1566Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, 16471567Guildenstern, Lords. And can you by no drift of conference
16491569Get from him why he puts on this confusion,
16501570Grating so harshly all his days of quiet
16511571With turbulent and dangerous lunacy?
He does confess he feels himself distracted,
16531573But from what cause, 'a will by no means speak.
Nor do we find him forward to be sounded,
16551575But with a crafty madness keeps aloof
16561576When we would bring him on to some confession
Did he receive you well?
Most like a gentleman.
But with much forcing of his disposition.
Niggard of question, but of our demands
Did you assay him to any pastime?
Madam, it so fell out that certain players
16651585We o'erraught on the way. Of these we told him,
16661586And there did seem in him a kind of joy
16671587To hear of it. They are here about the court,
16681588And, as I think, they have already order
This night to play before him. 16701590Polonius 'Tis most true,
16711591And he beseeched me to entreat your majesties
With all my heart,
1594and it doth much content me
1596Good gentlemen, give him a further edge,
16751597And drive his purpose into these delights.
We shall, my lord.
29.1Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern [and Lords]. Sweet Gertrard, leave us two,
16791600For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither,
16801601That he, as 'twere by accident, may here
16811602Affront Ophelia. Her father and myself,
16821603We'll so bestow ourselves that, seeing unseen,
16831604We may of their encounter frankly judge,
16841605And gather by him, as he is behaved,
16851606If't be th'affliction of his love or no
I shall obey you.
16881609And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish
16891610That your good beauties be the happy cause
16901611Of Hamlet's wildness. So shall I hope your virtues
16911612Will bring him to his wonted way again,
Madam, I wish it may.
Ophelia, walk you here.--Gracious, so please you,
16951616We will bestow ourselves.
[To Ophelia, as he gives her a book] Read on this book,
16961617That show of such an exercise may color
16971618Your lowliness. We are oft too blame in this,
16981619 'Tis too much proved, that with devotion's visage
16991620And pious action we do sugar o'er
[Aside] Oh, 'tis too true!
17021623How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience!
17031624The harlot's cheek, beautied with plast'ring art,
17041625Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it
17051626Than is my deed to my most painted word.
I hear him coming. Withdraw, my lord.
[The King and Polonius conceal themselves.]
To be, or not to be, that is the question,
17111631Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
17121632The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
17131633Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
17141634And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
17151635No more--and by a sleep to say we end
17161636The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
17171637That flesh is heir to; 'tis a consummation
17181638Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep;
17191639To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub,
17201640For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
17211641When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
17221642Must give us pause. There's the respect
17231643That makes calamity of so long life.
17241644For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
17251645Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
17261646The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
17271647The insolence of office, and the spurns
17281648That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
17291649When he himself might his quietus make
17301650With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
17311651To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
17321652But that the dread of something after death,
17331653The undiscovered country from whose bourn
17341654No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
17351655And makes us rather bear those ills we have
17361656Than fly to others that we know not of.
17371657Thus conscience does make cowards,
17381658And thus the native hue of resolution
17391659Is sickl[i]ed o'er with the pale cast of thought,
17401660And enterprises of great pitch and moment
17411661With this regard their currents turn awry
17421662And lose the name of action. Soft you now,
17431663The fair Ophelia!--Nymph, in thy orisons
Good my lord,
17461666How does your honor for this many a day?
I humbly thank you well.
My lord, I have remembrances of yours
17491669That I have longèd long to redeliver.
No, not I. I never gave you aught.
My honored lord, you know right well you did,
17531673And with them words of so sweet breath composed
17541674As made these things more rich. Their perfume lost,
17551675Take these again, for to the noble mind
17561676Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind,
102.1[She offers Hamlet the remembrances.] Ha, ha! Are you honest?
My lord?
Are you fair?
What means your lordship?
That if you be honest and fair, you should admit
17631683no discourse to your beauty.
Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce
17651685than with honesty?
Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner transform
17671687honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can
17681688translate beauty into his likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but now the
17691689time gives it proof. I did love you once.
Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so
17731692evocutate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not.
I was the more deceived.
Get thee [to] a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of
17771695sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of
17781696such things that it were better my mother had not borne me: I am
17791697very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offenses at my beck
17811698than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape,
17821699or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling
17831700between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves; believe none of us.
17841701Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where's your father?
At home, my lord.
Let the doors be shut upon him,
1704that he may
1788play the fool nowhere but in's own house.
1705Farewell.
Oh, help him, you sweet heavens!
If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy
17911708dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape
17921709calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, farewell. Or if thou wilt needs marry,
17931710marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you
17951711make of them. To a nunnery go, and quickly too. Farewell.
Heavenly powers restore him!
I have heard of your paintings well enough. God hath
17991714given you one face, and you make yourselves another. You jig and
18001715amble, and you lisp, you nickname God's creatures, and make your
18011716wantonness ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on't; it hath made me mad.
18031717I say we will have no mo marriage. Those that are married already, all
18041718but one, shall live; the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go.
Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!
18071720The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword,
18081721Th'expectation and rose of the fair state,
18091722The glass of fashion and the mold of form,
18101723Th'observed of all observers, quite, quite down,
18111724And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,
18121725That sucked the honey of his musicked vows,
18131726Now see what noble and most sovereign reason
18141727Like sweet bells jangled out of time, and harsh,
18151728That unmatched form and stature of blown youth
18161729Blasted with ecstasy. Oh, woe is me
18171730T'have seen what I have seen, see what I see!
18181731Enter King and Polonius [stepping forward from concealment]. Love? His affections do not that way tend,
18201733Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little,
18211734Was not like madness. There's something in his soul
18221735O'er which his melancholy sits on brood,
18231736And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose
18241737Will be some danger; which for to prevent,
18261739Thus set it down: he shall with speed to England,
18271740For the demand of our neglected tribute.
18281741Haply the seas, and countries different,
18291742With variable objects, shall expel
18301743This something-settled matter in his heart,
18311744Whereon his brains still beating puts him thus
18321745From fashion of himself. What think you on't?
It shall do well. But yet do I believe
18341748the origin and commencement of his grief
18351749Sprung from neglected love.--How now, Ophelia?
18361750You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said,
18371751We heard it all.--My lord, do as you please,
18381752But if you hold it fit, after the play
18391753Let his queen-mother all alone entreat him
18401754To show his grief. Let her be round with him,
18411755And I'll be placed (so please you) in the ear
18421756Of all their conference. If she find him not,
18431757To England send him, or confine him where
It shall be so;
18461760Madness in great ones must not unmatched go.