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

16571577Of his true state.

Did he receive you well?

Most like a gentleman.

But with much forcing of his disposition.

Niggard of question, but of our demands

16621582Most free in his reply.

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

16691589This night to play before him.

This night to play before him. 16701590Polonius 'Tis most true,

16711591And he beseeched me to entreat your majesties

16721592To hear and see the matter.

With all my heart,1594and it doth much content me

16741595To hear him so inclined.

1596Good gentlemen, give him a further edge,

16751597And drive his purpose into these delights.

We shall, my lord.

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

16861607That thus he suffers for.

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,

16921613To both your honors.

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

17001621The devil himself.

[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.

17061627Oh, heavy burden!

I hear him coming. Withdraw, my lord.

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

17441664Be all my sins remembered.

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.

17501670I pray you now receive them.

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,

17571677There, my lord.

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!

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,

18251738I have in quick determination

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

18441758Your wisdom best shall think.

It shall be so;

18461760Madness in great ones must not unmatched go.