# Hamlet (1917) Yale/Text/Act V

Notes originally placed at the bottom of each page appear below, following Act V. Where these notes gloss a word in the text, the gloss can also be found by hovering over the text.
Where these notes refer to an end note (cf. n. = confer notam; "consult note"), a link to the accompanying end note is provided from the Footnotes section. The end notes accompanying Act V begin on page 172 of the original volume.
Layout 2
ACT FIFTH
Scene One
[A Churchyard]
Enter two Clowns.
[First] Clo. Is she to be buried in Christian burial that wilfully seeks her own salvation?
Other. 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 in her own defence?
Other. Why, 'tis found so. 8
[First] Clo. It must be se offendendo; it can- not be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly it argues an act; and an act hath three branches; it is, to act, to do, and to perform: argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
Other. Nay, but hear you, goodman delver,— 15
[First] Clo. Give me leave. Here lies the water; good: here stands the man; good: if the man go to this water, and 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. 22
Other. But is this law?
[First] Clo. Ay, marry, is 't; crowner's quest law. 25
Other. Will you ha' the truth on 't? If this had not been a gentlewoman she should have been buried out o' Christian burial. 28
[First] Clo. Why, there thou sayest; and the more pity that great folk should have counte- nance in this world to drown or hang them- selves more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers; they hold up Adam's profession. 35
Other. Was he a gentleman?
[First] Clo. A' was the first that ever bore arms.
​Other. Why, he had none. 39
[First] Clo. What! art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture says, Adam digged; could he dig without arms? I'll put another question to thee; if thou an- swerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself—
Other. Go to. 45
[First] Clo. What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?
Other. The gallows-maker; for that frame outlives a thousand tenants. 50
[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.
Other. Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter? 58
[First] Clo. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
Other. Marry, now I can tell.
[First] Clo. To 't.
Other. Mass, I cannot tell. 62
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 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 other Clown.]
[First Clown digs, and] sings.
"In youth, when I did love, did love, Methought it was very sweet, 70 To contract, O! the time, for-a my behove, O! methought there was nothing meet."
Ham. Has this fellow no feeling of his busi- ness, that he sings at grave-making? 74
Hor. Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.
Ham. 'Tis e'en so; the hand of little employ- ment hath the daintier sense. 78
Clown sings.
"But age, with his stealing steps, Hath claw'd me in his clutch, And hath shipped me intil the land, As if I had never been such." 82
[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! This might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'er-offices, one that would circumvent God, might it not? 88
Hor. It might, my lord.
Ham. Or of a courtier, which could say, 'Good morrow, sweet lord! How dost thou, good lord?' This might be my Lord Such-a- one, that praised my Lord Such-a-one's horse, when he meant to beg it, might it not? 94
Hor. Ay, my lord.
​Ham. Why, e'en so, and now my Lady Worm's; chapless, and knocked about the maz- zard with a sexton's spade. Here's fine revo- lution, 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.
Clown sings.
"A pick-axe, and a spade, a spade, 102 For and a shrouding sheet; O! a pit of clay for to be made For such a guest is meet."
[Throws up another skull.]
Ham. There's another; why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks? why does he suffer this 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 re- cognizances, his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries; is this the fine of his fines, and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt? will his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of inden- tures? The very conveyance of his lands will hardly lie in this box, and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha? 122
​Hor. Not a jot more, my lord.
Ham. Is not parchment made of sheep-skins?
Hor. Ay, my lord, and of calf-skins, too. 125
Ham. They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that. I will speak to this fel- low. Whose grave 's this, sir?
[First] Clo. Mine, sir, "O! a pit of clay for to be made 130 For such a guest is meet."
Ham. I think it be thine, indeed; for thou liest in 't.
[First] Clo. You lie out on 't, sir, and there- fore it is not yours; for my part, I do not lie in 't, and yet it is mine. 136
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] Clo. 'Tis a quick lie, sir; 'twill away again, from me to you.
Ham. What man dost thou dig it for? 142
[First] Clo. For no man, sir.
Ham. What woman, then?
[First] Clo. For none, neither.
Ham. Who is to be buried in 't? 146
[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, Horatio, these three years I have taken note of it; the age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the ​heel of the courtier, he galls his kibe. How long hast thou been a grave-maker? 155
[First] Clo. Of all the days i' the year, I came to 't that day that our last King Hamlet over- came Fortinbras. 158
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. 163
Ham. Ay, marry; why was he sent into England?
[First] Clo. Why, because he was mad: he shall recover his wits there; or, if he do not, 'tis no great matter there. 168
Ham. Why?
[First] Clo. 'Twill not be seen in him there; there the men are as mad as he. 171
Ham. How came he mad?
[First] Clo. Very strangely, they say.
Ham. How strangely? 174
[First] Clo. Faith, e'en with losing his wits.
Ham. Upon what ground?
[First] Clo. Why, here in Denmark; I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years. 178
Ham. How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot?
[First] Clo. Faith, if he be not rotten before he die,—as we have many pocky corses now-a- days, that will scarce hold the laying in,—he will last you some eight year or nine year; a tanner will last you nine year.
Ham. Why he more than another? 186
​[First] Clo. Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that he will keep out water a great while, and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. Here's a skull now; this skull hath lain you i' the earth three-and-twenty years. 192
Ham. Whose was it?
[First] Clo. A whoreson mad fellow's it was: whose do you think it was?
Ham. Nay, I know not. 196
[First] Clo. A pestilence on him for a mad rogue! a' poured a flagon of Rhenish on my head once. This same skull, sir, was Yorick's skull, the king's jester.
Ham. This!
[First] Clo. E'en that. 202
Ham. Let me see.—[Takes the skull.]—Alas! poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? quite chapfallen? 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? 218
​Ham. Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' the earth?
Hor. E'en so.
Ham. And smelt so? pah! 222
[Puts down the skull.]
Hor. E'en so, my lord.
Ham. To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole? 227
Hor. 'Twere to consider too curiously, to con- sider 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 returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam, and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel? "Imperial Cæsar, dead and turn'd to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away: 238 O! 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 King, Queen, Laertes, [a Priest,] and a Coffin, with Lords attendant.
The queen, the courtiers: who is that they follow? 242 And with such maimed rites? This doth betoken The corse they follow did with desperate hand Fordo it own life; 'twas of some estate. ​Couch we awhile. and mark. 246
[Retiring with Horatio.]
Laer. What ceremony else?
Ham. That is Laertes, A very noble youth: mark.
Laer. What ceremony else?
Priest. Her obsequies have been as far enlarg'd 250 As we have warrantise: her death was doubtful, And, but that great command o'ersways the order, She should in ground unsanctified have lodg'd Till the last trumpet; for charitable prayers, 254 Shards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on her; Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants, Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home Of bell and burial. 258
Laer. Must there no more be done?
Priest. No more be done: We should profane the service of the dead, To sing a requiem, and such rest to her As to peace-parted souls.
Laer. Lay her i' the earth; 262 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? 266
Queen. Sweets to the sweet: farewell! [Scattering flowers.] I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife; I thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid, And not have strew'd thy grave.
​Laer. O! treble woe 270 Fall ten times treble on that cursed head Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense Depriv'd thee of. Hold off the earth awhile, Till I have caught her once more in mine arms. Leaps into the grave. Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead, Till of this flat a mountain you have made, 276 To o'er-top old Pelion or the skyish head Of blue Olympus.
Ham. [Advancing.] What is he whose grief Bears such an emphasis? whose phrase of sorrow 279 Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand Like wonder-wounded hearers? this is I, Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the grave.]
Laer. The devil take thy soul! 282
[Grapples with him.]
Ham. Thou pray'st not well. I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat; For though I am not splenetive and rash Yet have I in me something dangerous, 286 Which let thy wisdom fear. Away thy hand!
King. Pluck them asunder.
Queen. Hamlet! Hamlet!
All. Gentlemen,—
Hor. Good my lord, be quiet.
[The Attendants part them, and they come out of the grave.]
Ham. Why, I will fight with him upon this theme 290 Until my eyelids will no longer wag.
Queen. O my son! what theme?
​Ham. I lov'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, 294 Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
King. O! he is mad, Laertes.
Queen. For love of God, forbear him.
Ham. 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do: Woo't weep? woo't fight? [woo't fast?] woo't tear thyself? 299 Woo't drink up eisel? eat a crocodile? I'll do 't. Dost thou come here to whine? To outface me with leaping in her grave? 302 Be buried quick with her, and so will I: And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw Millions of acres on us, till our ground, Singeing his pate against the burning zone, 306 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, 310 When that her golden couplets are disclos'd, His silence will sit drooping.
Ham. Hear you, sir; What is the reason that you use me thus? I lov'd you ever: but it is no matter; 314 Let Hercules himself do what he may, The cat will mew and dog will have his day. Exit.
King. I pray you, good Horatio, wait upon him. [Exit Horatio.] [To Laertes.] Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech; 318 ​We'll put the matter to the present push. Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son. This grave shall have a living monument: An hour of quiet shortly shall we see; 322 Till then, in patience our proceeding be. Exeunt.
Scene Two
[A Hall in the Castle]
Enter Hamlet and Horatio.
Ham. So much for this, sir: now shall you see the other; You do remember all the circumstance?
Hor. Remember it, my lord?
Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting 4 That would not let me sleep; methought I lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly,— And prais'd be rashness for it, let us know, Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well 8 When our deep plots do pall; and that should teach us There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will.
Hor. That is most certain.
Ham. Up from my cabin, 12 My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark Grop'd I to find out them, had my desire, Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew To mine own room again; making so bold— 16 My fears forgetting manners—to unseal Their grand commission; where I found, Horatio, O royal knavery! an exact command, ​Larded with many several sorts of reasons 20 Importing Denmark's health, and England's too, 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, 24 My head should be struck off.
Hor. Is 't possible?
Ham. Here's the commission: read it at more leisure. But wilt thou hear me how I did proceed?
Hor. I beseech you. 28
Ham. Being thus be-netted round with villainies,— Ere I could make a prologue to my brains They had begun the play,—I sat me down, Devis'd a new commission, wrote it fair; 32 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 It did me yeoman's service. Wilt thou know 36 The effect of what I wrote?
Hor. Ay, good my lord.
Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king, As England was his faithful tributary, As love between them like the palm should flourish, 40 As peace should still her wheaten garland wear, And stand a comma 'tween their amities, And many such-like 'As'es of great charge, That, on the view and knowing of these contents, 44 Without debatement further, more or less, He should the bearers put to sudden death, Not shriving-time allow'd.
​Hor. How was this seal'd?
Ham, Why, even in that was heaven ordinant. 48 I had my father's signet in my purse, Which was the model of that Danish seal; Folded the writ up in form of the other, Subscrib'd it, gave 't th' impression, plac'd it safely, 52 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. 56
Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this employment; They are not near my conscience; their defeat Does by their own insinuation grow. '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!
Ham. Does it not, think'st thee, stand me now upon— He that hath kill'd my king and whor'd my mother, 64 Popp'd in between the election and my hopes, Thrown out his angle for my proper life, And with such cozenage—is 't not perfect conscience To quit him with this arm? and is 't not to be damn'd 68 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. 72
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; 76 For, by the image of my cause, I see The portraiture of his: I'll count his favours: But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me Into a towering passion.
Hor. Peace! who comes here? 80
Enter young Osric.
Osr. Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark.
Ham. I humbly thank you, sir. [Aside to Horatio.] Dost know this water-fly? 84
Hor. [Aside to Hamlet.] No, my good lord.
Ham. [Aside to Horatio.] Thy state is the more gracious; 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 possession of dirt. 91
Osr. Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure, I should impart a thing to you from his majesty.
Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit. Your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the head. 97
Osr. I thank your lordship, 'tis very hot.
​Ham. No, believe me, 'tis very cold; the wind is northerly. 100
Osr. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed.
Ham. But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my complexion. 103
Osr. Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry, as 'twere, 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,— 108
Ham. I beseech you, remember—
[Hamlet moves him to put on his hat.]
Osr. Nay, good my lord; for mine ease, in good faith. [Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes; believe me, an absolute 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. 117
Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you; though, I know, to divide him invento- rially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw neither, in respect 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 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. 128
Ham. The concernancy, sir? why do we wrap the gentleman in our more rawer breath?
Osr. Sir?
Hor. Is 't not possible to understand in an- other tongue? You will do 't, sir, really. 133
Ham. What imports the nomination of this gentleman?
Osr. Of Laertes? 136
Hor. His purse is empty already; all 's golden words are spent.
Ham. Of him, sir.
Osr. I know you are not ignorant— 140
Ham. I would you did, sir; in faith, if you did, it would not much approve me. Well, sir.]
Osr. You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is—
[Ham. I dare not confess that, lest I should compare with him in excellence; but, to know a man well, were to know himself. 147
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. 152
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 im- poned, 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 dear to fancy, very responsive to the hilts, most delicate carriages, and of very liberal conceit. 160
Ham. What call you the carriages?
[Hor. I knew you must be edified by the mar- gent, ere you had done.]
Osr. The carriages, sir, are the hangers. 164
Ham. The phrase would be more german 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-conceited carriages; that's the French bet against the Danish. Why is this 'imponed,' as you call it?
Osr. The king sir, hath laid, 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 come to immediate trial, if your lordship would vouchsafe the answer. 176
Ham. How if I answer no?
Osr. I mean, my lord, the opposition of your person in trial.
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 an I can; if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits. 185
Osr. Shall I re-deliver you so?
​Ham. To this effect, sir; after what flourish your nature will. 188
Osr. I commend my duty to your lordship.
Ham. Yours, yours. [Exit Osric.] He does well to commend it himself; there are no tongues else for 's turn. 192
Hor. This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.
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 time and outward habit of encounter, a kind of yesty collection which carries them through and through the most fond and winnowed opinions; and do but blow them to their trial, the bubbles are out. 202
[Enter a Lord.
Lord. My lord, his majesty commended him to you by young Osric, who brings back to him, that you attend him in the hall; he sends to know if your pleasure hold to play with Laertes, or that you will take longer time. 207
Ham. I am constant to my purposes; they follow the king's pleasure: if his fitness speaks, mine is ready; now, or whensoever, provided I be so able as now.
Lord. The king, and queen, and all are com- ing down. 213
Ham. In happy time.
​Lord. The queen desires you to use some gentle entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play. 217
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 heart; but it is no matter. 224
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. 228
Hor. If your mind dislike any thing, obey it; I will forestall their repair hither, and say you are not fit. 231
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 has aught of what he leaves, what is 't to leave betimes? [Let be.] 238
Enter King, Queen, Laertes and Lords, with other Attendants with foils and gauntlets, a table and flagons of wine on it.
King. Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me.
[The King puts the hand of Laertes into that of Hamlet.]
Ham. Give me your pardon, sir; I've done you wrong; ​But pardon 't, as you are a gentleman. This presence knows, And you must needs have heard, how I am punish'd With sore distraction. What I have done, 244 That might your nature, honour and exception Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. Was 't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes? Never Hamlet: If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, 248 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; 252 His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy. Sir, in this audience, Let my disclaiming from a purpos'd evil Free me so far in your most generous thoughts, That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house, 257 And hurt my brother.
Laer. I am satisfied in nature, Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most To my revenge; but in my terms of honour 260 I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement, Till by some elder masters, of known honour, I have a voice and precedent of peace, To keep my name ungor'd. But till that time, I do receive your offer'd love like love, 265 And will not wrong it.
Ham. I embrace it freely; And will this brother's wager frankly play. Give us the foils. Come on.
Laer. Come, one for me. 268
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. 272
King. Give them the foils, young Osric. Cousin Hamlet, You know the wager?
Ham. Very well, my lord; 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.
Laer. This is too heavy; let me see another.
Ham. This likes me well. These foils have all a length?
Osr. Ay, my good lord. 280
Prepare to play.
King. Set me the stoups of wine upon that table. If Hamlet give the first or second hit, Or quit in answer of the third exchange, Let all the battlements their ordnance fire; 284 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 In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups; 288 And let the kettle to the trumpet speak, The trumpet to the cannoneer without, The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to earth, 'Now the king drinks to Hamlet!' Come, begin; And you, the judges, bear a wary eye. 293
Ham. Come on, sir.
Laer. Come, my lord. They play.
​Ham. One.
Laer. No.
Ham. Judgment.
Osr. A hit, a very palpable hit.
Laer. Well; again.
King. Stay; give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine; 296 Here's to thy health. Give him the cup.
Trumpets sound; and shot goes off.
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. 300
King. Our son shall win.
Queen. He's fat, and scant of breath. Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows; The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.
Ham. Good madam!
King. Gertrude, do not drink. 304
Queen. I will, my lord; I pray you, pardon me.
King. [Aside.] It is the poison'd cup! it is too late.
Ham. I dare not drink yet, madam; by and by.
Queen. Come, let me wipe thy face. 308
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. 312 I am afeard you make a wanton of me.
Laer. Say you so? come on. [They] play.
Osr. Nothing, neither way.
​Laer. Have at you now.
In scuffling they change rapiers.
King. Part them! they are incens'd.
Ham. Nay, come, again. [The Queen falls.]
Osr. Look to the queen there, ho!
Hor. They bleed on both sides. How is it, my lord?
Osr. How is it, Laertes?
Laer. Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric; 320 I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery.
Ham. How does the queen?
King. She swounds to see them bleed.
Queen. No, no, the drink, the drink, [—O my dear Hamlet! 323 The drink, the drink;] I am poison' d. [Dies.]
Ham. O villainy! Ho! let the door be lock'd: Treachery! seek it out. [Laertes falls.]
Laer. It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain; No medicine in the world can do thee good; 328 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 turn'd itself on me; lo! here I lie, 332 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. Hurts the King.
All. Treason! treason! 337
King. O! yet defend me, friends; I am but hurt.
Ham. Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion;—is thy union here? 340 ​Follow my mother. King dies.
Laer. He is justly serv'd; It is a poison temper'd by himself. 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. 346 I am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen, adieu! You that look pale and tremble at this chance, That are but mutes or audience to this act, 349 Had I but time,—as this fell sergeant, death, Is strict in his arrest,—O! I could tell you— But let it be. Horatio, I am dead; 352 Thou liv'st; report me and my cause aright To the unsatisfied.
Hor. Never believe it; I am more an antique Roman than a Dane: Here's yet some liquor left.
Ham. As thou'rt a man, 356 Give me the cup: let go; by heaven, I'll have 't. O good Horatio, what a wounded name, Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me. If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, 360 Absent thee from felicity awhile, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, To tell my story. March afar off, and shout within. What war-like noise is this?
Enter Osric.
Osr. Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland, 364 ​To the ambassadors of England gives This war-like volley.
Ham. O! I die, Horatio; The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit: I cannot live to hear the news from England, 368 But I do prophesy the election lights On Fortinbras: he has my dying voice; So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited—The rest is silence. Dies.
Hor. Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince, 373 And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! Why does the drum come hither?
Enter Fortinbras, and English Ambassador, with drum, colours, and Attendants.
Fort. Where is this sight?
Hor. What is it ye would see? 376 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 380 So bloodily hast struck?
Amb. The sight is dismal; And our affairs from England come too late: The ears are senseless that should give us hearing, To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd, 384 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: 387 ​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 arriv'd, give order that these bodies High on a stage be placed to the view; 392 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 judgments, casual slaughters; 396 Of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause, And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall'n on the inventors' heads; all this can I Truly deliver.
Fort. Let us haste to hear it, 400 And call the noblest to the audience. For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune; I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me. 404
Hor. 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, Even while men's minds are wild, lest more mischance 408 On plots and errors happen.
Fort. Let four captains Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage; For he was likely, had he been put on, To have prov'd most royally: and, for his passage, 412 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. 417
Exeunt marching, after the which, a peal of ordnance are shot off.
Footnotes to Act V
Scene One
​S. d. Clowns: low comedians, or, peasants; cf. n. 4 crowner: coroner sat on: passed on ​9 se offendendo; cf. n. 12 branches: divisions [of learning] 13 argal: corruption of ergo, therefore 15 delver: digger 24 quest: inquest 32 even: fellow 37 bore arms; cf. n. ​44 confess thyself; cf. n. 59 unyoke; cf. n. 68 Yaughan; cf. n. stoup: two quart measure ​69 In . . . love; cf. n. 71 behove: benefit 75 property of easiness; cf. n. 81 intil: into 84 jowls: dashes 87 o'er-offices: exercises his office over ​97 chapless: lacking the lower jaw mazzard: head 101 loggats; cf. n. 107 quiddities: subtleties 108 quillets: minute distinctions tenures; cf. n. 110 sconce: head 111 action of battery; cf. n. 113 recognizances; cf. n. statutes; cf. n. 115 fines; cf. n. vouchers; cf. n. 116 recoveries; cf. n. fine: end 119 indentures: mutual agreements 120 conveyance; cf. n. ​127 assurance: security; cf. n. 149 absolute: precise 150 by the card: with precision; cf. n. 152 picked: fastidious ​154 kibe: chilblain 182 pocky: diseased ​189 sore: grievous 190 whoreson: plagued 215 favour: appearance ​228 curiously: minutely 231 likelihood: probability 240 flaw: squall of wind 245 estate: rank ​250 enlarg'd: extended 251 warrantise: warrant doubtful: suspicious 255 Shards: fragments of pottery 256 crants: garlands; cf. n. 257 strewments: flowers strewn on a grave 262 peace-parted: departed in peace ​272 ingenious: delicately sensitive 277 Pelion; cf. n. 280 wandering stars: planets 285 splenetive: quick-tempered ​297 forbear: leave alone 299 Woo't: wilt thou 300 eisel: vinegar; cf. n. 306 burning zone: path of the sun 308 This . . . drooping; cf. n. 311 golden couplets; cf. n. 318 in: in the thought of ​319 present push: immediate trial 321 living: lasting
Scene Two
​6 mutines: mutineers bilboes: shackles 9 pall: fail 13 sea-gown; cf. n. 15 Finger'd: pilfered ​22 bugs . . . life; cf. n. 23 supervise: perusal bated: deducted 29 be-netted: ensnared 30 prologue . . . play; cf. n. 33 statists: statesmen 36 yeoman's service: good and faithful service 41 wheaten garland: emblem of peace 42 comma: bond of connection; cf. n. 43 'As'es; cf. n. 47 shriving-time: time for absolution ​48 ordinant: controlling 50 model: exact likeness 52 Subscrib'd: signed, or, addressed impression: i.e., of the seal 53 changeling: substitute 59 insinuation: artful intrusion 61 fell-incensed: cruelly angered 62 opposites: opponents 63 stand . . . upon: vitally concern 65 election; cf. n. 66 angle: fishing-hook 67 cozenage: cheating ​78 count: make account of 79 bravery: ostentatious display 84 water-fly; cf. n. 90 mess; cf. n. chough: small chattering bird (?); cf. n. ​109 remember; cf. n. 110 mine ease; cf. n. 112 absolute: perfect 113 differences: distinguishing features soft: gentle 115 card: directory 118 definement: description perdition: loss 119 divide inventorially: catalogue 121 yaw: stagger; cf. n. neither: too 123 great article: large scope infusion: character imparted by nature 125 semblable: like 126 trace: follow umbrage: shadow ​129 concernancy: meaning 130 more rawer: too unskilled 132 another tongue; cf. n. 134 nomination: naming 142 approve me: commend me 146 compare with: vie with 149 imputation: reputation meed: merit, worth 150 unfellowed: without an equal 155 imponed: staked ​157 assigns: appurtenances hangers: straps from which a sword is suspended 158 carriages: hangers 159 dear to fancy: unusual in design responsive: corresponding 160 delicate: finely wrought liberal conceit: tasteful design 162 margent: commentary 165 german: appropriate 174 twelve for nine; cf. n. 181 breathing time: exercise period ​193 lapwing: peewit; cf. n. 197 drossy: frivolous, or, composed of dross, unrefined 198 tune: temper, humor, mood 199 yesty: frothy 201 fond and winnowed; cf. n. 214 In happy time: at an appropriate time ​227 gain-giving: misgiving ​242 presence: royal assembly 245 exception: disapproval 258 satisfied in nature; cf. n. 263 voice: opinion 264 ungor'd: uninjured 269 foil; cf. n. ​271 Stick . . . off: stand out in relief 283 quit; cf. n. 286 union: pearl 289 kettle: kettledrum ​301 fat: out of training 302 napkin: handkerchief 313 wanton: spoiled child ​316 S. d. cf. n. 322 swounds: swoons ​342 temper'd: compounded 350 sergeant: sheriff's officer 355 Roman; cf. n. ​367 o'er-crows: overpowers 371 occurrents: incidents 372 solicited: moved; cf. n. 374 flights: troops 378 quarry: heap of slain cries on havoc: proclaims merciless slaughter (?); cf. n. ​392 stage: platform 396 casual: unpremeditated 397 forc'd: unreal 403 rights of memory: ancient claims 406 draw on more: be seconded by others 411 been put on: been put to the proof, tried ​