THE ARDEN SHAKESPEARE THE ARDEN EDITION OF THE

WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

All's Well That Ends Well: edited by G. K. Hunter

Antony and Cleopatra: edited by M. R. Ridley
As You Like It: edited by Agnes Latham
The Comedy of Errors: edited by R . A. Foakes
Coriolanus: edited by Philip Brockbank
Cymbeline: edited by J. M . Nosworthy HAMLET

Hamlet: edited by Harold Jenkins

Julius Caesar: edited by T . S. Dorsch
King Henry IV, Parts I & 2: edited by A. R . Humphreys
King Henry V: edited by J. H. Walter
King Henry VI, Parts I, 2 & 3: edited by Andrew S. Cairncross
King Henry VIII: edited by R. A. Foakes
Edited by

King John: edited by E. A. J. Honigmann

King Lear: edited by Kenneth Muir HAROLD JENKINS

King Richard II: edited by Peter Vre

King Richard Ill: edited by Antony Hammond
Love's Labour's Lost: edited by Richard David
Macbeth: edited by Kenneth Muir
Measure for Measure: edited by J. W. Lever
The Merchant of Venice: edited by J ohn Russell Brown
The Merry Wives of Windsor: edited by H. J. Oliver
A Midsummer Night'S Dream: edited by Harold F. Brooks
Much Ado About Nothing: edited by A. R . H umphreys
Othello: edited by M. R. Ridler
Pericles: edited by F. D. Hoeniger
The Poems: edited by F. T. Prince
Romeo and Juliet: edited by Brian Gibbons
The T aming of the Shrew: edited by Brian Mo rris
The T empest: edited by Frank Kermode
Timon of Athens: edited by H . J. Oliver
Titus Andronicus: edited by J. C. Maxwell
Troilus and Cressida: edited by K. J. Palmer
Twelfth Night: edited by J. M. Lothian and T. W. Craik
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: edited by Clifford Leech METHUEN

The Winter's Tale: edited by J. H. P. Pafford LONDON AND NEW YORK


71 HAMLET
Press correction
Extant copics of the Folio show press correction on eight pages of
Hamlet; but whatever the bibliographical interest of Ihis, it is of
sca nt te'x tual significance. The corrector was evidently less can.
cc rn cd with accuracy than tidiness. He attended to obvious mis~
prints and little typographical faults like turned letters a nd inked
quads; but it is apparent that he neither checked proofwilh copy
nor mad e any seriou s attempt to discover or emend errors. Three
limes wrong or defective punctuation is put rigbt ; occasionally
spelling is alLererl, most notably when the maimed burial rights
morc properly become rite.s (V. i.2I 2). The only genuinely sub­
stantive variant is the correction of lalu to thanke at IJ. ii. 83. The
existence in the un corrected state of a page: set by Compositor E
and containing one wrong word-division and one rej ec ted spelling
(a sunder, Crocodile) which also occur in Q2 is important as
corroborating the usc OfQ2. t Full details of the variants are given
in Hinman, i.30 I- 4.
4· THE EDITORIAL PR O BLEM AND THE PRESENT T~XT
The tex tual situation discusscd above confronts an cditor with the
following complica tions. Of three texts, each of the last two,
though largely substantive, owes something to its prcdecesso r,
while the first, the only wholl y independent text, has all the
unreli abilit y of a memorial reconstruction. Q 2, the onc whi ch
stands closcst to the author, lcaves obscure a number ofpassases
which arc no t repre~ented in the ",9 ..llrr1.w tiiiii ilr. 1fieseincl udC
( some, though not all'0)flnc Tamous cruxes (cf. above, p. 55). On
I the other hand, F contains passages not in Q 2 whi eh are certainly
a uthenti c as well as incidental additions almos t as certainly
spl.ll'ious. In thc matter of variant rcadings, since F as well as Qr
reflects playhouse deviation from the Shakespearean original,
agree ment bc tween thcse two does not authenticate a reading
against Q2; a nd in view (}f Q 2'S partial d cpendence on QI,
a~'1"eernCnt he tween those two , especially in the first act, does not
authenticale a reading against I" . M oreover , with 1~ also d e­
pend ent on Q2, agreement even between the two good texts
affords no g uarantee, and it is obviously possible for all three texts
[0 be wrong together. The most famous instance of this is the
word pollox ( I'~ Pol/ax) at I. i. 66; but the crux at l. iii . 74, 'of a most
selcc,', may be anothe r.
This edition, l.ike m os t others sincc Dove r Wilson established
I. C( above, p. 66.
,
~s.\7jJ
INTRODUCTION 75
Q2 as th e most authoritative text, is based primarily upon it.
Earlier edi tors, who tcnded to follow F, still ofcourse incorporated
from Q 2 or its descenda nts passages which F lacks; and since
some at leas t of these were apparently cut before the foul papers
were transcribed (see abovc, p. 43), it is as well to recognize that
th e edi torial tradition fm m Rowe on has always included things
which, though indubitably of Shakespeare's composition, wcrc
probably nevcr spoken on the stage. In sccki ng to present the
pla yas Shakespeare wrot c it ralli er than as it was shortened and
adapted for pc run·man ce I do no morc than follow tradition.
Even those who insist that a play is created only in th e lheatre
would hardly, I think, prefer the contrary procedure ; and those
who like to imaginc that some passages were cut by Shakespeare
himself! will not quarrel with their rctention . While foll owing
Q 2'S fuller version, I naturally include al so anything pre~ rved
in F whi ch I ta ke 10 ha vc hcen los t from Q2; btl t all words and
phrases in F whi ch I judge 10 be playhou~e additions to the
dialogue (sec above, pp. 62- 3) I omit.. Some readers may regret
the disappearance of some words - like the exclamations '0
Vengean ce' at II. ii. 577 and 'Ecsta!;y' at m. iv. 142 - whieh have
become part of the fam iliar text; but a n editor who sees no reason
for attributing them to Shakespeare while recognizing that they
often dist urb metreftfrdT'lllnatic..scnSG-or-bgth.J: ' crnatiVC )'
but to reject thel"ft Yct decision is sometim cs diJ(jeult as with
IV. ii . '29, 'hide Fox, and all after alid v:tt"'18 , l aue 1, a touch' ) ;
and where words occurring in F only arc more easily attributable
to Shakespea re tha n to the ac tors (as with III . i. 32, 'lawful
composItors.. -
espials) I accep' 'he yrobabjli'y of omissipJ1 bY-the Q2
On 01ea.'i.'iumption that F inherits from a corrected qua rl.o:-Tt\
­
might in theory be expected to give the bettcr text. Sometimes, }
I. But st.'C abovc, p. 43 , n. I, pp. 55- 6.
2. For ruller justificOltion see SB, X III , 3'-47, esp. 4:2 - 3. Thc ucmon ~Slralion
there oft hcall·ical accretiOIls hall, I think, been genera lly accepted . Some r('cr:nl
cditors (notably H oy, but a1:s0 in part Evans) have ai rcOldy 1xC.II pcrsuadw to
drop lhcm. The sole articulate ubjector to their omissi on - 0 11 th t ground thai
what arises in performance- becumes an integral part of" the play - should in
logic wckollic with them F 's cuts and cast -reductions (to say nothing of its
memorial corruptiuns). No doubt he will approvc the Penguin c:d itor's in­
dU!lion of an added piece of dialogue known only to the I'cported text Q"
pcrhaJ>!i evcn sbare the pleasure of one reviewer in being thws given ' morc
Hamiel ' for his money than ever befo re. Thc me taphysical qucstio n uf what
lJamlel is is not one to be gone int o here. Hul there may be something: to be said
for idemifying Shake:spc1lrc'S Hamlet with whatlhcre is evidence to believe thai
Shakespeare wrote.
 \ ~V
6 HAMLET \~ (.;
~p
as has been shown (pp. sg-60) , it does; bu t its reli ability is of
course no hig her tha n that of the manuscript it draws upon ; and
si nce ulis was eviden tl y at a greater remove froIll the aULOgra ph,
/
its 'corrocri ns' were in fact often corruptions, while the actual
process of co rrectIng and per aps Ira nsc ri'bmgy; howeve r ca rried
I Qut , gave opportun it y for more. Where variants appea r to be in­
difIc rcnt lh«~ belief th at Q2 rests on the foul papers naturall y
\ gives it preference. ut the editor must be eclectic ; every va...riillJ.t­
# imposes upon him the lOesca)~ es . ¥-D hQicc... My
juagmcnt WI1 0 te n co nfirm th at of m y predecessors but will
occasionally go against it, as when I unhesitatingly follow Q2 at
Il. ii.553 (her ) a nd F a t v.i .78 (o'rt O.1Jices) . uch decilions will
usua llY... be defeuded i" Ihc notes. Upon occasIon 0 1 variants
~c to be rejected j for it se'C"ms clear that some F rcadings a re
I
aucmpts at correc ting deficiencies in Q 2 by not very inspired
guesswork. vVhen th e editor believes th is to have happened, he
need aecon.l LO F no higher authority than belongs to later Folios
:;;:.d edi to rs: paver Wilson cs t.ablisb crl !he priR~t in suc h
..
cases the editor sho uld proceed not by accepting F but l~
aUCi"nplmg to cmcn~ ire1-nstantC"iii"Wh1 cn i nave done tlus
~"S at v.iu Jg.lcrc both texts are wan ting, as at Iu.i v. '71
and )"v . i.40, I have been assisted but not felt bound by previo us
attempts to fill the gap.
QI has had its greatest value in sugges ting the so urce of
corruption whcre the two be lter texts arc at variancc - in ex­
hibiting, for exa mpl e, the proba ble contamination ofQ2 through
its usc of its predcccssor or of F through th e influcnce of stage
performance. But , though instances are necessarily r are, I have
been glad to accep t th e guida ncc ofQI wh en it co nfirms that both
the other texts a re wrong. (Stt above, p. 36.)
The newl y pcrccivt:d relation of the three tex ts, with Q2 con­
ceivably lakjng crrors from QI and F likewise from Q2, greatly
enlarges of co urse the invitation to emend. I have little hesitation
in acccpting T heobald 's bawds for bonds at 1. iii. 130. The emenda­
tion diesl at IV. vii. 56, th ough hitherto adopted only by Dover
Wilson in a la te reprint, is beyond any qu estion. Readings com­
mon to Q 2 and F whi ch have incurred suspicion include Iv.iii."
smooth and eUCTI (' hypcrmetri cal and tautologous' I) , IV.V.Jlg
browl (F brow), v . ii. 274 ~auen (F Ileauen ) ; but these seem aU
sufTiciently within the range of Shakespeare's carelessness for
emendation to be resisted . Co njecturcs like slings for slings
(m.i .s8) and sconce for silence (m .iv.4) ma y reccive more co n-
i. No~ wo !'\h y, p. 1,:,6.
INTROD UCT ION 77
sidera tion in future tha n they havc always had; but the ques­
tioned readings here are certa inly defen sib le and en·or nO more
than possible. Some text ual schola rs busy th emsr.lves with calc ula­
tions of the probable number of errors ; but sobe rin g as sta ti stics
may be, si nce they cannot loca te th e errors the y presume, they
hardly authorize much looscning of editorial restraint. 1 It remains
true that, even though F ca nnot corroborate Q2 in what it may
have derived from it, agreement be tween them will more oftcn
be due to their both being rig ht than to the handing on of a
mistake. [n some cascs, howevcr, as at I. iii. 74 (w here all three
texts cha llenge if they do not positivel y defy both sense and
metre) what most prevents edi torial intervention is th e laek of
any proposal for a plausible alternative.
In stage-directions I have normall y followed Q2 in preference
to F; but I have incorporated the additional directions of F and
QI wherc they specify ac tion the dialogue implies or provide fo r
its ord inary stage accompaniments (such as properties, noises, or
ligh ts) . Directions, however, which chan ge what is ca lled for by
Q 2 I have rejected. These would have their place in a reco rd of
the play's stage history rather than in its accepted text; but they
a re of co urse given in the collation . Stage-directions added by
later editors, i.e. a ll originating later th a n F, are placed within
square brackets; but brackets are not used for mere verbal va ria­
tions such as conventionalize the form of directions while leaving
the substance unafTccted. These arc noted in Ihe appa ratus when
th e original wording may be of inte rest in itself, but oth c rv.,ise
not: e.g. Cum ali}s for 'with Others', but not Exeullt EmbasJodorJ
(F Exit Ambass.) for 'Exeunt Voltema nd and Cornelius'. The
names of characters in stage-directions and speech -p rcfixcs a re
standardized without noticc.
In th e modernization of spelling the criterion must be that
accidents arc relinquishcd while substance is preserved; but it is
difficult, as all modernizi ng editors find, to know where to draw
the line. Some ea rly volulnes in this series - unwisely as we now
Ihink - permitted occasional a rchaisms, such as murther and u;/dt ;
but wi th the present general editors the prac tice has now changed.
If murdn- a nd muTther are, as one edi tor insjsts, ' more than variant
spellings', they a re no more than accidental varia nts of the sa me
word . 'f o follow Q 2 in murlhe" its preponderant and so conceivably
l. This is the fallncy tha t haunts all the cu rrent research on compositors.
Useful as it is to have: knowledge of their slin u and the errors each was prone to,
thi s can still not identify errors. What it may do is to give': confi rmation of elTors
suspec ted on other grounds.
 78 HAMLET
Shakespearean lo n n, wo uld logicall y in volve printi ng a lso h Ull.
drtlh (l.'i .237) and fadom, (I. 'v.n ), and even lid., (I. iii. 125),
\\-' jlh a rcsuJt t ha t co uld nei th er be consi stent nor a modern (('x l
a t a ll .! On the o lher h and, moderniza tion is not ex tended 10
gramma r a nd vocabu lary. 1 have not replaced such words as
whiles a nd somtver with Lh cjr modern cqui vaJen l", even though
lhis was already done in r. ~fy principle is to preserve archaic
forms in the following cases onl y :
(i) W here: they a rc a ma tler n Ol of spelling Lut of g ra mmar, as
in Q2, 'hee ha th bore me' (F borru, v. i . 179), Q'2 slrookm
(HI. ii. 265) may becom e strucken (as in F ) bil l. not stricken .
(£i) Where, as in whiles a nd somelJt r, or in silll for s;nCl!, th e
archa ic '()n n may reasonabl y be regarded as a sep a rate word . In
this ca tego ry th e OED has been, though no t an a rbi ter, a useful
g uid e.
(iii) Whe re Ihe a rchaism is one to whieh rn odC' rn read ers a re
ha uitumcd, so th a l in its contex t it is likely 10 seem less stra nge
th a n th e modern equi valent would. Thus in the co ntext of
II.ii ·437 sallds will , ] judge, be more acceptable th a n salads. But
] see no reason wh y margin in its ordinary munda ne sense
(v. ii . 152) should cI isguise itself as margent. 2
(iu) Where the archaic spelling indica tes a pronuncia ti on th a t
is required for the ve rse. Thus I p rint crownet (Q2 cronei) rath er
than coronel (F) a t IV. vii . 1 7 1 and at I.i v. 82 follow F artire (for
whi ch Q 2 futu re ma y bc a misprint) rat her tha n the artery of Q5
or the co ntrac ted arCry of ma ny editors.
(v) Wh e re th e fo rm sugges ts a di a lec t or colloquia l usage.
Some forms of cou rse ma y belong to m ore tha n one ca tegor y:
crowner (v. i· /l, 22 ), ] ta ke it, would be admissible in th e third if
not alreau y in th e fifth . But, unlike SOBle rece nt editors, 1 find n o
place for ncraldy (I. i. 90, 1I. ii. 452 ) 01' ,auiary ( II . ii . 433). which , like
romage (I. i. 110), obtrude a n antiquaria n pedantry. vVord s whi ch
havc gone oul of usc should adapt to modern spelling. F Jarre (cf.
Ja ffe) is na turall y acclimatized as Jar (lI . ii. 35 I), and mobled
(n. ii · 4gB- 9) - tho ug h here the tradition which has rh ymed it
wi lh ennoblt'd p resents us with a d ikmma - is be tler ma tched with
cobbl, d (spdt cobled in F COT. I. i. 194). By cont rast the common
and in the sense of 'if' is left un cha nged : it is the editors' an,
nei th er ori ginal nor modern , whi ch he re is artificiaL
I . F occ:;uionally modernizes to murda but a t least once doc:.~ tlar. reverse. It
p(.'rmi ls both rOWlS in the Sil m c $pccc:h. Vile, the invariable fon n in Q '2, bcco m~
d/de in F "",ill'" t il t: com posi tor is n. A moral st"('nlS clear.
'2. Cr. note un ribboll, I V. vii. 7(j.
INTRODUCTION 79
I h ave reta ined the colloquial forms OfQ2, and On the assunlp­
tion th at the Q 2 composito rs were ca pable of occasional sophist­
ica tion, I h ave introdu ced a f(:w from F (UI . ii. 235, v. i. 75, 9 1, etc.).
O n tht: evid en ec of Q 2 I have rega rded "ry and Ilry beJore a
vowcl as th e us ual Shakespea rean forms instead of t he mo re
litera ry mint and thine, which a re frequent in F ; and ho ld ing a gain
tha t the Q2 composiLOrs ma y so metimes have sophtsti ca tecl, ]
h ave ado pted my a nd thy wheneve r th ey occur in eithe r text. But
as I do n ot suppose tha t Sha kespea re himsclf would necessaril y
be eonsistent, wh ere mil1e a nd thine arc found in both texts r ha vc
made no emend a ti on.
Elision is a ve ry dtffi e ult m a tt er and not one to be de te rmined
by the Q2 sp elling. This will often aJlord a clue, but we ca n neve r
be sure in an individual case th a t it reproduced the copy; and
even if we eould , we should not be entitled to ass ume th a t Shak c­
spear(:'s own spelling was systematic.: on the point. His pages in
Sir ThomaJ' M ort, indeed, sugges t the contrary. I have never
deferred to a contrac ted spelling in Q 2 aga inst thc obvious re­
quirem ents ofth c me tre (e.g. ll. ii . 97, UI . iij.6) . In the past forms
of verbs the criteri on must unquestiona bl y be the mctri cal re­
quirement and not the Q 2 spelli ng. The Arden conventio n is to
print ' d where the me tre requires elision. -td where it d oes no t
(except tha t word s ending in -ied arc not in a ny case contracted) .
The endi ng -led takes no elision since it is necessaril y syllabic, and
with -red, -ned elision is alwa ys in the fi nal syllabic. I declin e to
believe th a t a uistine ti on ean or should be mad e be twee n qlftr'd
and off'rtd, poisorld and pois'ned on the basis of the Q 2 spelling.
Wh ere the occurs before a vowel, Q2 usually marks the elision
(th') while F is lia ble to ex pand. But since Q2 could also expanu
upon occasion (as shown b y the umber for thumbe and the practice
of the same co mpositors in reprinting Titus Alldronicus ) and the
evidence suggests tha t the contracted form is more Shakes pea rean,
I ha ve chosen it wherever it occurs with metrical proprie ty in
either texl. Thus 1 follow F atl.i . 64 (where Q2 may be cont a m­
ina ted by Q I ), 1. iii. 45, II. ii.505. O ccasionall y Q 2 contrac ts un­
me tri call y and r expa nd - some times, as a t n. ii. 450, with the
support of F, a nd some times, as a t v. ii .S56, without it. In all
other cases where elision is in qucstion I have been guided by Q 2
to the extent tha t I ha ve used eontrae tcd spellings o nl y wh cre it
gives precedent. Wh en , as often ha ppens, F aJone contracts, it has
n o clear authori ty a nu may possibl y be mista kcn. For exa mple,
whe re Q2 has 'I a m too much in the sonne' a nd F cont ra cts to
'I am too m uch i'th' Sun' (l.ii.67), it would be possible to prefer
 80 HAMLET
INTRODUCTION 8,
'I'm too much in the sun'. Where Q2 reads 'you are in the right'
(L v. 132), it might be better to Contract ' yo u are' rath er than prefixes, of variant nomenclature for the_same characters. insig­
nifican t verbal diflerences in equivalent stage-directions are like­
read, as F does, 'you are i'th' right '. The retention of the un­
contracted Q2 phrase at least gives the reader the opportunity of wise ignored . Variations in line-division are recorded when they
choi ce. The frequent failure of both Q2 compositors to provide are, or may be, metrically or bibliographically significant, but no t
for elision in pronoun- vero combinations (I will, he wiJJJ he when, as in F's frequent division of the first line of a speech, their
wou ld , etc.) suggests dlat Shakespeare himself may not have done
interest is no more than typographical. With thf"-se cxceptio ns aJl
F variants a re naturally given. Owing to the extent of divergence
so, and since the rhythm may often be kept by running syllables
together wilhout actual elision, the editor sJlould, ] think, be it would not be profitable, or indeed possible, to list the variants
sparing of contractions. Si..milarly with the un accented vowels in of QI ; but the agreement or QI with either Q2 or f where these
polysyllabic words. It must be admitted that Q . herc is a very differ is usual1y noted, and its independent readings are occaslon­
dubious authority: it prints sulphrns at. 1. v. 3 but has just had a ll y cited, especially where thcy may co nceivably assist in es tab­
soueraigntie and desperate (I. iv. 73, 87) and will go On to adulltTat~ lishin g th e t.ext . In the interes ts of both c1arity and econom y and
and 'troyttTous (J.v·42, 43). In these and o tlier cases I have not to avoid the frequent repetition of such locutions as QI .ruhst.! it
wished to mark an elision where the original does nolo will I hope be sufficient for me to remark here that while varian ts
are cited in the spC"lling of the text in which they occur, where twO
The problem of elision of course concerns verse only. The
contractions that modern spelling permits in prose an~ limited to or more texts are listed as having the same variant the spelling
those of colloquial speech. may be th at of the first only. Since Quartos later than the second
The punctu a ti on ofQ2 d ese rves to be trea ted with respect both and Folios la ter than the first were each printed from th eir
for the signs of intelligent handling and the presumed closeness of respective predecessor''S, thei r variants, when they arc not merely
the tex t to Shakespeare. But the idea that it relies almost entirely errors, have only the status of editorial emendations a nti are
upon the punctuation of its copy is impossible to endorse.l The acco rdingly noted only when they have intrinsic interest or
Titus Andronicus reprint shows the compositors, though attentive historical importance.
to their copy, ready to depart from it on occasion, and they may
well have been tile more so when the copy was foul papers (see A word should perhaps be added on onc innovation in th e
above, p. 46). I have normally retained their punctu ation where Commenta ry. Not all that has made H amiel the most discussed
it seems compatible with sense and modern practice, bu t I have
play in the world is mattcr for an editor ; but there are numero us
not hesitated to vary it as a modernized tex t requires. The
detailed controversies on points of interpreta tion which no
Elizabethans used commas or colons in many cases where modern
annotator can ignore. It has become increasingl y obvious to mc
writers would use full stops, which I have often therefore sub~
that annotation of this play, ifi l is not to be hopelessly inadeq uate,
stituted. I do not subscribe to the view that to follow an Eljza~
canllol be accommodated, according to Lhe IlIuch-valued Arden
uethan quarto in punctuating long speeches almost entirely with
practice, at the foot of the page; amI this practical difficulty I have
commas somehow makes them more dramatic. The dramatic
sought to cope with by a compromise. While ret a ining the usual
aims of E lizabethan pOinting will often be better fulfilled by
format of a footn ote-commcn tary, I have supplemented this by a
translating than preserving it.
scries of ' Longer Notes'. The existence of a ' Longer Note' on any
passage i5 always ~ignallcd by the letters LN. r\everthcles~ I have
In the textual apparatus no notice is usually taken of spelling and tried in the footnote always to give a suffi cient gloss for the reader
punctuation (including presumed mispriuts), except where tbey to get at lhe bare sense without having to look beyond the page;
a n-eet, or may affec t, the sense; of variations in spacing (as in a when he seeks supporting a rg ument. he may perhaps be willing to.
Since the determinan t of the Long(-~ r Notcs, however, is primari.ly
.
whilt, to day, mt thinks, a sundt r) ; or, in stage-directions and speech­
the call on space, th ey arc necessarily miscellaneous. Some defend
I . M SH , pp. 196-7. The rival hyperboles or Dover Wilson••('aJh.ing-ofsheer th e readings of' the text, or debate interpretations. Some sup ply
beauty') and the recent Pcnguin (,TIle pun ctuation is chaotic') may be allowed
so urce material or conlemporary ill ustration of mauners or li nguis·
to cancel one another ou t.
"--- ----------------­ tic usage; some, in however inadequate a sUlTImary, im.licate
 [l2 HAMLET
a context of ideas. It is, moreover, only by means of Longer
Notes that one can do justice to the many questions which criti­
cism has hy now made inescapable - like the question of Hamlet's
age (sec v.i. 139- 57) or of the King's behaviour at the dumb-show
(m.ii.133 S.D.) . Some famous matters of debate find a focus in
Notes on single words, like fishmonger (II . ii. 174) Or nunnery
(m.L 121 ). Other Notes range beyond word or phrase (Q engage
with a whole speech. To take contrasting examples, Hamlet's
soliloquy beginning 'To be or not 10 be' (Ill. i. 56~8) and Ophelia's
running commentary on her distribution of flowers (IV. v. 173- 83),
the one already too much disc ussed, the other - for this play
strangely - too litlle, caJJ in Illy judgment for fresh interpretation.
Such speechcs as the recital about Troy and Pyrrhus (II. ii. 448­
5 ( 4), the Queen's desc rip,ion of Ophelia's dea,h (IV. vii. 165- 82),
Hamlet's apology to Laerlcs (v.ii.222- 40) cannot be properly
understood if they arc merely viewed , as they have too oHcn been,
in relation to the motives and reactions of the characters. In the
editorial task of explanation, the Longer Noles have not their
least important function when what has to be explained is not
just the verbal meaning, which may even be plain enough, but
the place and purpose of a speech or episode in the play's large
d esign.
In one othcr respect I am aware of departing [rom custom. It
seems to me a rational proced ure when commenting on a modern.
ized text of Shakcspeare to give quotations from other aUlhors,
save those whose language is that of an older period, in modern
~pclling too; and except when the original spelling is or may be
relevant to the point at issue, this is what I have normally done.
The reader wiJI not be surprised therefore if references to a
standard edi tion in old spelling arc accompanied by a modern­
spelling quota tion . Occasionally, Jar the sake of intelligibility, I
have not shrunk fi'Om modernizing punctuation also.
5. SOURCES
The Ur-Hamlel
It is reasonably and inevitahly supposed that lhe immediate
SOurce of Hamlet was an earlier play on the same subject, which
scholars have corne to call the Ur-Hamlet. This play is not extant
and was apparently never printed, but th:\t it did exist is weB
known from a number of contemporary references. Its perform~
ance in or before [596 is witnessed to by Thomas Lodge's allusion
(() what seems to have been a notorious fea ture, the pale~Yizardcd
INTRODUCTION 83
'ghost which el'ied so miserably at the Theatre, likc an oysler~
wife, Hamlet, revenge'. 1 It is usually assumed that the play thus
acted at the Theatre was the same as the Hamlet of which
Henslowc's Diary reoords a single performance at. Newington Butts
inJune 1594, and {hat this in turn was a revi val of the Hamlet play
akcady being sa,irizcd by Nashe in a famous passage in his
Preface to Greene's Menaph on in 1589:
I t is a common practice nowadays amongst a sort of shifting
companions, that run throug h eVCI'y art and thrive by none, to
leave the trade of Noverint, whereto tb ey werc born, and busy
themselves with the endeavours of art, that could scarcely
Latinize their neck-verse if they should have need; yct English
Seneca read by candle-light yields many good sentenecs, as
Blood is a beggar, and so forth; and uyou entrcat him fair in a
frosty morning, he will afford you whole Hamlcts, ] should say
handfuls of tragi cal speeches. But ... Seneca, let blood line by
line and page by page, at length must needs die to our stage;
which makes his famished followers to imitate the kid in Aesop,
who, enamoured with the fox's newfanglcs, forsook all hopes
oflife to leap into a new occupation; and these men, renouncing
all possibilities of credit OJ' estimation, to intermeddle with
Italian translations. . . (Nashe, iii·315- 16).
This passage not only vouches for the existence of the old
Hamlet playas early a~ 1589 but may be thought. t.o give a clue to
the author of it. The fable of the kid, in any case more Spenser's
than Aesop's, % appears to be brought in less for its aptness than
for the pun on a writer's name. Although speaking of 'a common
practice', Nashe is focusi.ng on onc practitioner. For it cannot be
a coincidence that Thomas Kyd had been bam the son of a
scrivener; not keeping to this 't.rade of Noverint', t.ook to literary
composition; not having bcen to a university, could be said to
have had a limited classical education; was nevertheless an
imitator of Seneca, from whom he culled many sententious say­
ings in his Spanish Tra.t:edy and elsewhere; but forsook that
occupation [or a new one when in 1588 he published The House·
holder's Philosophy <first written in Italian hy .. . Tasso'. To remark
with McKerrow that others as well as Kyd meddled with Italian
I . Wit's Misn;J. 1596, p. 56. 'Hamiel , revengc' became a byword. Sec
Dekker, Sali,omtlStix, Iv .i. 121; Rowlands, 71u Night·/Uutm, 16'20, sig. 0'2.
2. Till Shephud's Calendar, May, 174- 305. Spenser's story is a variation on
Aesop's fable of the ~'olr and the kid , substituting a fox for the wolf and an
cnding in which the kid, instead of staying unharmed, i~ 'so enamored with the
newell' that he succumhs.
 161 HAML ET
as Danish, this i,\ a notahit': Anglo.
Saxon name, a nd as such occurs in
ea rl icr Elizabethan dra ma, as in t.he
pseudo-historical A Knack to Know Q
Knave and the titles of two other
plays in Hens/owt'. It is not a pparent
why Sha kespeare gi v~ ii, like Oswald,
to ont: who insp ire!! contempt. .\Oh:rdy
'3, Courtier' 0 11 entering in Q~. he
becomes 'young Ostride' when a
name iJ required. Q2 latcr, and F
regu la rl y, omits lhe t. Q I remembers
him only as '3 Bragart Gentleman ' ,
l B. ReyrtalJo] So Q2; Rcynoldo in
}'. A variant of Reyna rd, the name i~
no do ubt apt fo r the wiles required of
lhe man , Cr. M ollw H ubberd'J Tal,.,
9 17- 10, 'a Reynold . . T hat by his
shifts his M aster rurnish can'. The
cha nge to Montano in QI, along
with that of Polonius (q.v.) to
Coram bis, is unexplained.
2 1. A Pritst] At O phelia's fun eral.
So F, Q I ; bu t Q2 has only thespccch_
headi ng D (XI. (twice), which Oovl:r
THE TRAGEDY OF
Wilson lakes for a costume note a nd HAMLET , PRINCE OF DENMARK
a sign fo r a Prottstant clergyman .
Sec v. i. 21 9 n .
22. A Grave-Jiggn] Ca lled Delver, ACT I
v. i· J4·
23 . CompanionJ T he second 'clown', SCE N E I
the 5traight man of the pair, is no t,
as commonly supposed, a gravc­ Enter BARNARDO and FRANCISCO, two Sen/inels.
digger. See v.i S.D. n.
Bar. Who's there ?
Fran. Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yo urself.
Bar. Long live the King !
Fran. Barnardo ?
Bar. H e.
5
Fran. You come most carefully upon your hour.
Bar. 'Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to bcd, Francisco.
Fran. For this relief much thanks. 'Tis bitter cold,
And I am sick a t heart.
Bar. H ave you had quiet guard? 10
Fran . Not a mouse stirring.
Bar. Well, good night.
Title. TR,\GIm'l] Q2,F; TragicaH Historic Q J.
ACT I
Scent J
Ar.-r I SCENt:: 1.] F (Actlu P,imw. Scena Prima. ) ; not in Q2. S.D.] Q 2, F;
E nfu two CtTltil1el.s. QJ" FrOn(;Sal "/Jon hi!>' Post; En l~ r) to llim, BcmarJo. Ca/Hll.
12- 11 .1 ..11 Q2 : /mm F.
S. n. Stlllillt:Lrl The scen e is thc plat* ' is dramalie:ll1y iro nic.al ill view of all
form of the b:lt tlcmc.nlt:d castle:. that foIl0\\'5' (Dover Wilson).
Cr. I. ii. '2 I] . 6. upon your hour J on the stroke of
1*'"'25. 1L:'t. your appointed lime.
!l . mrl Em pha tic. h i ll the sentry n. much t"fltlkI ] 'Tb ~lI\ks ' Wa.Il often
o n guard who hal the right to used as &ingular. cr. u. ii. 'J S; Ant.
challenge. II. vL .n ('it libr:ral thanks' ).
3. Limg l ij~ I~ A*t'Vl! I \V!let her or 9. lick fi.l htar'-' Friln('Lsco's mclan­
not this i. the ronnal pa!IJword. as cboly. ror which no r~n is given,
often IUPpo.·\('<!, Bam.trdo idcmi lics c:onlrih U1CS to the imprell(ion that a ll
himself :..Ill 0 0 (" on lawrul hll1'; intlS. is not wdt. It 'for("~ h<tdowll HaUl let'
cr. ~tarcd ills al I. tG. Uut the !i.pa::ch (I)ow:r Wilson ).
,65
 IGG HAMLET [ACT l SC . IJ HAMLET 1G7
If you do Illeet Horatio and Marcellus,
T ouchin g this dreaded sight twi ce seen of us .

The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.

Therefore I have entreated him along

Fran. I think I hea r them .

With us to watch th e minutes of this night, 30

That ifaga in this a pparition come,

Ellter and MAR CE LLUS .

H ORATIO
H e may a pprove our eyes a nd spe.a k to it.

Stand, ho! Who is there ? 15 Hor. Tush, tush, 'twill not appear.
Hor. Friends to this ground. Bar. Sit down awhile,
Mar. And liege men to the Da ne. And let us once again assail your cars,
Frall. Give yo u good night. That are SO fortifi ed against our story, 35
Mar. 0, (;, rewdl honesl soldier, who hath relicv'd yo u? What we have two nights seell.
Fran. Barnardo hath my place. Give you good night. Exit. Hor. Well, sit we down.
Mar . H olla , Barnardo! 20 And let us hcar Barnardo speak of this.
Bar. Say, what, is l"Ioratio there ? Bar. Last nightofall,
lfor. A piece of him . When yo nd same star that's westward from th e pole,
Rar. Welcome, Horatio. Welcome, good Marcellus. H ad made his course t'illume that pa rt of heaven 40
Hor. What, has this thing appear'd again tonight? Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
Rar. I have seen nothing. 25
Mar. H oratio says 'tis but our fantasy,
And will not let bclieftake hold of him , 29- 30. a long With us] along, With vs Q2 j aJong With vs, F. 36, have two
15 S. D.] As SiSJol1; after / '1 Q 2,F ; after ' !j Dyet. ' 5. hal Q~j not in F. nig hts] Q!I,Q I " two Nights halle F.
Who is] Q2; who's F. ,8. sold ier.! F,QI ,' souh.licrs Q,2. Ig. ha th]
Q 2,Q l" ha's J;: 24. J·lnr.] Q:l; Mar. F,QI.
'4. rivalsJ partnen, which QI l'Cads. tone of humorous de flation, cr. his 29.] An explana tion for the benefit ( .... attempt to gel you to listen to).
cr. rivali ty, !Int. lII.v. 8, a nd C heuk, r<'joinders to Ham let at I. ii. 16g, of the audience rather than Dnrn­ 38. of alll Emphatic ; cr. last of a ll ,
/1offman, ' I' ll S(.-a l tJH.'e by m y throne I. v. 131 -·2, m.ii,273 , 279, v.i.199· al"do, who was expecting Horatio to 39. yond same slnr] ~nlou g h there
o r S(:\tc. And make thee riva l in those 23, Wt/come . . . M(lrcellus.] Colt·· come (I. 2 1). neoo Ix no reference to an idcn ti·
govcrnm£:111s' (MSR. I. 735). ridge (i. 39) distinguishes the 'glad­ olong] \Villt the common omiS!ion fiabl e SIal', Sha kesp<:<lre had pre·
16. the Dane] Ihe J)anish king. ness' of ' We lcome, Horat io!' from of the verb of motion. Abhott 30. sumably secn the brilliant sta l'
cr. l. ii. 44 . v.i·':.I5 1. th(: mere 'courtcsy' of ' \\ 'c1eome, 30. W ith 11$] TIt~ Q2 punctuation Capella , which would appear in the
17. (,'i l'l!'j i.e. (may) God give. good Marcellus!' as well as the metre connec ts this willler sky 'westwnrd from the pole'
C f, LLL I V . ii. 78, 'God give you good 24. lliis Ilting] The riram<l tic re­ primarily with 'to watch' ra ther ( _ pol(!·s tar), as the:: star.l of Ihe
morrow'. quirement suppo,·ts the a uthori ty of th"n wilh 'along' ; but the word G reat Dear, which have a lso heen
2 1. what] It is diflicult 10 a uach a Q'l in the attribution of this line to order pe rmi ts us to lake il with both . suggcsted , would not (N&Q, CCV IU,
precise val uc to these lilll ~ int<!I·. B onltio ra ther than Marcellus.. II is 32. approvej confirm the trust· 4 12- 1 3).
jcctiOlls, whid l give the dTec l of the unheliever who describes as 't his wOrlhines.~ of. 4(). }lis 1 its. lIis was the ordina.ry
I.xuh Ilaturahu:ss aud urgell ey. Th is thing' what !\fa n.:dhls "",ill pr<!selltly sfMak to il] LN. form of the neu ter. as well as mascu­
seems ( 0 co mbine the w/lnt or a ca ll rder to as 'lhili d l'cadcd sight ', ' this 33. Sit down] This may seem incou­ li ne, possessive. The Elizalx tha n
(i n r('pl y to !\hrceUus's Holln) wilh aprKl riti on'. lly these u nspecific gr uoll~ for a sentry. W . J, Lawre nce a lternati ve was ii, as at l.ii.216,
rhe whnl which prdlld (~s a question llJlulliOiIS Sh:lkespc:lrc wonlicrful.i}' (<is in I. i. 42 S. D, LN) argucs Iha l 'The V. i.214. lis occurs in some late
(d: I. 24, u. i. 107, a nd sec OED What keeps us ill ~lI s pcn se. O nly when Ihe sea ted attitude was adopted 10 con· Sha kespearean quartos (including
A 21). Ghoot hn.s actually appcart.:d does he cell lrale a ttention on the spectre', Ham. Q4) and ra rel y in the Folio,
22 . A p j~ct of him1 The hand he particularize it n!l a figure ' like the which wou ld emerge ' in front of where it i5 presumably an editor's o r
o(Jhs is solid enough, but the dark King tha t's deael' , Ihem through a trap'. But cr. l.i.42 printer's modernization. Cf. Abbott
which concen ls Ihe rcst of him enables 26. falllaJY] delusive imagination. S.D. L:"l. 228.
him 10 r~('rvc fu ll p!lrticipation. The LN. 36. What] O bject of the verb of illume] Apparently <l Shakespearea n
sccpl i<.: is already char<.lcte rizcd hy his say ing implied in aHait your tors coinage.
 168 HAMLET [ACT I sc. I] HAMLET 169
The bell then beating one- H OT. Stay, speak, speak, I charge thee speak. Ex;t Ghost.
Mar. 'Tis gone a nd will not answer. 55
Enter GHOST. BaT. H ow now, H oratio? You trembl e and look pale.
Mar. Peace, break thee off. Look where it comes again.
Is not this something more than fantasy?
Bar. In the same figure like the King that's dead.
What think you on' t?
Mar. Thou art a scholar, speak to it, Horatio. 45
H OT. Before my God, I might no! this believe
Bar. Looks a not like the King? Mark it, Horatio.
Without the sensible and true avouch 60
Hor. Most like. I t harrows me with fear and wonder.
Of mine ow n cyes.
Bar. I t wou ld bc spoke to.
MaT. Isitnotlikethe King?
Mar. Question it, Horatio.
Hor. A, thou art to thyself:
Hor. What art thou that usurp'st this time of night,
Su ch was the very armour he had on
Together with that fai r and warlike form 50 When he th'ambitiolls Nonvay combated.
In which the majesty of buried Denmark So frown 'd he once, wh cn in an a ngry Farle 65
Did sometimes march? By heaven , I charge thee speak. He smote th e sledded Polacks on the icc.
Mar. It is offended.
'Tis strange.
Bar. See, it stalks away.
Mar. Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour,

42 S.D.] Q2,Qr; afler off F. 44. figure] Q2,QI; figure, F. 46. aJ Q.; 54. theel Q.2,QI; tbe:e, F. 64. he] Q2,QI; TJDI in F. th' ] F; Ihe Q !?,Q ,­
it F,QI . 47. harrows] F ; hon-o wes Q.2; horron QI. 48. Ques tion] 66. l'olacks] M aione ; pollax Q .:.>,F (Pollax), QI" Poleaxe F/ , Pole·a xe Rowe;
1'~Q l ; Spt".akc ( 0 Q2. 52. thce] Q2, 1-~ Q.I" thee, ROUM. Polack Po/Jt.. GU. jump] Q.:.>,QI; iust F.

42 . btating] striki ng, though the
sugg("''Slion is rathe r of rhythmic
rcpc:tilioll than of a single st.ro ke.
cr. to beat a drum, and Q I towling.
42 S.D. Enttr Ghost. ] LN',
44. Iht same] i.e . the same as on
previous occasion!\.
like the King ] Nute the refraining
from accl'pting that it is in f:tct the
King. cr. bdow, 11. 46-7. 50 ~'2. B4,
11 2- 13; T.ii . qt!). 244. Doub t as to
the G h ost's iJcnlity ill pn:senl fro m
the fir ~ 1.
at v. i.I73 . Though QI a nd F
n".gularizc here to it, bolh retain the
ma~lI lin e pronoun in I. Gt). In 1;1Ier
sccnCi, he ami ;1 alternate , pal'll}'
at.'COrding as the Glu:r.it is thought
of in its cha ral·t.:r of apparitio n o r as
the spirit of I-IumJcl's J'alhr.r (sec e.g.
TIl.iV. 136-8); hut it would be ....'rong
10 look for any COllllislCnt d is tinction .
47· hlrrro!tlsJ la cerrucs (OED 4)·
Cr. I.v.lfi. QI shows an intcrC!\f.ing
confus ion, litH the Q~ JtQrrowu finds
a prlCcedcnl in A Ilem,-d), for Sedilion
locut.o r is not the one it seeks. See
n ext n OIe:.
55. will not an;wn] GhosL'l. t' vell
whcn qucstioned, will speak onl)' to
those for whom Lhe y h.\\'c a message.
Cr. 1.i. J7G.
58. OI'1 't] For 01'1 where w e U$e of,
sec Abboll 18 1. Cf. I.. 9'J:(F).
59. might] was Mill common ly lIsed
in ilS origina l scnsc: of 'coukl '. C r.
I. ii. [41.
60. lIlt Jtn.lib le . /wo/lchl the
assuraoce given hy the evidence Qf
before. Dowden remarks tha t t he
armour would be reme mbered and
long poin ted out; but the truth , I
think, is that althol1gh it la ler suilS
Shakespeare to dale the victory ov(:r
Fort inhras on the d ay of Prince
Ham let's birth , he docs not at thi s
stage attach any prec.ise date to it .
ef. \' .i. 1 39 ~ 57 and lAo!.
61 . N OrWD)' ] the: King of Norway,
the ckkr Fo rtinbra~. Th c com bat is
dt:sc:ribed II. 65 tT.
65. frolt't/'J] A~ be fitted" m:lrtia l

45. ;(IIolor1 (;1 L 3~ Ll"1. Thl)Ugh ( 153fi ), 'They . . . horrowe wi th t.he scnsc.~. tII·ouch, test imon y. Cf. hero. Cr. 1. ii. 230 and n.

L "l.lin , as l"tlitors re:mark , was nc(;cs­ .~p<l(ks' ( ~4). 'vouch', MeaJ·. II . i VA 156. The t:oll\.·cr­ patiel parley. encounlcr (.ami pe r­

!!ary for tht' C'xorcillm of spirit!!, that 48. It u:auld be X/JOke IU.] cr. I. :-1 2 LS .. sion o f the sceptic (cf. II. Q6-7 } will haps one not limitt.-d to words) . Sec

is not the: po int hen'.. The purpO:le of 49 . W UI!l';/! Il oratio challeoges persll adc~ the a ud ience to a cce pt L G6 L:>I .

question ing (I ghOil i1\ 10 discover both the Ghost'!\ right to illv"df" the the objective rC;"llilY of the Ghost. G6. sledded I'olachJ Poles borne in

' whn it ill, and \!that is its lnl!\l nCS$' ni!(h t and its righl to asnll:m: til Bul it ..... ill on l), enha n ce unec:rtainty s l ed~ . IA'I .

(G n )lle, Prozillnlli Glu.uary). rOml or the: dc.."l.d King. as LO its nature ancJ purpose. C r. 68. jump] exact ly. Cr. v . ii '300, und

46. 01 O,lIoqubl 1{lf ha = he;
(;om11l0n in the E liza lx' lhan dr"ma,
but oftt' n (impropt'fly) n.~prt:Scntn::l
by 0' in mod ern te-.x ts. 1 t is frequtnt
in Q'J (Do\'(:.r W ilson count ed 37
irul .mccs), bu l is. tcttlJllnl in F on ly
5 1. f)c nmlJlAllhr K ing of I)c·Tllnark.
Cr. Norw ... y. I. 64.
52. Jomtt mv..J1 form erl y.
53. II ;J nJjrwitfJ.J Not (as l·rot\1Cr,
pp. N be(.';m~l· il ill im'okt'd 'lly
hea\'l:n' but hec:tu~ th i~ inler­
II. 70-'.l. , I;JI - 4'l j l.iv· 4o- 57; JI .ii·594-
9·
63 . lite l'try armour] There is perhaps
an ineonsistl'ne y ill allowing H orn-tio
to know this dctnil or what tbe pl"y
will la ter say happened thin y ycars
Olh.. II. iii. 37<1, ' hring him jump wht'n:
he may Cassio rind .'
dead] has ominous connotations or
'the dead or night ' (cr. Til. Il.iii.99),
the time; of s{ illn C5.~ and dnrknc5s,
....·hen the normal acti vilies or life
186 H A MLET [ACT I sc. II] HAML E T 18 7
And with no less nobility ofloyc 11 0 But the great cannon to the cloud s shall tell,

Than th a t which dea rest fa th er bears his so n And the Kin g's rouse the hea ven shall bruit again,

Do I impa rt toward YOll. For yo ur intent R c-spcaking earthly thunder. Com e away.

In going back to sc hool in Wittenberg, Flourish. Exeunt all but Hamlet.

It is most retrogra de to our d esire, Ham. 0 tha t this too too sulli ed flesh would m el t,
And we beseech you bend you to rem ajn 11 5 Thaw and resolve itseJfinto a d ew, 13 0
H ere in the cheer and comfort of our eye, Or that the Eve rlasting had no t fi x'd
OUT chicfcst courtier, cousin, and our son. His canon 'gains! sell:slaughtcr. 0 G od! God!
Qyeen. Let not th y mother lose her prayers, Hamlet.
127. heaven] Q !?; H caucn s F. 128 S.D. Flourish.l Q 2 ; not in f'~ QI.
I pray thee stay with us, go not to Wittenberg. 129. sullied] W ilson ,. ~allit:d Q 2, Q I ; solid F. 132. stlf-sla ughter] F ; scale
Ham. 1 shall in all my best obey YOll , m adam. 120 slaughter Q2. God! God] Q 2; Cod , 0 God F.
King. Wh y, 'tis a loving and a fair reply.
drinks 1 ' The K ing's intem)X'ran ee cation in t he 16th centurYI espt:cially
Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam , come. is very slrongly impressed ; cvny­ to intc nsify the f"xp rC5Sion of regre t.
This gentle and unfo rc'd accord ofHa mlct th ing tha t happens to him gi ves him OED too 4 .
Sits smiling to my hear t ; in grace whereof occasio n to d rink' (johnson ). C f. sulliedl LN.
I.ii. '7 5, I. i v,3-· ~ 2 , 1I.ii.84, lII .ii. 294, 129-30. mell . .. dtwl Warha ft (sec
No jocund health that Denma rk drinks tod ay 125
m.iii.H9, v. ii. 264ff., and , fo r a n 1. 129 sullied l.N) Slre!lses as th e con­
11 ':2. tow ard] Q 2; towa rds F. you .] F ; yotl Q .:? 119. pray thee] Q2 ; appropriate nemes is, 33 0--1. trast to 'self-sla ugh ter' (I. q 2) the
pl'ythcc F. 126. lite grea t cannOn .. . sholl tell] resolvin g of the baser eleme nt in to
T hey d o so al. l. iv .6. CJ: lhc K ing's the hig her, whereby Ham let m ight
11 0 . nobility] Though va riously retrograde to our desires', is probably si mila r directions a t v.ii. 'l67-75. return from melan choly to norInal
glossed , this word should g ive no an echo. Such l;el("bratio ns wt:re a Danish health, or, if to become dew i ~ to die,
diffi culty. Shakespeare oftcn de­ 115 . bt'nd)'ou j No t ' (we) bend you' custom an d, like th e refe rent:es to the n from 'm i ~ry' to 'felicity' . But
scri bes a.'l ' noble' feelings or attributes as a reinforcemen t of 'we bts.ccc:h Witten berg, they show Shakespea re there is surely no thought he re of being
of mind that arc beld u p for admira­ you ', but ' bend you rself,' i.e. su bmit taking ~nme car(' w ith local colour. r~stored 10 health or hnppiness, on ly
tion , and no less rders to q uality not you rscU: Sec T. iV.12- 13 a nd LN . of being free of thc 'flesh' wh e ther
qu a ntity. Pa te rnal love is regard l.u 11 6. lYe) i\ freque nt m e tonymy for 12 7. rouse] ' Prob. an aphe tie form through ils own deliqucscence or
as a noble passion , and C la\ld iLl~ sa ys the roya l p resence, as in M ac. of carouse, d ue to the phrase: to drink throug h suicj d~ . Cf. Paul on t he
that his love for Hamlet is no t if!­ l\'.iii.1 86, 'Your [Malcolm's] eye coroust having bee n a pprehended as d e.~i rt: to be diJJoivtd a nd the necessity
f<;rim in kind fa that of an ael,ua l in Scotland would creat(' ~o ldi (' rs'. to drink a rowe' (OED ). Ei ther a of living in the ./ftsll ( Phi l iprian .~
fa the r for h is son. Cr. Iv.iv. 6, IV. vii. 44. b um per drunk as a toast, a~ here, o r a i.23- 4 . as regularly ci ted in the
112. impart ] deal liberally. Such " 7. cousin . . . .\,0 11] 1\s observed b y d ri nking se~ ion . Cf. l. iv. H, It . i.58. Homi ly on the Fear of D ea t h and else­
in t ra nsitive lI SC d OD; not occur else­ Kittredge, the K ing repeats the The D a nis h woru was TlLf and Dd: ker where , Cf. a l ~o 2 Cor inthians v. 1). T o
w here. It may be t hat by th e time words ,...·hieh ga ve o ffe n ce befor e (Gull' s Hornbook) refe rs to 'the Danish TrJU{Vt (cha nge into another form o r
h e h ad rcac hed the ver b Sha kcspca n : (I. 64), a nd the Queen for lhe s(~ cond rowsa ' ; b ut I he suggestio n tlla t d t menl) into a dew (moisture) is an­
regard cd liabiLity as its object, fo r­ ti me int e rve ne:s . Shakespeare lI SC~ rowe to give a o the r synvnym fo r mell a nd lhuw, a nd
ge tLi ng tha t he had begun wi th with. 120 . in ail my best ] to the best of D a nish colouring is coun tered by its d ocs not impl y (as W a l'ha ft w ou ld
But K ittrr.d ge compares Porter, T u.!o myab ilit}'. occurrence in Faustw, Iv .L 19, O/h. suggcSl) a further tra nsforma tion into
Angry lVomen q[ Abington ( Yl SR, obey )'oul Poin tcdly ignoring the I!. iii . 60, and indeed Ham. 11.1.58. vapour .
I. 258) , ' Wi th a ll the parts of n eigh­ K ing's p('rs ua sion.~ .
bruil] n oise abroad . Bruit again is 13'2. canon 'gllirut selJ-Jlall~hltr]
bour love, I impa rl myself to Mastc l' 12 4 . to] ' Si ts Ilt lO y hea rt ' would be
ofte n gl Q.'1..~(:d as 'ceho' . Bu t the no ise A gain refc r red to in Lpl! . lU. iv . 74-5.
Coursey'; (lnU it i.:s possi hk tha t normal, hu t thC' p reposit ion is in­
in the heavens will echo no t the rouse C ommen ta tors have puzzled un­
S hakc~ peare us('d imparl for 'impa rt flu enced by 'smiling'.
bllt the ca nnon . TIle King's d rin king necessarily o"er this ; for w h ile a
mysC'lf' . So Johnson in ter p re ted it. grace] tha nksgiving. T he Fre n ch
will be sig nalized by the eannon (the ' divinc' prohibition may be easie r to
113. WilltnbeTg] LN. sense (L. graliae) wa ~ fo r merl y 'earthly thunde r'), the echoing of accept t han to de mon:Hrate, what is.
I 14. rtlrogmdc] lit.. going bac k­ common . whieh will thc n 'brui t' or proclaim c:ui ly d emo nstrated is th at the C hurch
wards ,: hence contrary. C hapma n , 1'25. De1lmarkl the King of" 1)(:0­ it aga in. regu larly regarded 'sclf-sla ugh t(:r' as
.Hay Day, HI . ii i. ' 96, 'ComC', be not ma rk. Cf. l. i,5 1. 12 9. Iou /00 ) 1\ vn y com mo n dupli• forbidden by the sixth comma ndment.
17 0 HAMLET [ACT 1 SC. I) HAMLET 1 71

With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
HOT . In what part.icular thought to work I know not,
But in the gross and scope ofmy opinion,
This bodes some strange erup tion to our stale.
Mar. Good now, sit down, and tell mc, he that knows,
Why this samc strict and most observant watch
So nightl y toils the subject of the land,
And why such daily cast ofbrazcn cannon
And roreign mart [or implements ofwar,
Wh y such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task
Docs not divide the Sunday from the week .
What might be toward that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day,
\¥ho is' t that can inform me?
HOT . Tha t can l.
At least the whisper goes so: our last King,
71. m y] F.Qr; mine Q2. 76. why1 F,Q.I.' with Q2,
Q 2, Q/.
are suspended. Cr. I . ii. 198. Applied subjetl) subject! (collcc ti ve), as in
Whose image even but now appear'd to us,
70 Was as you know by Fortinbras of Norway, 85
Thereto priek'd on by a most emulate plide,
Dar'd to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet
(For SO this side afoul' known world esteem'd him)
Did slay this Fortinbras, who by a seal'd compact
75 W ell ratified by law and heraldry 90
Did forreit, with his life, all those his lands
Which he stood seiz'd of to the conqueror;
Against the which a moiety competent
Was gaged by o ur King, which had return'd
80 To the inheritance ofFortinbras, 95
Had he been vanquisher; as, by the same cov'nant
And carriage of the article design'd,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young FOl'tinhras,
Of unimproved mettle, hot and full,
90. heraldry] heraldy Q2, Hcraldric F,Qr. 91. those] F,Qr .. th~e Q2.
cast] F; cost
92. or] Q2,QI; on F. 94. rcturn'd) F; relurne Q2. 96. eov'nanl] F;
coma.rl QR; compac t Q 1676. 97. article de!ign'd] 1'2; anicle desseigne
Q2; Article d.csignc F; articles dcseigne Q3·

10 midnight, 3S often (M etu. Iv. ii . 59.
86. emulau] emu lous, cager
R3 v. iii. 180), it concen trates these
excel.
suggcllitions upon an t'xact point of
08. this side of Qur known wo,ld]
timc, and so here, thollsh the hour
' r.: the whole western world (as we
is onc not twdvc (1. 42), it ha~ the
should say )' (Dover Wibon ).
additional dfc.."C1 of reinforcing jum/J.
89. compact) The st ress on lhe
70. 10 work (i1l)J to let my mind be
occupied (wilh).
71. Ihe gWH and sco/Je J Ihe general
drift, ::l..S c;ontmslCd with the 'parlicu·
lar t hought' (1. 70).
72. This Ixxles ... sla/t.] COnlj1('lIcd
by hi5 'own eyc~' (I. 6, ) Lo abandon
lhe- thcory of'rantasy' (I. 26), Horatio
adopt! an orthodox alternative. Cr.
L~l\'at cr, lI .xvi: 'Ir thry be not vain
pcrsua5ions, or nalural thing5, then
an: they rorewarnings or God. '
trlt/}/ionl violent outbl·ca k. C r. Cou.
I. iii. 78, 'strange eruptions'.
73. Good nowl An expn.'l!Sion or
entr(":l.Iy, 'good' being a vocative
with the omission of the noun. Also
at E". IV. iV.'l I. AbboH 13.
75. toibl ( tran s.itive) impt)S(,.'S toil
on. C L Abbott 290,
l.ii.:13. cr. Meas. H.iv.27. 'The
to competent] suffIcient. Ilamlc l Slakes
general 5ubject to a wcll· wish'd
lands enough to rna leh aU those of
king Quit their own part'.
Fortinbras.
i6. wJvol With ellipsis (Ihere is).
9+. fdufn 'e1] A loose usc, not to be
cast] casti ng.
taken as implying that Fortinbras
7(>-8. bra~1I connon . .. shipwrighLr]
would have got back f>O$..~essions
A refif':Clion of Denmark 's contero· second syflable is usual in Shakes· originally his.
porary war pn:paralions under Chris· peare. 96. lite same CO;J'1I/wt] i.e. the 'com·
tian IV. A decade ca dier Sir J erome 90. ltefa/dry) the recognized usages pact' or I. 8g. LN.
Horsey ( Trmlels, HakluYI, Soc. , pp. or chivalry, o r which the heralds were 97. c(1rriage . . " e1esign'e1l purport
241- 4) had complained to C hrillt i<t n', arbiters. Else..... here Shakespeare em· or the article rererred to. LN.
prcdcec..'SSOI· or 'Ihe enticing away' or ploys the word in its morc usua l sense 99. unim/Jfoveel] unreslrain<."<i. 'To
English 'shipwright! to rash ion yOur or the lo re of armorial bearings or, by improve' is (I) to turn to good
navy' and ' the carrying away' rrom synecdochf':. for the eo.'l. I-or.arms account, a.'I in the only Shakcspt'.arean
England (cr. Jortig1l marl ) or 'much ilsclf. (Cr. II . ii +52; All's W. II. iii. 256. ) US(:, 'his means, ir he improve them.
ordinance, hOlh bra.~$ and iron. Low arid IUfalJry. though soroetirnc...'S may well slretch ' (Qus, n , I. 159);
pieces <Jnd OIhcr munition '. taken as a henrliadys ror heraldic .....hence unim/Jrol:eel, either (0) ' not
77. morn {= markf't ) Ir'ading, law, more probably implies Ihat the yet used fOI' advantage' (Skeat,
7R. i",p" ssJ imprc.."Unlcnt (ror rorced agl'cemen I was executed by a legal GloJsary), untried, 'waiting 10 be
service), <:onlic.:ript ioll, a!J in Troil. instrument (d. seol'd ) as well as given shape or purpose' (Alex.
Il,i·95· hav ing heraldic approval. ander), or (b) with Uri· d('notinl{
Bo. toward] imminen t. cr. v.ii.370. 91. DidfqrJeit . . ,allJ LN. reversal rather than mere negation,
th. That am I. ) Horatio"_ position g2. ~iz.'d of] possa'iCd of. Still of undisciplined, ill.regubl<."<i, 'a llowed
as inrormant here contrasl5 with his course the regular legal term. to run rial ' (Verity) : (2) to rcprove,
unramiliarity ..... ith affairs ill Den· 93. moieljl] portion (nol necessarily condemn (L.. improbau ), whence
mark ill I. iv. See l, iV.12- 13 LN. limited to a ha lf). unimproved _ 'unrepl'oved' (Nares),
 17 2 HAMLET
Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there
Shark'd up a list oflawless resolutes
For food and diet to some enterprise
Tha t hath a stomach in't, which is no other,
As it doth well appear unto our state,
Bu t to recover of us by strong hand
And terms compulsatory those foresaid lands
So by his fa ther lost. And this, I take it,
I s the main motive ofour preparations,
The source of this our watch, and the chief head
Of this post-haste and rummage in the land .
Bar. I think it be no other but e'en so.
Well may it sort that this portentous fjgure
(0 (. lawlCc\S] Q2,QI" Landlesse F.
106. eompulsatory] Q2; ComplIlsatiuc F.
F (Ramage). 111-28.] Q:z; not in F,Qr.
unr<:buked, uncensured.
100. skirts] outlYLng parts.
101 . Shark' J up] gOl together by
snatching up indi.serim ina te'I>·, as a
shark docs il.~ food. OED presents
'shark' as a va..iant or 'shirk', to trick
and hence to prey o n otlH~r.I, in wh ich
this sense is strengthcnt'd by the
predatory connotations of th e noun.
The suggestion of the shark 's ~av:lge
rapac.it)· anticip<.ltcs lawleJJ. Cf. Sir
Thoma! More (MSR, Addn II. 207-9),
'ruHianll liS their fan eil:g wl'oughl ..
would .~ hal'k on you', :mcl Dover
\Vi bon, NCS, pp. xxx\·i- x.'(xvi i.
list] iiI. a catalogue of soldiers'
names, and so a In)Qp .
fowhss resqlu/ts J desperadoes. When
we sec Fortinbras's nlfn in Iv.iv they
are a well-disciplincd army. Shnkc­
siX'are proba bly ehallg-cd his dcsi1;n
in counc of c;ompo:sitiofl, wil lI!- Jul­
filling an original idea of introducing
a revenging son .....ilh an unru ly mob of
followers by tl"aruUcrrin!o:" Iht.'Sc 10
control of the tidCli.
J.a crl ~ (IV. v). Sft" Intro., pp, 100,
142, and R ile lJ. Studl., ...."11:: . 101 ......3.
102. l:Or1 denoting purpo!lc, nll~
!>("n!>l: i, nm, as sotntlirm:s supPQS(:d,
that tJlt= resolute; are h in:-cl lor (no
[ACT I
100
105
110
As] Q2; And F,
104 .
11 0. rummage) Q2 (Romadge),
pay but their) food. Rather they arc
to serve as 'food .. , 10 some enter­
prisc·. cr. ncxt note.
103. a stomach1 'nle entcrprise is
pcn;oniftcd by it s possession of a
stomach, or a spirit of daring, the
stomach being traditionally the seat
of coul'age, Cf. Ccus. v.i.G6, 'If you
dare fight today, come 10 the field;
If not, when you h:lVt: ~ t.omachs'.
There is a play (In thc literal semc,
the slomach of the enterprise being
supplied with 'food' in the shape or
the 'lawless r t.:.~o lllt cs'.
log. htlldJ fountain-head, origin,
as at lI . ii.55,
110. past-iuute] furious aClivity.
cr. J. Ho.
rumma.£:"/!'j (of which the: QF readings
ar<: Oterdy old spdlings), bustling
acti....ity, turmoil. Primarily a nautical
tcrm for the removal and rearra nge­
ment ora ship's cargo.
111-!l8.] With the omwion of this
p..'lSSage in F (and Qt ), cr. the: cu r at
I . iv, I 7- 38, and sec note there:.
1 1 2 . sodJ ac;cord. Cr. Hj Iv. i.63:
MND "\" i. 55. "me appearllnec: or the
Ghos t :l.ccords wilh the face that
King H amlet is thl! tJUU/i01l or
SC . I] HAMLET 173
Comes armed through our watch so like the King
That was and is the question of these wars.
H OT. A mote it is to trouble the minu's eye. 115
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere tbe mightiestJulius fell,
The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets;
As stars with trains of /ire and dews of blood, 120
Disasters in the sun; and lhe moist star,
Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands,
115. motel molh Q.a, mote Q4. Ilg.1 OmissiOlllllarked tifter this line! Jmnens.
120-3. ] As Q2; oJttr 128 Tschisdw:ilz.
occa5ion of the war. It! being 'armed' slak1 in the territorial and political
aceords with the danger of war. sense, as at I. 72. Christopber North
portentous] in the strict sense. Cr. (Blackwcod's, I..xVI, 252- 4) insists
Lavater, I.i, 'Por/ell/um is that. whit;h that it implies 'at once Place a['l(.\
forsheweth some thing to come, as indwelling Power'. 'The high and
when strange bodies appear in the palmy state of Rome' thus corres­
air, or bb.1.ing slars ...' ponds to Virgil's ' rerum . . . pul­
I 15. A mote it is ] Not, pace Dover cherrima Roma' (Cl!'Orgics, 11 ·534)'
Wilson, because Horatio sees the 11 7- 23.j FOI' the prodigies pre­
incidc:nt all insignificant hut because ceding Caesar's de~H h , I.N.
it sets lip irrit:ltion in the (mind's) Itg. squeak] Ghosts tmditionaUy
eye . Tilley M IISg. Thc Q2 moth spoke in a thin shrill voice. In Ihe
is a n alternalive, and probably a Odyssey the sou ls of Penclope's su itors
ShakcspeMcan, spelling. cr, QF of squeak like bau ( XXIV. 5) . Cr.
LU_ Iv.iii.157 and F of John Iv.i·9~ , Aeneid, \'1.492-3, 'vocctn cx iguam';
HS IV. i. '77, LocrinL, Ill. vi. 19, 'shrieking notcs';
to trouble] Hl1gh of St Chcr, com­ I.V.2 n. below.
mentlng on Psalm iV.4 (see Vulgate, 120. As] The aw kward eon ncetion
Ikl slc, 1504), distinguisht:5 bctween suggests possible omis~ion. LN.
the sinful anger which blind!!., and 121. Disaskrs] signs of ill omen. A
the zealous a nger which merely 'disas ter' (ef. L. as/rum) is etymolo­
troubles (turbot ) the eye for a time, gically 'an unfavourable aspect of a
like a coll yrium, so that it may later star or planel' (OED),
see more dcarly. So the mind, no\\o' the mout .ftarl the moon (ef. Win/,
troubled by the Ghost, may later I.ii. I), often ca lled 'watery' with
sec what it betokens, a5 happencd referen ce not si mpl y to its pallid
with the Roman portcnts Horatio light but to the belief that it drcw lip
now cites. The emphasis, however, is moisture from the !lea. I t has power
on prescnt perplex ity rather than on over 'Neptune's empirc' thl'ough itJ
future clarifkatiun.
Ihe minJ'stye] Cr. I . ii . , 05 and n. 122. ;:,!fIumce] An a~tro l ()gieal 'in­
IIG. jJ(Jim.11 no urishing, with ref­ nucncc' wru an emanalion by me:IIlS
erence to the palm as the symlX)1 of of which a hea\lcnly body exerted
vietory. Apparently a Slu~ k csr~ar can power over mundane thirth'S·
coinage. stands] depends.
 SC. I] HAMLET J 75
174 HA~IJ.ET [ACT I
If there be any good thing to be done
Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse. Th a t may to thee do ease, and grace to m e,
A nd eve n the like procursc offcar'd events,
Speak to me; 135
As harbingers preced ing still the fates 125 If thou art privy to thy country's fate,
And prologue to the omen com ing on, Which , happily, foreknowing may avoid,
H ave heaven and earth together demonstrated
U nto oLlr c1imatures and countrymen.
o speak;
Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Enln GHOST. Extorted treasure in the womb ofearth, 140
For which they say yo ur spirits oft walk in death,
But soft, bellold. La, where it comes again .
Speak of it, stay and speak. The cock crows.
I'll cross it though it blast me. Ghost spreads its anns.
Stop it, Marcellus.
Stay, illusion: 130 Mar. Shall I strike at it with my partisan?

I r thou hast any so und or use of voice, Hor. Do if it will not stand.

Spcak to me. BaT. 'Tis here. 145

Hor. 'Tis here. Exit Ghost.

124- fcar'dl Pcmntl-Cmig, conj. (',QU ier j [care Q2; fL"3rce Q3-
Q2j dimaturc White, conj. Dyct. 130 S.D-J b .rpread.r his armes. Q2 (o/IP.
1,10- 1); lit .rjJrtadf his arms. Q 1676 j flof in F,QI .
Q.,1'.
12 3. almost to doomsdll)'1 'al rno."ll 10
the point or complete darkness,
alluding to the biblical prophecy
that at the second coming of Christ
"the moon shall nol g ivr. her light"
(Miltthcw x:.xiv. !.!g" (1Iel-fonJ ).
124. /JUlurse] lhal which precedes
(a nt.l [orc lokcns) .
ftar'JJ In .... iew or ( I ) Ute sense and
(2) the confusion of d and e in the
:t:lizalx:than ha nd , there can he lillie
doubt thaI this is the w rrect emen­
dation instea d of thr..fim;e which most
ed itors h a .... e tak(~n over fr om Q3.
Cf. F's error a l n . i. 11 2.
125. stilll always. A no rma l Eliza­
bethan wle. Cr. 1. ii . 104, lI . ii.42,
I..... ~ ii . li S, ctc.
fafes J Though 'fate' oftcn mean ,>
no more than pre-ordaincd end, it
often retains also, cs-p. III the plural, a
quasi-personal significance. (Cr. 3N 6
IV . iii . 5B, '\.Vha t lat(:5 impose, th at
ml'n Intl.s t nt:eds ab ide'. ) The sug­
gC!Stion here is no t onl y or ealami riC$
to com!! but of powrrs o rd ain ing and
w(lrk ing thcm.
126 . of/lelll strictly, tha t whi("h
foreshadows a n event, but herr. the
I 2fl. c1imalul'cs]
Mar. 'Tis gone.
13'2- 3.] ..1s Pope ; om lint
cvent foretold. Cf. I t.eywood, Life
nf Mtrlin (16,p , fronrispiece ), 'Merlin
. . . His coun u'y', omen did lo ng
sin cc forctell'.
127-8. titmon.Jtroud . . . dilllaturtI]
C r. COtI. Liii.gl - 2, 'portentous things
Un to the climate that they point
upon'. tlimatures, climes.
1'ltt our] C lea rly idelltifyi ng H Ol'a ­
til) as a Dane. Uut cr. I. iv. 1 \,1 - 1 3 LN.
129. sofl] peace, break off. So at
I. v. 5fl, m . i.IIU, Ill. ii . 3[13, I V. ii. 2,
V. i.'210 . Sec OED soft adll. B.
130. ( ross il] i.c. crOM its path,
confront. This, :.u.::cording to popular
bd ief, would be to ex.pose oneself
to its ba leful influence. The dearh in
1594 of Ferdinando, 5th Earl of
Derby (filmou5 in dramatic annals
as l.ord Strange), was said to ha....c
occurred after a mysterious tall man
had appear-cd ill his cha m ber and
<twice crossed him s.....iftl y· (Lodge,
l illlstTtllinns 0/ Br;1. History, 179',
iii. 48). Thc coou!.'Ct rult-s out lhe
in1erpJ"('(at ion 'make the sign o f the
crOoM', wh ich would be to guard
against rather thall to invitc blasting.
I JO S.D. spreath its arms] LN.
W e do it wrong, being so majestical,
To offer it the show ofvioience,
134- 5.1 As Q2,Q 1i one line F. 137- 8.1 As Q2i o~ line F,QI (subst. ).
141. your] Q2; you F,Qr. '42 S.D.} Q 2 (opp. l.p - 2); flot in F,QI.
t43. at] F; nnl in Q2. 146 S.D] .tI.r Sissotl; a/ltr III F; not if! Q2.
hitherto si lent, at length prepares
133 -4~ . If· .. If· .. Or if . .. JlfIy
to speak, only to be interrupted.
and speok.] l .N.
143. partisan] ' a long-bandled spear,
137. happilyl haply, perchance.
141. your] Commonly used in de~ the blade having one o r more latera l
finitely, without reference: to a cutting projections' (OED ). It was
pa rt icular person addrc5st::u, but borne by O ITI CCI'S of the gua rd . Sec
imputing to he arers in ge.nera l know­ Sh.'r Eng. , i. 137-8, and cf. Cotgra\,c,
pertuisane, ' leading-staR '.
ledge of the object condescendingly
t 46 S.D. Exit] M cManawa y sup­
referred to. OED 5 b. Cr. I. v. 175,
pO:\C5 the Ghmt d illappears through
lII.ii'3 , Iv.iii . 2 1- 3, \1'.1.56- 7, t6S...Q·
The touch o f famil iarity, if a Ijllle: onc trap and ris(':s again th rough
surprising am id this solemn lIpcech , a nother (PBS.-t , XUII , 315) ; W. J.
Lawrence (Pre-Restoration Slage Sludies,
accord:i wi th thc sceptica.lly tinged
'they say' and is more in keeping pp. t07~ ) , fo llowing Calvert (An
tha n the quite different fa miliarity Aclor's Hamiel ), that the illusion of the
Ghost's l>ci ng in twO plac(.~ was
or the F you spirits, which is addi­
effected by having two g hosts (a
tiona ll y awkward ..... hen o nly one i~
practice still sometimes followed ).
Ixing add rc5SI..-d .
142 . s/Hlik. StOll it] For the Ghost's But I suspect tha t the acton could
manage the busilless, lhen as now,
behaviour hcrc sec I. ii . 'l16ff. Warton
without suc h expedien ts.
noted as 'a m ost ini mitable circum ­
148 -50.J Cr. Lavater, lII .x i, 'Some
stance in Shakespea re' the aggrava­
others, when spirits appear unto
tion of suspense when the Ghost,
 '7 6 HAMLET
For it is as the air, invu1nerable,
And Our vain blows malicious mockery.
Bar. It was about to spea k wh en the cock crew.
Hor. And then it started like a g uilty thing
U pon a fearful summons. I have hea rd
The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn ,
'55
Do th with his lofty and shrill-sounding throa t
Awake the god of day, and at his warning,
Whether in sea Or fire, in earth or air,
Th'extravagant and erring spirit hies
T o his confine; and of the truth berein
Break we our watch up, and by my advice
Tbis present obj ect made probation .
Mar. It fad ed on the crowiug of the cock.
1$5· morn] Q2,o day F,o morning Qr.
them, will by a nd by set on them,
a nd drive the m awa y with na ked
sword$ ... not w nsidering .. tha t
spiriu a n~ no thing hurt w ith weapons'.
150. as tN air] T he ort hodox
view. C f. Le Loyer , lU , 8. 'Si e1 les
[Ies Ames] a ppardisscnt a nous ..
ce n 'cst qu' ull fa n t6m e d 'air qu 'ell ~
on t velu sculcment' ; Taillcpieli , ch.
16, 'Lcs corps lies cspritJl, q uand ils sc
veulcnt ~ p p a raJ t r<=, 50nt de 1'3ir' .
15 1. malicio/l.; mockery) '" mere
sembla nce of malice' (Schmidt),
' malit:e' here hei ng no t ill-will but
nucncc, hlasl. cr. Cor. 1I . ii. lll,
'powel' to ha rm ' (O E:I) 2). The GhOSl
'struck Corioli like a planet' ; T it.
being ' invuln erable', the powr:r ofthf:
lI.iV.11 ; Wini. Lii. 20 1. Cf. moon­
blows to ha rm is illu.sory. C f. .7()nn
struck.
II. i. 2$ 1- 2, 'O ur cannons' malice
vainly Sh311 be spen t Aga inst th 'in_
vul nera ble clouds'. Sec H. Hulme,
ES, XL VII. 1 90-~.
155· The cQ(k) L.~ .
trumpet I trumpeter, a~ often (('_g.
3116 v. i. 16; T roil. Iv.v.6). The image
was no t new : cr. Dra yton, Endimion
llJId Photbe ( 1595). I. 3U7, 't he cock,
the morning's trum peter'.
156. iojry] S ugge"ting bo th the
cock's lIpslrctched throa t .. ncl the
trum pe ter's proud , majest ic ~oun d.
158. Wneth,r in ua .. air] qua li-
[ACT 1 SC. ,) HAMLET '77
'50 Som e say that ever 'gainst th at season com es
Wberein our Saviour's birth is cel ebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long ; ,65
And th en, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch bath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is that tim e.
Hor. So have I heard and do in part believe it. 17 0
But look, the morn in russet mantle clad
Walks o'er the dew ofyon high eastward hill.
,50
Let us impart what we have geen tonight
U nto young Hamlet ; for upon my life '75
This spirit, dumb to U' , will speak to him .
Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it
As needful in our loves, fitting our duty?
fying confine (I. 160). It .....as held tha t
there were four different orden of 163. say] Q R, Qt .. sayes F. 165. This] Q2~' The F,Qr , 166. d a re stir]
spirits accord ing to which of the ro ur Q 2,o can wa lke F,o da re wa lke QI . 163. ta k~J Q2, Qr ,o talka F.
clem ents they inhabi ted. C r. Ii 169. tha t] Q 2,Qrj the F. 172. eastward] Q 2; casternc F.
Pe1ueroso. 93- 6. linquish some hut not a ll of his orig­
163-9. M IM .ray .•. that iiIM.] Stt
1$9· exlraL'Ognfll] st raying beyond J. 1$5 l.N. ina l scepticism (cf. 11 . 26-7. 33- 5.
its pmper bounds. Do th this .. nd 163. 'gainsl] in expecta tion of the 59--6 1,1 60- 1) a nd ""'ith which Shakes­
e"ing (wa ndering) have the str ict time when. Cr. u . ii, 479. lII. iv·50. peare usa the suggcstivenCSJI of
Latin sense. cr. Olh. 1.i. 137, 'an Abbott 142. supernatural beliefs wit hou t com­
exlraL'Ogant a nd wheeling stra nger or 165. bird of dawning ] i.e. tbe cock, mitting himscl.f to them (,Some S3y',
here a nd everywhere'; C ha pm3n's or course; not, as Wilson Kn ight ' I ha ve hea rd' ). thus leaving the
Od)'ssey, IX, 'Erring Gree ian~ we, once supposed, the lark . episode mysterious.
From Troy returning homewa rds'. 167. strike] des troy by evil in ~ I 7 1-Q. tile tnOf'lI •• . eastward hill] A
T here is 11 0 suggcsti on (as Prosser,
vcry litcrary descri ption. LN.
p. 122 ) that a n 'errin g spirit' is a n
'75. youn.q Ham lelJ Coleridge (i. lg )
evil on e.
nOles ' the uno htrusive and yet full y
160 . co'!/ine] place of confinement.
adequa te mode of introd ucing tbe
Cf. lI.i i.24$; Tp. Iv.i. 12 1. For Mt, 168. take., ] bewitches (especia lly ma in eha raetcr, YO llng Hamlet, upon
sec a bove, I. 40 n . b y infecting with d iliease). Cf. Gam­ wbom tra nsfen itself all the interest
16 1. object J A word oflCn a pplied excited fQr the a.ets and conce rns of
mer Gurton'; Nudle, Lii.'l5- fi, 'They
to a spectacle whi ch exci tes a. strong sit as still as st o n e~ in the street As the king, his f~th c l" .
em otiona l reaction (o r horror, d read, 1J6. u:ill sjJ~ak to him1 cr. above,
thoug h t hey had been taken with
at.lmiratio n, cte,). See OED 3 b. Cr. fairi es' : Will, Iv.iv.'l7-3'l, ' IIcrne I. 55"., I. v.2.
Olh. v. ii. 367. 'The objcc t poi50ns the Hunter ... la kes the cattle, And 178. IOL'esJ E liza be tha n idiom per­
sight'; T'l. lII. i.64, 'Th is object kills mils the plural of an abstrnct noun
ma kes m ilch-kine yield Llood ' ; Lr
me' ; Cym. I. Vi.IO I, "fh is o bject, lI . iv. t 61 - 2, 'S lri l.:e ber young bone5, ....·hich refers to a qU3 lit y ll.'i POSSOiSed
which T akes prisone.r lhe wild mo tion you taki ng ai rs, with lameness.' by more tban one person . cr.
of mine eye'; Pet. l.i.43; M er. V. IGg. gradOUJ] associa ted with divi ne l.ii.25 1, 254; UI. ii . I!)6; wiJldoms ,
1. i.2 0 ; Lr v.i ii .'238. l.ii. 15; modotics, n . ii .28o; com­
g race, ble.ucd.
j)rabalion] proof. 170. in /Hu t believe] Note the art pa nies, II . ii. t4.
with ..... hieh H ora tio is made to rc­
 '7 8 HAMLET [ACT' SC. II] HAMLET '79
Mar. Let's do't, I pray, and I this morning know Together with remembrance ofourselves.
Where we shall find him most convenient. Exeunt. ISo Therefore our sometime sister, now OliT queen,
Th'imperial jointress to this warlike state,
Have we, as 'twere with a d efeated joy, 10
With an auspicious and a dropping eye,
SCENE II With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole,
Flourish. Enter Claudius KING of Dmmark, Gertrude the QUEEN,
Taken to wife. Nor have we herein barr'd
Council, including VOLT£MAND, CORNELIUS, POLONlUS and
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone 15
his son LAERTES, HAMLET [dressed in black], with Others.
With this afrair along. For all, onr thanks.
Now follows that you know young Fortinbras,
King. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death
Holding a weak SUpposal ofo Ill" worth,
The memory be green, and that it us befitted
Or thinking by our late dear brother's death
To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom
To be con tracted in one brow ofwoe, 8. sometime] Q.z; sometimes F. g. to] Q2; ofF. J I. an ... 3] Q2; one
Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature 5 . . . one F. '7. follows that you knowl Q.z .. foll owcs, that you know F;
That we with wisest SOrrow think on him follows thal you know: Dowd~n, conj. Walker.

'79· Let's] Q",QI; Let F.

7. DUTy/ves] Though Claudius is no superior kind. For the plural, cr.
IBo. convenient] Q2; conucnient ly F,QI. doubt making it appear that the I.i. qOn.
marriage concerns not merely him­ 16. thi.; affair] strictly, tbe marriage.
Seeru: 11
self but the wbolc stale (Kittredge), Thanks for his accc:ssion may be in­
it is not true that ·OI.l~lves· could cluded in 'lor all'. A report of the
SCENE II] F (Suna Sec/Uula); not ;" Q2. S.D.] Florish. Enter Claudius, Kin,lf of no t rcfcl" to the monarch :llone. Cf. coronation of Chri~lian IV in 1596
Denmarke, Cerfrad tile Q}lune, Counsaile: tu POOmius, and his So/mt Lturtu. Hamlet, R'.J. l.i.16, lII.iii.I'.J.7, describes his c.rowning by the coun­
Cum AliJs. Q2; Enter Claudius King of Dmmorkt, Gertrude the Qyunt. Hamlet, 8 . .ro1/ulime] former. cillors with lh ~ words ' t\cc<'pt from
P%f/ius, UurkS, and his SiIlff OPMlio, Lords Attendanl. F ; Enter King, Queene, sist«, now 011' qllLtn] The incestuous u.s the Crown of this S tatc' (SQ.,
Hamid, uorw, Corambis, and till IUJ() Ambo.Jsadors, with Alltndanls. QI. nature of the marriage is made clear XVI, 156).
to the audience: from the first. ef. '7. follows 111111 you knowl Wal kcr's
1. '57. attempted improvem(~ nt (know:) 1$
ISo. (o llvenienl] For adjcclival form s 'kingdom', etc.) Claudius effects an
9. join/fels 1 Not earlier rccordt'tl. adopted by many editol'5, who thus
in adverbial usc, see Abbott I ,
idcntifi l.:alion of his audience with make the Council alrcady acquaintoo
Literally, a woman who is in joint
him~dr. with the matt.t,t" that ' now follows'.
po.ss(,5~iou, nnd bence sometimes
Sune II 4· contracted in one brow1 Combines exp lained as 'joinl-mlcr', But nothing But I agree with Si$son (.Nil) that
the suggcstions of h<!ing knit together else in {he play givl:s Gertrude that the scrna; is not ' foll()\\'$ what yuu
S.D.] l.N. in one unilcd feding and of the status and evcn here 'our queen' already know, namely' hut 'the nex t
" -39·) On the style of this speech, expression of this feeling by the point is, you must he told th.at'. h
l.N.
seems to n:gnro ber as Claud ius'JI
knittin.~ of the brow. For the idiom, consol·!. The word may already have may be objected that Fo rtinbras's
I. lIamlt! flur dell' b,oUlu J On Ihe sec P:lJ.sgravc's Acola.rtw (EETS, pp, han its laler sense: of the holder of a warli.ke preparations a re in f:"\CI
sU(;l.:elllion, L N. 84-5 ), 'Conlrohert frot/tem, to drawe jointure, i.e. an estate which i..~ settled known (l.i .98- 107 ) ; but it i5 his
2. that] 'UsaJ (li ke Fr. que ) as a the fo riu'Cd 10 gyther, Aignifielh tn on a wife and pa.'\.Scs tu hel' o n hcr fonnal demand:o\ (messnge. J. 2~) Ihat
substitute instead of repeating a lowre or bende the browes: whic.:h hw.hand's death. the Council arc now 10 he told.
previous conjunction' (OED that countenan(:c we make. ""han we he 11.1 L"i. young Fortinbrasl Gr. ' young lIamle t',
conj. 8). miscontcilled or angry' , Cf. Wm. 1 3.dole 1grief. I. i. I 15. Sbakellpc:,rc eviden tly in ~
w] R eferring 10 all pn::scnl, as is Burton 's traos. of Clilophot/ nnd Leu­ '4. barr'd] 'cxcl uded, a cted without tends a parallel bctwcc~n the 1wO
indi<.:atcd by 'our hearts' (I. 3). By cippe, 1597 (cd. Caselee :lnd DreH­ the concurrence of' (CaldccolI) . princes.
the artful mingling of the plural wilh Smi th, p. 109), 'grief :.\nd sorrow ' 5. beller wisdoms] Not beth:r than 18. uxaG. !IJ/I/)osnl] low opinion.
the roY;11 uSt~ (OUI' 'brother', ou r con trac teth her hrm....3 ', mine, but better than ortlinary, of a
 180 HAMt. ET [ACT I sc. II] HAMLET 181

Our state 10 be disjoint and out of frame, 20 You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltemand,
Colleagued with this dream ofhis advantage, For bearers of this greeting to old NOIway, 35
He hath not fail'd to pester us with message Giving to you no further personal power
Imponing the surrender of those lands To business with the King more than the scope
Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, Of these dilated articles allow.
To Our most valiant brother. So much for him. 25 Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty.
Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting,
Thus much the business is: we have here writ ~~;. } In that, and all things, will we show our duty. 40
To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras~ King. We doubt it nothing. Heartily farewell.
Who, impolent and bedrid, scarcely hears Exeunt Voltemalld and Cornelius.
Of this his nephew's purpose~to suppress And now, Laertes, what's the news with you?
30
His further gait herein, in that the levies, You told us ofsome suil: what is't, Laertes?
The liSIS, and full proportions are all made You cannot speak ofreason to the Dane
OUI of his subject; and we here dispatch And lose your voice . What wouldst thou beg, Laertes, 45
:11. Collcaguedl F; Colcaguc:ci Q2; Co-leagued Ca/Mll. this ) Q:l; the F.
That shall not be my offer, not thy asking?
advantage,) adu3lltagc: Q.2,' Aduantage; F. 24. bond!!] F,' band! Q2. The head is not more native to the heart,
25 · him.] Q2; him. I F.rrl« Vol16mand and Cornelius. F. 31. herein.] Q2;
hecrein. F. 33· subject1 Q2,F; subjects Q5. 35. bea.ren] Qz,Qr; hearing F. 38. dilated] F; delated Qz~' related Qr.
40. Cor. Volt.] Qz; Voli. F; Gent. Qr. 4t S.D.] F subs"; nol in Q:t,Qr.
20. dujojnt ond out of fTame] cr. 29 · Importing] having for its sub- 45-6. Laertes, . . . asking?] F; LaerteJ,? _ .. aski.ng, Qz.
ironically .,\1.196, l.i'72, (. iv.go, etc. stance. Dowden rightly reject!
frame, systematic o rder, often re,.. Abbolt's' importuning' . 37. To] ror (Abbott 186). But nothing doubt prevailing'; Ahbott 55.
(erring to the created universe. cr. 24· with QU bonds of law] Cf. Kittredge takes 'to business' as an 42. UurUl] 'Caressing him with his
lI .ii.2g8; IH.,. !l1. i.16; Mac. 1II.ii. [6 I. i.89-g8.
infinitive. name four limes in nine Iinl,.'S' (Dover
(' Let lhe frame orl hings disjoint').
'25· So much for him.] Not or course 38. dilated] set out at length. The Wilson), the King shows his gracioU5·
21. ColleaguedJ allied. The assump­ that Fortinhras is now d isposed or. Q2 delated, which editors have made nes.o; to Polonius's son . But much more
tion that it must qualify the subjec t. But 'so much' for what he has done heavy weather or, is simply a varian t important, Shakespeare takes this
Fortinbra!$ (I. 17 ), led Warburton and ' now' for my reaction to it.
spelling, recorded in MinshCll ('to opportunity of spotlighting the youth
and o th ers to explain that Forlinbras 26./or 2J the rea~oll for.
Delate, or speak at large of anything') who is to be Hamlet's ' image' (d.
had only his own dream for an ally. 28. Norway, uncle of)·ollll.t~ Fortinbrar] and amply demonstrated in OED. v. ii. 77 ), foil, foc, and ultimately
Dowden and Dover Wilson , with Fortinhras's uncle has !'I ue('eedccl to
Neithcr tbe common interpretation kill er. Cr. Intro., p . t33.
bett er sensc if nOI synlax, t<lkc it with
hi ~ fathcr'$ thron e. This adds to the 'conveyed' nor Dovcr '\'ilson's 4+ the Dane] the Danish king. Cf.
'supposal'. BUl I think it is to hc parallel between the si tuations of 'accusing' commends itself. I. i. 16, v.i.'251.
laken as ap!)lying to the gencral Hamlet and Fortinbra." which aI/ow] Possibl y subjunctive ('may 45. Ilwul The change from you
idca or II. 18-:1:0. In Fortinbras's Shakespearc may have initially de­
allow'), more probably 'attracted to thou expresses fri endly intiml'r.cy.
m otives his Ilotion or Dcnmark's
signed to Ile more important than it into the plural by the plural noun 46. I1!J offer . . . arking] givcrr hy me
weaknc!t5 is linked with his dream ~lIbscC'J uentl y becoml,.'S. It should a lso arl~kJ ' (Kittrcdgt» . Cf. lII.ii.I9'2 spontaneously without your having
concern ing himself. refute suggc!l:tions that Claudiu!'! is in and Abbau 412. to ask.
drtam ql hil adt.'anlage] e ither Ihe some way a USurper. 39. ,Your haste commend 70ur dug] i.c. 47. TM head . .. tk Juar') Claudius's
illusion or his (prescnt) superior posi. 3 t • goi/] going, proceeding. OED your haste ra ther than your wonJs. 3SS(':rtion gains strength from the
tion, or tllC~: vision or his (pn:)(Spcct ive) gate Sbl 6. Claudi us anticipates the IIsuall,.,.... rting traditional correspondence bctwt.'tn
gain. The first gOCl' better with this, 32. lists] Cr. d. 101. form ula, exemplified in I. 253 and thc human organisrn, with the inter­
the second with colkagued. proportions) numbers, esr-ccially in v. ii. I 79. Cr. Ll.l. IV. i1. 13~, 'Stay not d ependence or its various rncmben,
22 . messoge] Pos.,ibly pluml. as military contexts ; forttll. Cf. 115 thy compliment ; I forgive thy dUly'. and the body politic. The king is
'pcstcr' would 5Uggt·St. O n the sup­ I . ii. 304, 'Let our proportions for Sec PQ, I, 7t-3. naturally the bead, and in mediaeval
pression of Ihc innexion ancr -ge these wars He soon collected'. ,p . nothing] This advcrhia l usc is allegory the councillors are onen rc­
see Allbou 471. 3.3· subjecl] Collective, as in T. i. 75. common. Cf. Cor. l.iii.99. 'they ferred to as the htart. See Kellett,
 ,82 lIAMLET [ACT I SC. n] HAMLET 183
The hand more instrum ental to the mouth,
Ham. A little more than kin, and less than kind. 65
Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father.
King. H ow is it th at thc clouds still hang on you?
What wouldst thou have, Laertes?
Ham. Not so, my lord, I am too much in the sun.
Lacr. My dread lord, 50 Qjlctn. Good H amlet, cast thy nighted colour off,
Your leave and favour to return to France, And let thine eye look likc a friend on Denmark.
From whence though willingly I came to Denmark Do not for evcr with thy vailed lids 70
To show my duty in your coronation, Seek for thy noble father in the dust:.
Yct now J must confess, that duty done, Thon know'st ' tis common: all that lives must die,
My thoughts a nd wishes bend again toward France 55 Passing through nature to eternity.
And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon. Ham. Ay,madam,itiscommon.
King . Have you your father's leave? What says Polonius? Queen. If it be,
Pol. He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave Why seems it so particular with thee? 75
By laboursome petition, and at last Ham. Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not 'seems'.
Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent. 60 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
I do beseech you give him leave to go. Nor customary suits of solemn black,
King. Takc thy fair hour, Laertes, time be thine,
Nor windy suspiration offorc'd breath,
And th y best graces spend it at thy will.

But now, m y cousin H amlet, and my son­
50. My dread] Q2 ; Drcad my F; My gratious Ql.
towards F. 5R. Hr.] F,Qt; nol in Q2; A Parrott-Craig.
consent] Q.:t; nQl ill F,. wrung from me a forced graunt Qt.
Q2,F; Hamlet, Exit [Laertes]. Qt.
.suggeJti01lS, p. 31 , and d. Cor. I. i. 113-
'4 , ' The king ly Cl'owl1ed head ... The
counsellor heart'. naliLw:, closely
joined in nahl re. cr. All's W. I . i. 209,
'kiss like nati ....e things'. In the next
line (he kin g as the hand is the provider
for his subjects.
49. ,Ire throne. . ji:lher) From this
acknowledgemen t of Polonimo's se r­
vice there is no justifica tion for
inferring (bat br. has helped C laudius
10 th e throne. It is the throne ibt:lf~
not its prc!'.Cnt occupant, that ill in­
debted to him. Note that the fn-st
reference 10 Polonius ;.1 10 him as the
father of LacrtC$, strC$.Sing what is to
be a determining fa ctor of the plot.
56. leaue and pardon] Kittredge com­
pares Morc, R ichard III (cd. Lumby,
p. 76), ' W'hen the duke hau tbill
leave and pardon 10 spea k'. pardo",
55. toward] Q2;
58- 60. wrung.
64. Ham le r,]
the omission of the pronoun in Q2 by
suggesting that ' Polo. Hath' re prc.~nt~
<l mi.ueading of 'Po l a [ = he] hath'
( M SH, pp. 110- 1 I ) . Y CI although Q~
invariably 1.ISCS 'Pol.' for the spcech­
heading c1l1ewhere, it would nor be
unlike Shakc:speare to wri te 'Polo'
on the firSl occasion and 'Pol' subse­
que nlly.
60. seal'dJ The metaphor is that of
aRi:-:ing a sea l to a document (with
a play on lUill) to give it authori ty.
hard ] reluctant.
&1. Take lhy fair hour] Enjoy the
fa ....ourable season of your ·life; rOllg hl y
equivalent 1.0 cQrpt diem .
63. grauJ] a ttractive quaJitics; ell­
dowments and aCl.;om plishmcnu. Cr.
Mer. V. II. vii.33, 'I do in birth deserve
her, and in forlunes, In graces, and
in qualiti~ ofbrct=ding' ; Alit. H . ii. '34 ;
65.' Asidt I Thtohflld 2. 67 . so] Fj so much Q2.
i'th' Sun F. 68 . nigh led) Q.2; nightly F.
Theob ald; common Q2; common, F .
F; eoold Q2.
laor than a brother ; oflcn used of a
nephew.
65. more thall kin . .. kind ] morc than
kiosmcn in our actua l relatiooship
and less than kinsmcn ill our likeness
to one another and in our mutual
fedin gs and beh aviour. kind, mem­
bers of a ramily all naturall y unitcd in
commu nity of feeling. L!'i.
67. in lhe sun1 With plill on 50/1. LN.
6D. flighted] night-like. Cf. Abbott
294 ·
69. Drnmark] WhellH'r this means
the King (as at I. i. 51, I. ii. 125) 0'· the
kingdom is hardly pouiblc to "1.y.
70. Do 1Iol/or ellt'r] Ironical in view
of 11. 1.'J.5- 51.
vaile(fllower cci. OED ,p..
i ~. 'lis commoll] Thi5 sentimcJlt, to
be atnplifil.."d in the Kiog's flcxt spt·ech,
is a tradition:;! l commonplace of con~
5olation. Cf. Ovid., Mel., II'. Gold ing,
xv . 550, (to Egeria wecping for her
in the sun.! Q2 (sonne);
7',/.· (;ommon :] common;
li ves] Q2,Fj livc F2. 77. good]
cause ; Seneca, Ad Pof;·hium,
Works, tr. LorJge, 1614, p. 692, ,tt
is therefore a great comfort for a man
to oclhjnk hi mselr that the same hath
happcocci un to him, which all othcrs
have suffereu Uc(orr. him, anu all that
follow him m ust endurc, anu there­
fore . .. nature hath maJe that most
common whir.b is most grevious'.
For ollier elass.ical and Renai.1sanee
in.stances ~ee B. Bo)'ec, PML.4 , LXIV,
77 1 - 80 .
all lhnl /iL,tll For the not un common
uje of the inflexional s with a plma l
subject, sec Abbott 333·
75. /)()rtiruiar witll thet1 to affect
yOll as a thing peculiar to yourself.
77 . 'TiJ riot alo1loe) Im plying a con­
trast with the character or hi... mother's
own m()uTnin~ .
79. sW/JiratioJll sighing. OED citcs
this passage to ill mfrate the 5Cnsc
'brea thing'; but Ihe li tera l meaning

indulgence, as al IV. vii. 44. H81.ii.122. husband's death) 'Thy mourning is. more apt.

50. He halh 1 Dover VVilson explains 64· cou.sin] any kinsman more dis - moderate . . . Not on ly thou hast forc'dJ fo rcjbly c~pe ll cd.

 113 4 HAMLET [ACT I sc. 1I] HAMLET 18 5

No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, 80 To do obsequious sorrow. But to persever
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage, In obstinate condolement is a course
Together with all forms, moods, shapes ofgrief, O f impious stubbornness, 'tis unm anly grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed seem, I t shows a will most incorrect to heaven, 95
For they arc actions that a man might play; A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,
But I have that within which passes show, 85 An understanding simple and unsehool'd ;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe. For what we know must be, a nd is as common
King. 'Tis sweet and com mendable in yo ur nature, H a mlet, As any the most vulgar thing to sense-
To give these mourning duties to your father, Why should we in Our peevish opposition 10 0
But you must know your father lost a father, T ake it to heart? Fie, ' tis a fault to heaven,
That father lost, lost his-and the survivor bound 90 A fault against the dead, a fault to na ture,
In filial obligation for some term To reason most abs urd, whose common theme
Is death offathers, and who still hath cried
82. moods) Q2,F,' modes Q di.95. shapes] Q3; chape$ Q2; she wes F.
83. denote] F,' dcuote Q3. 05 . passes] Q2; passclh F. From the fIrst corse till he that died today, 105
'This must be so'. We pray you throw to earth
8 1. haviQ'"l demeanour, expression. likely to have had its source in th e
cr. GYm. lII .iv· 9· show of I. 05 than, as Furness and This un prevailing woe, a nd think ofuS
82. moodJJ A 'mood' is ':) frame of Oowd(:n held, to have been d elib· As of a father; for let the world take note
mi nd or state of fedings' (OED mood era tdy repeated in it; show d~ not You are the most immedi ate to our throne,
Sh, l 3) but may come to mean the repeat o nc item but sums up the
ou tward cxprCMion of this. Schmidt whole of II . 77- 82.
glosses ·c.:<tcrnal appearance, coun­ 0,5.1 It was a commonplace that 96. aJ Fj or Q ....
tenance cxpn;s!live of disposilion', the grea tl"St griefs wcre inexprc!5ihle.
citing SomJ. XCIII , ' In many's looks Cf. Seneca, Hip/JQlytus, 607, 'Curae 92. obsequious] appropriate to o bse­ r.!flSon' ( Kittrcdge). For the use of
the fabc hcart's history b writ in leves loquu ntur. ingen tcs stupent: quies (fun eral rites). Cf. Tit. v.iii . 152; wIw to refcr to personified a hstrac­
mood.$ and frowns and wrinkles 87. commendablel The stress on the JH6 u. v . 11 8. tions, see Abbott 264.
strange'. cr. CcmfJI. 2 0 I , ' the: en · first 5y llable was normal u:\age. ~sel.!tr] With stress o n the second 104. stilll a lways. Cf. l.i.I'25.
crimson'd mood' (of ru hi ~ as em ­ 09--90· your Jather. . lost his J Hcre syllable, t he regular foml down to the lI. ii · 42, 1.... vii. 115·

blclfl ~ of pa$sion) . The frequent and in lJ. 103-6 cf. Seneca on death: m id- 17th century. 105. tht first carse] Abel's. An un­

illlcrpn:lation 'mode' is unauthenti ­
cated. For though there \\'as some
tncl-ging of mood (O.E. mOd ) and mode
(L. modllJ), the lIse of the la ller in
its mwern non-technical sense was a
17th-ct:ntllry development, whi(;h
was no doubt l~pofl'li hle l'Or the
reading modeJ in QI695 as wdl as
lor mode in F3 of 2114 I V. v. 200.
shapts] This 'correction' of the Q2
chalKS is supported by Shakespeare's
frequen t usc of shopt in t he $eme of
appearance, sometimes in conjunc­
tion ..... ith 'form', often denoting
illusory appcar:lncc, and some times
in rcfercncc (0 grief. Sec Ado v . i. 14,
'such a grief. In every lincam('n t,
hram:h, shape. and form' ; '~LL
\,.ii·75 1; R211.ii.'l2 . F sheu..w is m orc
'Hoc patri luO accidit . . . hoc
om nihu5 ante te, hoc omnibus post
te' (I:.pist/u, 77). See ahove, I. 72 n.
90. the sllroiWr bound] Grammar and
Kittredge Sl..Iggcst ' (that fa ther) OOlmd
the survivor', scnse 'the survivor
(was) bound'.
91. some term] Cf. 1. 70, '00 not fo r
e.. . er'. Such advice is again tradi­
tional. S~ esp. Ecdoiasticus xxxviii.
17. ' Weep bitterly. and make grcat
moan ... and tha t a day or two ...
and then comfort thyself'; Seneca
(Lodge, p. 706), 'Lt:t our sighs be
drawn from the bottom of our heart.s;
yet h-t them have an end'. Plutarch
simila rl y depreca tes 'maki ng no end
or sorrow' (tr. H olland, 1003, p.5to).
Cf. All's W. I. i' 48-9'
93. conJolemellt] grieving.
95. inamectJ uncorrectco, undis­
ciplincd; hence lIot ~ubmissive, re­
calcitrant.
97. simfJIeJ untutored, ignoran t.
99. aIry . .. to suue 1 lbat which IS
most familiar to common observation
of anything therc is. cr. Abbott 4' ga
and , (or 'a ny' with su perlative. Cym.
l.iv . .'l7. ' any the rarest of o ur ladi('",s'.
I'ulgar, widely current (cf. Lr IV. vi.
'212, 'MO!\t sure und vulgar; ~(":ryo n e
heat'll that' ); sense, perception th rough
the senses.
100. peeL,j!lI] fooli5hly per\'('"ne.
102. Joull to nat UTe J oUence aga inst
the natural order of things.
10:1- 4' wll/m .. who] 'The antc­
cedent seems to be Iw lurt mi he r than
happy instan ~ a ll C laud ius's part,
with the irony o f an analogy which
g~ beyond what the speake!" in tends.
Cr. ul.iii .37--fl.
he] for him. See Ahbott 205--6.
106. throw to earth] The phrasing
suggellts that he should bury it
(a long with his father) .
107. I1n/Jrtuailing] unavail ing. cr.
OED prevail v. 4; Rum. llI .i ii .60.
log. immediateJ nc,'<t in succession.
Cr. 2H 4 v .ii.71, 'th 'i mmediate heir
o f England' (Prince Hal). The King's
statc m ~nt need not be incon.sistent
with a n e1cclive monarchy (see
I. ii. I LN ). Indeed in a hereditary
mona rchy there would be no occasion
for it.
 424 HAMLET
HAMLET, PRIN CE OF DENMARK
I. i. 1- 25.] T hese fi rs t 25 lines are an excellent example of Shake­
speare's techniq ue in incorporating short colloqui a l exchanges in
what is essentially a blank-verse scene. (Cr. I.ii .224- 13 and n.)
While speeches of as much as five feet sca n easily as blank vcrse
(11. 2, 6-8, etc.) , shorter speeches often do not, a nd ca nnot be
expected to, ad d up to regu lar me trical units. & e McKcn ow,
Prolegomena, pp. 45- 6. I have not h ere followed the usual editoria l
practice of wren ching into a typographical simulation of the
bla nk-verse pattern what is clea rly no t meant to conform to it.
Coleridge (i. 18, 38-9) notes in th is opening the fami liar langu age
of common lifc, which lcatls gradually a nd nat uraUy to chat state
in which the bighcs t poetry will a ppea r.
1.i . !l6. fantasy] This reflects a co ntemporary opinion concerning
the na ture of g hos ts. W hile mos t 3Ulhoriti cs affirmed them to
exist, it was generally acknowledged , even b y those who believed
in them most firmlYJ that they co uld in some cases be the product
of the subj c<: ti vc mind . Sf< e.g. Taillepied. ehs. 3- 5. Cf. Cues.
I V. iii . 274- 5, ",rae . Ill. iv. 61 If. Le Loyer (Des SpccJn.r, (586), with
a ter minological rticcty not u:!iua.l, d istingui.shes between a p han­
tom an d a spectre. H en ce Horati o's scepticism need no t imply
tha t he denies ghosts a ltogether. Ye t that 'ntrulY good and godly
mco- held all app..'l.ri tions to be ha llucinations was conced ed by
L avaler (t. ii), Cf. Burton on spiri to (Allot. <!I .Melancholy, l. ii.1
(2»), 'Ma ny will not believe lhey ca n be seen.' T his view, call ed
'dam nable' by Jam(>~<; I, had been mai nta ined in R eginald Scot's
D iscovery of I'V;lchcrqfl (with append ix on ' Devils and Spirits'),
1511 4. On the dramatic lIse Shakespea re makes o r eoniJi cting eOIl­
tempo rar)' a uitud el'i to g hosts, see Dover VVilson, WHH, pp. 59 f1'.
r.i ·3 2 . speak 10 it] T hey ass ume that the G hos t wishes to eom~
municate but is unable to. For, in popular belief, 'A ghost has not
the power to speak till it ha5 been first spoken to; so that, not­
wi thsta nding th e urgency of the !.Jusiness on wh ich it may come,
everyt hing must sta nd still till the person visited e;"l n fin d suffi ­
cient co urage to speak to i t' (Crose, A Provim;ial Glossary; Brand,
PO/JlJ.lar Antiquities, cd. H az litt). cr. T om J ones, XI, ch. 2, 'The
otlter who, like a ghmt only wanted to be spo ke to, read ily
answf"..red . . .'; Bos'w eWs ]ohmon, 'Tom T yers .. . said .. .• You
arc like a g host: you never spcak till YOll arc spoken to' . Nor does
LO~GF.R NOTES 42 5
th e Hamlet ghost, cit her in l.i v- v or in llt.iv. Yet for all the im­
portance o r addressing it (sec below, 1.1.8, l.ii.214, 24:)), to do so
in other than du e form would be to risk ofIe nee and consequent
danger to oneself. H ence the necessit y for havi ng present a man o r
superior learning (ef. J. 45).
l.i . 42S,D. EII/er Ghost.] Possibly via a trap-door (cr. J. 33n.),
like the spi rits in Greene's AlpllOllSUS, Cha pman's Blissy d'Ambois,
J onson's Ca tiline, a nd other plaY5, as is held by Lawrence (Pre­
Res/ora/ion Stag' S/udi,s, pp. I04 ff. ) and Sprague (Shakespeare and
the AcloTs, p. 128). This, though not pe rhaps in conflict with, is not
supported by, th e djalogue, which suggests moveme-nt across the
stage (II. 43, 129- 30). On departing the fi rst time the Ghost
'stalks away ' (I. 53 ). The second tim o it 'raded' (I. 16,), but this
word, like ja ppcnrs' and 'vanish'd' (l.ii. 20 1, 220), is used not
during but arter the event. But ef. I. v.g l S.D . n. What the Ghost
looks like is desc ribed at II . 50, 63, 65 a nd I. ii. 200- 2, 226-33· Its
being in armour is repeatedly stressed (cf. I.iV·Y2) .
l.i.66. sledded Polacks] This much-disputed phrase is usually
taken, and I think rightly, to refer to inhabitants of Poland riding
in sleds. I t is true that the spdling sleaded pol/ax, deri ving from QI,
suggests that the early actors a nd printers did not so understand
it. They must have thought the second word wa~ pole-axe, Of', as
F4 prints it, poleaxe, of whieh pol/ax was a regular 16th-century
spelling. But this spelling may have aristn in Ql through an
actor's misunderstanding of what he hea rd and said . (Cf. Inlro.,
p. 23.) Paillek, spel t in Qo Pollacke, QI Polacke, F Poleak, is norm al
Elizabethan for ' Pole', as in 1I . ii.63, 75 and (in Q2 ) Iv.iv. 23 ·
Despite so me assertions to the co ntrary, the plural ' Polacks' (or
' Polakes') also occurs, a!'. in R. J ohnson, Kingdoms and Common­
weals ( The World, 160 1) , pp. 127, 128; M oryson , llintrafJ', 1907 - 8
eeln, iii. 380. Scholars who accept pole-axe (for a recent defen ce or
which see D. Haley, SQ , XXIX , 4°7- 13) ei ther assume a battle-axe
wit h a sled, or sledge: i.c. ham mer, to it (so Schmidt), despite the
lack of authority for sled in this scnsc, o r take steaded as a corrup­
tion or ' leaded ' or (b y analogy with FIJ.. v.xii.(1) of 'studded '
(N&IJ.., eel, 509). In any event they see King H am le t striking a
weapo n on the ice. This interpretation, since it avoids actu a l
lighting, may bo thought to be ,upportod by parle (but see below) .
The objecti on to it, apa rt altogether [rom the diffi cu lty of sleaded,
is the pointlessness of the incident it leaves us with; ifno Polandcl's
and no sledges, why ice? A pole-axe connects with nOlhing else in
 426 HAM1.ET
the play, as is still true if you take it to refer to the man who bears
the weapon (a nd have to invent a soldier on a sledge or hurdle of
disgracc, N&Q, CCXIX, 1'28- 30). An attempt to attach an incident
with a pole-axe to the combat against rortiniJras seems refuted uy
the adverb on", which implies a separate occasion.. Clearl y
allusion is bt!ing lIIad e to a second exploit which wil) para llel the
combat agai nst Fortinbras as an ill ustration of King Hamlet's
martial prowess. And what, along with the natura.l sense o f
sledded, gives the preference overwhelmingly to Poles in sleds lli>
the objec t of his smiling is thcir power to stir the lmagi nalion,
\~,:hi c b a pole-axe so signally lacks. II is true th at the Polish explo it
is not suuscq ucnlly elaborated as the co mbat agai nst No rway is
and that no source fo r one has been found; uut we cannot doubt
it!'; potentiality for ela bora tion ann it m ay well have ueen in the
dramatist's mind at this stage to make m ore of tbe Pol_ish mat ter
than he subsequently did. Was it th is that Ird him to call th e
minister Hamle t kills U)' the re ma rkab le name of Polonius? (Was
th ere a n idea for a n ave nging Polack !ion alongside the so n of
Norway? Sec Rice V.Studs., LX, 104- 5.) But the Pol es arc not de­
pend ent on such spec ulcujon for th eir releva nce. They belong to
the p lay's backgro und wars in which Norway is balanced by
Poland and whi eh a re a lready being prepa red for, wi th the sleds
giving a northern JocaJ colour. Shakespeare seeU'ls to have thoug ht
or th ese two countri es as both borde ring Denmark (sec II . ii. 74--8,
IV. iV.3- 4 amI LN; also K e ith Brown , ' Hamlet 's Plaee on the Map',
• .%.Studs., IV, 160-82) . For Poles in sleds he wou ld ha rdly need
wlrticular aut hori ty. O rtcJi us's Epitome of the Theatre of tht. ~Vorld
tells how in the frozen rens or Li thua ni a, then ' l1ncl(~r the crown or
Polon ia', me n 'pass over th e iec wit h sleds drawn by horses' (Eng.
tran s. 1603, r. 94v) j and Samud Lewkcnor's Discourse of Foreign
Cities ( 1600) similarly d escribes how the Tartars a round Vi lna
travel in sleds over snow ' not unl ike the ocean'. cr. Ca\·\, ley, Tire
Voyagers and Eliln Drama, p. 247 n .) ou th e regula r association or
sleds wilh the people of this region. Still more 10 the present pur­
pose the pictorial Carta Marina of th e Swede Olaus Magnus ( 1539)
shows armed men riding on the Baltic, which others cross in
horse-drawn sledges. Even ir he had no pan ic ulor incident to
draw on, Shakespea re would not be o ffend ing plausibility in
imagining a n encou nter with sJcddcd opponen ts on a frozen la ke
or sea.
T he reading Polack (si ng.), meaning th e Ki ng of Poland, wou ld
correspond with II . ii . 53, 75 a nd IV. iv. 2:.~ and provide an attract­
ive parallel with Norway (I. 64); b ut it fails to explain pol/ax (i.e.
LO N GER NOTES 42 7
tbe bypothesis that pollax is an actor-n:pone r's homo nym de­
mands the plural Pollacks ). There is obviously no substance in rhe
argument that only the Polack himsclfwould bl! 'sledded', and to
object that one man could not 'smite' the Polish army shows a
neglect of common idiom (cf. Judges iii. 13, 'he . .. went and
smote Israeli ).
The difficulty of reconciling the parle of I. 65 with smiling foes
has I think been much exaggerated . Adams improuably suggests
(h a t King Hamlet may ha ve struck the Polish king 'with his glove
or hand '. Others rcmark that frown'd, implying the vi:w r up. is
more compatible with parley than \vilh fig hting, but the revcrse
is surely true of on the ice. And the frown itself, traditio na l of Mars
(cf. r.ii.230n.). is as much embl emat ic as realistic. It no t m erdy
d escribes the wad ike mi en, but suggests the \va dike action : as th e
'armou r ' when he 'co mbated' (I t. 63- 4), so th e frown wh en he
'smote'. Kittrcdge expla ins, 'The parley b roke u p ion a battle, in
which the Ki ng smo te (routed ) the Polanders'. But I !;uSpeC Lthat
parle itsclfmay im ply a more than verbal enco untcr. For a ltho ug h
I can cite no paralid for slich a use o f parle, Shakes pea re more
than once uscs the verb splak, in similar unde.rstatement, to mean
'cngage in com ba t'. In Coriolanus th e reply to ' H as Our gencra l
me t th e enemy?' is 'They lie in view, uut have no t spoke as yet'
(I. iV.4); and Antoll Y, in defiance or Pompey's navy, says ' We' ll
spca k with thee at sca ' (Ani. 1l.vi.2S)' Was it not Ihis kind of
speaking that took p lace in (he parle on (he icc?
I . i. 9 I .
Didforfeil . .. all] Allthos< his IOllds, if strictly inter pre tc",
should include Fortinbras's Norwegian dominions; uut it is not
likely to tro ubl e us that uy on e or Shakespeare's lillie inco nsis­
tencies Norway con ti nues as a n apparently indepc nd ent kin gdom
(L ii; II. ii ). All JJl ay deri ve frolll Bellcfores t, who, however, app lies
it to the treasure (toules les richesses) in the defeated warrior's sh ips.
(See Intro. , p. 93. ) The d ifficult y, if it is onc, arises from tran s­
rerring (he rorrei t to la nds; it ca n hardl y be resolved by supposing
(wi th H oni gmann, Stratford-upon-Avotl Studies, 5, p. 134) tha t
'lands which he stood sejz'd of' could mean merely ' lands . . .
seized ... in war'; nor (wilh M. Coylc, JV&Q , CCXXIV, 11 8- 19)
that 'all' may refcr onl y to lands 'against (h e which' H amle t
gaged an equivalent portion or his. The text, conven ientl y or no t,
is specific: all th e la nd s h e possessed.
i. 96. lile same cou'llant] Some tditors adopt the Q 2 comari,
1.
whi ch ~1a l one explained as a 'joint bargain'. Thougli it is h"rd to
 434 IIAMLET
succession in some ambiguity, it is clear thal he became king with
public conse nt. T he pla y docs not question the lega lity of his
title, even though it a lso rega rds the Prince of Denmark ,1$ tlte
future king. Sec l. iii. 20-1-, III. i . ' 54. At I. ii. 109 the K ing publicly
nominates Hamlet as his successor; bu t th is is not ncccssaril y in­
compat ible with the prin ciple of elec ti on, in whi ch tJ,c Prince's
hereditary status a nd ' the voice of the King' (m .ii'33'2- 3) wo uld
be important. Jas. H owell in 1632 refers to the eldest son of the
Danish ki ng as ' King elect of DCllInark', explaini ng th a l ' though
that C rown be purely elective, yet for these three last Kings, they
wrought so wilh the people, that they go t th eir cJdCSl sons c hosen,
and declared before their deat h' (Familiar Lt lters, cd. J a cobs,
p. 294)· Fro m the rererCllCe 10 the Queen asjuilllresJ (1. g) Dover
\Vil son infers that Gertrud e had a life-interes t in the crown, and
it may be that Shakespeare had in mind how in ea rlier versions
of the story Hamlc t's father acqu ired Ihe throne uy ma rriage; but
the rights he accords Gert rude as do\\'agcr he is con tent not to de­
fine. VVh at is clear is that Claudius became king before taking her
'to wire' but consolida ted his posit ion by a pruuen t marriage.
L Ii. 1 1. ~Vith an auspicious lind a droppil/g 9t] It was proverbi ally
said of th e fa lse man tha t he looks up wi lh one eye and down wit h
tbe othcr (c.g. Fcrgusson's Scouish Provtrbs, cd. Bever idge, Scot.
Text Soc., p. 56). This was a variant or the ancient proverb, To
laugh with one eye and wecp wilh the other (Tilley E 248), whi ch
was traditi onall y applied to Fortune (as in Chaucer, BoDie of Ihe
Duchess, II. 633-4) in indication of hcr fickleness. See B. White,
'Claud ius a nd FOrl une', Anglia, LXXVU, 204- 7. But though t.his
may give the phrase, from C la udiu s's lips, an ironic und ertone, it
is a m istake to suppose that in itscl rit proclaims him hypocri te. In
EIYOI'S Govemour (II. ch . 12) a woman yir.lds her maidenhead 'with
a ll cye half laughing half mourning' wh ile affirming cons tancy;
and Paulina "had one eye declined for the loss of her husband,
a nother c.levatcd th at the oracle was rulfilled ' ( Wint. v. ii. 72 - 3).
The idea or Fortune bas sugges ted 'a uspicious' for the happy eye
and th e 'scale' ofl. '3 ; for th e king as ji"orlu nc's surroga te, c[ esp.
IlI. iii. 17- 22 . For dropping, dOWne3!oil, cf. Fergusson and Willi.
above.
J.i i.65· TIlor~ than kin, and llSS lliall kind] MO!)1 commentators, not
unreasonably, takc these words 10 a pply, like cousin and sun. to
Hamlet himself. But some, justly stressing the unnaturalness as
well as the hostility denoted by ItJS thart kiml, ap pl y them to
LONGER NOTES B5
C la ud ius. The uiffe renee is perhaps not grea tly mat erial ; for wha l
Ha mlc t seizes on in the words cousin and .ron is the relationsh ip
Ihey signify. His rejoi nder is therclorc bl.'st applied , I thi nk , lO
hid" himself and C la udius) or rather to the: relati on in whieh they
s{(1nd to one anothe r. A 'cousin' is ' kin ' bU l a '500 ' is ' morc'; and
l-Iamltt's rcscn rrnent at being made Cla uclius1s son as wel l as
nephew glances allh c in cestuous marriage wh ich has crea lecit hi s
' marc th a n' natural relationship. Kind i5 oftcn used as a n ea r­
sy nonym ror kin. as in Gorboduc l I.i . 18, ' I n kind a rat her, nol in
ki ncHillcss'. Uut the di ~ tinction there be tween hind and killdlints.r
a pproxima tcs to the one Sha kcspc;ne makes bClwee-n kin a.n d
killd. Both word s rertr to the members of one ra mily, but whereas
kin has rrgard only to th e raC I or relationship, kind has regard a lso
to ils mallifestation ill a community and mutllality of feeling . Cr.
kindltJs , ILii. 577, vo id of lla tura l feeling ; Bastard, EpigrallIJ, 15g B,
iii .29, ' Nevcr so many co usi ns; so few kineJ'. Thc human pa radox
lhat kin arc not a lways kind is ort en cxprcssc:d in Eli;r.abethan
literature (cf. T illey K 38), and th e dilTcre nt mean in gs of kind arc
a fa\'ourite sourcc or word-pla y. Instances a re given by K ittredge
antI oth('l"s. T he adjective kind, in its Eli zabr.than \lse , included
the modern se nse (' benevolent' ), but onr.n rc wined th e strong
primary meaning of ' na tural', a nd especiall y 'showin~ reelings
natural a mong blood rela tions' (ef. Lear's ' unkind' da\lgh te rs) .
Even so, the usual interpre tation of the present passage, whi ch
t~,kes kind as a n adjccrive, instead ofa noun in antith esis with kill ,
necessari ly weakens its fo rce.
J. ii . 67. ill lht sunl ( 1) Althoug h to Schmidt slLnsh ine suggests
'earch-'ss id\r.Ilc.~'i: (' 1 .un more can:less and id le than I oug ht to
be'), the- obvious nH~'lning or the me taphor is th:ll Hamlet , \villi
the mclaru;holi c' s ch ara cteristi c preferen ce for the shade, objects
to the brightn ess into whi ch he is brough t, whe-th er it lie th e glare
or p uLEe noti ce (cr. Cald cco tt, ' I am torn prc:maturcly from my
sorrows l and throw n illto the broad glare or the sun ') , th e g<licty
or th e Co u rt, or, more pointed ly, the sunshine or the K ing's
ra vo ur. (2 ) R ei n rorcing this, is an unmistakab le glancing at the
su n as a royal emb lem (c f. tH.J l.ii.l gorr. ) : Hamlet hin ls tha t he
is 100 much i ll th e K ing's presence. c r. the simi la r word -pla y
at II . ii. 184 : 'walk i' th ' sun \ come into the prince's presence.
(:3) There i! ;\0 obvious pun on SOil (1. 64), supporLed, as Dov('f
\Vilson nOIC~, by the Q 2 spd li ng. Cf. Rj 1. i. 2 , (this ~u n or York'
(Q 1 sonne, F Son ). Ilamle t find!; this relations hip (too mu ch' ror
him and Claudius is maki ng 'too much ' or il (making h im more
 43 6 HAM LET
his 'son' than he really is). ' Hamle t bitterly refuses th e title which
th e King has e mphasized' (K ittredgeL and th e Kin g's furth er
p ersuasions (II. 107 fT. ) are r~.icctetl in advance. An ec ho of the
prove rb 'Out or heaven 's blessing into th e warm sun' (cf. Lr II .
ii . 156- 7L first heard by Johnson, is surely so mewhat faint. For
the usc and interpfClaLion of the proverb see Tilley, h.i.izn Proverb
Lore (no. 287); P. L. Carver, A1LR, xxv, 470- 8(. From its impli­
calion of passing from good to worse a host of commentators have
ex torted a reference to Hamlet's present degrada tion, and in pa r­
ti cular to his having been turn ed oul from th e place Heaven gave
him and deprived orlh e throne. But Hamlet 's wit is less recondite
lhan th eirs. The curious may co nsult. the 43 meanin gs extracted
fro m the phrase in E. Le Comcc, POf.ts' Riddles, ch. I .
I.ii. I 13 · Wittenberg] This Gennan university, found ed in 1502 ,
had become famo us through its associa tion with L1..Ilbcr, Mcla nch­
th on, and the reformed rcljgion. But to note with Dove r Wilso n
that Hamlet's university was Pro tes tant is less important than to
learn from Brandes that it was the favourite university of Danes
studyin g a broad. (Cr. l.ii. 106n.) in the decade 1586-95 it had
two stuJents named R osenkrantz and one Gyldenstjern e (Dol­
lerup, p. 128). Its name was well known to th e Elizabe th ans and
had been familiarized in th e theatrc by Dr Faustus. Sam uel
Lewkcnor (A Discount ~l Forf.ign Cities) desc ribcd it in 1600 as a
'lea rned scrnin ary of the arts' in which 'many worthy writers have
.. . received thei r education'.
1. ii. 129.sullied] The most debated rcading in the play in rece nt
years. Earlier editors, with their preference for F, naturally
auoptcd ,oiid, though Furnivall derend ed the Q,olli<d in th e scnse
of ' assailed ' and Furness recorded t.he conjecture suLLied, whi ch
also occurred to Tennyson (SQ . Xl , 490) an d which Dowde n
Ihoug ht might 'be right'. Dover Wilso n's cstablishment ofQo as
the more au thorit a tiv c text h rought sullied into favour (sec MSH,
pp. 3°7- 1 5; Greg, Principles of Emendation, p. 25; Bowers, SS 9,
44 8) . Seve n other Shakespearea n instances of the word inelude
two with the a spelling: Ham . 1l.i. 40, sallies (Qo ) ; 1.1.1. v.ii.35 0 ,
' pure as the unsallied lily' (Q ,F I ), Cf. abo Dckkcr, CIC. , Patitml
Grissill, r.i. 12, 'sally not th e morning with foul looks'. 50 whereas
Dover Wilson rook sallied as a misreading of 'sullied', it is reason­
ably rcgarded, Koke ritz notwithstanding (Studia .Neophilologica J
xxx, 3- 1O), as an alterna tive form (Crow, Essays and Studies, n ,s.
VIII, 8-9; Bowers, Joe. CiL). Solid has obvious (too obvious?) apt-
LONGER NOTES 437
ness in the cont ex t and it too has th e support of Shakcspearean
usagc: 2H4 m . i. 48, 'that one mig ht . . . sec .. . the continent,
Weary of solid firmness, mell itsdf Into the sea'; Troil. x. iii. 113.
S. \>Vc iss found it consistent wilh 5hakespean:a n pa tt erns of
associated imagery (SQ, x, 019- 07), and S. Warhart relatcd it to
the esse ntial c haracteristic of the melanc holy humou r (EU1,
XXVIII , 2 1- 30). Bricfly, melancholy is th e cold dry humou r, and
'of this coldness and dryness rise th h anJn css wh e reof the fles h of
mela nchol y persons is' (Bright, p. 108) . In Sh,. ( Ind . ii.129)
mclam:holy is a~socia ted with th e congealing of th e blood; and
'of the congcaling of th e blood' th c flesh, according to Burton , is
composed (l.i .O(3)t Melancholy amon.~ the humours thus cor­
res ponds to earth a mong the elements, a nd its remedy is fo r th e
excess of ea rth to mtll in to water, < w hich ill t urn may TeJo/ve into
vapour. But see IL (29 - 30 0 . , rf.solve; and while all this may ill u­
mi nate the passage, its su pport for solid would be strongcr if the
word ac tually occurred in Wa. rhaft's illwtrativc quotations. The
signifi cance he a ttaches to Jolid is a lready impl icit in jlesil. And ,
just to sh ow how one ma y arg ue eit hcr way, the a lche mical trans­
mutation oflhe bascr eleme nt (flesh) into the purer (dew) has bcen
held to support rullied (£S. LL'<, 508- 9). Though '/00 solid fl esh'
escapes tautology, sullied enlarges the mcaning u!. J(Jlid does not.
With thc tbought cr. (rrom the poem in TOllo!'s MimI/any be­
ginning 'The life is long, th at loat hsom ely do th las t' ) 'Whcl"cf<) re
wLlh Paul let all men wish , and pray To be diSJolu'd of thisJoul
flahy m ass' (Il. 37-8). The suggc"ian of conta m ination a nd ,elf­
disgust begins an impor tan t dramatic mOlif (cf. AISH, pp. 3 13- 15).
T he tcxlUal cvidence for sui/itd, moreoverJ can not be d ismissed .
For salli~d is less Iikdy to he a corrup tio n of solid than the ot her
way abo ut~ and though Q2 may have d erived it from QI, thi s
sugges ts that solid diu not occu r in Q 2'S manusc ript authority,
while QI is against its hav ing been familia r in pcrfo rmance
(though if C hapma n, Re",n,~e if Bussy d'Ambois, v. iv. 7- 9 is an
echo, it must presen tly have becomc so). Further) the fact that
Q2 sallied here a mI saLLies at n .i.40 occur in the work ordifferent
com positors argues for a manusc ript origin. It is some times con­
tended that Shakcspeart would Hot usc too 100 with a p articiple;
but OED shows it often uscd with ve rbs, an d Qr, 'too mu ch
gri cu'd a nd saUicd ', shows that a participit! was in th e reporter' s
recollcetion, The possibility of an intended pla y on bOl h words
cannot be ruled out j but what happcns per haps is that by a
natura l menta l process the word (sullied ) whidl gives al once th c
clue to the emotion which the soliloquy wiU ex prcss, brings to
4-3 8 HAMLET
mind its near--homonym (solid ). wh ich helps to promote the
imagery of md t, thaw, r t's%l, dew. Those who a cce pt so me F vflri­
ants as a uthentic Shakes pearean alte rn a tives (cf~ H onigmann, 711e
Stability of Shakespeare's T f.xl, pp. 70, 134-6) arc likely to find an
example here. (But see Intro., p . 43 n .)
r.ii. '40. Hyperion fo a saO'f] The contrast betwee n the two
brothers is repeat edly stressed by Bcllcforest along with the fac t
that the Queen has alli ed hersclfwith th e worse who has killed the
better. St C Intro., pp. 9 1- 2. This becomes immensely m ore sig ni­
ficant in Shtlkcspca re: the antithesis he re between the sun-god,
with his maj estic uea ut y, and a c rea lUre half ma n half beast
epitomi zes in the two b ro thers the co mplex nat.u re of man - like
a god a nd li_kc a beast. - which witI be a theme of Hamlet's later
refle cti ons (ct: II. ii. 303- 1); Iv.iv.33- 9; and I. 150 L~ below). The
imagery enables th e basic situation of lh ~ pla y to a p pear as one
in whi ch th e beast in ma n has des troyed the god a nd now reig ns
in h is kingdo m. Sec lntro ., pp. [29-32. Even in this fir::; t soliloqu y
the co ntrast between th e two brother-kings (cf. 1. Jj 2) is not less
important, though less often emphasized , than th e re.vclation of
Hamle t's sta te of mind and his attitu de to hi.'\ mo ther. Structurally
the soliloqu y effects a link between the presentation of one kin g
in the preceding part of the scene a nd the description o f the other
in th e d ia logue whi e h follows. The godlike attributes whi eh
Hamlet sees in his fath er arc elabora ted at IlLiv.S5--62) when th e
contrast is resumed . The idea of m a n as partaking of bo th god and
beast whi eh thus und erlies the pla y is very mu ch th e Re naissance
conce pt. No single illustra tion can suffice, but e f. Pico della
Mirandola , Dt hnminis digllilale, and especiall y [he o pening pages :
'i\"cithcl' hea ve nly nor ea rthly . . . th ou cans!: grow dmvnward
into th e lower natures whi ch arc brutcs. Thou ca nst again grow
up\vard from thy soul 's rcason in to th e higher na tures which a re
divin e.' 'If you see a nyone . .. delive red over to the se nses, il is a
brute not a man that yo u sec. If yo u co me upon a p hilosopher
winnowing out all things by ri ght reaso n , h~ is a heavenl y not an
earthly a nimaL' 'We a re made simila r to brutes a nd mindl ess
beasts of burden. But .. . as Asaph th e prophet sa ys, " Ye are all
gods, a nd sons of th e mOs t high '" ( tra ns. C. G. ''''a ilis, 1940,
pp. 5- 7)·
1.ii. I :;0 . wants discourse of reaso1l1 The f~lClllty of reason was
traditi onally rt cognize:d as the cru cial di"fferen cc be tween m a n
and th e beas ts, for th e c lassical slatem ent of whi ch sec C icero, De
LOKGE R N OTE S 4-39
Officiis, l. iv. I I. This lends further signifi ca nce to the H ypcrion­
sat yr compa riso n .. bove (I. 140). I t wa.s through his rcason tbat
Inan could pcrcei ve th e rela tion of cause a nd cfk ct ancl thus con­
nect past wi lh future, '..\ihercas the b east, preti~e1y uecause it
lacks reason, must li ve large ly in tht-: prese nt m oment. H enee th e
axiom th a t its mourning wo uld he brie f. Cr. I V . iv. 33-9; a nd (or
Gertrude's failure to be guided by reaso n, 111. iv. 38.
Discourse of rea.wn wa s a regular ierm , occ urring a lso in. Trail.
II.ii. I 16, as well as in, e.g., Bright's Treatise oJA1elancho/y (dedica­
tion), H olla nd 's Plutarch (A40raL Vi rlue ), Florio' s Monraigne, th e
tran sla tion of La Primaudaye 's T he Frmch Academy (rp· 269,27 8 ) .
For othe r insta nces, sec Boswc:ll, and OED disco urse sb. :2 b.
'NhiJc sometimes appa rentl y Ilscd as a cliche fo r ' reason', it
prope rly d eno tes t he ElcuiL y or process of re(lsoning from premises
to conclusions. Discourse a lone is also used in th e sa m e sense
(sc_c IV. iv. 36). The 'di seursive reason ' \"\' bieh was a prupnty
o f man \·\"a5 distingllisht.-cJ from th e higher ' intui tive reason ' of
a ngelic beings. In Par. Lost (v . 469 If.) Raphael tells Adam that
'Reason is [the Soul \] bein g, Discursive or intuitive : di scourse
Is oftcst you rs , the latter Inost is onrs' . BuL the difI'e rencc, as
lvfilton says, is of degree ra th(T than kind.
I.ii_187. aU in aU] OfLen ta ke n to mea n; as in mode rn usc, 'all
things consicle red ' , 'on the wh ole' . But whcn Shakespeare uses aU
in. all advcrbi a lly, it implics not qualifi cation but int ensification
(= 'c.nti.rcl y')' as in 1-1] Li.42; Olh. Iv . i. U8> 262. The sense here is
not that of wcighing one thi ng aga inst ;\Ilo ther but o f accumu­
la ting them a ll. In lII. iv.S;,- 62 it is th·e accuTli.ulatjon of perfec­
ti ons lhat assures 'a man' . H a mlet 's f1tt her, then , may be ta ken as
a man complete in every particular, a.nd so as the sum a nd pattern
of excellence . Cf. NlaLlbc, Celestina (perha ps an echo), wh ere a list.
of perfect ions is brought to a climax in 'T a ke him all toget her, and
for all in a ll , you shall no t find such a nother' . This se nse o f com­
pleteness or perfect ion is bome out b y o lhc l- Eliza be lha n in­
sta nces : e.g . Stu bbes, Analonry of Abuses (New Shaks pcrc Soc. , i.
29) 'IH~ is a ll in all; yea, so perfect .. ,' ; R . C arew, T he Excellency
of the EngLish T ongue. (Sm ith , Eli:::n Critical Essa).'s, ii. 293), 'vVili
you ha ve a U in a ll for prose and verse? ta ke the miracle of our age
Sir Philip Sidney'. See, for a n ill u m inati ng di scussion , D. Barrett
in }.'euphilologischt A.fillrilllllgell , LXII , 164--8. cr. Tilley 1\ 133, ' All
in all a nd a ll in every pa r t') a prover b wh ich T. \V. Baldwin
(/.iterary Gen~tics of SlwksjJerc's Poems, pp. 157fT.) shows to derive
from. th e nco-Platonic d oclri ne of the so ul.