Why did Shakespeare make "the rest is silence" Hamlet's final words? | eNotes Why did Shakespeare make "the rest is silence" Hamlet's final words? amymc | High School Teacher | (Level 2) Associate Educator Posted on June 13, 2011 at 12:13 AM I would ask you to consider the "noise" that Hamlet has been experiencing since his father died. Because Hamlet is a sensitive, philosophical young man, he thinks rather than acts. However, his father has been murdered and demands revenge from his only son. Therefore, Hamlet experiences a lot of emotional "noise" and it tends to be introverted psychologically rather than extroverted (inward, not outward). His erratic thoughts create additional "noise" as does his thwarted love for Ophelia and the deceptions of his two friends. As Act V concludes, he realizes his end may be near and does not seem afraid.

In fact, he seems to have resolved his life to the hand of fate, as the following quotation implies: 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? After this decision, the "noise" in his head subsides. He seems to think more clearly. The final quote--"the rest is silence"--could represent the true peace that Hamlet feels as both external and internal noise are gone. like 2 dislike 0 August 16, 2008 at 9:29 AM Hamlet, who speaks the majority of the lines in the play, is about to die and stop speaking for ever. He has avenged his father's murder, been cut with the poisoned rapier, and, as he has just reflected to Horatio, is about to pass the crown of Denmark (he is, at this moment, effectively the only candidate to be king) to Fortinbras. There will be no familial succession.

In that sense, the rest is silence for the line of the Hamlets. Yet there is (as with so many other things in Hamlet) a meta-theatrical element. Hamlet has just asked Horatio not to commit suicide (Horatio's line 'Here's yet some liquor left' refers to a drop of poison left and his desire to kill himself) but to stay alive and to 'report' Hamlet's story to Fortinbras. Hamlet cannot voice his choice for succession nor can he tell his own story: he is about to die; there can only be silence from him. But when the play--itself a version of Hamlet's story--comes to an end, part of Horatio's project, even after the curtain has come down, is to re-tell that same story: So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited. Paraphrase: So tell Fortinbras, with the events and results that came to pass, more or less, which wrongdoing was provoked and incited. So, perhaps, as we come to the end of a performance of Hamlet in the theatre, we confront Hamlet.

Yet, in an odd sort of way, we simply come to the end of a cycle. There is silence at the end of each performance, but every time the play itself is performed, Hamlet's dying wish for his story to be told 'aright' is fulfilled. HAMLET The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit: I cannot live to hear the news from England, But I do prophesy the election lights On Fortinbras: he has my dying voice; So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited—The rest is silence". The reference you mention is part of Hamlet's final speech in which he observes the fact that he is dying and reflects that he will not be a part of anything more in life. The rest of his life is to be silence. His life ended, too soon, leaving a wide gap of silence where years of living should be. Hamlet realizes he needs to rely on Horatio to tell Fortinbras that he has Hamlet's "dying voice" for succession to the throne of Denmark.

He also asks Horatio to tell the story of his uncle, his father, his mother, of how Ophelia died, and finally of how Hamlet's promising life was cut short when he says: HAMLET. So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited ... May 29, 2008 at 8:39 AM The obvious answer is probably the right one here: It was the end of the play. Hamlet dies with these words. For nearly the entire play, Hamlet wrestled with the words of his father's Ghost asking him to take revenge against Claudius for having killed King Hamlet. Now, Claudius is dead by Hamlet's hand. Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and the one the Ghost wanted left alone, is also dead. There is no one left to carry on the family line, Hamlet has named his successor as Fortinbras, so there is silence. like 1 dislike 0 June 24, 2011 at 6:16 PM hmm.m, well i personally think that he says that to show that it is all over.

from the beginning of the play,Hamlet is troubled and later he has to deal with the voice of his fafther's ghos in his head telling to revenge but in that moment he was finally free of that voic and all the worry. he tell Horatio to tell his story...about all tha had occured in his family but now that he was about to die like everyone else what else could be there but silence? and in Horatio's case it could be taken as a sign of the last order from his prince. he was never going to hear Hamlet's voice again like 1 dislike 0 January 8, 2010 at 12:14 AM Because the man lived and died with the pun (and I mean this in a good way), and he couldn't help but close his greatest play with one.

And what a good pun it is, since it supports at least three or four interpretations, including: a) rest can either mean 'that which is remaining' or, in Hamlet's case, death; b) silence can simply refer to the fact that the play is over--there are no words--or to a description of the state of death; c) a comment on the fact that every other major character is dead and might more grammatically be written 'the rest are silenced." like 1 dislike 0 August 18, 2008 at 10:24 PM The Rest is Silence. In Shakespeare's day, most people unquestioningly believed in heaven (and hell). But Hamlet is a child of the new, philosophical Renaissance, his final line questions the old certainty of Heaven. Hamlet has talked of death throughout the play and stared into the eyes of a freshly-unearthed, dead skull, looking for meaning. Now he is dying and he says, 'the rest is silence' There is a double-wordplay on 'rest' :- 1) Rest could mean "...the remainder..." as in "...we watched the rest of the movie..." or "...the dog had the rest of the meatloaf...".

So Hamlet's saying, "You will hear no more words from me for the rest of time, 'cos I'll be dead." 2) Or 'rest' could mean sleep... eternal rest, the sleep of death. He asked himself a question in the 'to be or not to be' speech, "For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?". Now he can see over Death's shoulder and he has his answer. What dreams may come? None, the rest is silence. There is no heaven. There is no hell. No 'undiscovered country'. There is just the silence of the grave. Scary Stuff! (Plus, theatrically speaking, it is the end of the play, there is a little 'wrapping up' afterwards by the minor characters, but basically it is the final line, 'The End'. 'The Rest is Silence, Thanks For Coming, and Goodnight.) like 1 dislike 0 No Fear Shakespeare: Hamlet: Act 5, Scene 2, Page 17 No Fear Shakespeare Home → No Fear Shakespeare → Hamlet → Act 5, Scene 2, Page 17 Hamlet Give me the cup. Let go!

By heaven, I’ll have ’t. (takes cup from HORATIO) O God, Horatio, what a wounded name, Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me! If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart Absent thee from felicity a while, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain To tell my story. HAMLET Please, give me that goblet, if you love me. Let go of it! I’ll get it from you, I swear. Oh God, Horatio, what a damaged reputation I’m leaving behind me, as no one knows the truth. If you ever loved me, then please postpone the sweet relief of death awhile, and stay in this harsh world long enough to tell my story. March afar off and shout within A military march is heard from offstage, and a cannon fires. What warlike noise is this? What are these warlike noises? Enter OSRIC Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland, To th' ambassadors of England gives This warlike volley. OSRIC Young Fortinbras, returning in triumph from Poland, is firing his guns to greet the English ambassadors. 355 The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit.

I cannot live to hear the news from England. But I do prophesy the election lights On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice. So tell him, with th' occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited. The rest is silence. O, O, O, O. (dies) HAMLET Oh, I’m dying, Horatio! This strong poison’s overpowering me. I will not live to hear the news from England. But I bet Fortinbras will win the election to the Danish crown. He’s got my vote as I die. So tell him that, given the recent events here—oh, the rest is silence. Oh, oh, oh, oh. (he dies) 360 Now cracks a noble heart.—Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!— Why does the drum come hither? HORATIO Now a noble heart is breaking. Good night, sweet prince. May hosts of angels sing you to sleep.—Why are those drums approaching? Enter FORTINBRAS and the English AMBASSADOR, with drummer and attendants FORTINBRAS and the English AMBASSADOR enter with a drummer and attendants.

Shakespeare's Hamlet - Hamlet's Silence Hamlet's Silence From Hamlet, an ideal prince, and other essays in Shakesperean interpretation: Hamlet; Merchant of Venice; Othello; King Lear by Alexander W. Crawford. A great many students of the play have expressed surprise that nowhere does Hamlet give distinct utterance to his conception of the nature of the task assigned him by the ghost. He nowhere explains clearly his own motives, not even in his private talks with his friend, Horatio, nor yet in his soliloquies. This may be due in part to the fact that Hamlet is not the play. As we have seen, the problem of the play cannot be solved by reference only to the prince. The situation of the play is developed before he comes on the stage, and as we shall see later the full solution is reached only after his death. Moreover, the character of his troubles and his task of revenge are of such a personal nature that he cannot reveal them even to Horatio. The fact that his troubles are only suspicions, that cannot be verified at present, forbids a declaration even to his bosom friend. Hamlet very properly has the habit of silence.

There is about him, as has been said "an habitual secrecy" that resists all our prying inquisitiveness. He scarcely deigns even to mention his suspicions to himself, and his soliloquies do not disclose fully his inner thoughts. In his first soliloquy, which occurs in his first appearance on the stage, Hamlet denounces his mother's "o'erhasty marriage," as if this were all that troubled him. His great grief almost breaks his heart, yet he concludes by reminding himself that he must not speak out, saying, "But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue!" (I. ii. 159.) In all his associations with his friends, moreover, he enjoins them to the strictest secrecy regarding any revelations made to them. When Horatio and the others tell Hamlet of the appearance of the ghost, he draws from them all the information he can, and then pledges them to the utmost secrecy, saying, "Give it an understanding, but no tongue." (I. ii.

249) After he has himself seen the ghost they ask him, "What news, my lord.?" But he denies them, saying, "No; you will reveal it." He then seems to think of telling them, first pledging them to secrecy, and begins by saying, "There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Denmark," and then changing his mind for fear they will disclose it, he adds indifferently, "But he's an arrant knave." A few moments later, after assuring them, "It is an honest ghost," he makes them swear solemnly upon the cross of his sword, "Never make known what you have seen to-night." Hamlet finds it impossible even to make a confidant of Horatio, for not only is his trouble only a suspicion, but it is of the most intimate personal kind, involving as it does the honor of his mother. Fortunately, the friendship between the two is so genuine and strong that Horatio remains his trusty friend without a knowledge of all that is in Hamlet's mind and heart. It is clear, however, that Horatio knows much more than the others, and more than Hamlet is reported as telling him.

At the end of the play, when he is dying, Hamlet solemnly charges Horatio after his death to "report me and my cause aright To the misatisfied." (V. ii. 326-7.) Then after giving his voice for the election of Fortinbras as the next king of Denmark, he dies with these words on his lips, "the rest is silence." (V. ii. 345) No words of Hamlet, then, fully disclose his thoughts and his motives, nor is it necessary that they should. All his words are naturally spoken with the closest reference to the entire situation and the conditions about him. These conditions must, therefore, interpret for us his words and his motives, and if properly understood will make his words clear. Shakespeare does not find it necessary to have Hamlet openly and explicitly declare his thoughts. But he does take particular pains to explain very fully the dramatic situation and all the surroundings of Hamlet, and these give the requisite meaning to his words. It is the supreme art of Shakespeare to delineate his characters in the most intimate relation to the situation and movement of his dramas, and never in isolation or apart from the action of his plays.

In the case of Hamlet, there are fewer explicit words than usual in his plays, and probably for the reason that he has more carefully elaborated the situation that should give the words and actions the meaning required. It is only in these dramatic surroundings that we can find the clue to the character and motive of Hamlet, and these the critics have not been able to understand. How to cite this article: Crawford, Alexander W. Hamlet, an ideal prince, and other essays in Shakesperean interpretation: Hamlet; Merchant of Venice; Othello; King Lear. Boston R.G. Badger, 1916. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2009. < >. ______________ SCENE II. A hall in the castle. SCENE II. A hall in the castle. Enter HAMLET and HORATIO Hamlet: About 3 | Shakespeare | CliffsNotes Bookmark this page Manage My Reading List Significance Scholars universally recognize Hamlet as the one character in the Shakespeare canon that best exemplifies Shakespeare's ability to express the universal awareness of human existence.

He personifies Shakespeare's genius and, by the very nature of his enigmatic presence, captures the human imagination better than any other literary character before or since. Hamlet's dual nature, so recognizable to anyone who has ever been a teenager, ignites immediate empathy. Hamlet is sensitive, poetic, artistic, and loving; he is also a criminal who stabs his friends in the back, treats his young girlfriend callously, and shows no remorse for deliberately murdering an "unseen good old man." Other artists — from intellectual writers to pop culture songsters — allude to no other play more often. They also quote, mimic, and emulate no character more than Hamlet. The most enduring thing about Hamlet, which keeps the play vibrant for every age, is that no key to understanding the play exists. Viewers can validate all interpretations, justify every answer, and substantiate all possibilities. Fierce debate over Hamlet's meaning, the title character's mystery, his mystique, how his life relates to modern man, what his relationships can teach us about human interaction, and more, will forever attend any examination of the play. So long as unanswerable questions persist, the play will captivate us.

However, some points of reference to which most critics, actors, directors, and academic interpreters agree do exist. One given is that, from the start, Hamlet has a clear imperative to act on his medieval blood feud: to avenge his father's death by killing King Claudius. His emotions tear him in two. On the one hand, he possesses the basic male need to assert his manhood and to right grave wrongs. On the other, his Christian, moral knowledge tells him that murder constitutes a sin no matter what the cause. Hamlet represents the polar opposite of his uncle/father King Claudius. Claudius personifies the Machiavellian villain: he justifies his wrongdoing by aggrandizing the ends his evil produces. He recognizes his own evil and acknowledges his doomed status. Knowing that he will assuredly descend into Hell makes Claudius no less eager to commit crime after crime in order to keep his ill-won spoils. The desire to resist hating him moves the audience, and the fact that he is so conversant with his inability to seek absolution keeps him from being one-dimensional. Rather than hate him, we root for his conversion, hoping that he will confess and show contrition.

He does not, and we become less and less forgiving. Hamlet is Claudius' antithesis. The Prince knows he owes a debt to his father's commands and to the old order which dictates that he must commit a sinful act. But his fear that the action is wrong paralyzes him. Though the end would justify Hamlet's very existence, it would not justify his defiance of the commandment against murder. Critics argue that Hamlet's inability to make up his mind makes him a tragic figure. Truthfully, however, Hamlet's "wild and whirling words" are the culprits that imprison him. Like other great Shakespearean tragic heroes, Hamlet must find a way to turn his ideas — the persevering words that never allow him silence — to into action. In Macbeth, the hero reverses roles with his wife; she, quick to act, becomes the talker, the thinker, while he becomes the rash one, the man of action. In King Lear, madness robs Lear of his words, forcing him to listen, to recognize reality in order to experience his recognition and reversal.

But in Hamlet, the words control the hero to the end — until he knows that he is dead and can end the discussion and finally act. Like a composer who hears music playing incessantly in his head, Hamlet struggles to swim through a constant stream of words to his death, where he sighs that "The rest is silence." One difficulty in interpreting Hamlet arises out the intimate nature of the obstacles that confront the hero. Most of the conflict Hamlet must overcome results from his internal struggle, not from external obstacles. In addition to all the difficulties that hinder Hamlet from within, however, a fair share of outside impediments also stand in the way of his taking decisive action. The fact that Claudius holds all the cards and exposes Hamlet "naked" to all Denmark presents an entirely external conflict. The Ghost orders Hamlet to avenge the old king's death, yet no witnesses attest to the fact that King Hamlet did not die of natural causes. King Claudius is the Divine Right monarch and, by killing him, Hamlet will commit high treason and dispatch an emissary from God at the same time. To the world around him, Hamlet seems to be playing out of tune.

He is popular and admired by Claudius' Danish subjects, but they have no reason to believe that Claudius is anything but what he says he is, a noble king. If Hamlet knows that his world is "out of joint," that things are not what they appear to be, that "there is something rotten in the State of Denmark," he has no proof and no allies. The King even manipulates Hamlet's own mother and Hamlet's courtship of the fair Ophelia . Except for Horatio , Hamlet is alone. This CliffsNote is a companion to the play. It cannot serve as a substitute for reading the entire play, watching a live theatrical performance, or viewing the many film versions in theatrical release and on video. Additionally, plays like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; I Hate Hamlet; Words, Words; The Hamlet Machine; Ten Minute Hamlet; and others offer new insights into Hamlet as they present completely new situations using the familiar plot and characters. Even Walt Disney's The Lion King takes its basis from Hamlet and illuminates Shakespeare's work even as the original illuminates it in return.

(All references to the text are taken from the Cambridge School edition of Hamlet, published by Cambridge University Press, 1994.) Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2 :|: Open Source Shakespeare Hamlet . So much for this, sir; now shall you see the other. 3650 You do remember all the circumstance? Horatio . Remember it, my lord! Hamlet . Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting That would not let me sleep. Methought I lay Worse than the mutinies in the bilboes. Rashly- 3655 And prais'd be rashness for it; let us know, Our indiscretion sometime serves us well When our deep plots do pall; and that should learn us There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will- 3660 Horatio . That is most certain. Hamlet .

Up from my cabin, 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 3665 To mine own room again; making so bold (My fears forgetting manners) to unseal Their grand commission; where I found, Horatio (O royal knavery!), an exact command, Larded with many several sorts of reasons, 3670 Importing Denmark's health, and England's too, With, hoo! such bugs and goblins in my life- That, on the supervise, no leisure bated, No, not to stay the finding of the axe, My head should be struck off. 3675 Hamlet . Here's the commission; read it at more leisure. But wilt thou bear me how I did proceed? Horatio . I beseech you. Hamlet . Being thus benetted round with villanies, 3680 Or 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.

I once did hold it, as our statists do, A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much 3685 How to forget that learning; but, sir, now It did me yeoman's service. Wilt thou know Th' effect of what I wrote? Horatio . Ay, good my lord. Hamlet . An earnest conjuration from the King, 3690 As England was his faithful tributary, As love between them like the palm might flourish, As peace should still her wheaten garland wear And stand a comma 'tween their amities, And many such-like as's of great charge, 3695 That, on the view and knowing of these contents, Without debatement further, more or less, He should the bearers put to sudden death, Not shriving time allow'd. Horatio . How was this seal'd? 3700 Hamlet . Why, even in that was heaven ordinant.

I had my father's signet in my purse, Which was the model of that Danish seal; Folded the writ up in the form of th' other, Subscrib'd it, gave't th' impression, plac'd it safely, 3705 The changeling never known. Now, the next day Was our sea-fight; and what to this was sequent Thou know'st already. Horatio . So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't. Hamlet . Why, man, they did make love to this employment! 3710 They are not near my conscience; their defeat Does by their own insinuation grow. 'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes Between the pass and fell incensed points Of mighty opposites. 3715 Horatio . Why, what a king is this! Hamlet . Does it not, thinks't thee, stand me now upon- He that hath kill'd my king, and whor'd my mother; Popp'd in between th' election and my hopes; Thrown out his angle for my proper life, 3720 And with such coz'nage- is't not perfect conscience To quit him with this arm?

And is't not to be damn'd To let this canker of our nature come In further evil? Horatio . It must be shortly known to him from England 3725 What is the issue of the business there. Hamlet . It will be short; the interim is mine, And a man's life is no more than to say 'one.' But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes I forgot myself, 3730 For by the image of my cause I see The portraiture of his. I'll court his favours. But sure the bravery of his grief did put me Into a tow'ring passion. Horatio . [aside to Hamlet] Is't not possible to understand in another tongue? You will do't, sir, really. 3775 Hamlet . What imports the nomination of this gentleman? Horatio . [aside] His purse is empty already. All's golden words are spent. Hamlet . Of him, sir. 3780 Osric . I know you are not ignorant- Hamlet . I would you did, sir; yet, in faith, if you did, it would not much approve me. Well, sir? Osric .

You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is- Hamlet . I dare not confess that, lest I should compare with him in 3785 excellence; but to know a man well were to know himself. Osric . I mean, sir, for his weapon; but in the imputation laid on him by them, in his meed he's unfellowed. Hamlet . What's his weapon? Osric . Rapier and dagger. 3790 Hamlet . That's two of his weapons- but well. Osric . The King, sir, hath wager'd with him six Barbary horses; against the which he has impon'd, 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, 3795 very responsive to the hilts, most delicate carriages, and of very liberal conceit. And you must needs have heard, how I am punish'd With sore distraction. What I have done That might your nature, honour, and exception Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness.

Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes? Never Hamlet. 3870 If Hamlet from himself be taken away, And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. Who does it, then? His madness. If't be so, Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd; 3875 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 my arrow o'er the house 3880 And hurt my brother. Laertes . I am satisfied in nature, Whose motive in this case should stir me most To my revenge. But in my terms of honour I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement 3885 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, And will not wrong it. 3890 Hamlet . I embrace it freely, And will this brother's wager frankly play. Give us the foils. Come on.

Laertes . Come, one for me. Hamlet . I'll be your foil, Laertes. In mine ignorance 3895 Your skill shall, like a star i' th' darkest night, Stick fiery off indeed. Laertes . You mock me, sir. Hamlet . No, by this hand. Claudius . Give them the foils, young Osric. Cousin Hamlet, 3900 You know the wager? Osric . Ay, my good lord. Claudius . Set me the stoups of wine upon that table. 3910 If Hamlet give the first or second hit, Or quit in answer of the third exchange, Let all the battlements their ordnance fire; The King shall drink to Hamlet's better breath, And in the cup an union shall he throw 3915 Richer than that which four successive kings In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups; And let the kettle to the trumpet speak, The trumpet to the cannoneer without, The cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth, 3920 'Now the King drinks to Hamlet.' Come, begin.

And you the judges, bear a wary eye. Hamlet . Come on, sir. Claudius . Stay, give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine; 3930 Here's to thy health. [Drum; trumpets sound; a piece goes off [within].] Give him the cup. Hamlet . I'll play this bout first; set it by awhile. Come. [They play.] Another hit. What say you? 3935 Laertes . A touch, a touch; I do confess't. Claudius . Our son shall win. Gertrude . He's fat, and scant of breath. Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows. The Queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. 3940 Claudius . Gertrude, do not drink. Gertrude . I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me. Drinks. Claudius . [aside] It is the poison'd cup; it is too late. Hamlet . I dare not drink yet, madam; by-and-by. 3945 Gertrude . Come, let me wipe thy face. Laertes .

My lord, I'll hit him now. Claudius . I do not think't. Laertes . [aside] And yet it is almost against my conscience. Hamlet . Come for the third, Laertes! You but dally. 3950 Pray you pass with your best violence; I am afeard you make a wanton of me. Laertes . Say you so? Come on. Play. Osric . Nothing neither way. Laertes . It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain; 3970 No medicine in the world can do thee good. In thee there is not half an hour of life. The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, Unbated and envenom'd. The foul practice Hath turn'd itself on me. Lo, here I lie, 3975 Never to rise again. Thy mother's poison'd. I can no more. The King, the King's to blame. Hamlet . The point envenom'd too? Then, venom, to thy work. Hurts the King. All . Treason! treason! 3980 Claudius . O, yet defend me, friends!

I am but hurt. Hamlet . Here, thou incestuous, murd'rous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion! Is thy union here? Follow my mother. King dies. Laertes . He is justly serv'd. 3985 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. Hamlet . Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee. 3990 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, Had I but time (as this fell sergeant, Death, Is strict in his arrest) O, I could tell you- 3995 But let it be. Horatio, I am dead; Thou liv'st; report me and my cause aright To the unsatisfied. I am more an antique Roman than a Dane. 4000 Here's yet some liquor left. Hamlet . As th'art a man, Give me the cup. Let go! By heaven, I'll ha't.

O good Horatio, what a wounded name (Things standing thus unknown) shall live behind me! 4005 If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, Absent thee from felicity awhile, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, To tell my story. [March afar off, and shot within.] What warlike noise is this? 4010 Osric . Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland, To the ambassadors of England gives This warlike volley. Hamlet . O, I die, Horatio! The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit. 4015 I cannot live to hear the news from England, But I do prophesy th' election lights On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice. So tell him, with th' occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited- the rest is silence. Dies. 4020 Horatio . Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! [March within.] Why does the drum come hither? Enter Fortinbras and English Ambassadors, with Drum, Colours, and Attendants. 4025 Fortinbras .

Where is this sight? Horatio . What is it you will see? If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search. Fortinbras . This quarry cries on havoc. O proud Death, What feast is toward in thine eternal cell 4030 That thou so many princes at a shot So bloodily hast struck. Ambassador . The sight is dismal; And our affairs from England come too late. The ears are senseless that should give us hearing 4035 To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Where should we have our thanks? Horatio . Not from his mouth, Had it th' ability of life to thank you. 4040 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; 4045 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; Of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause; 4050 And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall'n on th' inventors' heads. All this can I Truly deliver. Fortinbras . Let us haste to hear it, And call the noblest to the audience. 4055 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. Horatio . Of that I shall have also cause to speak, And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more. 4060 But let this same be presently perform'd, Even while men's minds are wild, lest more mischance On plots and errors happen. Fortinbras . Let four captains Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage; 4065 For he was likely, had he been put on, To have prov'd most royally; and for his passage The soldiers' music and the rites of war Speak loudly for him.

Hamlet - Wikiquote Hamlet How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world . The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a revenge tragedy by William Shakespeare , and is one of his most well-known and oft-quoted plays. It is uncertain exactly when it was written, but scholars tend to place its composition between 1600 and the summer of 1602. Contents I'll speak to it though Hell itself should gape And bid me hold my peace . You come most carefully upon your hour. Francisco, scene i Our sometime sister, now our Queen. Claudius, scene ii Claudius: ...But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son — Hamlet: A little more than kin, and less than kind. Claudius: How is it that the clouds still hang on you? Hamlet: Not so my lord; I am too much i' the sun. scene ii Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not "seems." Hamlet, scene ii O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.

Hamlet, scene ii Note: "Solid" is the word found in the First Folio edition of the plays (1623). Earlier versions (the First and Second Quartos), had used the word "sallied." In some later editions, the word was "sullied." How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world. Hamlet, scene ii Frailty, thy name is woman! Hamlet, scene ii But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue. Hamlet, scene ii Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral bak'd meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. Hamlet, scene ii A countenance more in sorrow than in anger. Horatio, scene ii I'll speak to it though Hell itself should gape And bid me hold my peace. Hamlet, scene ii For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favours, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood; A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute — No more.

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. And recks not his own rede. Ophelia, scene iii Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Polonius, scene iii Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. Polonius, scene iii Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man. Polonius, scene iii Neither a borrower nor a lender be: For loan oft loses both itself and friend. Polonius, scene iii 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. Polonius, scene iii 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. Hamlet, scene iv Why, what should be the fear?

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? Hamlet, scene iv Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Marcellus, scene iv My hour is almost come When I to sulphrous and tormenting flames Must render up myself. Murder most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange, and unnatural. Ghost, scene v The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown. Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin. Ghost, scene v O horrible, O horrible, most horrible! Ghost, scene v And each particular hair to stand on end, Like quills upon the fretful porpentine. Ghost, scene v Variant: Most modern publications modernize this phrase to "Like quills upon the fretful porcupine." O most pernicious woman! O, villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables, — meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. Hamlet, scene v There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Hamlet, scene v How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself — As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on. Hamlet, scene v The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right! Hamlet, scene v Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief. More matter with less art. Gertrude, scene ii. That he is mad, 'tis true; 'tis true 'tis pity; And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure; But farewell it, for I will use no art. Polonius, scene ii Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love. Hamlet, from a letter read by Polonius, scene ii Polonius: Do you know me, my lord? Hamlet: Excellent well; you're a fishmonger. Polonius: Not I, my lord. Hamlet Then I would you were so honest a man.

Polonius: Honest, my lord! Hamlet: Ay, sir; to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand. Polonius: That's very true, my lord. Hamlet: [Reads] For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion, — Have you a daughter? Polonius: I have, my lord. Hamlet: Let her not walk i' the sun: conception is a blessing: but not as your daughter may conceive; — friend, look to 't. Polonius: [Aside] How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter: — yet he knew me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love; very near this. scene ii Polonius: What do you read, my lord? Hamlet: Words, words, words. scene ii Polonius: [Aside] Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't. — Will you walk out of the air, my lord? Hamlet: Into my grave.

scene ii Polonius: My honored lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you. Hamlet: You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal — except my life — except my life — except my life. scene ii Hamlet: My excellent good friends! How dost thou Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do you both? Rosencrantz: As indifferent as children of the earth. Guildenstern: Happy in that we are not overhappy; on Fortune's cap we are not the very button. Hamlet: Nor the soles of her shoe? Rosencrantz: Neither, my lord. Hamlet: Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of her favours? Guildenstern: Faith, her privates we. Hamlet: In the secret parts of Fortune? O, most true! She is a strumpet. What's the news? Rosencrantz: None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest. Hamlet: Then is doomsday near. scene ii There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

Hamlet, scene ii I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. Hamlet, scene ii Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks. Hamlet, scene ii I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises, and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory. This most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me then a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours. What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me; no, nor woman neither, though, by your smiling, you seem to say so.

Hamlet, scene ii Use every man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping? Hamlet, scene ii O! what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Hamlet, scene ii What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her? Hamlet, scene ii That I, the son of a dear father murdered, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must like a whore unpack my heart with words, and fall a-cursing like a very drab Hamlet, scene ii The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds More relative than this: the play 's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Hamlet, scene ii Be all my sins remembered. Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?

We are oft to blame in this, — 'Tis too much prov'd, — that with devotion's visage, And pious action, we do sugar o'er The devil himself. To be, or not to be, — that is the question: — Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? — To die, to sleep, — No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, — 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd.

To die, to sleep; — To sleep, perchance to dream: — ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would these fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, — The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, — puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know naught of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought; And enterprises of great pith and moment, With this regard, their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. Hamlet, scene i The fair Ophelia! — Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd. Hamlet, scene i Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest; but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious; with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us. Hamlet, scene i Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. Ophelia, scene i I say, we will have no more marriages: those that are married already, — all but one, — shall live; the rest shall keep as they are.

Hamlet, scene i O! what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! Ophelia, scene i To have seen what I have seen, see what I see! Ophelia, scene i Madness in great ones must not unwatched go. Claudius, scene i Gertrude: Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me. Hamlet: No, good mother, here's metal more attractive. [Hamlet takes a place near Ophelia.] scene ii Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap? Ophelia: No, my lord. Hamlet: I mean, my head upon your lap? Ophelia: Ay, my lord. Hamlet: Do you think I meant country matters? scene ii So long? Nay, then, let the devil wear black, for I'll have a suit of sables. Oh heavens! die two months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there's hope a great man's memory may outlive his life half a year. Hamlet, scene ii The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Gertrude, scene ii Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me.

You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me. Hamlet, scene ii Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel? Polonius: By th' Mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed. Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel. Polonius: It is backed like a weasel. Hamlet: Or like a whale. Polonius: Very like a whale. scene ii Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood, And do such bitter business, as the day Would quake to look on.

Hamlet, scene ii Let me be cruel, not unnatural; I will speak daggers to her, but use none. Hamlet, scene ii O! my offence is rank, it smells to heaven. Claudius, scene iii What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, — Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens To wash it white as snow? Claudius, scene iii Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; And now I'll do 't: and so he goes to heaven; And so am I reveng'd. Hamlet, scene iii My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; Words without thoughts never to heaven go. Claudius, scene iii Hamlet: How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead! Polonius: Oh, I am slain! scene iv Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! I took thee for thy better. Hamlet, scene iv In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love Over the nasty sty. I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.

Hamlet, scene iv Be thou assur'd, if words be made of breath, And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me. Gertrude, scene iv Good-night, ladies; good-night, sweet ladies; good-night, good-night. So, haply, slander — Whose whisper o'er the world's diameter, As level as the cannon to his blank, Transports his poisoned shot — may miss our name And hit the woundless air. — O, come away! My soul is full of discord and dismay. Claudius, scene i Rosencrantz: I understand you not, my lord. Hamlet: I am glad of it: a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear. Rosencrantz: My lord, you must tell us where the body is, and go with us to the king. Hamlet: The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body. The king is a thing — Guildenstern: A thing, my lord? Hamlet: Of nothing. scene ii Hamlet: A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.

Claudius: What dost thou mean by this? Hamlet: Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar. scene iii Claudius: Where is Polonius? Hamlet: In heaven; send thither to see. If your messenger find him not there, seek him i' the other place yourself. But, indeed, if you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby. scene iii How all occasions do inform against me, And spur my dull revenge! Hamlet, scene iv O! from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! Hamlet, scene iv We know what we are, but know not what we may be. Ophelia, scene v Good-night, ladies; good-night, sweet ladies; good-night, good-night. Ophelia, scene v When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions. I'm lost in it, my lord.

But let him come; It warms the very sickness in my heart, That I shall live and tell him to his teeth, 'Thus diest thou.' Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears. Laertes, scene vii What is the reason that you use me thus? I lov'd you ever: but it is no matter. Let Hercules himself do what he may, The cat will mew, and dog will have his day. Hamlet, scene i There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will. Hamlet, scene ii 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. Hamlet, scene ii The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit: I cannot live to hear the news from England; But I do prophesy the election lights On Fortinbras: he has my dying voice; So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited.

The rest is silence. Hamlet, scene ii; variant, from the First Folio: The rest is silence. O, o, o, o. [Dies] If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, Absent thee from felicity awhile, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, To tell my story. Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince; And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Horatio, scene ii Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage. Fortinbras, scene ii Go, bid the soldiers shoot. Fortinbras, scene ii What does Hamlet mean with his dying words, 'The rest is silence?' - Quora Quora It's a deliciously ambiguous line. Here's the entire speech: The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit: I cannot live to hear the news from England; But I do prophesy the election lights On Fortinbras: he has my dying voice; So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited. The rest is silence.

Here, "rest" means "residue" or "all that remains." So on a literal level, he's saying, "All that remains now is my death" or "The only thing left for me now is the silence of death." But notice that, a few lines earlier, he's said, "I do prophesy the election lights / on Fortinbras," so there's also a sense of "That's all I know" or "That's all the gods have told me. Aside from Fortinbras's election, they are silent." About half a page before this speech, Hamlet says 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, 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 ... There's a subtle pun going on here, which may be accidental, but it's also the typical sort of game Shakespeare liked to play.

Notice that the speech personifies death and claims that he "Is strict in his arrest." Then, a few lines later, we have what, when spoken by an actor, would sound like, "th'arrest is silence." Here's one more layer to ponder: The play never answers the question about whether the ghost is Hamlet's father or a devil, sent to lure Hamlet into sin. In fact, this question is at the heart of the play, and it's a major factor in causing Hamlet to delay killing Claudius. The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me... Yes, Claudius killed Hamlet's father, but now Hamlet has committed regicide. Shakespeare's audience would have known that as the worst of all possible crimes. (While "Hamlet" does it, the courtiers shout, "Traitor!") In church, Elizabethans were told revenge was always a sin, even when it's justified. So now that Hamlet is dying, where is his next stop, heaven or hell?

It's a subject that worries him for most of the play, especially in his most famous speech: For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, ... But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. Over the course of the play, he gradually loses this fear: first by watching an army of brave men marching to their deaths ... ... How stand I then, That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see The imminent death of twenty thousand men, That, for a fantasy and trick of fame, Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, Which is not tomb enough and continent To hide the slain?

O, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! ... and then by staring death in the face, and realizing that we all come to dust in the end: Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy... Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? ... Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing. HORATIO E'en so, my lord. HAMLET 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? "Hamlet," then, is largely a play about a man coming to terms with his mortality. In fact, shortly before the duel that will kill him, in a moment of serenity, so far from his fears of "the undiscovered country," he tell Horatio ... 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?

So one way of interpreting the end is with a literal meaning of the word "rest." Maybe, in the end, Hamlet's rest—his final reward—is peaceful. Or you can think of it has his hope that he'll end this way, a hope that is possibly fulfilled or possibly doomed. We can't know, because the rest is silence. Written Jan 18, 2015 Throughout the play Hamlet relies on words instead of action in terms of actually avenging his father's death. Also, Shakespeare relies heavily on the ambiguity of wordplay throughout the play to muddy the waters of Hamlet's true intentions. For example, there is the unrest expressed in the "To Be" speech, indicating his inability to actually come to a decision on what to do--there is an inner noisy argument within him about visiting the "undiscovered country." So, when it comes to the end of the play, when Hamlet has finally committed to an action and finds death, there is again amount of wordplay going on. First, the rest found in death is mere silence--there is no noisy afterwards.

Secondly, the aftermath, the continuation of decision is no more--Hamlet is done with the whole business of actually having to come to a decision: there is silence, he is finished. 2k Views

Question: Which Shakespeare character dies saying 'the rest is silence'?
Answer: HAMLET