Hebenon - wikipedia Hebenon Hebenon ( or hebona ) is a botanical substance described in William Shakespeare 's tragic play Hamlet. The identity and nature of the poison has been a source of speculation for centuries. Contents 1 Shakespeare 's use 2 Identity of the poison 3 In popular culture 4 References 5 External links Shakespeare 's use Hebenon is the agent of death in Hamlet 's father 's murder, it sets in motion the events of the play. It is spelled hebona in the Quartos and hebenon in the Folios. This is the only mention of hebenon / hebona in any of Shakespeare 's plays. Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour The leperous distilment ; whose effect Holds such an enmity with blood of man That, swift as quicksilver, it courses through The natural gates and alleys of the body ; And with a sudden vigour it doth posset 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 : - Ghost ( King Hamlet, Hamlet 's Father ) spoken to Hamlet ( Act I, scene 5 ) Identity of the poison Writers from Shakespeare 's time to the present have speculated about the identity of hebenon. It may be different from hemlock, as hemlock is explicitly mentioned in several other writings of his. In favor of it being yew are the familiarity of yew as a poison and the similarity in symptoms. Edmund Spenser for example wrote of `` the deadly heben bow ''. In favor of ebony ( specifically, guaiac ) are the fact that ebony was sometimes written with an h, but arguing against it is the low toxicity of guaiac. In favour of henbane is its toxic nature and the possible origin of hebenon as metathesis from henbane. Other authors question whether there is sufficient evidence to resolve the issue, or even whether Shakespeare 's attention to botany and pharmacology was sufficient to say he meant a specific plant. In popular culture Hebenon is a poison used to kill a pope and other world leaders in the thriller, The Tao Deception, by John M Green. References Jump up ^ Seymour, Mirinda ( 2000, May 20 ). `` Country & Garden : Herbs - no 22 : Henbane '', The Independent. ProQuest document ID 311652931 Jump up ^ John George Robertson ; G.C. Moore Smith ; Charles Jasper Sisson ( 1920 ). The Modern Language Review : A Quarterly Journal Devoted to the Study of Medieval and Modern Literature and Philology, Volume 15. Modern Humanities Research Association, U of Cambridge Press ( hardcover reprint, Repressed Publishing LLC, 2012 ; paperback reprint, U of Michigan Press, 1905 ). pp. 304 -- 306. ASIN B007IP0BS6. Jump up ^ Anatoly Liberman ; J. Lawrence Mitchell ( 2008 ). An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology : An Introduction. U of Minnesota Press. pp. 110 -- 111. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8166 - 5272 - 3. Further reading Huxtable, Ryan J. `` On the nature of Shakespeare 's cursed hebona. '' Perspectives in Biology and Medicine Winter 1993 : 262 +. Academic OneFile. 10 Oct. 2012. G.H. `` Shakespeare 's Hebona '' Pharmacy in History Vol. 35, No. 3 ( 1993 ), p. 137 DOI : 10.2307 / 41111539 Harrison, Jr., Thomas P. `` Shakespeare 's ' Hebenon ' Again '' The Modern Language Review Vol. 40, No. 4, Oct., 1945 p. 310 - 311 Montgomery, Marshall. `` '' Cursed Hebenon '' ( Or `` Hebona '' ) '' The Modern Language Review Vol. 15, No. 3, Jul., 1920 p. 304 - 306 Simpson, R.R. `` Shakespeare on the Ear, Nose and Throat '' The Journal of Laryngology & Otology Volume64 Issue06 June 1950, pp 342 -- 352 Tabor, Edward. `` Plant poisons in Shakespeare '' Economic Botany 1970, Volume 24, Number 1, Pages 81 -- 94 External links Botanical survey of Shakespeare at the Wayback Machine ( archived November 22, 2008 ) by K.N. Rao, Professor of Botany in Chennai, India William Shakespeare 's Hamlet Characters Hamlet Claudius Gertrude Ghost Polonius Laertes Ophelia Horatio Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Fortinbras The Gravediggers Yorick Soliloquies `` To be, or not to be '' `` Mortal coil '' `` What a piece of work is a man '' `` Speak the speech '' Words and phrases `` The lady doth protest too much, methinks '' `` Thy name is '' `` Primrose path '' Terminology Dumbshow Induction Quiddity Substitution Sources Criticism Legend of Hamlet The Spanish Tragedy Ur - Hamlet Critical approaches Bibliographies Horwendill Saxo Grammaticus House of Gonzaga Damon and Pythias Influence Common phrases from Hamlet Hamlet in popular culture References to Ophelia Language of flowers Human skull symbolism Performances Moscow Art Theatre ( 1911 -- 1912 ) Richard Burton ( 1964 ) On screen 1900 1907 1908 1912 1913 1917 1921 1935 1948 1954 1961 1964 1969 2000 2011 Adaptations Films The Rest Is Silence ( 1959 ) The Bad Sleep Well ( 1960 ) Ophelia ( 1963 ) Johnny Hamlet ( 1968 ) One Hamlet Less ( 1973 ) The Angel of Vengeance -- The Female Hamlet ( 1977 ) Strange Brew ( 1983 ) Hamlet Goes Business ( 1987 ) The Lion King ( 1994 ) Let the Devil Wear Black ( 1999 ) The Banquet ( 2006 ) Tardid ( 2009 ) Karmayogi ( 2012 ) Haider ( 2014 ) Hamlet A.D.D. ( 2014 ) Ophelia ( 2018 ) The Lion King ( 2019 ) Novels Gertrude and Claudius ( 2000 ) Dating Hamlet ( 2002 ) Ophelia 's Revenge ( 2003 ) The Dead Fathers Club ( 2006 ) Something Rotten ( 2007 ) Hamlet 's Father ( 2008 ) The Story of Edgar Sawtelle ( 2008 ) Hamlet Had an Uncle Plays Hamletmachine ( 1977 ) Dogg 's Hamlet ( 1979 ) Fortinbras ( 1991 ) Musicals Rockabye Hamlet ( 1973 ) The Lion King ( 1997 ) Television Hamlet ( Australian TV, 1959 ) Hamlet at Elsinore ( BBC, 1964 ) Hamlet, Prince of Denmark ( BBC, 1980 ) Hamlet ( BBC 2, animated, 1992 ) Hamlet ( BBC 2, 2009 ) Parodies 15 - Minute Hamlet The Complete Works of William Shakespeare ( Abridged ) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Io, Amleto The Klingon Hamlet `` Lyle the Kindly Viking '' To Be or Not to Be : That is the Adventure `` Tales from the Public Domain '' Songs `` My Robin is to the Greenwood Gone '' ( 16th century ) `` Pull Me Under '' ( 1992 ) `` Song for Athene '' ( 1997 ) Opera / classical Hamlet ( Thomas ) Amleto ( Faccio ) Hamlet ( Tchaikovsky ) Tristia ( Berlioz ) Die Hamletmaschine ( Rihm ) Hamlet ( Dean ) Story within a story Films To Be or Not to Be ( 1942 ) Acting Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja ( 1973 ) To Be or Not to Be ( 1983 ) Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ( 1990 ) Highlander II : The Quickening ( 1991 ) Last Action Hero ( 1993 ) Renaissance Man ( 1994 ) In the Bleak Midwinter ( 1995 ) War ( 2002 ) Hamlet 2 ( 2008 ) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead ( 2009 ) Three Days ( 2012 ) Plays Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ( 1966 ) Stage Blood ( 1974 ) I Hate Hamlet ( 1991 ) To Be or Not to Be ( 2008 ) Novels Hamlet, Revenge ! ( 1937 ) Theatre of War ( 1994 ) `` The Undiscovered '' ( 1997 ) The Shakespeare Stealer ( 1998 ) Interred with Their Bones ( 2007 ) Television `` The Producer '' ( 1966 ) `` The Conscience of the King '' ( 1966 ) `` Born to Be King '' ( 1983 ) `` Terrance and Phillip : Behind the Blow '' ( 2001 ) Slings & Arrows ( 2003 ) Art Ophelia Affe mit Schädel Video game Last Action Hero ( 1993 ) Hamlet ( 2010 ) Intertextuality Asterix and the Great Crossing The Seagull Sharpe 's Havoc Related Hamlet and Oedipus Hamlet and His Problems Hebenon Hamlet Q1 Ostalo je ćutanje The Chronicles of Amber `` Symphony No. 65 '' ( Haydn ) The Hobart Shakespeareans Gertrude -- The Cry Poor Murderer Something Rotten ! 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Question: what poison does claudius use on hamlet’s father
Answer: Hebenon