ACT V.
Scene I. A churchyard.
[Enter two Clowns, with spades, &c.]
1 Clown.Is she to be buried in
Christian burial when she wilfullyseeks
her own salvation?
2 Clown.I tell thee she is; and
therefore make her grave straight:
thecrowner hath sat on her,
and finds it Christian burial.
1 Clown.How can that be, unless
she drowned herself in her
own defence?
2 Clown.Why, 'tis found so.
1 Clown.It must be se offendendo;
it cannot be else. For here
liesthe point: if I drown myself
wittingly, it argues an act:
and anact hath three branches;
it is to act, to do, and to
perform:argal, she drowned
herself wittingly.
2 Clown.Nay, but hear you, goodman
delver,--
1 Clown.Give me leave. Here lies
the water; good: here stands
theman; good: if the man go
to this water and drown himself,
it is,will he, nill he, he
goes,--mark you that: but if
the water cometo him and drown
him, he drowns not himself;
argal, he that isnot guilty
of his own death shortens not
his own life.
2 Clown.But is this law?
1 Clown.Ay, marry, is't--crowner's
quest law.
2 Clown.Will you ha' the truth
on't? If this had not been
agentlewoman, she should have
been buried out o' Christian
burial.
1 Clown.Why, there thou say'st:
and the more pity that great
folkshould have countenance
in this world to drown or hang
themselvesmore than their even
Christian.--Come, my spade.
There is noancient gentlemen
but gardeners, ditchers, and
grave-makers: theyhold up Adam's
profession.
2 Clown.Was he a gentleman?
1 Clown.He was the first that
ever bore arms.
2 Clown.Why, he had none.
1 Clown.What, art a heathen?
How dost thou understand the
Scripture?The Scripture says
Adam digg'd: could he dig without
arms? I'llput another question
to thee: if thou answerest
me not to thepurpose, confess
thyself,--
2 Clown.Go to.
1 Clown.What is he that builds
stronger than either the mason,
theshipwright, or the carpenter?
2 Clown.The gallows-maker; for
that frame outlives a thousand
tenants.
1 Clown.I like thy wit well,
in good faith: the gallows
does well;but how does it well?
it does well to those that
do ill: now,thou dost ill to
say the gallows is built stronger
than thechurch; argal, the
gallows may do well to thee.
To't again, come.
2 Clown.Who builds stronger than
a mason, a shipwright, or a
carpenter?
1 Clown.Ay, tell me that, and
unyoke.
2 Clown.Marry, now I can tell.
1 Clown.To't.
2 Clown.Mass, I cannot tell.
[Enter Hamlet and Horatio, at
a distance.]
1 Clown.Cudgel thy brains no
more about it, for your dull
ass willnot mend his pace with
beating; and when you are asked
thisquestion next, say 'a grave-maker;'
the houses he makes lasttill
doomsday. Go, get thee to Yaughan;
fetch me a stoup ofliquor.
[Exit Second Clown.]
[Digs and sings.]
In youth when I did love, did love, Methought it was very sweet; To contract,
O, the time for, ah, my behove, O, methought there was nothing meet.
Ham.Has this fellow no feeling
of his business, that he sings
atgrave-making?
Hor.Custom hath made it in him
a property of easiness.
Ham.'Tis e'en so: the hand of
little employment hath the
daintiersense.
1 Clown.[Sings.] But age, with
his stealing steps, Hath claw'd
me in his clutch, And hath
shipp'd me intil the land,
As if I had never been such.
[Throws up a skull.]
Ham.That skull had a tongue in
it, and could sing once: how
theknave jowls it to the ground,as
if 'twere Cain's jawbone, thatdid
the first murder! This might
be the pate of a politician,which
this ass now o'erreaches; one
that would circumvent God,might
it not?
Hor.It might, my lord.
Ham.Or of a courtier, which could
say 'Good morrow, sweet lord!How
dost thou, good lord?' This
might be my lord such-a-one,
thatpraised my lord such-a-one's
horse when he meant to begit,--might
it not?
Hor.Ay, my lord.
Ham.Why, e'en so: and now my
Lady Worm's; chapless, and
knockedabout the mazard with
a sexton's spade: here's fine
revolution,an we had the trick
to see't. Did these bones cost
no more thebreeding but to
play at loggets with 'em? mine
ache to thinkon't.
1 Clown.[Sings.] A pickaxe and
a spade, a spade, For and a
shrouding sheet; O, a pit of
clay for to be made For such
a guest is meet.
[Throws up another skull].
Ham.There's another: why may
not that be the skull of a
lawyer?Where be his quiddits
now, his quillets, his cases,
his tenures,and his tricks?
why does he suffer this rude
knave now to knockhim about
the sconce with a dirty shovel,
and will not tell himof his
action of battery? Hum! This
fellow might be in's time agreat
buyer of land, with his statutes,
his recognizances, hisfines,
his double vouchers, his recoveries:
is this the fine ofhis fines,
and the recovery of his recoveries,
to have his finepate full of
fine dirt? will his vouchers
vouch him no more ofhis purchases,
and double ones too, than the
length and breadthof a pair
of indentures? The very conveyances
of his lands willscarcely lie
in this box; and must the inheritor
himself have nomore, ha?
Hor.Not a jot more, my lord.
Ham.Is not parchment made of
sheep-skins?
Hor.Ay, my lord, And of calf-skins
too.
Ham.They are sheep and calves
which seek out assurance in
that. Iwill speak to this fellow.--Whose
grave's this, sir?
1 Clown.Mine, sir.[Sings.] O,
a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
Ham.I think it be thine indeed,
for thou liest in't.
1 Clown.You lie out on't, sir,
and therefore 'tis not yours:
for my part,I do not lie in't,
yet it is mine.
Ham.Thou dost lie in't, to be
in't and say it is thine: 'tis
forthe dead, not for the quick;
therefore thou liest.
1 Clown.'Tis a quick lie, sir;
't will away again from me
to you.
Ham.What man dost thou dig it
for?
1 Clown. For no man, sir.
Ham.What woman then?
1 Clown.For none neither.
Ham.Who is to be buried in't?
1 Clown.One that was a woman,
sir; but, rest her soul, she's
dead.
Ham.How absolute the knave is!
We must speak by the card,
orequivocation will undo us.
By the Lord, Horatio, these
threeyears I have taken note
of it, the age is grown so
picked thatthe toe of the peasant
comes so near the heel of the
courtier hegalls his kibe.--How
long hast thou been a grave-maker?
1 Clown.Of all the days i' the
year, I came to't that day
that ourlast King Hamlet overcame
Fortinbras.
Ham.How long is that since?
1 Clown.Cannot you tell that?
every fool can tell that: it
was thevery day that young
Hamlet was born,--he that is
mad, and sentinto England.
Ham.Ay, marry, why was be sent
into England?
1 Clown.Why, because he was mad:
he shall recover his wits there;or,
if he do not, it's no great
matter there.
Ham.Why?
1 Clown.'Twill not he seen in
him there; there the men are
as mad as he.
Ham.How came he mad?
1 Clown.Very strangely, they
say.
Ham.How strangely?
1 Clown.Faith, e'en with losing
his wits.
Ham.Upon what ground?
1 Clown.Why, here in Denmark:
I have been sexton here, man
and boy,thirty years.
Ham.How long will a man lie i'
the earth ere he rot?
1 Clown.Faith, if he be not rotten
before he die,--as we have
manypocky corses now-a-days
that will scarce hold the laying
in,--hewill last you some eight
year or nine year: a tanner
will lastyou nine year.
Ham.Why he more than another?
1 Clown.Why, sir, his hide is
so tann'd with his trade that
he willkeep out water a great
while; and your water is a
sore decayer ofyour whoreson
dead body. Here's a skull now;
this skull hath lainin the
earth three-and-twenty years.
Ham.Whose was it?
1 Clown.A whoreson, mad fellow's
it was: whose do you think
it was?
Ham.Nay, I know not.
1 Clown.A pestilence on him for
a mad rogue! 'a pour'd a flagon
ofRhenish on my head once.
This same skull, sir, was Yorick'sskull,
the king's jester.
Ham.This?
1 Clown.E'en that.
Ham.Let me see. [Takes the skull.]
Alas, poor Yorick!--I knew
him,Horatio; a fellow of infinite
jest, of most excellent fancy:
hehath borne me on his back
a thousand times; and now,
how abhorredin my imagination
it is! my gorge rises at it.
Here hung thoselips that I
have kiss'd I know not how
oft. Where be your gibesnow?
your gambols? your songs? your
flashes of merriment, thatwere
wont to set the table on a
roar? Not one now, to mock
yourown grinning? quite chap-fallen?
Now, get you to my lady'schamber,
and tell her, let her paint
an inch thick, to thisfavour
she must come; make her laugh
at that.--Pr'ythee, Horatio,tell
me one thing.
Hor.What's that, my lord?
Ham.Dost thou think Alexander
looked o' this fashion i' the
earth?
Hor.E'en so.
Ham.And smelt so? Pah!
[Throws down the skull.]
Hor.E'en so, my lord.
Ham.To what base uses we may
return, Horatio! Why may notimagination
trace the noble dust of Alexander
till he find itstopping a bung-hole?
Hor.'Twere to consider too curiously
to consider so.
Ham.No, faith, not a jot; but
to follow him thither with
modestyenough, and likelihood
to lead it: as thus: Alexander
died,Alexander was buried,
Alexander returneth into dust;
the dust isearth; of earth
we make loam; and why of that
loam whereto hewas converted
might they not stop a beer-barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and
turn'd to clay, Might stop
a hole to keep the wind away.
O, that that earth which kept
the world in awe Should patch
a wall to expel the winter's
flaw!But soft! but soft! aside!--Here
comes the king.
[Enter priests, &c, in procession;
the corpse of Ophelia,Laertes,
and Mourners following; King,
Queen, their Trains, &c.]
The queen, the courtiers: who
is that they follow?And with
such maimed rites? This doth
betokenThe corse they follow
did with desperate handFordo
it own life: 'twas of some
estate.Couch we awhile and
mark.
[Retiring with Horatio.]
Laer.What ceremony else?
Ham.That is Laertes,A very noble
youth: mark.
Laer.What ceremony else?
1 Priest.Her obsequies have been
as far enlarg'dAs we have warranties:
her death was doubtful;And,
but that great command o'ersways
the order,She should in ground
unsanctified have lodg'dTill
the last trumpet; for charitable
prayers,Shards, flints, and
pebbles should be thrown on
her,Yet here she is allowed
her virgin rites,Her maiden
strewments, and the bringing
homeOf bell and burial.
Laer.Must there no more be done?
1 Priest.No more be done;We should
profane the service of the
deadTo sing a requiem and such
rest to herAs to peace-parted
souls.
Laer.Lay her i' the earth;--And
from her fair and unpolluted
fleshMay violets spring!--I
tell thee, churlish priest,A
ministering angel shall my
sister beWhen thou liest howling.
Ham.What, the fair Ophelia?
Queen.Sweets to the sweet: farewell.[Scattering
flowers.]I hop'd thou shouldst
have been my Hamlet's wife;I
thought thy bride-bed to have
deck'd, sweet maid,And not
have strew'd thy grave.
Laer.O, treble woeFall ten times
treble on that cursed headWhose
wicked deed thy most ingenious
senseDepriv'd thee of!--Hold
off the earth awhile,Till I
have caught her once more in
mine arms:[Leaps into the grave.]Now
pile your dust upon the quick
and dead,Till of this flat
a mountain you have made,To
o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish
headOf blue Olympus.
Ham.[Advancing.]What is he whose
griefBears such an emphasis?
whose phrase of sorrowConjures
the wandering stars, and makes
them standLike wonder-wounded
hearers? this is I,Hamlet the
Dane.[Leaps into the grave.]
Laer.The devil take thy soul![Grappling
with him.]
Ham.Thou pray'st not well.I pr'ythee,
take thy fingers from my throat;For,
though I am not splenetive
and rash,Yet have I in me something
dangerous,Which let thy wiseness
fear: away thy hand!
King.Pluck them asunder.
Queen.Hamlet! Hamlet!
All.Gentlemen!--
Hor.Good my lord, be quiet.
[The Attendants part them, and
they come out of the grave.]
Ham.Why, I will fight with him
upon this themeUntil my eyelids
will no longer wag.
Queen.O my son, what theme?
Ham.I lov'd Ophelia; forty thousand
brothersCould not, with all
their quantity of love,Make
up my sum.--What wilt thou
do for her?
King.O, he is mad, Laertes.
Queen.For love of God, forbear
him!
Ham.'Swounds, show me what thou'lt
do:Woul't weep? woul't fight?
woul't fast? woul't tear thyself?Woul't
drink up eisel? eat a crocodile?I'll
do't.--Dost thou come here
to whine?To outface me with
leaping in her grave?Be buried
quick with her, and so will
I:And, if thou prate of mountains,
let them throwMillions of acres
on us, till our ground,Singeing
his pate against the burning
zone,Make Ossa like a wart!
Nay, an thou'lt mouth,I'll
rant as well as thou.
Queen.This is mere madness:And
thus a while the fit will work
on him;Anon, as patient as
the female dove,When that her
golden couplets are disclos'd,His
silence will sit drooping.
Ham.Hear you, sir;What is the
reason that you use me thus?I
lov'd you ever: but it is no
matter;Let Hercules himself
do what he may,The cat will
mew, and dog will have his
day.
[Exit.]
King.I pray thee, good Horatio,
wait upon him.--
[Exit Horatio.][To Laertes]Strengthen
your patience in our last night's
speech;We'll put the matter
to the present push.--Good
Gertrude, set some watch over
your son.--This grave shall
have a living monument:An hour
of quiet shortly shall we see;Till
then in patience our proceeding
be.
[Exeunt.]
Scene II. A hall in the Castle.
[Enter Hamlet and Horatio.]
Ham.So much for this, sir: now
let me see the other;You do
remember all the circumstance?
Hor.Remember it, my lord!
Ham.Sir, in my heart there was
a kind of fightingThat would
not let me sleep: methought
I layWorse than the mutinies
in the bilboes. Rashly,And
prais'd be rashness for it,--let
us know,Our indiscretion sometime
serves us well,When our deep
plots do fail; and that should
teach usThere's a divinity
that shapes our ends,Rough-hew
them how we will.
Hor.That is most certain.
Ham.Up from my cabin,My sea-gown
scarf'd about me, in the darkGrop'd
I to find out them: had my
desire;Finger'd their packet;
and, in fine, withdrewTo mine
own room again: making so bold,My
fears forgetting manners, to
unsealTheir grand commission;
where I found, Horatio,O royal
knavery! an exact command,--Larded
with many several sorts of
reasons,Importing Denmark's
health, and England's too,With,
ho! such bugs and goblins in
my life,--That, on the supervise,
no leisure bated,No, not to
stay the grinding of the axe,My
head should be struck off.
Hor.Is't possible?
Ham.Here's the commission: read
it at more leisure.But wilt
thou bear me how I did proceed?
Hor.I beseech you.
Ham.Being thus benetted round
with villanies,--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
muchHow to forget that learning;
but, sir, nowIt did me yeoman's
service. Wilt thou knowThe
effect of what I wrote?
Hor.Ay, good my lord.
Ham.An earnest conjuration from
the king,--As England was his
faithful tributary;As love
between them like the palm
might flourish;As peace should
still her wheaten garland wearAnd
stand a comma 'tween their
amities;And many such-like
as's of great charge,--That,
on the view and know of these
contents,Without debatement
further, more or less,He should
the bearers put to sudden death,Not
shriving-time allow'd.
Hor.How was this seal'd?
Ham.Why, even in that was heaven
ordinant.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
the other;Subscrib'd it: gave't
the impression; plac'd it safely,The
changeling never known. Now,
the next dayWas our sea-fight;
and what to this was sequentThou
know'st already.
Hor.So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz
go to't.
Ham.Why, man, they did make love
to this employment;They are
not near my conscience; their
defeatDoes by their own insinuation
grow:'Tis dangerous when the
baser nature comesBetween the
pass and fell incensed pointsOf
mighty opposites.
Hor.Why, what a king is this!
Ham.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
the election and my hopes;Thrown
out his angle for my proper
life,And with such cozenage--is't
not perfect conscienceTo quit
him with this arm? and is't
not to be damn'dTo let this
canker of our nature comeIn
further evil?
Hor.It must be shortly known
to him from EnglandWhat is
the issue of the business there.
Ham.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;For
by the image of my cause I
seeThe portraiture of his:
I'll court his favours:But,
sure, the bravery of his grief
did put meInto a towering passion.
Hor.Peace; who comes here?
[Enter Osric.]
Osr.Your lordship is right welcome
back to Denmark.
Ham.I humbly thank you, sir.
Dost know this water-fly?
Hor.No, my good lord.
Ham.Thy state is the more gracious;
for 'tis a vice to know him.
Hehath much land, and fertile:
let a beast be lord of beasts,
andhis crib shall stand at
the king's mess; 'tis a chough;
but, as Isay, spacious in the
possession of dirt.
Osr.Sweet lord, if your lordship
were at leisure, I shouldimpart
a thing to you from his majesty.
Ham.I will receive it with all
diligence of spirit. Put yourbonnet
to his right use; 'tis for
the head.
Osr.I thank your lordship, t'is
very hot.
Ham.No, believe me, 'tis very
cold; the wind is northerly.
Osr.It is indifferent cold, my
lord, indeed.
Ham.Methinks it is very sultry
and hot for my complexion.
Osr.Exceedingly, my lord; it
is very sultry,--as 'twere--I
cannottell how. But, my lord,
his majesty bade me signify
to you thathe has laid a great
wager on your head. Sir, this
is thematter,--
Ham.I beseech you, remember,--[Hamlet
moves him to put on his hat.]
Osr.Nay, in good faith; for mine
ease, in good faith. Sir, hereis
newly come to court Laertes;
believe me, an absolutegentleman,
full of most excellent differences,
of very softsociety and great
showing: indeed, to speak feelingly
of him, heis the card or calendar
of gentry; for you shall find
in him thecontinent of what
part a gentleman would see.
Ham.Sir, his definement suffers
no perdition in you;--though,
Iknow, to divide him inventorially
would dizzy the arithmetic
ofmemory, and yet but yaw neither,
in respect of his quick sail.But,
in the verity of extolment,
I take him to be a soul of
greatarticle, and his infusion
of such dearth and rareness
as, to maketrue diction of
him, his semblable is his mirror,
and who elsewould trace him,
his umbrage, nothing more.
Osr.Your lordship speaks most
infallibly of him.
Ham.The concernancy, sir? why
do we wrap the gentleman in
our morerawer breath?
Osr.Sir?
Hor.Is't not possible to understand
in another tongue? You will
do't,sir, really.
Ham.What imports the nomination
of this gentleman?
Osr.Of Laertes?
Hor.His purse is empty already;
all's golden words are spent.
Ham.Of him, sir.
Osr.I know, you are not ignorant,--
Ham.I would you did, sir; yet,
in faith, if you did, it would
notmuch approve me.--Well,
sir.
Osr.You are not ignorant of what
excellence Laertes is,--
Ham.I dare not confess that,
lest I should compare with
him inexcellence; but to know
a man well were to know himself.
Osr.I mean, sir, for his weapon;
but in the imputation laid
onhim by them, in his meed
he's unfellowed.
Ham.What's his weapon?
Osr.Rapier and dagger.
Ham.That's two of his weapons:--but
well.
Osr.The king, sir, hath wager'd
with him six Barbary horses:against
the which he has imponed, as
I take it, six Frenchrapiers
and poniards, with their assigns,
as girdle, hangers, andso:
three of the carriages, in
faith, are very dear to fancy,very
responsive to the hilts, most
delicate carriages, and ofvery
liberal conceit.
Ham.What call you the carriages?
Hor.I knew you must be edified
by the margent ere you had
done.
Osr.The carriages, sir, are the
hangers.
Ham.The phrase would be more
german to the matter if we
couldcarry cannon by our sides.
I would it might be hangers
till then.But, on: six Barbary
horses against six French swords,
theirassigns, and three liberal
conceited carriages: that's
the Frenchbet against the Danish:
why is this all imponed, as
you call it?
Osr.The king, sir, hath laid
that, in a dozen passes betweenyour
and him, he shall not exceed
you three hits: he hathlaid
on twelve for nine; and it
would come to immediate trialif
your lordship would vouchsafe
the answer.
Ham.How if I answer no?
Osr.I mean, my lord, the opposition
of your person in trial.
Ham.Sir, I will walk here in
the hall: if it please his
majesty,it is the breathing
time of day with me: let the
foils bebrought, the gentleman
willing, and the king hold
his purpose,I will win for
him if I can; if not, I will
gain nothing but myshame and
the odd hits.
Osr.Shall I re-deliver you e'en
so?
Ham.To this effect, sir; after
what flourish your nature will.
Osr.I commend my duty to your
lordship.
Ham.Yours, yours.
[Exit Osric.]
He does well to commend it himself;
there are no tongues elsefor's
turn.
Hor.This lapwing runs away with
the shell on his head.
Ham.He did comply with his dug
before he suck'd it. Thus has
he,--andmany more of the same
bevy that I know the drossy
age dotes on,--only got the
tune of the time and outward
habit of encounter;a kind of
yesty collection, which carries
them through andthrough the
most fanned and winnowed opinions;
and do but blowthem to their
trial, the bubbles are out,
[Enter a Lord.]
Lord.My lord, his majesty commended
him to you by young Osric,who
brings back to him that you
attend him in the hall: he
sendsto know if your pleasure
hold to play with Laertes,
or that youwill take longer
time.
Ham.I am constant to my purposes;
they follow the king's pleasure:if
his fitness speaks, mine is
ready; now or whensoever, providedI
be so able as now.
Lord.The King and Queen and all
are coming down.
Ham.In happy time.
Lord.The queen desires you to
use some gentle entertainment
toLaertes before you fall to
play.
Ham.She well instructs me.
[Exit Lord.]
Hor.You will lose this wager,
my lord.
Ham.I do not think so; since
he went into France I have
been incontinual practice:
I shall win at the odds. But
thou wouldst notthink how ill
all's here about my heart:
but it is no matter.
Hor.Nay, good my lord,--
Ham.It is but foolery; but it
is such a kind of gain-giving
aswould perhaps trouble a woman.
Hor.If your mind dislike anything,
obey it: I will forestall theirrepair
hither, and say you are not
fit.
Ham.Not a whit, we defy augury:
there's a special providence
inthe fall of a sparrow. If
it be now, 'tis not to come;
if it benot 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?
[Enter King, Queen, Laertes,
Lords, Osric, and Attendants
withfoils &c.]
King.Come, Hamlet, come, and
take this hand from me.
[The King puts Laertes' hand
into Hamlet's.]
Ham.Give me your pardon, sir:
I have done you wrong:But pardon't,
as you are a gentleman.This
presence knows, and you must
needs have heard,How I am punish'd
with sore distraction.What
I have doneThat might your
nature, honour, and exceptionRoughly
awake, I here proclaim was
madness.Was't Hamlet wrong'd
Laertes? Never Hamlet:If Hamlet
from himself be ta'en 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;His
madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.Sir,
in this audience,Let my disclaiming
from a purpos'd evilFree me
so far in your most generous
thoughtsThat I have shot my
arrow o'er the houseAnd hurt
my brother.
Laer.I am satisfied in nature,Whose
motive, in this case, should
stir me mostTo my revenge.
But in my terms of honourI
stand aloof; and will no reconcilementTill
by some elder masters of known
honourI have a voice and precedent
of peaceTo keep my name ungor'd.
But till that timeI do receive
your offer'd love like love,And
will not wrong it.
Ham.I embrace it freely;And will
this brother's wager frankly
play.--Give us the foils; come
on.
Laer.Come, one for me.
Ham.I'll be your foil, Laertes;
in mine ignoranceYour skill
shall, like a star in the darkest
night,Stick fiery off indeed.
Laer.You mock me, sir.
Ham.No, by this hand.
King.Give them the foils, young
Osric. Cousin Hamlet,You know
the wager?
Ham.Very well, my lord;Your grace
has laid the odds o' the weaker
side.
King.I do not fear it; I have
seen you both;But since he's
better'd, we have therefore
odds.
Laer.This is too heavy, let me
see another.
Ham.This likes me well. These
foils have all a length?
[They prepare to play.]
Osr.Ay, my good lord.
King.Set me the stoups of wine
upon that table,--If Hamlet
give the first or second hit,Or
quit in answer of the third
exchange,Let all the battlements
their ordnance fire;The king
shall drink to Hamlet's better
breath;And in the cup an union
shall he throw,Richer than
that which four successive
kingsIn 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 heavens to earth,'Now
the king drinks to Hamlet.'--Come,
begin:--And you, the judges,
bear a wary eye.
Ham.Come on, sir.
Laer.Come, my lord.
[They play.]
Ham.One.
Laer.No.
Ham.Judgment!
Osr.A hit, a very palpable hit.
Laer.Well;--again.
King.Stay, give me drink.--Hamlet,
this pearl is thine;Here's
to thy health.--
[Trumpets sound, and cannon shot
off within.]
Give him the cup.
Ham.I'll play this bout first;
set it by awhile.--Come.--Another
hit; what say you?
[They play.]
Laer.A touch, a touch, I do confess.
King.Our son shall win.
Queen.He's fat, and scant of
breath.--Here, Hamlet, take
my napkin, rub thy brows:The
queen carouses to thy fortune,
Hamlet.
Ham.Good madam!
King.Gertrude, do not drink.
Queen.I will, my lord; I pray
you pardon me.
King.[Aside.] It is the poison'd
cup; it is too late.
Ham.I dare not drink yet, madam;
by-and-by.
Queen.Come, let me wipe thy face.
Laer.My lord, I'll hit him now.
King.I do not think't.
Laer.[Aside.] And yet 'tis almost
'gainst my conscience.
Ham.Come, for the third, Laertes:
you but dally;I pray you pass
with your best violence:I am
afeard you make a wanton of
me.
Laer.Say you so? come on.
[They play.]
Osr.Nothing, neither way.
Laer.Have at you now!
[Laertes wounds Hamlet; then,
in scuffling, theychange rapiers,
and Hamlet wounds Laertes.]
King.Part them; they are incens'd.
Ham.Nay, come again!
[The Queen falls.]
Osr.Look to the queen there,
ho!
Hor.They bleed on both sides.--How
is it, my lord?
Osr.How is't, Laertes?
Laer.Why, as a woodcock to my
own springe, Osric;I am justly
kill'd with mine own treachery.
Ham.How does the Queen?
King.She swoons to see them bleed.
Queen.No, no! the drink, the
drink!--O my dear Hamlet!--The
drink, the drink!--I am poison'd.
[Dies.]
Ham.O villany!--Ho! let the door
be lock'd:Treachery! seek it
out.
[Laertes falls.]
Laer.It is here, Hamlet: Hamlet,
thou art slain;No medicine
in the world can do thee good;In
thee there is not half an hour
of life;The treacherous instrument
is in thy hand,Unbated and
envenom'd: the foul practiceHath
turn'd itself on me; lo, here
I lie,Never to rise again:
thy mother's poison'd:I can
no more:--the king, the king's
to blame.
Ham.The point envenom'd too!--Then,
venom, to thy work.
[Stabs the King.]
Osric and Lords.Treason! treason!
King.O, yet defend me, friends!
I am but hurt.
Ham.Here, thou incestuous, murderous,
damned Dane,Drink off this
potion.--Is thy union here?Follow
my mother.
[King dies.]
Laer.He is justly serv'd;It is
a poison temper'd by himself.--Exchange
forgiveness with me, noble
Hamlet:Mine and my father's
death come not upon thee,Nor
thine on me!
[Dies.]
Ham.Heaven make thee free of
it! I follow thee.--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;Thou
liv'st; report me and my cause
arightTo the unsatisfied.
Hor.Never believe it:I am more
an antique Roman than a Dane.--Here's
yet some liquor left.
Ham.As thou'rt a man,Give me
the cup; let go; by heaven,
I'll have't.--O good Horatio,
what a wounded name,Things
standing thus unknown, shall
live behind me!If thou didst
ever hold me in thy heart,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?
Osr.Young Fortinbras, with conquest
come from Poland,To the ambassadors
of England givesThis warlike
volley.
Ham.O, I die, Horatio;The potent
poison quite o'er-crows my
spirit:I cannot live to hear
the news from England;But I
do prophesy the election lightsOn
Fortinbras: he has my dying
voice;So tell him, with the
occurrents, more and less,Which
have solicited.--the rest is
silence.
[Dies.]
Hor.Now cracks a noble heart.--Good
night, sweet prince,And flights
of angels sing thee to thy
rest!Why does the drum come
hither?
[March within.]
[Enter Fortinbras, the English
Ambassadors, and others.]
Fort.Where is this sight?
Hor.What is it you will see?If
aught of woe or wonder, cease
your search.
Fort.This quarry cries on havoc.--O
proud death,What feast is toward
in thine eternal cell,That
thou so many princes at a shotSo
bloodily hast struck?
1 Ambassador.The sight is dismal;And
our affairs from England come
too late:The ears are senseless
that should give us hearing,To
tell him his commandment is
fulfill'dThat Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are dead:Where
should we have our thanks?
Hor.Not from his mouth,Had it
the ability of life to thank
you: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 bodiesHigh
on a stage be placed to the
view;And let me speak to the
yet unknowing worldHow these
things came about: so shall
you hearOf carnal, bloody and
unnatural acts;Of accidental
judgments, casual slaughters;Of
deaths put on by cunning and
forc'd cause;And, in this upshot,
purposes mistookFall'n on the
inventors' heads: all this
can ITruly deliver.
Fort.Let us haste to hear it,And
call the noblest to the audience.For
me, with sorrow I embrace my
fortune:I have some rights
of memory in this kingdom,Which
now, to claim my vantage doth
invite me.
Hor.Of that I shall have also
cause to speak,And from his
mouth whose voice will draw
on more:But let this same be
presently perform'd,Even while
men's minds are wild: lest
more mischanceOn plots and
errors happen.
Fort.Let four captainsBear Hamlet
like a soldier to the stage;For
he was likely, had he been
put on,To have prov'd most
royally: and, for his passage,The
soldiers' music and the rites
of warSpeak loudly for him.--Take
up the bodies.--Such a sight
as thisBecomes the field, but
here shows much amiss.Go, bid
the soldiers shoot.
[A dead march.]
[Exeunt, bearing off the dead
bodies; after the which a peal
ofordnance is shot off.]
The End of Project Gutenberg
Etext of Hamlet by ShakespearePG
has multiple editions of William
Shakespeare's Complete Works
|