of Ireland (Globe ed., p. 660) : ' A base
>arlett, that being but of late growen out of the dounghill beginneth nowe to over-
crowe soe high mountaynes, and make himselfe greate protectour of all outlawes
and rebells that will repayre vnto him.' Tschischwitz adopts over-awes in his text,
as ' the only word which affords a suitable sense.'
344. occurrents] Steevens: Incidents, occurrences. Compare: 'As our occur-
rents happen in degree.' — Drayton's Barons' Wars, bk i, canto xii. Clarendon:
Compare Holland's Pliny, xxv, 2 : ' This occurrent fell out in Lacetania, the nearest
part unto vs of Spain.'
454 HAMLET [act v, sc. ii.
Which have solicited — the rest is silence. [Dies. 345
Hor. Now cracks a noble heart — Good night, sweet
prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest !—
Why does the drum come hither ? [March within.
345. solicited—] Jen. Coll. Del. El. dies. Cap.
White, Ktly, Hal. Dyceii, Huds. fo- 346. Now... prince,] Two lines, Ff.
Ii cited, Qq. folicited: Q'76. solicited, — cracks] cracke F .
Cap. Steev. Mai. Cald. Sing, folicited. prince] Prience F .
Ff et cet. 347. flights] flight Q^. choires Q'76.
is silence] in fllence Q' '76. ' sing] flnge Q4Q5* wingWzxb.
silence.] Qq. fllence. O, o, o, o. [March within.] Cap. Om. Qq
Fj, Cald. fllence, 0,o,o,o,Fa. fllence, Ff, Rowe+, Jen. March without Sta.
O, o, 0. F3F4, Rowe. After line 347, Cam.
[Dies.] Ff. Om. Qq. sinks, and

345. solicited] Warburton: That is, brought on the event. Heath (p. 551) :
That is, incited me to the act of vengeance I have just performed. Mason : The
sentence is left imperfect. Walker (Crit. iii, 274) : * Solicit,' like many other
words derived from the Latin, — as religion for worship or service, &c, — had not yet
lost its strict Latin meaning. Lettsom {foot-note to foregoing) : The original signi-
fication ofthe Latin word seems to have been to move, and the various meanings
attached to it by lexicographers are but modifications of this primary one. Ham.
seems to have been thinking of the events that had ' solicited ' or moved him to re-
commend Fort, as successor to the throne. Clarendon : Compare Rich. II: I, ii,
2. [See Macb. I, iii, 130.]
345. The rest is silence] Clarendon: If Hamlet's speech is interrupted by
his death, it would be more natural that these words should be spoken by Hor.
Moberly : To Ham. silence would come as the most welcome and most gracious
of friends, as relief to the action-wearied soul, freedom from conflicting motives,
leisure for searching out all problems, release from the toil of finding words for
thought ; as the one sole language of immortality, the only true utterance of the
infinite.
345. White: The O, 0, o, 0, of the Folio is the addition, doubtless, of some
actor.
346. cracks] Elsewhere used by Sh. where we should now use break. See Per.
Ill, ii, 78; Cor. V, iii, 9.
347. rest] Collier (ed. ii) : The remainder of the tragedy is struck through
with a pen in the (MS) and the word Finis subjoined, to show that it was there at
an end. The concluding lines also are thus converted into a couplet : ' Now cracks
a noble heart : good night, be blest, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.'
Another ' tag ' is added afterwards, of a very poor and inanimate character, most
unlike the language of Sh. which, it seems, the performer of the part of Hor. was
also to deliver when the piece was abbreviated ; it is as follows :— While I remain
behind to tell a tale, That shall hereafter turn the hearers pale.' Although the con-
clusion ishastened in this way, the old annotator has continued his corrections to
the end of the tragedy, as it has come down to us ; but from what source he derived
ACT V, SC. U.] HAMLET 455
Enter Fortinbras, and the English Ambassadors, with Drum,
Colours, and Attendants.

Fort. Where is this sight ?

Hor. What is it ye would sec ?
If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.
Fort. This quarry cries on havoc. — O proud Death !
What feast is toward in thine eternal cell,
That thou so many princes, at a shot,
So bloodily hast struck ?
348. Enter...] Theob. + , Jen. Cam.
351. This] His Ff. 3SO
Cla. Enter Fortinbras and Englifh cries on havoc] cries out, havoc h
Ambaflador,... Ff, Rowe, Pope. Enter Han. cries — on havock. Warb.
FortenbrafTe, with the EmbafTadors. Qq proud] prou'd Q3Q3.
(Fortinbrafle Q.Qc). Enter... Embassa- 352. toward] tovJrd Pope+, Jen.
dors, and others. Cap. et cet. thine eternal] thine infernal
349. this] the F3F4, Rowe. Q'76, Jen. El. thy infernal Theob.
ye] FXF„, Knt, Coll. Del. Dyce, Warb. Jolins.
El. Sta. White, Glo. Hal. Huds. Mob. 353. shot] Jhoote Fs. Jhoot F2F3F4,
you QqF3F4 et cet. Rowe, Knt.
350. aught] Han. ought QqFf, Rowe, 354. struck] Rowe. flrook Q2Q3F3F4,
Pope, Theob. Cap. Cap. Jlrooke Q4QSFXF2.
search.] fearch? Q'76.
his information we know not ; perhaps he had at one time witnessed the performance
in its entirety, and had remedied defects from the recitation of the actors.
351. quarry] The game killed. See Macb. IV, iii, 206.
351. cries on] Johnson: To exclaim against. I suppose when unfair sportsmen
destroyed more quarry or game than was reasonable the censure was to cry Havock,
Caldecott : See Oth. V, i, 48. White : « This heap of dead proclaims an indis-
criminate slaughter.' Clarendon : * This pile of corpses urges to merciless slaugh-
ter, where no quarter is given.' In the Statutes of Warre, &c, by King Henry VIII
(15 13), quoted in Todd's ed. of Johnson's Diet., it is enacted, ' That noo man be so
hardy to crye havoke, upon payne of hym that is so founde begynner, to dye there-
fore; and the remenaunt to be emprysoned, and theyr bodyes punyshed at the
lcynges will.' See also the Ordinances of War of Richard II and Henry V, pub-
lished in the Black Book of the Admiralty (ed. Twiss), i, 455, 462. The etymology
of the word is purely conjectural. Some derive it from the Welsh hafog, destruc-
tion ;others from the A. S. hafocf a hawk ; others from the French hai, voux / a cry
to hounds.
352. feast] Caldecott : This allusion has, no doubt, some connection with the
usage of all the northern nations, their Ambarvalia or Arval suppers referred to by-
Ham. I, ii, 180. Compare « Death feasts.' — King John', II, i, 354.
352. toward] See I, i, 77.
352. eternal] Walker {Crit. i, 62) gives two other instances besides this and 1,
v, 21 (which see), where ' eternal' seems to be used for infernal: Jul. Cess. I, ii,
160; Oth. IV, ii, 1154. 'This seems to be still in use among the common people.
X need scarcely notice the Yankee Harnal*
45 6 HAMLET [actv, sc. ii
First Amb. The sight is dismal ;
And our affairs from England come too late; 355
The ears are senseless that should give us hearing,
To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd,
That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.
Where should we have our thanks ?
Hor. Not from his mouth,
Had it the ability of life to thank you ; 360
He never gave commandment for their death.
But since, so jump upon this bloody question,
You from the Polack wars, and you from England,
Are here arrived, give order that these bodies
High on a stage be placed to the view ; 365
And let me speak to the yet unknowing world
How these things came about ; so shall you hear
Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,
Of accidental judgements, casual slaughters,
Of deaths put on by cunning, and forced cause, 370
354. First Amb.] 1. E. Cap. Embaf. QAQ5. Polake FfFs.
Qq. Amb. Ff. 364. arrived, give] arriued. Give
357,361. commandment] commande- F2F2F . arrived: Give F.
tnent Qq (commandment, line 357, Q3 365. the view] publick view Q'76.
Q3). command* ment Ff, Rowe, Pope, 366. to the yet] Cap. to th} yet Q QsFf,
Theob. White. Rowe + . to yet Q2Qr
360. life] breath Q'76. 368. carnal] cruell Q4Q5, Rowe + ,
362. jump] apt Q'76. full Pope, Cap. Jen.
Theob. i, Han. 370. deaths] death's FXF9.
363. Polack] Pollack Q2Q,. Pollock forced cause] for no caufeQq,] en.

359. his mouth] Of course this refers to the King, as Warburton long ago
pointed out. But, strange to say, Theobald referred it to Ham., a noteworthy slip
in one of the best editors Sh, ever had, and it is quite as remarkable that the slip
escaped the notice of the subsequent Variorum editors, who omitted no chance of
making merry over * poor Tib and his Toxophilus.'
362. jump] See I, i, 65.
368. carnal] Malone : Of sanguinary and unnatural acts, to which the perpe-
trator was instigated by concupiscence, or, to use Shakespeare's own words, by
' carnal stings.' Hor. alludes to the murder of old Hamlet by his brother, previous
to his incestuous union with Gertrude. A Remarker asks, ' Was the relationship
between the usurper and the deceased king a secret confined to Hor. ?' No, but
the murder of Hamlet by Claudius was a secret which. the young Prince had im-
parted toHor., and to him alone; and to this it is he principally, though covertly,
alludes,
369, 370. Of accidental . . . cause] Delius: The first line refers to Pol., the
second to Ros. and Guil., whose deaths were * forced ' on Ham.
 457
ACT V. SC. ii.] HAMLET

And, in this upshot, purposes mistook 37 J

Fall'n on the inventors' heads. All this can I
Truly deliver.
Fort. Let us haste to hear it,
And call the noblest to the audience.
For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune ; 375
I have some rights of memory in this kingdom,
Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me.
Hon Of that I shall have also cause to speak,
And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more ;
But let this same be presently perform'd, 380
Even while men's minds are wild ; lest more mischance,
On plots and errors, happen.
Fort Let four captains
Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage ;
Jhall always F4.
372. inventors'"] Theob. ii. inuenters
Qq. Inuentors FxFa, Rowe, Pope, Han. 379. And. ..mouth ;] Separate line, Ff.
Theob. i. Inventor's F„F,.
34 #> on more] no more Qq, Rowe,
374. noblest] noblefs Q'76, Pope ii, Pope.
Theob. Warb. Johns, noblesse Cap. 380. same] scene Coll. ii (MS).
376. rights] rights, QaQr Rites Ff. 381. lest. ..mischance] Separate line,
Ff.
377. doth. ..me.] Separate line, Ff,
Rowe. while] whiles Ff, Rowe.
now to] are to Ff. 382. plots and] plots, and Ff, Rowe,
vantage] inter ejt Q'76. Cap. Steev. Var. Cald. Knt.
378. shall have also] Jhall haue 383. to the] off the F3F4, Rowe,
alwayes Fx, Cald. Jhall alwayes F2F . Pope.

370. put on] Malone: Instigated. See Cor. II, i, 272. [See I, iii, 94.]
371. upshot] Clarendon: This conclusion of the tragedy. In archery the
* upshot ' was the final shot, which decided the match. It is used in the same meta*
phorical sense in Twelfth Night, IV, ii, 76.
376. rights of memory] Malone : Some rights which are remembered.
379. voice will draw on] Theobald: Hor. is to deliver the message given
him by Ham., lines 343, 344, and justly infers that Hamlet's 'voice ' will be seconded
by others.
380. same] Collier (ed. ii) : The alteration by the (MS) is so much superior
to the QqFf in reference to the words * perform'd ' and • stage,' which occur just
afterwards, that we make the change, not only without reluctance, but with thank-
fulness for the improvement upon the usual tame and unfigurative line. ' Same ' for
scene was the easiest possible misprint from carelessly written manuscript.
382. On] Caldecott: In consequence of. [See Abbott, § 180.]
382. four captains] Hunter (ii, 266) : As may be seen in the monument in
Westminster Abbey of Sir Francis Vere, a soldier, who died 1608. This was no
doubt at that time the accustomed mode of burial of a soldiei of rank.
39
458 HAMLET [act v, sc. u.
For he was likely, had he been put on,
To have proved most royally; and, for his passage, 385
The soldiers' music and the rites of war
Speak loudly for him. —
Take up the bodies. — Such a sight as this
Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. —
Go, bid the soldiers shoot. 390
[A dead march. Exeunt, bearing off the bodies ;
after which a peal of ordnance is shot off.
385. Two lines, Ff. ami eJJT Fa.
royally] royall Qq. 390. [A dead march.] Cap.
386. soldiers'] Souldiours Fx. Exeunt....] Exeunt solemnly,...
rites] right Qq, Cap. rights Cap. Exeunt. Qq. Exeunt Marching :
Q'76, Knt. after the which, a Peale of Ordenance are
388. bodies] body Ff, Rowe+, Cald. fhot off. Ff (after which, F3F4. Ord-
Knt, Coll. Del. White. nance, F3F3F4).
389. amiss] amiffe Qq. amis Fx.

384. put on] Caldecott : Put to the proof, tried.

390. Moberly: Ham. has gained the haven for which he longed so often; yet
without bringing guilt on himself by his death ; no fear that his sleep should have
bad dreams in it now. Those whom he loved, his mother, Laer., Oph., have all
died guiltless or forgiven. Late, and under the strong compulsion of approaching
death, he has done, and well done, the inevitable task from which his gentle nature
shrank. "Why, then, any farther thought, in the awful presence of death, of crimes,
conspiracies, vengeance? Think that he has been slain in battle, like his Sea- King
forefathers ; and let the booming cannon be his mourners.
 INDEX TO SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT
NOTES IN THE FIRST VOLUME

A~*scme . V, ii, 91 A-making . . .. . . I, in, 119

A = one V, ii, 252 Amazement .. .. Ill, ii, 311
Abhorred in . . • • V, i, 170 Ambition Ill, iii, 55
About .. • . . . II, ii, 564 Anchors Ill, ii, 209
Abridgements . . . . II, ii, 401 An end I, v, 19
Absolute V, i, 129 An end Ill, iv, 22
Abstracts II, ii, 501 An eye of you . . . . II, ii, 283
Absurd . . • . . . Ill, ii, 55 And my son . . . . I, ii, 64
Abuses II, ii, 579 And to my king . . .. II, ii, 45
Access .. • . . . II, i, 1 10 And^yes, and .. .. Ill, ii, 43
Acquittance seal .. . . IV, vii, 1 And now = and there now II, ii, 100
Act of fear I, ii, 205 Annexment . . .. Ill, iii, 21
Action Ill, i, 48 Anoint .. .. . . IV, vii, 141
Actor II, ii, 373 Anon... drooping . . .. V, i, 274
Actor of Hamlet, the original V, ii, 274 Another II, i, 29
A-cursing II, ii, 562 Another tongue ;. . . V, ii, 123
Adieu •• . . . • I, v, 91 Answer II, ii, 82
Addition ♦ . • . . . I, .iv, 20 Antic I, v, 172
Addition II, i, 47 Any the most . . .. I, ii, 99
Admiration I, ii, 192 Apoplex'd Ill, iv, 75
Admiration Ill, ii, 311 Appears . . .. . . I, ii, 201
Adulterate I, v, 42 Approve . . .♦ . . I, i, 29
./Eneas' tale to Dido .. II, ii, 425 Approve V, ii, 132
Aerie II, ii, 327 Appurtenance . . . . II, ii, 353
Affections Ill, i, 162 Argument . . . . . . II, ii, 340
Affrighted II, i, 75 Arm Ill, iii, 24
Affront . . . . .. Ill, i, 31Arm'd .. . . . . I, ii, 226
Again I, i, 21Armour I, i, 60
Age and body of the time III, ii, 22Arras II, ii, 162
Aim IV, v, Art
9 II, ", 96
A length V, Article
ii, 252 V, ii, 115
Allow I, ii, 38As = asif I, ii, 217
Allow'd V, i, 47 As I do live . . . . I, ii, 221
All we II, ii, 150 As he in his particular act I, iii, 26
Alone II, ii, 522 As =» namely .. .. I, iv, 25
Along I, i, 26 As=*as if II, i, 91
Along Ill, iii, 4 As against Ill, iv, 50
Already I, v, 147 As~as if 459 iv, 135
Ill,
 INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

As4=60for so
IV, iii, 58
IV, v, 99 Be [implying doubt] .. I,
As = as if Be or not to be .. .. Ill, , 265
As = as though IV, vi, 21 Beaten II, i , 39
As = inasmuch as IV, vii, 63 Beating I, ,, 108
109
IV, vii, 159 Beautified . . .. ,. II,
As = for so , 5639
As . . V, ii, 323 Beauty.. .virtue .. .. Ill, ,229
As stars with trains of fire I, i, 117 Beaver I, i
V, i, 43
Ases . . Beck Ill, , 125
29
Aslant IV, vii, 1 63 Bed-rid .. .. ,. I, i
Assail.. .fortify I, i, 31 Befitted I, i
Assay .. III, i, 14 Beggar that I am . . .. II, i ,257
Assay . . III, iii, 69
II, ii, 71 Beggars' bodies . . .. II, i
Assay of arms Begun by time .. .. IV, v , 2
Assays of bias II, i, 65 Belike Ill, , 266
Assurance V, i, 109
III, iii, 39 Benefit [involving the idea
As will of a benefactor] . . I, ii,.382
111,
ii,
iii, 302
, 367
112
44
At = up to III, iv, 209 Bent II,
At height IV, Bent Ill,
I, iii,
iv, 4321 ii», 139
At help
IV, iii, 53 Bent, is IV, i,i, 11343
At foot Beshrew II,
i, 44
At point I, ii, 200 Bespeak II,
Attended II, ii, 263 Best = ^* best . . .. I,
I, ii, 193
Attent Bestow Ill, ii, 141
Attraction, number of. the Beteem I, ii, 250
verb influenced by I, ", 33 Better'd...odds .. . . V, v, 37
Attraction . , III, ii, 186 Between the pass .. .. V, ii,
ii, 178
I, ", 57 Bevy 61
Avouch . , V,
A-work • , II, ii, 466 Bewept . . ,. . . IV, ii, ii, 374
484
Awry • , HI, i, 87 Bilboes V,
i, 6
Audit III, iii, 82 Bisson II,
III, i, 96 Bitter business iii, 42
Aught • . . . . . Ill,
Augury . , V, ii, 207 Blastments .. . . I,
Aunt-mother II, ii, 358 Blank IV, », i, 57
423
Auspicious . , I, ii, 11 Blanks [verb] .. . . Ill, iv, 44
Authorities
Ay = officers Blazon I. ii, 210
thority IV, ii, 15 Blench II, v, 21
Ay of au
Axe Blister Ill,
IV,
I, v, 212
v, 42 Bloat Ill,
iv, 182
II, i, 36 Blood = temperament . . I, ii , 646
iii,
Blood I,
III, ii, 363 116
iii, 159
Back'd... weasel Blood and judgement . • III, iv, 58
Baked meats Blood IV,
I, ii, 180 ii, 169
IV, v, 41 Blown Ill,
Baker's daughter
Baptista . III, ii, 229 Board him . . .. . . II,
Bare bodkin III, i, 76 Bodkin Ill, vi, 24
i, 76
Barred I, ", 114 Body is with the king . . IV, ii, 67
Bated V, i, 23 Bore of the matter . . 3V, ii, 26
Batten III, iv, 67 Borne in hand .. .. II,
Bawds • . I, iii, 130 Bosom .• •9 .■ II,
ii, 112
 INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME
III, i, 79
Bourn Cannoneer . . .• V, ii, 263
Box V, i, 105 Cannot [with double nega-
Brain II, ii, 564 tive] I, ii, 158
Brain III, iv, 137
Capable Ill, iv, 127
Brainish IV, i, 11 Capitol Ill, ii, 97
Brains Hi ii, 343 Card V, i, 130 461
Brave o'er-hanging II, ii, 292 Card or calendar . . . . V, ii, 109
Bravery V, ii, 79
Carnal V, ii, 368
Bread Carriage I, i, 94
III, iii, • 80
Break we [subjunctive] I, i, 168 Carrion, good kissing .. II, ii, 1 81
Breathe II, i, 31 Cart Ill, ii, 145
Breathe III, iv, 198 Carve I, iii, 20
Breathing-time V, ii, 167 Ca.st = design .. .. II, i, 115
Bringing home Cat. ..mew . . . . V, i, 280
V, i, 221
Broad-blown III, iii, 81 Cautel I, iii, 15
Brokers I, iii, 127 Caviare II, ii, 416
IV, vii, 94
Brooch Cease of majesty . . .. Ill, iii, 15
Brother V, ii, 231 Censure = opinion .. I, iii, 69
Brows IV, v, us Censure = opinion ,. I, iv, 35
Bruit
IIII,
,
ii,
ii,
127
99 Censure =» opinion .. Ill, ii, 25
Brute Censure = opinion .• III, ii, 82
Bugs Centre II, ii, 158
V,
Hi i, 95
i, 22
Bulk Cerements I, iv, 48
Burnt and purged I, v, 14 Challenger on mount .. IV, vii, 28
But Chamber V, i, 182
I, i, 81
But = except Chameleons .. .. Ill, ii, 88
I, i, 102
But = except Change that name .. I, ii, 163
I, i, 108
But [redundant] II, ii, 29 Character [its accent] .. I, iii, 59
But = only II, ii, 272 Character [a dissyllable] .. IV, vii, 52
But = merely II, ii, 451
Chariest . . .-. .. I, iii, 36
But [adversative] II, ii, 552 Checking IV, vii, 63
But V, ii, 135
Cheer = cheerfulness .• III, ii, 154
But III, iv, 189 Cherub IV, iii, 47
Buttons I, iii, 40 Chief in that .• . . I, iii, 74
II, ", 375
Buz Chopine II, ii, 407
"By ^ with II, ii, 126 Chorus Ill, ii, 234
By = about ', concerning II, ii, 186 Chough V, ii, 88
By and by «= immediately HI, ii, 366 Circumstance [a collective
II, ii, 406 noun] I, iii, 102
By'r [pronunication]
By time IV, vii, 112 Circumstance .. .. I, v, 127
III, ii, 97 Circumstance .. .. Ill, i, 1
City = London .„ •• II, ii, 316
Calm IV, v, 113 Clepe I, iv, 19
ing]
Can [used in original mean Climature I, i, 125
IV, vii, 85 Closely = secretly . . .. Ill, i, 29
III, ", 55
Candie .. Closes... consequence .• II, i, 45
d I, iii, 39
Canker ., Closet II, i, 77
Canon I, ii, 132 Clowns Ill, ii, 36
Canonized . . I, iv, 47
Cock I, i, 150

39*
 INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME
IV, v, 59
Cock =» God .. .. Contraction ., . . Ill, iv, 46
462 Contrary .. .. , , III, ii, 201
Cock crows [stage- direc- I, h 139 Converse
tion] .♦ .. ., . . II, i, 42
Cockle-hat IV, v, 25 Convoy I, iii, 3
Coil .. HI, i, 67 Corrupted currents . . Ill, iii, 57
IV, vii, 173
Cold maids Coted II, ii, 307
Colleagued I» ", 31
IV, v, 9 Coted = auotea* .. . . II, i, 112
Collection . . Couch V, i, 210
IV, v, 175
Columbines Count = account .. . . IV, vii, 17
Come [participle used with Countenance = favour . . IV, ii, 15
III, ii, 23 Counter IV, v, 106
out • being']
Come, bird, come .. I, v, 116 Counterfeit presentment . . Ill, iv, 54
Come on . . .. V, ii, 241 Courb Ill, iv, 155
Comma •• •• V, i, 42
Courses I, v, 66
Commendable ,. I,
III, Hi,", 87 Court V, ii, 78
3
Commission Cousin I, ii, 64
Ii ii, 74
Common .. ,. II, ii, 335 Covenant . • . • . • I, i, 93
Common players . . Cracks V, ii, 346
Commune = common IV, v, 196 Grants V, i, 220
Commutual . , III, ii, 150 Credent = credible . . I, iii, 30
Compact
ral] .• .. I, i, 86 Cried in the top . . . . II, ii, 418
Companies [attributive plu Cries on V, ii, 351
II, ii, 14 Crimeful IV, vii, 7
I, iv, 52 Croaking raven .. . . Ill, ii, 243
Complete [accent]
I, iv,
V, ii, 27
99 Crown of Denmark elect-
Complexion = temperament
Complexion ive I, ii, 109
II, », 354
Comply •, Crowner V, i, 4
Comply ., V, ii, 178 Crowner's quest law ... V, i, 21
IV, ii, 6
Compounded Cry Ill, ii, 265
Comrade .. I, iii, 65 Cue II, ii, 534
Conceit = conception II, ii, 530 Cunnings IV, vii, 156
Conceit = imagination III,
IV, iv, 114 Custom not known . . IV, v, 100
v, 43
Conceit . . Cut-purse . . .. . . Ill, iv, 99
II, ii, 183
Conception [a quibble] III,- iv, 195
Conclusions . . Daintier V, i, 68
Condolement . . I, ii, 93
Daisy IV, v, 178
Confederate , . III, ii, 244 Danes IV, v, 148
Confession . • IV, vii, 96
Dangerous .. . . Ill, iii, 6
Confine • , .. I, i, 155 Danskers II, i, 7
Confines = confinement II, ii, 241 Dare stir . .
III, .. . . I, i, 161
iii, 47
Confront .• ,» Dear Ill, ii, 58
Conjuration .• V, i, 38 Dearest I, ii, 182
Conjuring . . .. IV, iii, 63 Debt Ill, ii, 183
Conscience .• V, ii, 283
Declining [Sh.'s peculiar
Consent ., .. use of] II, ii, 456
III, ii, 282
Consonancy . , II, ii, 278 Defeat II, ii, 545
Contagion . . .. IV, Vii, 148 Defeated joy .. . . I, ii, 10
Continent . , .. IV, iv, 64 Defence IV, vii, 98
Continent. ..see . . Definement * . . . V, ii, in
V, ii, no
 155 I
,
13
1,

v, I,
I,
V,

I,
INDEX Ill,TO THE FIRST VOLUME 463
124
123 i
ii,ii Drown'd , IV, vii, 185
Deject [-<?</ omitted]
Delver
IV,
I, , Drunkards •. .. I, iv, 19
Demonstrated ..
•II, V,
ii, Dull thy palm .. .. I, iii, 64
Denmark .. .. II, Dumb to us .. .. I, i, 171
73157 , i
Deprive your sovereignty I, V,
Dupp'd IV, v, 51
Desires .. .. i
I,60i, Duke'si, name
I, Duty
i, .. . . Ill, ii, 229
Devil IV, I, ", 39
Dexterity . ♦ .t IV, 575 Duty I, ii, 252
Diameter •• ••
v, Dye which their investments
show I, iii, 128
Did go .• •( I,
Dilated
37275
Disappointed .. iv, 77
ii, Eager ., .. . , I,
I, iv,
v, 692
Disasters in the sun III, 118 Eager
i
iI,, III, iv, 64
Disclose .• •• IV, 166
V, [corrupted to
Ear Deer] . .
I12,1 87 Ease, ifor, mine . . .. V, ii, 105
Disclosed .. • « II, ,
Discourse . . • . iii,
I , East andi , west I, iv, 17
Eastern 4*
Discourse of reason IV, I, i, 167
150 Eat. ..devil ,
Discovery . . .. IV, "l 38 III,
IV, iv,
v, 161
96
Diseases desperate grown 9 Eats not the flats .. • .
75 Ecstasy
20 V, ,
Disjoint [-«/ omitted] I, i II, i, 102
III
i, Ecstasy . . . . , , , iv, 74
Dispatch'd = bereft III, III, i, 160
V,
Disposition ■= mood III, 2i0i4, Ecstasy , . .. . .
Disposition • • III,
55 Ecstasy
V,
36
III, iv, 138
12
Disprized . . ., 155 ~ed omitted i,
. . . . III, i, 155
IV, 288 -ed omitted . . . , I, ii, 20
Distemper' d ..
119 •ed omitted , . . .
Distill'd
Distract \-ed omitted]
III,
IV, v, 2173 •ed omitted i, . . . .
III, iv, 182
III, iv, 207
Distrust •• *. IV, •ed omitted . , . . IV, v, 2
Divided .. .• IV, Edge III, i, 26
iiSi
j III, iv, 129
Divinity . , ,, Effects . . . . .
II,
Document . . • « II, V v, Eisel
72
V, i,264
IV, vii, 13
Dog... day i 280215 Either which • . . •
III, iv,
III, 169
ii, 343
Double comparatives IV, 11193 Either master the devil . .
Doubt Eloquent
118 .. . . ..
Doubt IV, V Embark'd
IV, I, iii, I
Emulate «=» emulous .. I, », 83
Doubtful [Ophelia's death] I
, 6, Enact
III, ii, 96
Douts — do out . . n, i,
Don =>do on .. IV, viiV I, Enactures . .
III, . . , . III, ii, 187
I I,
Doom . . .. II, iv Ii,i, Encumbered
i,
Encompassment and drift I, v,
II, i, 174
10
Doun-a-doun-a . . V . 5o * , . .
I,
i p 5o Ends
Down-gyved
Dozen or sixteen lines II, ii , 16611, III,
V, iii,
ii, 69
10
»5i5 Engaged . . . , , .
Dram of eale . . v,, 80i2i0,7 England III, iv, 200
Dream .. .. iv 21 Enginer III,
III, iv,
iv, 206
iv, 92
95
Dream of . . .. . 36 Enseam'd
Dreaded 10 Enter in
III, • 25 V, ii, 194
Dreadful Entertainment
Drift of circumstance 1 Entreatments
Drink off . . Enviously I, iii, 122
Z*Z IV, v, 6
464 INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME
II, ", 333 III, i, 185
Escoted Find =fnd out IV, i, 25
Estate V, i, 209 Fine IV, v, 157
Eternal blazon <> . .. Fine It sends
Eternal I, ii,
v, 352
21 Fine dirt . .
V, V, i, 101
Fine of his fines ..
Even = exactly ..
I, ii, V, vii,
",i, 293
100
Even-christen V, i, 218
27 Fire [dissyllable] . . IV,
II, 114
Evidence III, iii, 64 Firmament . . ..
II, ", 173
Fishmonger
Excellent differences • . V, ii, 107
II, ii, 213 Flushing [dissyllable]
Flourishes II, », 91
Except my life I, ", 155
Exception = objection V, ii, 218 I, v, 99
Excrements . . . . III, iv, 121 Folio, faulty repetition in III, iv, 12
Expostulate . . Fond = foolish
II,
II, ii, 86
ii, 297 V, ii, 183
I, iv, 54
Express . . .• . . Fond and winnowed
II, ",355
Extent V, Fools of nature I, », 35
Extravagant •• . . I, i, 154 For bearers
II, ii, 189 For and = besides, except V, i, 90
Extremity . . . . . . II, ii, 327 For = instead of . .
Eyases I, i", 131
Eye = royal presence . . IV, iv, 456 For = instead of . .
IV, vii, V, i, 249
For, confounded with sir V, i, 218
Eye ■= royal presence • . HI, omitte
For loved] [definite article III, iv, 144
Fail =pall or fall? III, h I,9
j. air « • •• •• •• III,
IV, For mine ease V, ii, 105
iv, 66 For to III, i, 167
Fair state i, 152
Fall unshaken . . . . HI, I, For to V, i, 91
ii, 181
HI, iv, 194
Fame, fantasy and trick of iv,V,61 For yourself II, ii, 201
V, i, 209
Famous ape . . . . HI, iv, 203 Fordo
II, i, 103
V, Fordoes
Fang'd HI, i, 23
Fantasy , . , . Fortenbras [derivation]
I, i,
II, i, 82
79
Fardels ii,
i, 87 76 Foul'd [various readings in
Fares ii, 274 copies of the same edition] II, ", 159
Fashion iii, I6, Four [indefinite number]
Fat II, II, », 382
V, ii, 537
III, ii,i, 183 Four captains .. . .
194 Free
Favour II,
Favourites flies • . .• III, ii, 229 Free . .
", 57 III, ii, 221
Favours iiv,, 259 Free
IV,,
HI iii, 60
ii, 410
French .. •. .. II, ii, 355
Fawning =faining . .
Fay
IV, v
iii,, 51
Fret II, ii, 293
Fear = fear for .. ., III, v, Fretted
iii, 25 Friending II, i, 52
Tear =fear for . . .. Friend... gentleman
v, 118
Fear** bugbear •• ., III, i, 159 I, III, ii, 19
Feast From . . .. .. I, v, 186
II, ", 352 Fruit II,
II,
ii, 52
ii, 529
Feature =form •• II, IV, iv, 39
Feelingly 4783 Function
iiii,, 10
Fell incensed points . , Fust
Fellies
iv,II, ii, 61
i, 25 Gain-giving
Fencing v, 175 V, ii, 203
Fennel « . Gainst I, i, 153
Fetch of warrant I,
i, 38 Gait I, », 31
", 15$
Fierce events Galled
i, 121
 INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME 465
Gape I, ii, 244 Handsome than fine .. II, ii, 424
Garden I, », 135 Hangers V, ii, 145
Garrisoned IV, iv, 24 Happily I, i, 134
General-gender .• . . IV, vii, 18 Harrows I, i, 44
Gentry = gentleness . . II, ii, 22 Hast, and their adoption
Gentry => gentility . 0 . . V, ii, 109 tried I, iii, 62
Germane . . . . . . V, ii, 152 Hatchment .. . .• IV, v, 208
Gib . . Ill, iv, 190 Hath [the person of the verb
Gis IV, v, 56 determined by the ante-
Give you good night . . I, i, 16 ced nt] . . .. . . Ill, ii, 63
Giving-out = profession . . I, v, 178 Have after .. . . I, iv, 89
Gnomic lines . . . . I, iii, 59 Have =find .. .. IV, vii, 25
God be wi' you . . . • II, i, 69 Haviour [prefix dropped] I, ii, 8 1
God 'ild IV, v, 40 Hawk ♦ H, ii, 361
God. ..souls . . . . IV, v, 193 Head IV, v, 97
Gods [conformity of Fx to Health and gravenesS .. IV, vii, 82
3 Jac. I.] . . . . I, ii, 195 Heaven [used as a plural] III, iv, 175
Good kissing carrion . . II, ii, 181 Hebenon .. .. „• I, v, 62
Good, my lord . . . . II, i, 70 Hectic [a noun] . . .. IV, iii, 65
Goodnight, mother . . Ill, iv, 217 Hedge . . . . . . IV, v, 1x9
Good now =» J la bonne heure I, i, 70 Hent Ill, iii, 88
Goose-quills • . . . II, ii, 331 Hercules and his load to II, ii, 345
Go pray I, v, 132 Herod Ill, ii, 13
Gorge V, i, 177 Hey-day Ill, iv, 69
Grace IV, v, 128 Hie et ubique .. .. I, v, 156
Graces I, ii, 63 Hide fox IV, ii, 29
Gracious Ill, i, 43 Him = he [by attraction] II, i, 42
Grained , Ill, iv, 90 His «■ its • • .. .• I, iv, 26
Grass grows, while the . . Ill, ii, 327 His = her I, v, 90
Grating [used transitively] III, i, 3 His = ils o • •• •• III, iii, 62
Green I, iii, 101 His mouth V, ii, 359
Greenly IV, v, 79 Ho V, i, 22
Griefs =* grievances . • Ill, i, 183 Ho = stop V, ii, 290
Grizzled — no ? •• . . I, ii, 239 Hoar « IV, vii, 169
Groundlings •• . . Ill, ii, 10 Hobby-horse . . . . Ill, ii, 126
Grunt Ill, i, 77 Hoist \-ed omitted] . . Ill, iv, 207
Gules II, ii, 435 Holds quantity [inflection
Guts . . . , . . Ill, iv, 212
in s'] Ill, ii, 157
Gyves IV, vii, 21 Honest = genuine .. . . I, v, 13S
Honest = chaste .. •• III, i, 103
Ha II, ii, 550 Honesty.. .beauty . . . . Ill, i, 107
Habits devil • . . . Ill, iv, 161 Hoodman-blind .• . . Ill, iv, 77
Had made them . . . . Ill, ii, 31 Hoops .. .. . . I, iii, 63
Hair... starts .• , . Ill, iv, 121 Hot V, ii, 94
Half-penny . . .. II, ii, 268 Hugger-mugger . . . . IV, v, 80
Hamlet I, i, 170 Humorous =* fretful .• II, ii, 312
Hamlet I, v, 185 Humour = disposition .. II, ii, 12
Husbandry .. .. I, iii, 77
Hamlet's age . . . . V, i, 153
Handsaw II, ii, 361 Husbands, So you must take III, ii, 240
E
 I,

II,
INDEX TO THE
I, FIRST VOLUME V, ii, 59
ii, 464
466
Hush III, 11, 140I, nstant
nsinuation
I, v, 71
,.
Hyperion iv, 56 nstances =» motives III, ii, 172
III, ntents .. I, iv, 42
Hyperion IIII,, ii, 235
I, iv, 49
I67, nterpret . . ,
I, A whole one III, ii,
ii, 26S IV, iii, 44
I' the sun III, ii, 85 nurn' d
3 bent IV, iv, 54
Idle i, 145
III,
v
i, , 37 s not to stir . •
Ignorance t [used indefinitely]
Illume II, ii,
i, 65
12
Image II, v, I, t [singular by attraction]
II,
ii,
ii, 22S109
Immediate to our throne t head .. . .
ii, 437 V, i, 209
I, ii, 216
t own life . . .
Impart v, 112 t likes
ii,
II, ii, 80
Impasted ii, I14
,I 3
Imperious IV, i, 201, calonsy^ suspicion
Imponed i, 23 , . IV, v, 19
Importing «= importuning ephthah II, ii, 384
Importing health . . IV, vii, v, 82 '£ II, ",478
Importing vi,, 272175 ig-maker Ill, ii, 117
Imposthume
II,iv,
ii, v, ohn-a*dreams . . . . II, ii, 542
Impress . . . , I, ourneymen had made them III, il, 31
In the afternoon . . umP I, i, 65
In «= into v, 60
ump V, ii, 362
In = into v
IV, i,,266
ii, X12

In = in the thought of Keep . . . . II, i, 8

In ■» into • • •• II, ii, 70
i, 282
v, 85 III, i, 8
Keeps • . ••
In clouds Kettledrum • • V,I, iv,i, 133
11
ii, 349
In few . . •. II, iii,I,126 Kibe . . .w III, ii, 174
In little »,v,193 Kill...dead
IV,
Kin. ..kind • . I, n, 65
In happy time
In yourself III, i, 71 Kindless Ill, ii, 556
Incapable vii, 180 Knave Ill, iv, 215
Incorporal . . .• II, iv, 118 Knavish speech . . . . IV, ii, 22
Indeed . . • . II, i, 103 Knowing [monosyllable]
v, 148 V, ii, 44
Indentures II. H, 3r4
Indict... affection . . II, ii, 223 Lady shall say her mind . .
», 422
III, ii, 33
Indifferent II, IV, vii, 93
I, Ladyship [boy actors, and
first actress] II, ii, 406
Indifferently . .
Indirections • • IV, Lamond
III, ii, 105
Individable • . i, 381
66 Lap. . V, ii, 177
ii, Lapwing
Indued III, V
vii,, 181 IV, v, 36
Inexplicable dumb-show v, Larded
III, ii,
Inflection in s with two sin ", 157
11 Larded
i», 39 V, ii, 20
Law of writ II, ii, 382
gular nouns I, i, 87
Infants Law and heraldry III, i, 32
II,
In form [omission of the II, ii, 51 Lawful espials
Leave = leave off
II, i, 51
definite article] . . ", "5
Leave = leave off III, ii, 164
Infusion , . . .
i, 4 Leave = leave off
Inhibition . . . . III,
III, iv,
iv, 66
QI
ii, 320 Leave =give up
Inquiry . . • .
 I, I,

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

467

II, ii, 306 Means of death . IV, v, 207

Lenten • • • .
IV, iv, 7 Means to the king IV, vi, 13
Let him know so . . I, v, 30
V, i, 279 Meditation . .
Let Hercules himself
Let to know •• Meed .. . V, ii, 138
IV,I» vi, 10
v, 33 I, ii, 137
Lethe wharf . • Merely .. •
Lets me .• •• I, iv, 85 Message . . .
I, ii,
III, ii, 129
22
liberal •. .. IV, vii, 172 Miching mallecho i, 114
i, 56
Liberal conceit • . V, ii, 147 Mights was able .
II, ii, 495
Lies, the action • • III, iii, 61 Mightiest Julius •
Milch
Lightness . . •• II, ii, 148 Mind's eye I, ii, 185
Like — likely • • I, ii, 236
Mineral ..
Like as =» as if • • I, ii, 217 IV, i, 26
List Minutes • • •• I, i, 27
IV,I, v, i, 98
95 Mobled . . . .
List • . .• II, ii, 480
519
Lfttlest Mock . . ..
III, ii, 161 V, ii, 50
Live behind V, ii, 332 Model . . . .
Livery . . . . III, iv, 164 Modes II, ii, 274
Modesties . . .• I, ii, 82
Loggats . . . . V, i, 8S II, ii, 419
Long purples . . IV, vii, 171 Modesty = moderation
I, ii, 90 I, i, 90
Lost, lost . • . , III, i, 99 Moiety competent . .
Lost . . • . Moist star
I, i, 173 Mole . . . . I,
I, iv, 24
i, 118
Loves [attributive plural] I, iii, 133
Loves .• •• I, », 253
Moment's leisure . .
Loves [passive] . • III, ii, 191 Monster, custom . . III,
Lunacies . . . .
III, iii, 7 III, iv, 161
iv, 209
Moon, at the
I, v, S3 Mope
Moon, under the . . IV, vii, 146
Luxury = lasciviousness
III, iv, 81
II, ii, 56 More above
Main II, ii, III
IV, iv, 15 More nearer • . II, i, 125
Main = chief power
Make . . • . I, ii, 164 More rawer
IV, iv, 50 More richer V, ii,
III, ii, 291
121
Makes mouths • .
Man, What a piece of work Moreover that =* besides that II, ii, 2
II, ii, 295
is Most
III, iii, 9 Mote
Many many • . I, v, 1 So
V, ii, 149 I, i, 112
Margent . . •. Mount, challenger on IV, vii, 28
Mart h h 74 Mountebank . . IV, vii, 142
IV, iv, 34 III, iv, 183
Market . . . . Mouse .. . ,
Mouse-trap III, ii, 227
Marvellous . . III, ii, 288 IV, iv, 50
Master the devil . . III, iv, 169 Mouths at the invisible event
V, ii, 235 Move thus . . IV, v,i65
Masters... honour • . II, ", 347
Matin • . •• I, v, 89 Mows . . .•
II, ii, 95 IVI,, v,
Matter . . . . Much i, 778
Matter . . . . II, ii, 192 Muddied .. ..
IV, vii, 185
Matter III, i, 23 Muddy death HI, iii, 38
Matter . , . . IV, v, 169
Murder, a brother's IV,
II, v, i, 91
73
May deliver . . I, ", 193 Murdering piece . .
Mazzard . . . . V, i, 85 Music . . ..
II, ", 4H Music vows III, i, 156
Me [ethical dative]
Me H, ii, 549 Must •• .• II, ii, 56l
 i,
11,
v,
V, -S3
INDEX Ill,
TO iv, ii, FIRST
THE VOLUME
468 HI, 14
I, I, O'cr-raught • .
HI, i, 17
Must take your husbands i,
ii, O'err 4• V, i, 76
Mutes II, 240 84 eaches . . . . II, ii, 440
O'er-sized
Mutine II, i, 58
Q*zx-\.oo\. — drunk
Mutines IV, 6 I
,
Qi^by I, v, 175
My [used ethically] .. I, iv, 18
OfV, [following verbal nouns]
Native .. .. . . vii, 47 I Of=by §3means of . . II, i, 64
2
IV, iv,I, 32,Of
III,
Native. ..manner born = ever II, ii, 27
II I,
II, ii, 283
59
Native hue Of = en „
410215
Native 181 Of= about . . .. .•
Oi=by 13 IV, v, 194
Nature's livery or fortune's IV, ii, 12
star I,Oi=on .. .. . .
Needs... come [omission of I,Oi— with IV, vii, 41
V, i, 222
II, Of him
to before the infinitive] III, 67 that brought them IV, ii, 29
Nemean [accent] . . 144 Of nothing . * .. III, i, 13
Nero III, Of our demands .. .« III, ii, 37
Neutral III, 459 Of
377
so young
II,
HI ii, 11
, iii, zi
Nickname Of vthem,
, there be
II, Of vantage
Niggard of question I» v, 137
68 Offence i,
Nighted *
Nobility of love . . III,
IV, no Offence 3 • . . . . . III, ii, 224
Nominative omitted
ii, Omen I, i, 123
IV, vii, II, ii, 58
Nominative omitted 8 Omission from absorption
Nominative omitted IV, Omission from absorption
Nortce 10163 I,
I, iv, 21
v, 65
161 Omission from absorption
Nonny III, ii,ii, Omission from absorption III, ii, 250
161
13
On a roar
Nor man III, V, i, 180
III, 165
ii, ii, On board
Nor...
tives]not [double nega II, 17
197 Oncei = ever , . III, ii, 76
III, 125 , 89 I, v, 121
One speech ..
Nortive'ts]
is not [double nega ii, On mount
III, 190 V, IV,I,vii,i> 28
55
North-north- III, iii, I, On plots and errors V, ii, 382
west V,
Not needs, who . . IV,
III, I, On' t
III, ii, 164
Not thinking on • • Operant
30 •. .M ♦.
II, ", 553
Noyance . . . . III, Opposite .. .. .• III, ii, 210
I, I, v, 59
Nuts, ape doth . • Oppression . . . .
0
Nymph .. . • ii, 1366Orchard
9Order = orders .. .• III, i, 20
iii,i
, Ordnance
II, v, I, iv, 6
Oh [Corson's note]
O, fie [to be omitted]
v, i80i,
93 Ore
IV,
III,
i, 25
ii, 193
O give me leave [distribu v, i],
ii1, 99
Or else
I, ", 147
tion of speeches] III, v, Or ere
ii, Or ever
75 I, ii, 183
Obsequious
Occulted •. .. Orisons III, i, 89
Occurrents .• Ostentation • . . . IV, v, 209
Odds 344
2<;o Our circumstance and course
of thought III, iii, S3
Odds
O'er crows . . Outward habit .^ . .
V, ii, 181

92

340
 I,
IV,
II, 469
INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

Packing Ill, iv, 211

Points . . .. ,. ii, 61 I,
Politic worms ", 57
Paddock Ill, iv, 190 iii, 21
Painted II, ii, 458
Politician III,
IV, i, 76
Painted Ill, i, 53 Polonius [derivation of] . .
iii, 27
Paintings Ill, i, 142 Polonius [character of] . .
Polonius III, vii,
ii, 184
86
Pajock Ill, ii, 272 III,
Pansies IV, v, 171 Poor wretch IV,
Paragon II, ii, 299
Posset iv, II, v,
ii, 142
Pardon Ill, ii, 303 Posy viii,
i, 241
v, 68
139 I,
Pox II,
Pardon V, ii, 213
Practice vii, 68
Pardon = leave to depart .. I, ii, 56
Practice III,
Parle .. .. .. I, i, 62
Partisan I, i, 140
Precurse I, I,
Patch a wall .. .. V, i, 204 Pregnant
II,
1, I2E
Patience .. .. .. Ill, ii, 101 Pregnant II, ", 206
ii, 56
141 I,
Pass .. ., .. V, ii, 61 Prescripts I,
ii, 215
Passeth I, ii, 85 Presence
concrete][abstract for the I,
II,ii, 169
Passion II, ii, 496
Passion IV, v, 182 Presently = immediately . . III, ", 5^7
Pastors... himself . . .. I, iii, 47 Presently = immediately . . ii, 23
Pause Ill, i, 68 Pressures
iii, 7
Pressure v, IOO
Peace-parted .. .. V, i, 226
Peak . . .. .. II, ii, 541 Prevent III, iii,v,59
ii, 286
iii, 92
Pearl .. .. .. V, ii, 269 Primy nature
Peasant slave . . . . II, ii, 523 Private
Prize v, 37
Pelican IV, v, 142
Probation i, 156 I,
Perdy Ill, ii, 282 III,
IV,
Process
Periwig-pated .. .. Ill, ii, 9 iv, I,
Perpend II, ii, 105 Prodigal V,
iii, 116
Person IV, v, 89 Profanely iv, iii, 31
Progress
II,ii, 28
Perusal II, i, 90
Peruse . . . . . . IV, vii, 137 Prologue to my brains
I ,ii,
III, Ivii,
vi 30
i, 113
155
Pester I, ii, 22 Proof I,
Petar Ill, iv, 207 Proof
iv, 38
Picked V, i, 132 Proof and bulwark ",i, 544
114
Pickers and stealers . . Ill, iii, 320 Proper i, 65
Picture Ill, iv, 53 Property
Piece of him . . .. I, i, 19
III,
Property of easiness
Pierce IV, v, 147 Prophetic soul III,
v, 40
Proportions ", 33
Pigeon-livered . . .. II, ii, 552 III, ii, 327
Pioner I, v, 163 Proud 11i,1, 71
49
Proverb .. .. ii, 264
Pious chansons . . .. II, ii, 400 II,
III,
Pirate . . .. . . IV, vi, 14 Provincial roses
III,
Pith Ill, i, 86 Puff'd and reckless
ii, 236
Planets I, i, 162 Puppets dallying ii, 292
Play something like the Purgation
murder II, ii, 565 Purport [accent]
Please Ill, ii, 66 i, 82
Purposes. ..pleasure. ..fitness
V, ii, 189
Plurisy IV, vii, 118 [double meanings]

40
 v,v, I,

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME I, »v, S3

47o
Push=tor 1,283
ii 94 Revisit'st [qy. revisits] .• III,
IV, iv,
III, ii,i,384 Rhapsody iv, 48
53
Put on= tried ..
II,
Put on mz= suggested II, i, 174 Rightly to be great II, ii, 409
Puts Ring, cracked within the
v, Rivals I, i, 13
Quaintly
vii,, 333I, Robustious [and parallel
III, ivi,, 31
75 forms]
Quality [technical use] . . III, ii, 8
Quantity v, Romage
Rood
I,
I,
i, 107
Quantity [in a depreciatory III, iv, 33
v, 14
Roots itself in ease
sense] . •• * . v,
1,258
ii* 351 Rose, From the fair fore-
Quarry .• ■• .-.. iv, 43 III, iv, 42
head . . . .
Questionable = inviting ques-
tion
vi,, 94 Rosemary . . . , IV, v, 170
III,II, i, 75 Rosencrantz
Quiddits .♦ . . »\.« II, ii, I
i, 94 Round
Quietus
II,
v, 'Rouse . . , . ..
II, ", 138
I, ii, 127
Quillets
Rouse I, iv, 8
Quintessence ,• II, 11,300
Quit = requite . . . Rowe, the authority for
ii, 68 IV, v, 149
Quoted =2 observed , . • . Ophelia's straws and
I, flowers . . • . I, iv, 45
i, 112
Rack . . . . III, Royal. Dane ,•
ii, 462 Rub HI, i, 65
Rashly, — And praised be . . III,II, iv,
ii, 246
xtat • • •• • « III, I, Rue IV, v, 176
Ravel ^unravel ii, 265 Running it thus I, iii, 109
iv, 186 . . . .
Razed shoes . • .•
v, 99 II, ii, 79
Reckon = to scan . . . . III,
ii 279 Sables
ii,, 120 III, ii, 122
Records [accent] . . . . III, Safety and allowance •
Recorders ii, 329 Safety and health I, i", 43
Recorders III, iii, 51 Safety lies in fear . . I, iii, 21
Rede V, ii, 114
iv, 184 call 1 . . • « ,o
IV, v, 56
Reechy • . Saint Charity ..
II, ii, 465
Region • . . , » Saint Patrick IV,I, v,
v, 136
46
Relative II, ii, 580 Saint Valentine's day . ,
Remember [your courtesy] V, ii, 104 Sallets II, ii, 420
IV, vii, 135
Remiss Sanctuarize . . ., IV, vii, 128
Repetitions in F, . . .. III, iv, 12 Satyr . . •• . . I, ii,
II, i, 140
34
Replication IV, ii, 12 Savageness .•
Report • , , . . . IV, vii, 103 S'blood
Saws ,. • « II, ", 349
V, i, 225 I, v, 100
Requiem . . . . . .
Resolutes • . . . . . I, i, 98 V, i, 13
Scarf 'd , , .• .«
Resolve = dissolve . . . . Scholar I, i, 42
I, ii, 130
Respect III, i, 151
III, i, 68 Scholar's, soldier's • . V, i, 96
Respective Construction .. II, ii, 382 Sconce . . • « ■
Respective Construction . . Scrimers .. • .
IV,
V, vii, 82
ii, 347 IV, vii,
IV, iv, 1 40
01
JKest « . •• . , Scruple . , • .
I, i, 91 HI,
V, ii, 13
i, 59
Return'd , Sea-gown . . , ,
Returns, No traveller III, i, 80 Sea of troubles .• . .
Revenge, The croaking Season of the year when
raven doth bellow for . . III, ii, 242
the action took place . . I, 1,158
 ,
I,

I,

INDEX TO THE
I, FIRST VOLUME III, iii, 77
I, V, ii, 345
Season this in thee III, iii, 81 Sole son
ii, 19
Season jtmr admiration ii, 1929 Solicited
III,
I, iv,i, 169
73
Seasons him Something settled . .
III,
Secure Sovereignty of reason
v, 15013
V, III, ii, 176
See [stage-directions] v, Speak... break [rhymes] .
Seen II, iii,i, 161
74I Spendthrift sigh
, .. IV, vii, 128
Select and generous Spirits [pronunciation] . I, i, 133 471
tive] [ellipsis of nomina
Sends Spring that turneth wood IV, vii, 20
III, ii, 67
Stand me = it is imperative
iv, 71 V, ii, 63
Sense... motion on me .. . .•
Sense, the daintier Star, Out of thy . . II, ii, 140
I, ii,
V, i, "3
Sensible [active and passive IV,II, i, 68 57 33
State [Wilson's note]
adjectives] . . Statists
i, 3 II, i, 91
Set m to estimate . . iii,I, 61 Stay'd [pronunciation] .
Shall [for will] . . Steward, the false . . •.
V, ii,
IV, v, 244
168
Share [in the profits of the III, ii, 267 Stick fiery off ,'.
theatre] I, Still = always ., • .
IV, Still =s always IV,I,
III , vii,
i, 117
ii, 122
79
She were [pronounced as v, 14
one syllable] ii, 147 Stithy . . . . ,
Shoes I, Stomach =» courage „ ,
I, i,
V, i, 300
58
Should [denoting a state II, Stoup . a ,. V, i, 4
ment not made by the v,
iv, 64 Straight [Ophelia's grave]
I, Stuck
speaker] IV, IV,I,vii,
i, 162
72
Should [for would] ii, 201 Subject . . . . . .
Such a one . . . .
Should. ..would
v,
vii, 120
v, 32 Suffix indicating the agent V,
I, i,
ii, Si
172
Shouldst [for wouldsf\ .
Shouldst have been ...to I Sun . . II, ", 183
,
have decked v,1,232Sun, too much i* the ••
I, ii,
iii, 679
Shows .. III, iv, 4
ii, 82 Suppliance „ . ••
Silence me e'en here Sweet lord [common mode
V, ii,
IV, v, 90
oir j « • • • • of address] , . .. 93
II, ii, 1
Sirrah • . . , I, Switzers . . . . . .
IV, hi, in33 Sword [swearing by it] , , ly v, X47
Sit we •• •• iv, 45
Sith
ii, 6
Sith . - • . ■, IV, 1 aoies •• 0 > (j « I, v, 107
Sith I, Takes I, 1,163
III,
II, ii, 23
«, 339
Slander, Whose whisper III, i, 40
i, 63 Tardy of . .
Sledded Polacks . . Tarre • ,
Sleep, — No more . . III, Temple • . , . ••
Slings • • ••
II, vi,
, 60
i, 58 Tenable •• •• . .
I, iii, 12
ii, 247

So [in conditional sen iii, I89

, Tender yourself • . • . I, iii, 107
IV,
tences] I, Tender II, iii, 40
"p 573
So.. .As III, Tent . , , . ••
i, 82 III, ii, 13
So [emphatic] ii, $20Termagant . • • . »•
So...to ii, 16 Tha.t=> tfougA that ..
So be it [distribution of IV, That— such ., ., I,
I, ii,1712
ii,
v, 114 ThzX=*such . •, I, v, 48
speeches] . ,
II, ii, 13
Softly => slowly iv, 8 That [redundant] .
Soldiers [pronunciation] v, 141 That [so omitted before it] IV, v, 248
47 2 INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME
IV, iv, 44
ThsLt-sotiat .. .. IV, vii, 148 To do [infinitive active in-
That [following when\ , . IV, vii, 160 stead of infinitive passive]
That .. .. V, i, 75 To fast in fires
I, v,i, 52
HI, 11
That . . .. . . V, i, 206 To my most painted
That you know .. . . I, ii, 17 To note That you know . . I, v, 178
The [unemphatic, accented To.. .split [mnemonic lines] IV, v, 17
monosyllable] . . .. I, iii, Sg To take [indefinite infini- III, iii, 85
The answer . . . . V, ii, 162 tive]
I, v, 52
The body is with the king IV, ii,. 26 To those of mine
The general . . . . II, ii, 416 To wife I, ii, 14
The time = the present age III, i, 114 Toils [transitive and intran- I, i, 72
The time V, ii, 181 sitive verbs]
The which one .. . , III, ii, 25 Too = much , IV, vii, 119
Thereabout [a noun] .. II, ii, 425 Too too . . , I, ii, 129
There be, an if e . .. I, v, 177 Top of question . V, ii, 328
II, 273
Touch . . .
There's letters . . e . Ill, iv, 202
There's tricks . . . . IV, v, 5 Touch'd = tainted . IV,It v,i» 2077z
These three years . . . . V, i, 131 Toward = at hand V, ii, 352
Thews I, iii, 12 Toward = at hand I, iv, 75
They [nominative repeated] III, iv, 204 Toy • = caprice I, iii, 6
Think'st thee .. .. V, ii, 63 Toy = caprice .. III, ii, 329
This [his and this con- To withdraw with you
founde ] .. ,0 III, iv, 55 Transformation [pronuncia
This is [contracted to a tion of -tion"] . . II, ii,
II, ii, 3186
monosyllable] . . .. IV, v, 72 Travel [technical] .
IV, vii, 189
Those [omission of relative] IV, vii, 132 Trick ^peculiarity , knack
Thou . . . . , . Ill, iv, 156 Trick = peculiarity , knack
V, ii,
III, i, 227
86
Thou sayst V, i, 25 Tropically
True-penny I, v, 150
Though none else near
[omission of the predi- Truster [suffix indicating
cate verb] .. •• I, iii, 44 agent] . . . . I, ii, 172
III, i, 158
Thought ., .• ,• I, i, 67 Tune
i urn i uric . . III, ii, 264
Thought Ill, i, 85
Thought o IV, v, 12 Twelve for nine
V, ii,
II, 160
ii, 328
Thought IV, v, 182 Tyrannically
I, v, 77
Three and twenty years . . V, i, 163
Three branches . . . . V, i, 1 1 Unaneled •• • • IV, vii, 139
Thy soul Ill, ii, 74 Unbated ,. • .
Tickle o' the sere . . •• II, ii, 313 Uncharge • . • . IV,I, vii, 68
v, 90
Till I, ii, 105 Uneffectual fire . •
Time, whips and scorns of III, i, 70 I* v, 77
Ungartered • • II, i, 80
-tion [pronunciation] • . II, ii, 6 Unhouseled • •
I,
V, i, 259
ii, 96
Time and passion . . . . Ill, iv, 107 Unimproved ••
To a satyr I, ii, 140 Union •, •• V, ii, 313
Union •• •• HI, ",333
To be demanded [indef-
inite use of the infinitive] IV, ii, 12 Unmannerly • .
To be or not to be . . Ill, i, 56 Unprevailing *• I, ii, 107
IV, v, 115
To do = ado •• • . II, ii, 338 Unsmirch'd •
To do [infinitive as a noun] III, ii, 164 Upon your hour , I» h 6
 INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME 473
V, ii, 371 Wit = knowledge
I, iv, .. . . II, ii, 90
Upshot 9
Up-spring . . With I, ii, 151
I, i, 46
Usurp'st [zeugma] With = by IV, vii, 32
With blood [absorption] . . I, v, 65
Valanced II, ii, 404
Withal II, ii, 213
Variation in copies of the Within 's two hours .. Ill, ii, 119
same edition II, h 79
Wittenberg .. .. I, ii, 113
Vast = emptiness .. I, ii, 198 Woe I, ii, 4
Vice III, iv, 98 Woe V, i, 234
Vienna .. .. III, ii, 228 Wont I, iv, 6
Villainies V, ii, 29 Woodcock .. .. V, ii, 293
Violence ... destroy [ verb Woodcocks .. .. I, iii, 115
plural by attraction] III, ii, 186 Woo't V, i, 263
Virtue .. I, 16 Word, Now to my ., I, v, 1 10
I, iii,
v, S3
Virtue [noun absolute] Word [prolonged in scan-
Vulgar = common . . I, iii, 61 sion] Ill, iv, 180
Wag Word, props of every .. IV, v, 101
V, 1,255
World IV, v, 133
V, i, 244 Worms IV, iii, 21
Wandering stars =>j>lanels II, ii, 527
Wann'd Worm's, my Lady . . .. V, i, 84
Warrant .. .. I, ii, 242 Worser [double compara-
Warrantise V, i, 215 tive] Ill, iv, 157
Wash III, ii, 146 Would = requires to
I, iv, .. Ill, iii, 75
9
Wassail Would your gracious figure III, iv, 104
Water-fly V, ii, 83 Wreck II, i, 1 13
We fools of nature I, iv, 54
Wretch [term of endear-
Welcome I, v, 165 ment] II, », 167
Welcome [absorption] II, ii, 58 Writ... liberty .. .. II, ii, 382
Wheel IV, v, 167 Writ in [absorption] ,. Ill, ii, 250
When that V, i, 275
Where [dissyllable] I, ii, 185 Yaughan .. . . , „ V, i, 58
I, iv, 57
Wherefore [shifting accen Yeoman's service . . . , V, i, 36
Whether [monosyllable] II, ii, 17 Yesty V, ii, 181
Which time [omission Yet but yaw .. . . V ii, 1 13
IV, vii, 179 Yorick .. .. , . V, i, 170
preposition] ..
Who I, ii, 104 You... thou •• . . I, ii, 42
Who? I, ii, 190 You [ethical dative] . . V, i, 157
II, ii, 193
Who [inflection] . . Your [ethically] . . «, . Ill, ii, 3
Wicked [faulty repetitions Your [ethically] . . . . IV, iii, 21
in Folio] III, iv, 12 Your cause 0. . . Ill, ii, 321
Will... were [irregular se Your only [instead of only
quence of tenses] II, ii, 156 your] Ill, ii, 1 17
Will [used for shall] V, ii, 169 Your philosophy . . . . I, v, 167
Wince, let the galled jade III, ii, 232 Your sovereignty of reason I, iv, 73
Wind, to recover the III, ii, 330 You were better have . . II, ii, 5°3
■* II, i, 65
Windlasses . . , .

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME

40
«1