# Hamlet (1917) Yale/Text/Act I

Notes originally placed at the bottom of each page appear below, following Act I. 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 I begin on page 155 of the original volume.
Layout 2
ACT FIRST
Scene One
[Elsinore. A Platform of the Castle]
Enter Bernardo and Francisco, two Sentinels.
Ber. Who's there?
Fran. Nay, answer me; stand, and unfold yourself.
Ber. Long live the king!
Fran. Bernardo? 4
Ber. He.
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, 8 And I am sick at heart.
Ber. Have you had quiet guard?
Fran. Not a mouse stirring.
Ber. Well, good-night. If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, 12 The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
Enter Horatio and Marcellus.
Fran. I think I hear them. Stand, ho! Who's there?
Hor. Friends to this ground.
Mar. And liegemen to the Dane.
Fran. Give you good-night.
Mar. O! farewell, honest soldier: 16 ​Who hath reliev'd you?
Fran. Bernardo has my place. Give you good-night. Exit Francisco.
Mar. 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?
Ber. I have seen nothing.
Mar. Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy, And will not let belief take hold of him 24 Touching this dreaded sight twice seen of us: Therefore I have entreated him along With us to watch the minutes of this night; That if again this apparition come, 28 He may approve our eyes and speak to it.
Hor. Tush, tush! 'twill not appear.
Ber. Sit down awhile, And let us once again assail your ears, That are so fortified against our story, 32 What we two nights have seen.
Hor. Well, sit we down, And let us hear Bernardo speak of this.
Ber. Last night of all, When yond same star that's westward from the pole 36 Had made his course to illume that part of heaven Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself, The bell then beating one,— Enter the Ghost.
Mar. Peace! break thee off; look, where it comes again! 40
​Ber. In the same figure, like the king that's dead.
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. 44
Ber. It would be spoke to.
Mar. Question it, Horatio.
Hor. What art thou that usurp'st this time of night, Together with that fair and war-like form In which the majesty of buried Denmark 48 Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak!
Mar. It is offended.
Ber. See! it stalks away.
Hor. Stay! speak, speak! I charge thee, speak!
Exit the Ghost.
Mar. 'Tis gone, and will not answer. 52
Ber. How now, Horatio! you tremble and look pale: Is not this something more than fantasy? What think you on 't?
Hor. Before my God, I might not this believe 56 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, He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice. 'Tis strange. 64
​Mar. Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour, With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
Hor. In what particular thought to work I know not; But in the gross and scope of my opinion, 68 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; 72 And why such daily cast of brazen cannon, And foreign mart for implements of war; Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task 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?
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, Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride, Dar'd to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet— 84 For so this side of our known world esteem'd him— Did slay this Fortinbras; who, by a seal'd compact, Well ratified by law and heraldry, Did forfeit with his life all those his lands 88 Which he stood seiz'd of, to the conqueror; ​Against the which, a moiety competent Was gaged by our king; which had return'd To the inheritance of Fortinbras, 92 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, 96 Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there 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— As it doth well appear unto our state— 101 But to recover of us, by strong hand And terms compulsative, those foresaid lands So by his father lost. And this, I take it, 104 Is the main motive of our preparations, 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; 108 Well may it sort that this portentous figure Comes armed through our watch, so like the king That was and is the question of these wars.
Hor. A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye. 112 In the most high and palmy state of Rome, A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets; 116 ​As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood, Disasters in the sun; and the moist star 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 Unto our climatures and countrymen.]125 Enter Ghost again. 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, 128 It spreads his arms. Speak to me: If there be any good thing to be done, That may to thee do ease and grace to me, Speak to me: 132 If thou art privy to thy country's fate, Which happily foreknowing may avoid, O! speak; 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, The cock crows. Speak of it: stay, and speak! Stop it, Marcellus. 139
Mar. Shall I strike at it with my partisan?
Hor. Do, if it will not stand.
Ber. 'Tis here!
Hor. 'Tis here!
Exit Ghost.
Mar. 'Tis gone! We do it wrong, being so majestical, To offer it the show of violence; 144 For it is, as the air, invulnerable,
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, 149 The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat Awake the god of day; and at his warning, 152 Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his confine; and of the truth herein This present object made probation. 156
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 can walk abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow'd and so gracious is the time. 164
Hor. So have I heard and do in part believe it. But, look, the morn in russet mantle clad, Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill; Break we our watch up; and by my advice 168 Let us impart what we have seen to-night 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? 173
Mar. Let's do 't, I pray; and I this morning know Where we shall find him most conveniently. Exeunt.
Scene Two
[A Room of State in the Castle]
King. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, 4 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 war-like state, 9 Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy, With one auspicious and one dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, 12 In equal scale weighing delight and dole, Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr'd Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone With this affair along: for all, our thanks. 16 Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras, Holding a weak supposal of our worth, Or thinking by our late dear brother's death ​Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, 20 Colleagued with the 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 bands of law, 24 To our most valiant brother. So much for him. Enter Voltimand and Cornelius. Now for ourself and for this time of meeting. Thus much the business is: we have here writ To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras, 28 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 32 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 36 To business with the king more than the scope Of these delated articles allow. Farewell and let your haste commend your duty.
| [Cor.] | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | In that and all things will we show our duty. 40 |
| Vol. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | In that and all things will we show our duty. 40 |
King. We doubt it nothing: heartily farewell. Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius. And now, Laertes, what's the news with you? You told us of some suit; what is't, Laertes? You cannot speak of reason to the Dane, 44 And lose your voice; what wouldst thou beg, Laertes, 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, 48 Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. What wouldst thou have, Laertes?
Laer. Dread my lord, Your leave and favour to return to France; From whence though willingly I came to Denmark, 52 To show my duty in your coronation, Yet now, I must confess, that duty done, My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon. 56
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,—64
Ham. [Aside]. A little more than kin, and less than kind.
King. How is it that the clouds still hang on you?
Ham. Not so, my lord; I am too much i' the sun.
Queen. Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, 68 And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Do not for ever with thy vailed lids Seek for thy noble father in the dust: ​Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die, 72 Passing through nature to eternity.
Ham. Ay, madam, it is common.
Queen. If it be, Why seems it so particular with thee?
Ham. Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not 'seems.' 76 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, 80 Nor the dejected haviour of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shows of grief, That can denote me truly; these indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play: 84 But I have that within which passeth show; 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: 88 But, you must know, your father lost a father; That father lost, lost his; and the survivor bound In filial obligation for some term To do obsequious sorrow; but to persever 92 In obstinate condolement is a course Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief: It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, A heart unfortified, a mind impatient, 96 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, 104 From the first corse till he that died to-day, '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, 108 You are the most immediate to our throne; And with no less nobility of love Than that which dearest father bears his son Do I impart toward you. For your intent 112 In going back to school in Wittenberg, It is most retrograde to our desire; And we beseech you, bend you to remain Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye, 116 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.
King. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply: Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam, come; This gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet Sits smiling to my heart; in grace whereof, 124 No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day, But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell, And the king's rouse the heavens shall bruit again, Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away. 128
Exeunt [all except Hamlet.]
​Ham. O! that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew; Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God! 132 How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world. Fie on 't! O fie! 'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature 136 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 140 That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth! Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, As if increase of appetite had grown 144 By what it fed on; and yet, within a month, Let me not think on 't: Frailty, thy name is woman! A little month; or ere those shoes were old With which she follow'd my poor father's body, Like Niobe, all tears; why she, even she,— 149 O God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer,—married with mine uncle, My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules: within a month, 153 Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married. O! most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets. 157 ​It is not nor it cannot come to good; But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue!
Enter Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus.
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 you. And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio? Marcellus? 165
Mar. My good lord,—
Ham. I am very glad to see you. [To Bernardo.] Good even, sir. But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?
Hor. A truant disposition, good my lord. 169
Ham. I would not hear your enemy say so, Nor shall you do mine ear that violence, To make it truster of your own report 172 Against yourself; I know you are no truant. But what is your affair in Elsinore? We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart.
Hor. My lord, I came to see your father's funeral. 176
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 bak'd meats 180 Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven ​Ere I had ever seen that day, Horatio! My father, methinks I see my father. 184
Hor. O! where, my lord?
Ham. In my mind's eye, Horatio.
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. 188
Hor. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight.
Ham. Saw? Who?
Hor. My lord, the king your father.
Ham. The king, my father?
Hor. Season your admiration for a while 192 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.
Hor. Two nights together had these gentlemen, 196 Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch, In the dead vast and middle of the night, Been thus encounter'd: a figure like your father, Arm'd at all points 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 204 Almost to jelly with the act of fear, 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, 209 ​Form of the thing, each word made true and good, 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. 213
Ham. Did you not speak to it?
Hor. My lord, I did; But answer made it none; yet once methought It lifted up it head and did address 216 Itself to motion, like as it would speak; 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.
Ham. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me. 224 Hold you the watch to-night?
| Mar. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | We do, my lord. |
| Ber. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | We do, my lord. |
Ham. Arm'd, say you?
| Mar. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Arm'd, my lord. |
| Ber. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Arm'd, my lord. |
Ham. From top to toe?
| Mar. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | My lord, from head to foot. |
| Ber. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | My lord, from head to foot. |
Ham. Then saw you not his face? 228
Hor. O yes! my lord; he wore his beaver up.
Ham. What! look'd he frowningly?
Hor. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.
Ham. Pale or red? 232
​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 amaz'd you.
Ham. Very like, very like. Stay'd it long? 236
Hor. While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred.
| Mar. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Longer, longer. |
| Ber. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Longer, longer. |
Hor. Not when I saw it.
Ham. His beard was grizzled, no?
Hor. It was, as I have seen it in his life, 240 A sable silver'd.
Ham. I will 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 244 And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all, If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight, Let it be tenable in your silence still; And whatsoever else shall hap to-night, 248 Give it an understanding, but no tongue: I will requite your loves. So, fare you well. Upon the platform, 'twixt eleven and twelve, I'll visit you.
All. Our duty to your honour. 252
Ham. Your loves, as mine to you. Farewell. Exeunt [all hut Hamlet]. My father's spirit in arms! all is not well; I doubt some foul play: would the night were come! ​Till then sit stilly my soul: foul deeds will rise, 256 Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes.
Exit.
Scene Three
[Polonius' Apartment in the Castle]
Enter Laertes and Ophelia.
Laer. 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.
Oph. Do you doubt that? 4
Laer. For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favour, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, 8 The perfume and suppliance of a minute; No more.
Oph. No more but so?
Laer. Think it no more: For nature, crescent, does not grow alone In thews and bulk; but, as this temple waxes, 12 The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now, And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch The virtue of his will; but you must fear, 16 His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own, For he himself is subject to his birth; He may not, as unvalu'd persons do, ​Carve for himself, for on his choice depends 20 The safety and the health of the whole state; And therefore must his choice be circumscrib'd Unto the voice and yielding of that body Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he loves you, 24 It fits your wisdom so far to believe it 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. 28 Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain, If with too credent ear you list his songs, Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open To his unmaster'd importunity. 32 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. The chariest maid is prodigal enough 36 If she unmask her beauty to the moon; Virtue herself 'scapes not calumnious strokes; The canker galls the infants of the spring Too oft before their buttons be disclos'd, 40 And in the morn and liquid dew of youth Contagious blastments are most imminent. Be wary then; best safety lies in fear: Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. 44
Oph. I shall th' effect of this good lesson keep, 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, Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine, 49 Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, And recks not his own rede.
Laer. O! fear me not.
Enter Polonius.
I stay too long; but here my father comes. 52 A double blessing is a double grace; Occasion smiles upon a second leave.
Pol. Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame! The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail, 56 And you are stay'd for. There, my blessing with thee! And these few precepts in thy memory Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportion'd thought his act. 60 Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar; The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment 64 Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in, Bear 't that th' opposed may beware of thee. Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; 68 Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man, 72 ​And they in France of the best rank and station Are most select and generous, chief in that. Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, 76 And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. 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, And you yourself shall keep the key of it. 86
Laer. Farewell. Exit Laertes.
Pol. What is 't, Ophelia, he hath said to you?
Oph. So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet.
Pol. Marry, well bethought: 'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late Given private time to you; and you yourself 92 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, You do not understand yourself so clearly 96 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. 104
Pol. Marry, I'll teach you: think yourself a baby, That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay, Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly; Or,—not to crack the wind of the poor phrase, Roaming it thus,—you'll tender me a fool. 109
Oph. My lord, he hath importun'd me with love In honourable fashion.
Pol. Ay, fashion you may call it: go to, go to.
Oph. And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord, 113 With almost all the holy vows of heaven.
Pol. Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul 116 Lends the tongue vows: these blazes, daughter, 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 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, 124 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, 129 Breathing like sanctified and pious bonds, The better to beguile. This is for all: I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, Have you so slander any moment's leisure, 133 As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to 't, I charge you; come your ways.
Oph. I shall obey, my lord. Exeunt.
Scene Four
[A Platform of the Castle]
Enter Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus.
Ham. The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold.
Hor. It is a nipping and an eager air.
Ham. What hour now?
Hor. I think it lacks of twelve.
Mar. No, it is struck. 4
Hor. Indeed? I heard it not: then it draws near the season Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.
A flourish of trumpets, and two pieces [of ordnance] go off.
What does this mean, my lord?
Ham. The king doth wake to-night and takes his rouse, 8 Keeps wassail, and the swaggering up-spring reels; And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down, The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out The triumph of his pledge.
​Hor. Is it a custom? 12
Ham. Ay, marry, is 't: But to my mind,—though I am native here And to the manner born,—it is a custom More honour'd in the breach than the observance. 16 [This heavy-headed revel east and west Makes us traduc'd and tax'd of other nations; They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase 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, 24 As, in their birth,—wherein they are not guilty, 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 29 The form of plausive manners; that these men, Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, Being nature's livery, or fortune's star, 32 Their virtues else, be they as pure as grace, As infinite as man may undergo, Shall in the general censure take corruption From that particular fault: the dram of eale 36 Doth all the noble substance of a doubt, To his own scandal.]
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, Thou com'st 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, Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn'd, 49 Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws, To cast thee up again. What may this mean, That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel 52 Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon, Making night hideous; and we fools of nature So horridly to shake our disposition With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? 56 Say, why is this? wherefore? what should we do?
Ghost beckons Hamlet.
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, will I follow it.
​Hor. Do not, my lord.
Ham. Why, what should be the fear? 64 I do not set my life at a pin's fee; 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. 68
Hor. What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his base into the sea, And there assume some other horrible form, 72 Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason And draw you into madness? think of it; [The very place puts toys of desperation, Without more motive, into every brain 76 That looks so many fathoms to the sea And hears it roar beneath.]
Ham. It wafts me still. Go on, I'll follow thee.
Mar. You shall not go, my lord.
Ham. Hold off your hands! 80
Hor. Be rul'd; 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. Still am I call'd. Unhand me, gentlemen, 84 [Breaking from them.] By heaven! I'll make a ghost of him that lets me: I say, away! Go on, I'll follow thee.
Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet.
Hor. He waxes desperate with imagination.
Mar. Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him. 88
​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.
Scene Five
[A more remote Part of the Platform]
Enter Ghost and Hamlet.
Ham. Whither wilt thou lead me? speak; I'll go no further.
Ghost. Mark me.
Ham. I will.
Ghost. My hour is almost come, When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames Must render up myself.
Ham. Alas! poor ghost. 4
Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing To what I shall unfold.
Ham. Speak; I am bound to hear.
Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.
Ham. What? 8
Ghost. I am thy father's spirit; Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confin'd to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am forbid 13 To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, 16 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 To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O list! If thou didst ever thy dear father love—
Ham. O God! 24
Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
Ham. Murder!
Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange, and unnatural. 28
Ham. Haste me to know 't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge.
Ghost. I find thee apt; And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed That rots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, 33 Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear: 'Tis given out that, sleeping in mine orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark 36 Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abus'd; but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown.
Ham. O my prophetic soul! 40 My uncle !
Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, ​With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,— O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power 44 So to seduce!—won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. O Hamlet! what a falling-off was there; From me, whose love was of that dignity 48 That it went hand in hand even with the vow I made to her in marriage; and to decline Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor To those of mine! 52 But virtue, as it never will be mov'd, Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven, So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd, Will sate itself in a celestial bed, 56 And prey on garbage. But, soft! methinks I scent the morning air; Brief let me be. Sleeping within mine orchard, My custom always in the afternoon, 60 Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, With juice of cursed hebona in a vial, And in the porches of mine ears did pour The leperous distilment; whose effect 64 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 68 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. 73 ​Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand, Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd; Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, 76 Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd, No reckoning made, but sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head: O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible! 80 If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not; Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damned incest. But, howsoever thou pursu'st this act, 84 Taint not thy mind, 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, 89 And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire; Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me. Exit.
Ham. O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else? 92 And shall I couple hell? O 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 In this distracted globe. Remember thee! 97 Yea, from the table of my memory I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, ​All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there; 101 And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven! 104 O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables, my tables,—meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain; At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark: 109 [Writing.] So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word; It is, 'Adieu, adieu! remember me.' I have sworn 't. 112
Hor. and Mar. (Within.) My lord! my lord!
Enter Horatio and Marcellus.
Mar. Lord Hamlet!
Hor. Heaven secure him!
Mar. So be it!
Hor. Hillo, ho, ho, my lord!
Ham. Hillo, ho, ho, boy! come, bird, come.
Mar. How is 't, my noble lord?
Hor. What news, my lord? 117
Ham. O! 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?
| Hor. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Ay, by heaven, my lord. |
| Mar. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Ay, by heaven, my lord. |
Ham. There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Denmark, But he 's an arrant knave. 124
Hor. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave, To tell us this.
Ham. Why, right; you are i' the right; And so, without more circumstance at all, I hold it fit that we shake hands and part; 128 You, as your business and desire shall point you,— For every man hath business and desire, Such as it is,—and, for mine own poor part, Look you, I'll go pray. 132
Hor. These are but wild and hurling words, my lord.
Ham. I am sorry they offend you, heartily; Yes, faith, heartily.
Hor. There's no offence, my lord.
Ham. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio, 136 And much offence, too. Touching this vision here, 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. 144
| Hor. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | My lord, we will not. |
| Mar. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | My lord, we will not. |
Ham. Nay, but swear 't.
Hor. In faith, My lord, not I.
Mar. Nor I, my lord, in faith.
Ham. Upon my sword.
Mar. We have sworn, my lord, already.
Ham. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. 148
Ghost. Swear. Ghost cries under the stage.
Ham. Ah, ha, boy! sayst thou so? art thou there, true-penny? Come on,—you hear this fellow in the cellarage,— Consent to swear.
Hor. Propose the oath, my lord. 152
Ham. Never to speak of this that you have seen, Swear by my sword.
Ghost. [Beneath.] Swear.
Ham. Hic et ubique? then we'll shift our ground. 156 Come hither, gentlemen, And lay your hands again upon my sword: Never to speak of this that you have heard, Swear by my sword. 160
Ghost. [Beneath.] 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! 164
Ham. And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. ​There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. But come; 168 Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on, 172 That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, With arms encumber'd thus, or thus, head shake, Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase, As, 'Well, well, we know,' or, 'We could, an if we would;' 176 Or, 'If we list to speak,' or, 'There be, an if they might;' 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, Swear. 180
Ghost. [Beneath.] Swear. [They 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 184 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, 188 That ever I was born to set it right! Nay, come, let's go together. Exeunt.
Footnotes to Act I
Scene One
​S. d. Platform: level space on castle ramparts 3 Long . . . king!; cf. n. 13 rivals: partners 15 Friends . . . Dane; cf. n. 16 Give you: God give you ​19 piece; cf. n. 23 fantasy: imagination 29 approve: confirm 37 his; cf. n. ​42 scholar; cf. n. 43 mark: observe closely 45 It . . . to; cf. n. 49 sometimes: formerly 57 sensible: involving the use of one of the senses avouch: assurance 62 parle: parley 63 sledded Polacks: Poles on sledges (?); cf. n. ​65 jump: just 67 thought: train of thinking 68 gross and scope: general drift 70 Good now; cf. n. 72 toils: causes to toil subject: people, subjects 73 cast: founding 74 mart: traffic, buying and selling 75 impress: enforced service 77 toward: in preparation 83 prick'd on: incited emulate: ambitious 87 law and heraldry; cf. n. 89 seiz'd of: possessed of ​90 moiety competent: equal amount 91 gaged: staked 94 carriage: import design'd: drawn up 96 unimproved: unproved (?); cf. n. hot and full: exceedingly ardent 97 skirts: outskirts 98 Shark'd up: picked up at haphazard list; cf. n. resolutes: desperadoes 99 For . . . diet; cf. n. 100 stomach; cf. n. 103 compulsative: involving compulsion 106 head: origin 107 romage: commotion, bustle 109 sort: fit 112 mote: minute particle of dust 113 palmy state: flourishing sovereignty ​117 As . . . blood; cf. n. 118 Disasters: unfavorable aspects; cf. n. moist star: moon 120 sick . . . doomsday; cf. n. 121 precurse: heralding 122 still: constantly 123 prologue: introduction 125 climatures: regions (?); cf. n. 127 cross: meet, face; cf. n. 131 [do] grace: do honor to 134 happily: haply 136 uphoarded; cf. n. 140 partisan; cf. n. ​150 cock; cf. n. 154 extravagant: vagrant erring: wandering hies: hastens 155 confine: place of confinement 156 probation: proof 158 'gainst that: by the time that 162 planets strike; cf. n. 163 takes: bewitches 164 gracious: instinct with goodness
Scene Two
​4 brow of woe: aspect of woe 9 jointress: joint possessor, or, dowager 10 defeated: disfigured 11 auspicious: happy dropping: tearful 13 dole: grief 18 weak supposal: low opinion ​20 disjoint: at loose ends frame: order 21 Colleagued: allied dream of his advantage: imaginary superiority 23 Importing: bearing as its purport 24 bands: agreements 31 gait: proceeding 32 proportions: supplies, forces 38 delated: expressly stated 44 the Dane: the king of Denmark 45 lose your voice: speak to no purpose ​47 native: closely and congenitally connected 48 instrumental: serviceable 50 Dread my lord: my dread lord 51 leave and favour: kind permission 56 leave and pardon: indulgence [to depart] 60 hard: given with difficulty 63 graces: virtues 65 kin . . . kind; cf. n. 67 i' the sun; cf. n. 70 vailed: down-cast ​72 common: the common lot 75 particular: personal 79 windy suspiration: tempestuous sighing forc'd: against one's will 80 fruitful: copious 81 haviour: behavior 83 denote: portray 92 obsequious: dutiful 93 condolement: sorrowing 99 vulgar thing: common experience ​105 corse: corpse 107 unprevailing: unavailing 109 immediate: next in succession 112 impart: bestow 113 Wittenberg; cf. n. 114 retrograde: contrary 115 bend: incline 127 rouse: bumper bruit: echo ​130 resolve: dissolve 132 canon: law 134 uses: usages 137 merely: entirely 140 Hyperion; cf. n. 141 beteem: allow 149 Niobe; cf. n. 150 discourse of reason: reasoning power 155 flushing: redness galled: sore with weeping 156 post: hasten 157 dexterity: facility ​161 forget myself; cf. n. 169 disposition: temperament, mood 180 bak'd meats: meat pies; cf. n. 182 dearest: direst ​192 Season: temper, qualify admiration: wonder, astonishment 193 attent: attentive 198 vast: waste; cf. n. 200 cap-a-pe: from head to foot 204 truncheon: officer's staff distill'd: melted 205 act: operation ​216 it: its 229 beaver: face-guard of a helmet ​237 tell: count 239 grizzled: grey 241 sable: heraldic term for black 247 tenable: that which may be kept
Scene Three
​2 give benefit: are favorable 3 convoy: means of conveyance 6 fashion: mere form toy in blood: passing amorous fancy 7 violet; cf. n. primy: early 8 Forward: precocious 9 suppliance: diversion 11 crescent: growing 12 thews: bodily strength temple: body 14 withal: also 15 soil: blemish cautel: trickery 16 virtue of his will: his virtuous intentions 19 unvalu'd: of low rank ​23 voice and yielding: approval and compliance 26 place: position as a prince; cf. n. 27 deed: effect 30 credent: trustful list: listen to 32 unmaster'd: unrestrained 36 chariest: most scrupulous 39 canker: 'worm,' that destroys leaves and buds, particularly the rose galls: injures infants: young plants 40 buttons: buds disclos'd: opened 41 liquid dew: while the dew is still fresh 42 blastments: blights 47 ungracious: graceless ​49 puff'd: bloated from excess 50 primrose path: path of pleasure 51 recks: heeds rede: counsel 53 double; cf. n. 54 Occasion: opportunity 56 wind . . . of; cf. n. 58 precepts; cf. n. 59 character: inscribe 60 unproportion'd: inordinate 61 familiar: friendly 64 dull thy palm: make thy palm less sensitive to true hospitality 65 unfleg'd: immature 69 censure: opinion 71 express'd in fancy: singular in design ​74 Are . . . that; cf. n. 77 husbandry: thrift 83 tend: are in waiting 90 Marry: an oath derived from the name of Saint Mary 92 private time: time in private visits 94 put on: impressed on 99 tenders: offers; cf. n. ​101 green: inexperienced 102 Unsifted: untried circumstance: state of affairs 107 sterling: legal currency Tender: have a regard for 115 springes: snares woodcocks; cf. n. 122 entreatments: conversations, interviews 126 in few: briefly 127 brokers: go-betweens, procurers 128 investments: vestments, clothes ​129 implorators: solicitors 133 slander: bring reproach upon
Scene Four
​2 eager: sharp 8 wake: hold a revel by night 9 Keeps wassail: holds a drinking-bout up-spring: wild dance of German origin 10 Rhenish: Rhine wine 12 pledge: toast ​18 traduc'd and tax'd: defamed and censured 19 clepe: call swinish: gross 20 Soil our addition: blemish our good name 22 attribute: reputation 24 mole: blemish 26 his; cf. n. 27 complexion: natural tendency 28 pales: palings 29 o'er-leavens: makes too light 30 plausive: pleasing 32 nature's livery: natural attributes fortune's star: the position in which one is placed by fortune 34 undergo: bear the weight of 36 dram of eale; cf. n. ​39 ministers of grace: messengers of God 40 spirit of health: good spirit goblin: evil spirit 43 questionable: inviting question 47 canoniz'd: buried according to the Church's rule hearsed: coffined 48 cerements: grave-clothes 49 inurn'd: interred 53 glimpses of the moon: the earth by night 56 reaches: capacities 59 impartment: communication ​65 at . . . fee: at even a trifling value 69 flood: sea 71 beetles: overhangs threateningly 73 deprive . . . reason: dethrone reason from its sovereignty 75 toys of desperation: whims involving thoughts of self-destruction 83 Nemean lion's; cf. n. nerve: sinew, tendon 85 lets: hinders ​89 issue: outcome
Scene Five
​17 spheres: orbits ​18 knotted: neatly arranged combined: smoothly combed 19 an: on 20 porpentine: porcupine 21 eternal blazon: revelation of eternity; cf. n. 25 unnatural: i.e., for one brother to kill another 31 apt: ready to learn 32 fat weed; cf. n. 33 Lethe; cf. n. wharf: bank 35 orchard: garden 37 process: narrative 38 abus'd: deceived 42 adulterate: adulterous ​62 hebona: yew, notorious for its poisonous properties 64 leperous: causing leprosy 67 gates and alleys; cf. n. 68 posset: curdle 69 eager: sour 71 instant: instantaneous tetter: skin eruption 72 lazar-like: leprous-like ​75 dispatch'd: bereft 77 Unhousel'd: without having received the Holy Communion disappointed: unprepared unanel'd: without having received extreme unction 78 reckoning: confession and absolution 80 horrible; cf. n. 83 luxury: lasciviousness 89 matin: morning 90 uneffectual: losing its effect 97 distracted globe: confused head 98 table: writing-tablet 99 fond: foolish ​100 saws: maxims pressures: impressions—as of a seal 110 word: watch-word 115 hillo, ho, ho: falconer's hunting call 116 come, bird, come: call which falconers use to their hawk in the air ​124 arrant: thoroughgoing 127 without more circumstance: without further details 133 hurling: violent 136 Saint Patrick; cf. n. 138 honest ghost; cf. n. 140 O'ermaster 't: conquer it ​150 true-penny: honest fellow 154 sword; cf. n. 156 Hic et ubique: here and everywhere 163 pioner: digger, miner ​167 your; cf. n. 171 meet: proper 172 antic: fantastic 174 encumber'd: probably folded 175 doubtful: ambiguous 177 an if: an intensive form of if 178 to note: to give a sign 188 spite: vexatious circumstance