hamlet act 1 thesis

Hamlet Research Paper & Essay Examples

When you have to write an essay on Hamlet by Shakespeare, you may need an example to follow. In this article, our team collected numerous samples for this exact purpose. Here you’ll see Hamlet essay and research paper examples that can inspire you and show how to structure your writing.

✍ Hamlet: Essay Samples

• What Makes Hamlet such a Complex Character? Genre: Essay Words: 560 Focused on: Hamlet’s insanity and changes in the character Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia
• Shakespeare versus Olivier: A Depiction of ‘Hamlet’ Genre: Essay Words: 2683 Focused on: Comparison of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Laurence Olivier’s adaptation Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost, Claudius, Ophelia, Gertrude
• Drama Analysis of Hamlet by Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 1635 Focused on: Literary devices used in Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia
• Hamlet’s Renaissance Culture Conflict Genre: Critical Essay Words: 1459 Focused on: Hamlet’s and Renaissance perspective on death Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Horatio
• Father-Son Relationships in Hamlet – Hamlet’s Loyalty to His Father Genre: Explicatory Essay Words: 1137 Focused on: Obedience in the relationship between fathers and sons in Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Laertes, Ophelia, Polonius, Fortinbras, Polonius, the Ghost, Claudius
• A Play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 1026 Focused on: Hamlet’s personality and themes of the play Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Polonius
• Characterization of Hamlet Genre: Analytical Essay Words: 876 Focused on: Hamlet’s indecision and other faults Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, the Ghost, Gertrude
• Hamlet’s Relationship with His Mother Gertrude Genre: Research Paper Words: 1383 Focused on: Hamlet’s relationship with Gertrude and Ophelia Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Gertrude, Ophelia, Claudius, Polonius
• The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Genre: Research Paper Words: 1081 Focused on: Revenge in Hamlet and how it affects characters Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, the Ghost
• Canonical Status of Hamlet by William Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 1972 Focused on: Literary Canon and interpretations of Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Horatio, Claudius
• A Critical Analysis of Hamlet’s Constant Procrastination in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 1141 Focused on: Reasons for Hamlet’s procrastination and its consequences Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius
• Role of Women in Twelfth Night and Hamlet by Shakespeare Genre: Research Paper Words: 2527 Focused on: Women in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Hamlet Characters mentioned: Ophelia, Gertrude, Hamlet, Claudius, Laertes, Polonius
• William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Genre: Essay Words: 849 Focused on: Key ideas and themes of Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia, Laertes
• Shakespeare: Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 1446 Focused on: The graveyard scene analysis Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia, Laertes, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius
• Oedipus Rex and Hamlet Compare and Contrast Genre: Term Paper Words: 998 Focused on: Comparison of King Oedipus and Hamlet from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet . Characters mentioned: Hamlet
• The Play “Hamlet Prince of Denmark” by W.Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 824 Focused on: How Hamlet treats Ophelia and the consequences of his behavior Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Laertes
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare Genre: Explicatory Essay Words: 635 Focused on: Key themes of Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Fortinbras
• Hamlet’s Choice of Fortinbras as His Successor Genre: Essay Words: 948 Focused on: Why Hamlet chose Fortinbras as his successor Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Fortinbras, Claudius
• Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras: Avenging the Death of their Father Compare and Contrast Genre: Compare and Contrast Essay Words: 759 Focused on: Paths and revenge of Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras, Claudius
• Oedipus the King and Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 920 Focused on: Comparison of Oedipus and King Claudius Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude
• Hamlet Genre: Term Paper Words: 1905 Focused on: Character of Gertrude and her transformation Characters mentioned: Gertrude, Hamlet, Claudius, the Ghost, Polonius
• Compare Laertes and Hamlet: Both React to their Fathers’ Killing/Murder Compare and Contrast Genre: Compare and Contrast Essay Words: 1188 Focused on: Tension between Hamlet and Laertes and their revenge Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Laertes, Ophelia, Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude
• Recurring Theme of Revenge in Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 1123 Focused on: The theme of revenge in Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Laertes, Ophelia
• The Function of the Soliloquies in Hamlet Genre: Research Paper Words: 2055 Focused on: Why Shakespeare incorporated soliloquies in the play Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude
• The Hamlet’s Emotional Feelings in the Shakespearean Tragedy Genre: Essay Words: 813 Focused on: What Hamlet feels and why Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius
• Blindness in Oedipus Rex & Hamlet Genre: Research Paper Words: 2476 Focused on: How blindness reveals itself in Oedipus Rex and Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Horatio, the Ghost
• “Hamlet” and “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” Genre: Essay Words: 550 Focused on: Comparison of Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern
• The Role of Queen Gertrude in Play “Hamlet” Genre: Essay Words: 886 Focused on: Gertrude’s role in Hamlet and her involvement in King Hamlet’s murder Characters mentioned: Gertrude, Hamlet, the Ghost, Claudius, Polonius
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Genre: Explicatory Essay Words: 276 Focused on: The role and destiny of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet Characters mentioned: Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Hamlet, Claudius
• Passing through nature into eternity Genre: Term Paper Words: 2900 Focused on: Comparison of Because I Could Not Stop for Death, and I Died for Beauty, but was Scarce by Emily Dickinson with Shakespeare’s Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost, Claudius, Gertrude
• When the Truth Comes into the Open: Claudius’s Revelation Genre: Essay Words: 801 Focused on: Claudius’ confession and secret Characters mentioned: Claudius, Hamlet
• Shakespeare Authorship Question: Thorough Analysis of Style, Context, and Violence in the Plays Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night Genre: Term Paper Words: 1326 Focused on: Whether Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night Characters mentioned: Hamlet
• Measuring the Depth of Despair: When There Is no Point in Living Genre: Essay Words: 1165 Focused on: Despair in Hamlet and Macbeth Characters mentioned: Hamlet
• Violence of Shakespeare Genre: Term Paper Words: 1701 Focused on: Violence in different Shakespeare’s plays Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Horatio, Claudius, Gertrude, Palonius, Laertes,
• Act II of Hamlet by William Shakespeare Genre: Report Words: 1129 Focused on: Analysis of Act 2 of Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Polonius, Ronaldo, Laertes, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, First Player, Claudius
• The Value of Source Study of Hamlet by Shakespeare Genre: Explicatory Essay Words: 4187 Focused on: How Shakespeare adapted Saxo Grammaticus’s Danish legend on Amleth and altered the key characters Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, the Ghost, Fortinbras, Horatio, Laertes, Polonius
• Ophelia and Hamlet’s Dialogue in Shakespeare’s Play Genre: Essay Words: 210 Focused on: What the dialogue in Act 3 Scene 1 reveals about Hamlet and Ophelia Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia
• Lying, Acting, Hypocrisy in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” Genre: Essay Words: 1313 Focused on: The theme of deception in Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia
• Shakespeare’s Hamlet’s Behavior in Act III Genre: Report Words: 1554 Focused on: Behavior of different characters in Act 3 of Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius
• The Masks of William Shakespeare’s Play “Hamlet” Genre: Research Paper Words: 1827 Focused on: Hamlet’s attitude towards death and revenge Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost
• Ghosts and Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 895 Focused on: The figure of the Ghost and his relationship with Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost, Gertrude, Claudius
• Macbeth and Hamlet Characters Comparison Genre: Essay Words: 1791 Focused on: Comparison of Gertrude in Hamlet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth Characters mentioned: Gertrude, Claudius, Hamlet
• Depression and Melancholia Expressed by Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 3319 Focused on: Hamlet’s mental issues and his symptoms Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Laertes, the Ghost, Polonius
• Meditative and Passionate Responses in the Play “Hamlet” Genre: Essay Words: 1377 Focused on: Character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play and Zaffirelli’s adaptation Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius
• Portrayal of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s Play and Zaffirelli’s Film Genre: Essay Words: 554 Focused on: Character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play and Zaffirelli’s adaptation Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia
• Hamlet in the Film and the Play: Comparing and Contrasting Genre: Essay Words: 562 Focused on: Comparison of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Zeffirelli’s version of the character Characters mentioned: Hamlet
• Literary Analysis of “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 837 Focused on: Symbols, images, and characters of the play Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia
• Psychiatric Analysis of Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 1899 Focused on: Hamlet’s mental state and sanity in particular Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius
• Hamlet and King Oedipus Literature Comparison Genre: Essay Words: 587 Focused on: Comparison of Hamlet and Oedipus Characters mentioned: Hamlet

Thanks for checking the samples! Don’t forget to open the pages with Hamlet essays that you’ve found interesting. For more information about the play, consider the articles below.

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Study Guide Menu

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by William Shakespeare

Hamlet summary and analysis of act 1.

The play opens during a bitterly cold night watch outside of the royal Danish palace. There is a changing of the guards: Bernardo replaces Francisco . Soon two more characters arrive, Horatio and Marcellus . We learn that Bernardo and Marcellus, two soldiers, have witnessed an extraordinary sight on both of the previous nights’ watches: the ghost of the former King of Denmark, Old Hamlet , has appeared before them in full armor. On this third night, they’ve welcomed Horatio, a scholar and a skeptic who has just arrived in Denmark, to verify their ghost sighting. Horatio initially expresses doubt that the ghost will appear. Suddenly, it does. The two soldiers charge Horatio to speak to the ghost but he does not. The ghost disappears just as suddenly as it arrived.

Soon after the ghost’s disappearance, Marcellus asks the other two why there has been such a massive mobilization of Danish war forces recently. Horatio answers, saying that the Danish army is preparing for a possible invasion by Fortinbras , Prince of Norway. We learn that Fortinbras’ father (also named Fortinbras), was killed many years before in single combat with Old Hamlet , the now-deceased king whose ghost we have just seen. Now that Old Hamlet has died, presumably weakening the Danes, there is a rumor that Fortinbras plans to invade Denmark and claim that lands that were forfeit after his father’s death.

After Horatio has finished explaining this political backstory, the ghost of Old Hamlet appears once more. This time Horatio does try to speak to the ghost. When the ghost remains silent, Horatio tells Marcellus and Bernardo to try to detain it; they strike at the ghost with their spears but jab only air. A rooster crows just as the ghost appears ready to reply to Horatio at last. This sound startles the ghost away. Horatio decides to tell Prince Hamlet, Old Hamlet’s son, about the apparition, and the others agree.

This scene begins at the court of Claudius and Gertrude , the King and Queen of Denmark. They have just been married. This marriage has followed quickly after the death of the former King of Denmark, Old Hamlet, Claudius’ brother. Claudius addresses the quickness of the marriage, representing himself as in mourning for a lost brother even as he is joyful for a new wife, his one-time sister. Claudius also addresses the question of the young Fortinbras’ proposed invasion. He says that he has spoken to Fortinbras’ uncle, the King of Norway, who has made Fortinbras promise to halt any plans to invade Denmark. Claudius sends Cornelius and Voltemand , two courtiers, to Norway to settle this business. Finally, Claudius turns to Laertes , the son of his trusted counselor, Polonius . Laertes expresses a wish to return to France and Claudius grants permission.

At this point, Prince Hamlet, who has been standing apart from the king’s audience this whole time, speaks the first of his many lines. Claudius asks Hamlet why he is still so gloomy. Hamlet’s replies are evasive, cynical, and punning. He declares that his grief upon losing his father still deeply affects him. Claudius goes into a speech about the unnaturalness of prolonged grief; to lose one’s father is painful but common, he says, and Hamlet should accept this as nature’s course. He expresses a wish that Hamlet remain with them in Denmark instead of returning to Wittenberg, where he is a student, and when Gertrude seconds this wish, Hamlet agrees. The king, queen, and all their retinue then exit the stage, leaving Hamlet alone.

In his first soliloquy, Hamlet expresses the depths of his melancholy and his disgust at his mother’s hastily marrying Claudius after the death of his father. He declares his father to be many times Claudius’ superior as a man. After this soliloquy, Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo enter. At first, Hamlet is too aggrieved to recognize Horatio, his old school friend, but finally he welcomes Horatio warmly. After chatting about the state, Horatio tells Hamlet that he has seen his dead father recently – the night before. Hamlet asks him to explain, and Horatio tells the story of the appearance of the ghost. Hamlet decides to attend the watch that very night in hopes of seeing the ghost himself.

As the scene opens, Laertes is taking his leave of his sister, Ophelia . In the course of their farewells, Laertes advises her about her relationship with Hamlet, with whom she has been spending much of her time lately. He tells her to forget him because he, as Prince of Denmark, is too much to hope for as a husband. He adds that she should vigilantly guard her chastity, her most prized treasure as a woman. Ophelia agrees to attend to his lesson. As Laertes is about to leave, his father, Polonius, arrives. Polonius gives Laertes a blessing and a battery of advice before sending his son on his way.

With Laertes gone, Polonius asks Ophelia what they had been talking about as he arrived. Ophelia confesses that they had been talking about her relationship with Hamlet. She tells Polonius that Hamlet has made many honorable declarations of love to her. Polonius pooh-poohs these declarations, saying, much as Laertes did, that Hamlet wants nothing more than to assail her chastity and then leave her. He makes his daughter promise that she will spend no more time alone with Hamlet. Ophelia says that she will obey.

At the night watch, Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus await the reappearance of the ghost. They hear cannons from the castle and Hamlet tells them that this is a sign that Claudius is drinking pledges. Hamlet goes on a short tirade against the Danish custom of drinking heavily. His speech is no sooner over than the ghost appears again. Hamlet immediately addresses the ghost, imploring it to speak. The ghost beckons for Hamlet to come away, apart from the others. Horatio and Marcellus attempt to keep Hamlet from following the ghost, warning him of the many evils that might befall him. Hamlet doesn’t listen. He threatens to kill Horatio or Marcellus if they detain him, and when they stay back he follows the ghost offstage. Horatio and Marcellus determine to follow at a distance to make sure that no harm comes to their friend.

Alone with Hamlet, the ghost finally speaks. He tells Hamlet that he has come on a nightly walk from Purgatory, where his soul is under continual torment for the sins of his life. The ghost then reveals that he was not killed by a viper, as officially announced, but was murdered. Moreover, he reveals that his own brother, Claudius, who now wears his crown and sleeps with his wife, was the murderer. The ghost tells of how Claudius snuck into his garden while he was taking his accustomed afternoon nap and poured poison into his ear, killing him most painfully and sending his soul unpurified into the afterlife. The ghost demands vengeance, telling Hamlet not to plot against his mother, whom he describes as merely weak and lustful, but to focus the whole of his revenge on Claudius. The ghost then disappears.

Hamlet, overwhelmed and half-raving, swears that he will kill Claudius. After he has made this vow, Horatio and Marcellus arrive. Hamlet does not tell them what the ghost has revealed, but nevertheless insists that they swear not to speak of the apparition to anyone. They agree. Hamlet then insists that they swear again on his sword. They agree again, confused at these demands. The ghost of Old Hamlet, meanwhile, can be heard under the stage, insisting along with his son that they swear themselves to secrecy. Hamlet leads his friends to several different points on stage, insisting that they swear over and over again. He then reveals, parenthetically, that they might find his behavior in the next while to be strange – he might pretend to be mad and act otherwise unusually – but that they must still keep secret what they have seen. After this final agreement, Hamlet leads the others offstage, uneasily determined to revenge his father’s murder.

Even if this is your first time reading Hamlet , it must already seem very familiar. Countless characters, ideas, and quotations introduced in this play have become part of the cultural (and literal) vocabulary of the western world – and, indeed, the whole world. Many of the most famous critical minds of western history, from Samuel Johnson to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, from Eliot to Empson, from Voltaire to Goethe to Freud, have taken a crack at the play, and together they have left very few stones unturned. Nevertheless, there is still much to be gained from an intelligent appreciation of Hamlet . While one should not expect to resolve any of the famous and bizarre conundrums of the play – “Is Hamlet really insane or faking insanity?” “Did Ophelia commit suicide or not?” “Is Hamlet in love with his mother?” – there is still great value in knowing what these conundrums are, how they are presented, and why they are important. Sensitively and cleverly acknowledging a puzzle to be a puzzle is where much Hamlet scholarship begins – and ends.

The first scene of the play, like most every scene of the play, is very well known, and very puzzling. Without explaining his reasons in detail, T.S. Eliot once declared the first lines of the play to be the best lines in English. He and many other critics have found this scene to be a microcosm of the whole play, as it were. Shakespeare uses many deceptively simple rhetorical tricks to introduce some of the major themes and concerns that he follows through to the play’s end.

For example, in a play that contains many of the most famous, most unanswerable questions ever expressed, whether literal questions (“To be or not to be”) or interpretive questions of motivation (“Why doesn’t Hamlet just kill Claudius straight away?”), it is remarkable that Shakespeare begins Hamlet with a question, “Who’s there?” Who’s there, indeed.... On one level, this is a simple question, one that is asked every day in the most innocuous contexts. But on a deeper level (and everything in this play is richly rewarding on a deeper level) it is one of the basic questions of philosophy. Who is there? Who are we? What is man? Who is Hamlet? What is Hamlet ? In this most philosophical of plays, we begin with a moment of covert philosophy, a question simple on the surface, but profound when pressed; and the first scene continues this focus on questioning, giving us question after question. Horatio, the quintessential scholar, skeptical and empirical, begins by questioning the reality of the ghost; eventually, he is exhorted to “question” the ghost in a more literal way – to ask the ghost questions. In general, then, the first scene takes us from the no-nonsense world outside the theater, the world of Horatio and his doubts, to the magical, metaphysical, ultra-theatrical world of Hamlet . We may bring certainties to the play, but we are encouraged almost immediately to abandon them.

Thus before we have even seen Hamlet (the younger Hamlet, that is) we are deeply mired in the play’s dubious, spectral atmosphere. In the second scene, after several long speeches by Claudius giving us political background, we come to Hamlet’s first soliloquy. A “soliloquy” is a speech given by a speaker alone on stage, exploring his or her own thoughts and feelings. Both Hamlet and Hamlet are practically synonymous with such speeches; in this play, Shakespeare exhausts the possibilities of such on-stage introspection. Hamlet’s soliloquies are not to be thought of as “actually happening” in any realistic way. Rather, they are moments of suspended time, in which the overwhelming pressure of a single thought, or group of thoughts, forces its way out of a speaker’s mind by way of his mouth. They are moments where we, as audience members, can enter intimately into Hamlet’s mind, exploring the patterns of his thought even as he does so himself.

We might notice right away, in this first soliloquy, how difficult Hamlet can be to follow – how much his speech jumps and roils around, allowing interjections, playing with allusions and puns, becoming frequently side-tracked by this or that image. This tendency of Hamlet’s, to become sidetracked by his own train of thoughts, is crucial to the play, and crucial to the central motivational mystery of Hamlet – the delay of the revenge. But we will see much more of that to come.

We might also note that in his first soliloquy Hamlet appears deeply “depressed,” as we would put it today, or “melancholic,” as the people of the early seventeenth century would have put it. The audience of Hamlet’s own day would have expected as much. The play belongs to a genre known as “revenge tragedy.” Such plays occupied many of the greatest playwrights of the generation directly preceding Shakespeare’s, including Thomas Kyd, but by the time Hamlet was written they had come to be seen as rather old-fashioned. Like any genre, revenge tragedy has certain predictable conventions, one of which is that the protagonist of the play is melancholic – dominated by saturnine, sluggish, pensive “humors,” or bodily spirits. In Hamlet , Shakespeare, rather than simply repeating this convention, explores it as a convention. That is, he gives us the archetypal revenge hero, the most introspective, most melancholic, most pensive hero ever seen on the English stage.

At the same time, Hamlet seems somewhat aware that he is, in fact, playing a role on stage. He notices his own costume and makeup (“’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother [...]” (I.ii.77 ff.)); he refers to specific areas in the theater (as when he notes that the ghost is “in the cellarage” (I.v.150)); in short, he seems at once to be the most typical of types, and to be an audience to his own typecasting – and furthermore, he seems to be distressed about being so typecast, and anxious to prove that there is something genuine behind his theatrical veneer. In general, critics have long noticed that Hamlet is a play about plays, most specifically a revenge tragedy about revenge tragedy, and the pretzel-like self-referentiality of the protagonist is the main reason why.

As a relatively light-hearted accompaniment to such ghastliness and introspective misery, Act One features two appearances by Polonius and his family. Nearly every Elizabethan play has at least one so-called “subplot,” and this family occupies the primary subplot of Hamlet – the question of Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Polonius, you might have noticed already, is long-winded, pedantic, and meddlesome, even while he is somewhat loveable in his fussy way. He is always interested in being “in the know,” whatever the occasion. Notice, for instance, how eagerly he questions Ophelia about her earlier conversation with Laertes.

Act One contains Polonius’ most famous speech in the play, and one of the most quoted speeches of Shakespeare, the advice speech to Laertes that ends, “to thine own self be true” (I.iii.55 ff.). One can weigh the various maxims here offered on the basis of their individual merits. However, it is a common mistake of new readers of Shakespeare to take this speech simply at face value – to think, in effect, that Shakespeare, not Polonius, is giving this advice. This is never the case in Shakespeare – he never simply speaks “through” a character – and most certainly not the case here. Notice, for instance, that Polonius’ speech begins by telling Laertes to rush off to catch his boat, and then detains him from doing just that. Notice also, that Polonius begins by declaring that he will offer Laertes a “few precepts,” then goes on to ramble for thirty lines. Polonius, in short, never misses an occasion for a speech, and follows his own advice creatively if at all. His meddlesome, didactic character leads to his undoing, as we shall see.

Hamlet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Hamlet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Closely examine Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy on page 137 (lines 57-91). Summarize the arguments he is contemplating in this speech.

What act and scene are you referring to?

Describe Fortinbras based on what Horatio says.

Do you mean in Act 1? Based upon Horatio's description, young Fortinbras is bold, inexperienced, and willing to do anything to regain his father's lost lands.

Why is a clock mentioned in Hamlet. There weren’t any clock’s in Hanlet’s time.

Yes I've heard this question before. This is called an anachronism. It is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement. In this case, there were clocks in Shakespeare’s time but not in Hamlet's. Shakespeare wrote it in because he thought it...

Study Guide for Hamlet

Hamlet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Hamlet
• Hamlet Summary
• Hamlet Video
• Character List

Essays for Hamlet

Hamlet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

• Through Rose Colored Glasses: How the Victorian Age Shifted the Focus of Hamlet
• Q to F7: Mate; Hamlet's Emotions, Actions, and Importance in the Nunnery Scene
• Before the Storm
• Haunted: Hamlet's Relationship With His Dead Father
• Heliocentric Hamlet: The Astronomy of Hamlet

Lesson Plan for Hamlet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Hamlet
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Hamlet Bibliography

E-Text of Hamlet

The Hamlet e-text contains the full text of the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Hamlet

• Introduction

Hamlet Act-I, Scene-I Study Guide

Plot overview.

In the first scene of Hamlet , Barnardo, a guard, comes to relieve Francisco, who is his colleague. They are performing their duty as guards on the platform in the castle of Elsinore. Barnardo asks Francisco about his identity. However, Francisco orders him to stand and proves his identity first. They both exchange passwords about the weather and then replace each other. Barnardo then asks Francisco to inform Horatio and Marcellus to come early. Shortly after that, Horatio and Marcellus arrive.

Marcellus asks Barnardo about the Ghost they have seen together. He answers him in negative. He informs Barnardo that as his colleague Horatio is a philosopher, he has invited him to watch the Ghost. It is because Horatio does not believe in his account of the Ghost. In the meanwhile, the Ghost appears and all three are in a horrified state. However, they agree that this is the Ghost of the King Hamlet – the “majesty of buried Denmark.”

The men appeal to the Ghost to stop and speak to them, but it disappears. At this time, Horatio is rather astounded. He has now seen the Ghost of King Hamlet in armor he wore when he defeated the old Fortinbras, King of Norway. It seems to him that all is not well in the state of Denmark. It is because the war preparations are also underway. When Barnardo asks about the meaning of the Ghost’s arrival, Horatio recounts events of chaos in Rome shortly after the death of Julius. He says:

“In the most high and palmy state of Rome, A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets.”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines 113-117)

The Ghost appears again after a short time, though when Horatio tries to speak to it, it disappears hearing the crowing of the cock. As the dawn is sprouting from the east, they see the Ghost disappearing in the thin air. It seems to herald some important news. Therefore, all three of them decide to inform Prince Hamlet about the arrival of the Ghost.

Detailed Analysis

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines, 113-117)

Horatio uses a notable literary device, allusion , in these lines. He alludes to the assassination of Julius Caesar, while comparing this Ghost’s arrival to that of the eruption of the graves. Here “palmy” means growing and flourishing robustly. He refers to the time when imperial Rome was at its full glory, and became a huge empire with the rise of Julius Caesar. The murder of Caesar caused a turning point in the history of Rome. Then, it was followed by a series of events, finally leading to utter chaos and disorder.

Shakespeare has used several archaic words, as was the tradition at that time. A few examples are given below:

BARNARDO. ’Tis now strook twelf. Get thee to bed, Francisco. FRANCISCO. For this relief much thanks. ’Tis bitter  cold, And I am sick at heart.

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines, 7-9)

The words ” ’tis,” “strook,” and “twelf” are all archaic words. In fact, the very first scene is full of archaic words, as they were common during the Elizabethan period.

• Alliteration

Marcellus tells Horatio about the Ghost in these lines. Shakespeare here uses alliteration to intensify the effect of horror of the Ghost. The word ‘w’ is repeated here in this line as “with us to watch.”

“Therefore I have entreated him along, With us to watch the minutes of this night .”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 26-27)

Horatio compares the situation of the preparation of war with that of chaos in Rome when Julius Caesar was killed, as he states, “A little ere the mightiest Julius fell.” That is why it is exactly like the chaos that prevailed in Denmark following the assassination of King Hamlet. While the same situation has been demonstrated as Shakespeare puts it that the “heaven and earth together demonstrated / Unto our climatures and countrymen” ( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines, 124-125).

Consonance and Assonance

There are several consonances in this scene, the objective of which is to create a musical quality as well as raise the specter of horror. Bernardo here calls Horatio and says:

“And let us once again assail your ears”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 32)

And then again as “When yond same start that’s westward from the pole,” and “The bell then beating,” where the sounds of ‘s’ and ‘b’ have been repeated respectively ( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines 36-39).

As this is the first scene, it announces the entrance of two characters, Barnardo and Francisco, who are guards. They are guarding a post in the fort of Elsinore, which is a sort of platform in the castle. Both the characters call each other with their respective names – an act that shows how Shakespeare used to introduce his characters to his Elizabethan audience . Two other characters in this scene are Marcellus and Horatio, who have come to replace Barnardo and Francisco from their night watch.

Although other three guards are of similar mental capability, Horatio is not only close to Prince Hamlet, but has superior mental faculty to the other three characters. Marcellus admits, “Though art a scholar.” Then he encourages him to speak to the ghost. These are just ordinary characters, and they set the stage for the further action of the play .

• Bernardo: He is a guard and colleague of Francisco. He is the first one to open the play, and is also the first to mention the arrival of the ghost.
• Francisco: Francisco replaces Barnardo from his watch. He does not appear much in the first scene.
• Marcellus: Marcellus and Horatio are two guards, who replace both Bernardo and Francisco. Between them, Marcellus is the most quizzical fellow. He asks several questions from Horatio about the Ghost and its arrival.
• Horatio: Horatio is a type of a philosopher, and friend of Prince Hamlet. As he is also a skeptic, first he does not believe on the account of Francisco and Bernardo regarding the Ghost. When he sees the Ghost with his own eyes, he tries to talk to it saying, “I charge thee speak,” but it does not respond before disappearing. Then he compares the situation of Denmark with that of Rome before the death of Julius Caesar. He also talks about informing Hamlet about the Ghost, as it seems the Ghost would talk to him.

A cursory reading of the first scene makes it clear there is an external conflict between Denmark and Norway, and also an internal conflict which ensued after the appearance of the Ghost. The Renaissance audiences could believe that a Ghost appears for a definite and terrible reason – not for anything good. Thus, this scene actually establishes the setting and background information of the ensuing conflict.

• Deus Ex Machina

The entry of the Ghost at this stage is an excellent example of deus ex machina . The conversation between the first three characters Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus shows that there is something wrong in the state of Denmark. However, they are not aware of what is going on. As Horatio senses some danger lurking, he immediately thinks of rushing to Hamlet saying:

“Let us impart what we have seen tonight, Unto you young Hamlet, for, upon my life, This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines 170-173)

Shakespeare used a rhetorical device hendiadys in which an author expresses a complex idea by joining two words with a conjunction . It is found in the words “gross and scope.”

“But in the gross and scope of mine opinion”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 67)

The objective of using hendiadys in the first scene is to make the scene more verbose, so that the complexity of the situation could pose a serious challenge to the audience.

Using imagery is another way to heighten the interest of the audience, as Shakespeare has used in this line.

“This bodes some strange eruption to our state.”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 68)

In this line, Horatio uses visual imagery , making a claim that the wandering Ghost “bodes some strange eruption to our state.” The visual imagery shows the eruption of the situation that has turned with the arrival of the Ghost. Undoubtedly, this imagery is vivid, creative, and metaphorical in a sense that a country or state cannot literally “erupt” just like a volcano.

Metaphors are used to compare things in order to heighten effect. The first scene is full of metaphors , the first being:

“Doth make the night joint laborer with the day?”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 77)

Marcellus uses this metaphor to explain the difference between day and night, and whether they both work together. In fact, here he is referring to the preparations of warriors for war, which is a twenty-hour operation.

“Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 98)

Horatio says that young Prince Fortinbras of Norway has gathered soldiers. He uses the metaphor of lawless volunteers who have come to aid him in is fight. It shows he has just gathered a bunch of fighters:

“Sharked up a list of lawless resolutes”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 99)

The mood is tense, since the opening scene takes place at midnight and in the darkness . It evokes a mystery world in which there is a confrontation between unknowns, which is the real area of concern for this play. From the beginning, the sense of mystery and the underlying suspense pervade the entire play.

Meter is a technical device, which has a strong relationship with the overall theme of the piece. Shakespeare was a master in dealing with meter , and he demonstrated this mastery in Hamlet by using iambic pentameter . For example:

“Did squeak and gib ber in the Ro man streets As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood .”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines, 115-116)

He has used iambic pentameter (five iambs in each line), which can be observed in the lines given above.

• Personification

Personification is a term of comparison in which a lifeless object is shown as if it is alive. For example:

“But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastward hill.”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Lines 165-166)

By the end of this scene, Horatio makes use of another literary device, personification , as he describes the arrival of dawn. We know that morning cannot wear clothing, or walk; however, Horatio here uses personification in order to depict the action and color of the rising sun in the morning.

Kairos is a rhetorical device that means appropriate time for an action, or – according to Merriam-Webster – “opportune time. The character of Horatio is a complete example of this device, as he is not only studded with philosophy, but also knows everything about what is metaphysical like the ghost. Hee first thinks the ghost is merely a fantasy , but when he sees it again, he recognizes its arrival as real. Then his colleagues, Marcellus and Barnardo, also see it. That is why they coax him:

“Though art scholar, speak to it, Horatio.”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 43).

Shakespeare presents logos through the character of Horatio, who reasons with the existing situation that Marcellus explains to him and inquires about. He states that, because the father of Fortinbras lost some lands legally to King Hamlet, young Fortinbras wants to take it back. That is why it

“Is the main motive of our preparations.”

( Hamlet , Act-I, Scene-I, Line 105).

This is the use of logos by Horatio to convince his audience, Marcellus and Barnardo.

Shakespeare has given very few directions. There is only one place mentioned – Elsinore, which is a platform in the fort. However, the overall conversation between the characters shows that the action shown in the play has taken place in the capital city of Denmark, in the royal castle of Elsinore.

The country is preparing for war against Norway, whose ruler Fortinbras is doing the same to launch an attack on Denmark in order to take back areas lost by his father to King Hamlet in a past war. However, in the middle of these preparations, the Ghost appears and changes the very course of the action in this play.

The tone of this scene is mysterious and tense. The playwright creates this tone, by not just naming things, but by having them appear as well. Denmark’s preparations for war also create an air of mystery. Nevertheless, readers do not know yet why the Ghost appears, whether it is a spirit or a harbinger of a transforming political situation in Denmark, or something else. But it makes the situation tense. Therefore, the tone of this scene is not only fully of mystery, but also tension created with the inclusion of several other devices, specifically deus ex machina as explained above.

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60 Hamlet: Act 1

William Shakespeare

Hamlet (Modern, Editor’s Version). Internet Shakespeare Editions . University of Victoria. Editor: David Bevington. Adapted by James Sexton.

Enter Barnardo and Francisco, two sentinels.

Barnardo Who’s there?

5 Francisco Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself. [1]

Barnardo Long live the King!

Francisco Barnardo?

Barnardo He.

10 Francisco You come most carefully upon your hour.

Barnardo ‘Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to bed, Francisco.

Francisco For this relief much thanks. ‘Tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart.

Barnardo Have you had quiet guard?

15 Francisco Not a mouse stirring.

Barnardo Well, good night. If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste. Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

Francisco I think I hear them.–Stand, ho! Who is there?

20 Horatio Friends to this ground.

Marcellus And liegemen to the Dane. [2]

Francisco Give you good night.

Marcellus Oh, farewell, honest soldier. Who hath relieved you?

Francisco Barnardo hath my place. Give you good night. 25 Exit Francisco.

Marcellus Holla, Barnardo!

Barnardo Say, what, is Horatio there?

Horatio A piece of him.

Barnardo Welcome, Horatio. Welcome, good Marcellus.

30 Horatio What, has this thing appeared again tonight?

Barnardo I have seen nothing.

Marcellus Horatio says ’tis but our fantasy, [3] And will not let belief take hold of him, Touching [4] this dreaded sight twice seen of us. 35 Therefore I have entreated him along With us [5] to watch the minutes of this night, [6] That if again this apparition come He may approve [7] our eyes and speak to it.

Horatio Tush, tush, ’twill not appear.

40 Barnardo Sit down awhile, And let us once again assail your ears, That are so fortified against our story, What we two nights have seen.

Horatio Well, sit we down, 45 And let us hear Barnardo speak of this.

Barnardo Last night of all, [8] When yond same star that’s westward from the pole [9] Had made his course t’illume [10] that part of heaven Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself, 50 The bell then beating one– Enter the Ghost.

Marcellus Peace, break thee off! Look where it comes again!

Barnardo In the same figure like the King that’s dead.

Marcellus Thou art a scholar. Speak to it, Horatio.

55 Barnardo Looks it not like the King? Mark it, Horatio.

Horatio Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.

Barnardo It would be spoke to. [11]

Marcellus Question it, Horatio.

Horatio What art thou that usurp’st [12] this time of night, 60 Together with that fair and warlike form In which the majesty of buried Denmark [13] Did sometimes [14] march? By heaven, I charge thee speak!

Marcellus It is offended.

Barnardo See, it stalks away.

65 Horatio Stay, speak, speak, I charge thee speak! Exit the Ghost.

Marcellus ‘Tis gone, and will not answer.

Barnardo How now, Horatio, you tremble and look pale. Is not this something more than fantasy? 70 What think you on’t? [15]

Horatio Before my God, I might not this believe Without the sensible [16] and true avouch [17] Of mine own eyes.

Marcellus Is it not like the King?

75 Horatio As thou art to thyself. Such was the very armor he had on When he the ambitious Norway [18] combated. So frowned he once, when in an angry parle [19] He smote the sledded Polacks [20] on the ice. 80 ‘Tis strange.

Marcellus Thus twice before, and jump [21] at this dead hour, With martial stalk [22] hath he gone by our watch.

Horatio In what particular thought to work [23] I know not, But in the gross and scope of mine opinion [24] 85 This bodes [25] some strange eruption to our state.

Marcellus Good now, [26] sit down, and tell me, he that knows, Why this same strict and most observant watch So nightly toils the subject [27] of the land, And why such daily cast [28] of brazen [29] cannon 90 And foreign mart [30] for implements of war, Why such impress [31] of shipwrights, whose sore task Does not divide the Sunday from the week: [32] What might be toward, [33] that this sweaty haste Doth make the night joint-laborer with the day? [34] 95 Who is’t that can inform me?

Horatio That can I. At least the whisper goes so: our last King, Whose image even but now appeared to us, Was as you know by Fortinbras of Norway, [35] by a most emulate [36] pride, Dared to the combat; [37] in which our valiant Hamlet– For so this side of our known world [38] esteemed him– Did slay this Fortinbras, who by a sealed [39] compact Well ratified by law and heraldry [40] 105 Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands Which he stood seized of, [41] to the conqueror; Against the which a moiety competent Was gagèd by our King, [42] which had returned [43] To the inheritance of Fortinbras 110 Had he been vanquisher, as, by the same cov’nant [44] And carriage of the article design[ed] [45] His fell to Hamlet. [46] Now, sir, young Fortinbras, Of unimprovèd mettle hot and full, [47] Hath in the skirts [48] of Norway here and there 115 Sharked up a list of landless resolutes [49] For food and diet to some enterprise That hath a stomach in’t, [50] which is no other, As it doth well appear unto our state, But to recover of us [51] by strong hand 120 And terms compulsative those foresaid lands So by his father [52] lost. And this, I take it, Is the main motive of our preparations, The source [53] of this our watch, and the chief head Of this post-haste and rummage [54] in the land.

124.1 Barnardo I think it be no other but e’en so. Well may it sort that [55] this portentous figure Comes armèd through our watch so like the King That was and is the question of these wars.

124.5 Horatio A mote [56] it is to trouble the mind’s eye. In the most high and palmy [57] state of Rome, A little ere [58] the mightiest Julius [59] fell, The graves stood tenantless, [60] and the sheeted [61] dead Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets, 124.10 As [62] stars with trains of fire and dews of blood, [63] Disasters [64] in the sun; and the moist star, [65] Upon whose influence Neptune’s empire stands, [66] Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse. [67] And even the like precurse of feared events, 124.15 As harbingers preceding still the fates And prologue to the omen coming on, Have heaven and earth together demonstrated Unto our climatures and countrymen. [68] 125 Enter Ghost again. But soft, [69] behold, lo, where it comes again! I’ll cross it [70] though it blast me. [71] –Stay, illusion! It spreads his arms. If thou hast any sound or use of voice, Speak to me! 130 If there be any good thing to be done That may to thee do ease and grace to me, Speak to me! If thou art privy to [72] thy country’s fate, Which happily [73] foreknowing may avoid, Oh, speak! Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life Extorted treasure in the womb of earth, 135 For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, Speak of it. Stay and speak! The cock crows. Stop it, Marcellus!

Marcellus Shall I strike at it with my partisan [74] ?

Horatio Do, if it will not stand.

Barnardo ‘Tis here.

140 Horatio ‘Tis here. Exit Ghost.

Marcellus ‘Tis gone. We do it wrong, being so majestical, To offer it the show of violence, For it is as the air, invulnerable, 145 And our vain blows malicious mockery.

Barnardo It was about to speak when the cock crew.

Horatio And then it started [75] like a guilty thing Upon a fearful summons. I have heard The cock, that is the trumpet [76] to the morn, 150 Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat Awake the god of day, and, at his warning, Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, Th’extravagant and erring [77] spirit hies [78] To his confine; and of the truth herein 155 This present object made probation. [79]

Marcellus It faded on the crowing of the cock. Some say that ever ‘gainst [80] that season comes Wherein our Savior’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning [81] singeth all night long, 160 And then they say no spirit can walk abroad; The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike, [82] No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, [83] So hallowed and so gracious [84] is that time.

Horatio So have I heard and do in part believe it. 165 But look, the morn in russet [85] mantle clad Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastward hill. Break we our watch up, and by my advice Let us impart what we have seen tonight Unto young Hamlet, for, upon my life, 170 This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it As needful in our loves, fitting our duty?

Marcellus Let’s do ‘t, I pray, and I this morning know Where we shall find him most conveniently. Exeunt.

Flourish. [86] Enter Claudius, King of Denmark, Gertrude the Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, and his sister Ophelia, Lords attendant [including Voltemand and Cornelius].

King Though yet of Hamlet our [87] dear brother’s death 180 The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature That we with wisest sorrow think on him 185 Together with remembrance of ourselves. Therefore our sometime [88] sister, now our queen, Th’imperial jointress [89] of this warlike state, Have we as ’twere with a defeated joy, With one auspicious and one dropping eye, [90] 190 With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole, [91] Taken to wife. Nor have we herein barred Your better wisdoms, [92] which have freely gone With this affair along. [93] For all, our thanks. 195 Now follows that you know: young Fortinbras, Holding a weak supposal of our worth, Or thinking by our late [94] dear brother’s death Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, [95] Co-leaguèd with this dream of his advantage, [96] 200 He hath not failed to pester us with message Importing [97] the surrender of those lands Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, To our most valiant brother. So much for him. 205 Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting, Thus much the business is: we have here writ To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras, Who, impotent and bed-rid, [98] scarcely hears Of this his nephew’s purpose, to suppress 210 His further gait herein, in that the levies, The lists, and full proportions are all made Out of his subject; [99] and we here dispatch You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltemand, For bearers [100] of this greeting to old Norway, 215 Giving to you no further personal power To business with the King more than the scope Of these dilated [101] articles allow. Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty. [102]

Cornelius and Voltemand In that and all things will we show our duty.

220 King We doubt it nothing. [103] Heartily farewell. Exeunt Voltemand and Cornelius. And now, Laertes, what’s the news with you? You told us of some suit. What is’t, Laertes? You cannot speak of reason to the Dane [104] 225 And lose your voice. [105] What wouldst thou beg, Laertes, That shall not be my offer, not thy asking? [106] The head is not more native [107] to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth, [108] Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. 230 What wouldst thou have, Laertes?

Laertes Dread my lord, [109] Your leave and favor [110] to return to France, From whence though willingly I came to Denmark To show my duty in your coronation, 235 Yet now I must confess, that duty done, My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon. [111]

King Have you your father’s leave? What says Polonius?

240 Polonius H’ath, [112] my lord, wrung from me my slow leave 240.1 By laborsome petition, and at last Upon his will I sealed my hard consent. [113] I do beseech you, give him leave to go.

King Take thy fair hour, [114] Laertes. Time be thine, And thy best graces spend it at thy will. [115] But now, my cousin [116] Hamlet, and my son–

245 Hamlet A little more than kin, and less than kind. [117]

King How is it that the clouds still hang on you?

Hamlet Not so, my lord, I am too much i’th’ sun. [118]

Queen Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color [119] off And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. [120] 250 Do not forever with thy vailèd lids [121] Seek for thy noble father in the dust. Thou know’st ’tis common: [122] all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.

Hamlet Ay, madam, it is common.

255 Queen If it be, Why seems it so particular [123] with thee?

Hamlet “Seems,” madam? Nay, it is, I know not “seems.” ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, 260 Nor windy suspiration [124] of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river [125] in the eye, Nor the dejected havior [126] of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, [127] shapes of grief That can denote me truly. These indeed seem, 265 For they are actions that a man might play. But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings [128] and the suits of woe.

King ‘Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, 270 To give these mourning duties to your father. But you must know your father lost a father; That father lost, [129] lost his, and the survivor bound In filial obligation for some term To do obsequious [130] sorrow; but to persever 275 In obstinate condolement is a course Of impious stubbornness. ‘Tis unmanly grief. It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, A heart unfortified, a mind impatient, An understanding simple and unschooled; 280 For what we know must be and is as common As any the most vulgar thing to sense, [131] Why should we in our peevish opposition Take it to heart? Fie, ’tis a fault to heaven, A fault against the dead, a fault to nature, 285 To reason most absurd, whose common theme Is death of fathers, and who still [132] hath cried From the first corpse [133] till he that died today “This must be so.” We pray you throw to earth This unprevailing [134] woe, and think of us 290 As of a father; for let the world take note You are the most immediate [135] to our throne, And with no less nobility of love Than that which dearest father bears his son Do I impart toward you. For [136] your intent 295 In going back to school in Wittenberg, [137] It is most retrograde [138] to our desire, And we beseech you bend you [139] to remain Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye, Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

300 Queen Let not thy mother lose her prayers, [140] Hamlet. I pray thee stay with us, go not to Wittenberg.

Hamlet I shall in all my best obey you, madam. [141]

King Why, ’tis a loving and a fair reply. 305 Be as ourself [142] in Denmark.–Madam, come. This gentle and unforced accord of Hamlet Sits smiling to [143] my heart, in grace [144] whereof No jocund [145] health that Denmark [146] drinks today But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell, [147] 310 And the King’s rouse [148] the heavens shall bruit again, [149] Respeaking earthly thunder. [150] Come, away! Flourish. Exeunt all but Hamlet.

Hamlet Oh, that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve [151] itself into a dew! 315 Or that the Everlasting [152] had not fixed His canon [153] ‘gainst self-slaughter! Oh, God, God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on’t, ah, fie! ‘Tis an unweeded garden 320 That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature [154] Possess it merely. [155] That it should come to this! But two months dead–nay, not so much, not two! So excellent a king, that was to this [156] Hyperion [157] to a satyr, [158] so loving to my mother 325 That he might not beteem [159] the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth, Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on. [160] And yet within a month– 330 Let me not think on’t; frailty, thy name is woman! A little month, [161] or ere [162] those shoes were old With which she followed my poor father’s body, Like Niobe, [163] all tears, why, she, even she– Oh, God, a beast that wants discourse of reason [164] 335 Would have mourned longer!–married with my uncle, My father’s brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules. [165] Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing of her gallèd [166] eyes, 340 She married. Oh, most wicked speed, to post [167] With such dexterity to incestuous [168] sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good, But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue. Enter Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo.

345 Horatio Hail to your lordship!

Hamlet I am glad to see you well.– Horatio, or I do forget myself! [169]

Horatio The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.

350 Hamlet Sir, my good friend, I’ll change that name with you. [170] And what make you from [171] Wittenberg, Horatio?– Marcellus.

Marcellus My good lord.

355 Hamlet I am very glad to see you. [172] [To Barnardo.] Good even, sir. [To Horatio] But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?

Horatio A truant disposition, good my lord.

Hamlet I would not have your enemy say so, Nor shall you do my ear that violence 360 To make it truster of your own report Against yourself. [173] I know you are no truant. But what is your affair in Elsinore? We’ll teach you to drink deep ere you depart.

Horatio My lord, I came to see your father’s funeral.

365 Hamlet I prithee do not mock me, fellow student. I think it was to see my mother’s wedding.

Horatio Indeed, my lord, it followed hard upon. [174]

Hamlet Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. [175] 370 Would I had met my dearest [176] foe in heaven Ere I had ever seen that day, Horatio! My father–methinks I see my father.

Horatio Oh, where, my lord?

Hamlet In my mind’s eye, Horatio.

375 Horatio I saw him once. ‘A [177] was a goodly king.

Hamlet He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.

Horatio My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. [178]

Hamlet Saw? Who?

380 Horatio My lord, the King your father.

Hamlet The King my father?

Horatio Season your admiration [179] for a while With an attent [180] ear till I may deliver, Upon the witness of these gentlemen, 385 This marvel to you.

Hamlet For God’s love, let me hear!

Horatio Two nights together had these gentlemen, Marcellus and Barnardo, on their watch In the dead waste [181] and middle of the night 390 Been thus encountered: a figure like your father Armed at all points, [182] exactly, cap-à-pie, [183] Appears before them, and with solemn march Goes slow [184] and stately by them. Thrice he walked By their oppressed and fear-surprisèd eyes [185] 395 Within his truncheon’s [186] length, whilst they, distilled Almost to jelly with the act [187] of fear, Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me In dreadful [188] secrecy impart they did, And I with them the third night kept the watch, 400 Where, as they had delivered, both in time, Form of the thing, each word made true and good, The apparition comes. I knew your father. These hands are not more like. [189]

Hamlet But where was this?

405 Marcellus My lord, upon the platform [190] where we watched.

Hamlet Did you not speak to it?

Horatio My lord, I did, But answer made it none. Yet once methought It lifted up it head [191] and did address 410 Itself to motion, like as it would speak; [192] But even [193] then the morning cock crew loud, And at the sound it shrunk in haste away And vanished from our sight.

Hamlet ‘Tis very strange.

415 Horatio As I do live, my honored lord, ’tis true, And we did think it writ down in our duty [194] To let you know of it.

Hamlet Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me. Hold you the watch tonight?

420 All [195] We do, my lord.

Hamlet Armed, say you?

All Armed, my lord.

Hamlet From top to toe?

All My lord, from head to foot.

425 Hamlet Then saw you not his face?

Horatio Oh, yes, my lord, he wore his beaver [196] up.

Hamlet What looked he, frowningly? [197]

Horatio A countenance [198] more in sorrow than in anger.

Hamlet Pale, or red?

430 Horatio Nay, very pale.

Hamlet And fixed his eyes upon you?

Horatio Most constantly.

Hamlet I would [199] I had been there.

Horatio It would have much amazed you.

435 Hamlet Very like, very like. [200] Stayed it long?

Horatio While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred.

Both [201] Longer, longer.

Horatio Not when I saw’t.

Hamlet His beard was grizzled, no? [202]

440 Horatio It was as I have seen it in his life, A sable silvered. [203]

Hamlet I will watch [204] tonight. Perchance ’twill walk again.

Horatio I warr’nt [205] it will.

Hamlet If it assume my noble father’s person, 445 I’ll speak to it, though hell itself should gape And bid me hold my peace. [206] I pray you all, If you have hitherto concealed this sight Let it be tenable [207] in your silence still, And whatsomever else shall hap tonight, 450 Give it an understanding but no tongue; I will requite [208] your loves. So, fare you well. Upon the platform ‘twixt eleven and twelve I’ll visit you.

All Our duty to your honor. Exeunt [all but Hamlet].

455 Hamlet Your loves, as mine to you. [209] Farewell. My father’s spirit–in arms! All is not well. I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come! Till then, sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise, Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes. Exit.

Enter [210] Laertes, and Ophelia his sister.

Laertes My necessaries are embarked. [211] Farewell. And sister, as [212] the winds give benefit And convoy is assistant, do [213] not sleep 465 But let [214] me hear from you.

Ophelia Do you doubt that?

Laertes For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor, [215] Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, [216] A violet in the youth of primy nature, [217] 470 Forward, [218] not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute, [219] No more.

Ophelia No more but so?

Laertes Think it no more. For nature crescent does not grow alone 475 In thews and bulk, but as this temple [220] waxes The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal. [221] Perhaps he loves you now, And now no soil nor cautel [222] doth besmirch The virtue of his will; [223] but you must fear, 480 His greatness weighed, [224] his will is not his own, For he himself is subject to his birth. He may not, as unvalued persons [225] do, Carve for himself, [226] for on his choice depends The safety and health of the whole state, 485 And therefore must his choice be circumscribed Unto the voice and yielding [227] of that body [228] Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he loves you, It fits your wisdom so far to believe it As he in his particular act and place [229] 490 May give his saying deed, which is no further Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal. [230] Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain If with too credent [231] ear you list [232] his songs, Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open 495 To his unmastered importunity. [233] Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister, And keep within the rear of your affection, Out of the shot and danger of desire. [234] The chariest [235] maid is prodigal enough 500 If she unmask her beauty to the moon. [236] Virtue itself scapes not calumnious [237] strokes. The canker galls the infants of the spring [238] Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, [239] And in the morn and liquid dew of youth [240] 505 Contagious blastments [241] are most imminent. Be wary, then; best safety lies in fear. Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. [242]

Ophelia I shall the effect of this good lesson keep As watchman to my heart. [243] But, good my brother, 510 Do not, as some ungracious [244] pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven Whilst, like a puffed [245] and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, And recks not his own rede. [246] Enter Polonius

515 Laertes Oh, fear me not. [247] I stay too long. But here my father comes. A double blessing is a double grace; Occasion smiles upon a second leave. [248]

520 Polonius Yet here, Laertes? Aboard, aboard, for shame! The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail, [249] And you are stayed for. There, my blessing [250] with thee, And these few precepts in thy memory See thou character. [251] Give thy thoughts no tongue, 525 Nor any unproportioned thought his act. [252] Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. [253] Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel, [254] But do not dull thy palm [255] with entertainment [256] 530 Of each new-hatched, unfledged [257] comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in, Bear’t that th’opposèd [258] may beware of thee. Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice. Take each man’s censure, [259] but reserve thy judgment. [260] 535 Costly thy habit [261] as thy purse can buy, But not expressed in fancy [262] –rich, not gaudy, For the apparel oft proclaims the man, [263] And they in France of the best rank and station Are of all most select and generous, chief in that. [264] 540 Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulleth edge of husbandry. [265] This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day 545 Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell. My blessing season this in thee! [266]

Laertes Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.

Polonius The time invites you. Go. Your servants tend. [267]

Laertes Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well 550 What I have said to you.

Ophelia ‘Tis in my memory locked, And you yourself shall keep the key of it.

Laertes Farewell. Exit Laertes.

Polonius What is’t, Ophelia, he hath said to you?

555 Ophelia So please you, something touching [268] the Lord Hamlet.

Polonius Marry, [269] well bethought. [270] ‘Tis told me he hath very oft of late Given private time to you, and you yourself Have of your audience [271] been most free and bounteous. 560 If it be so–as so ’tis put on me, [272] And that in way of caution–I must tell you You do not understand yourself [273] so clearly As it behooves [274] my daughter and your honor. [275] What is between you? Give me up the truth.

565 Ophelia He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders [276] Of his affection to me.

Polonius Affection? Pooh, you speak like a green [277] girl, Unsifted [278] in such perilous circumstance. Do you believe his “tenders,” as you call them?

570 Ophelia I do not know, my lord, what I should think.

Polonius Marry, I’ll teach you. Think yourself a baby That you have ta’en his tenders for true pay Which are not sterling. [279] Tender yourself more dearly, [280] Or–not to crack the wind of the poor phrase 575 Running it thus [281] –you’ll tender me a fool. [282]

Ophelia My lord, he hath importuned me with love In honorable fashion.

Polonius Ay, fashion [283] you may call it. Go to, go to. [284]

Ophelia And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord, 580 With almost all the holy vows of heaven.

Polonius Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. [285] I do know When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Lends the tongue vows. [286] These blazes, daughter, Giving more light than heat, extinct in both 585 Even in their promise as it is a-making, [287] You must not take [288] for fire. From this time, daughter, Be something [289] scanter of your maiden presence. Set your entreatments at a higher rate Than a command to parley. [290] For [291] Lord Hamlet, 590 Believe so much in him [292] that he is young, And with a larger tether may he walk Than may be given you. In few, [293] Ophelia, Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers [294] Not of that dye which their investments show, [295] 595 But mere implorators of unholy suits, Breathing [296] like sanctified and pious bawds The better to beguile. This is for all: [297] I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth Have you so slander any moment leisure [298] 600 As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to’t, I charge you. Come your ways. [299]

Ophelia I shall obey, my lord. Exeunt.

Enter [300] Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus.

Hamlet The air bites shrewdly; [301] it is very cold.

605 Horatio It is a nipping and an eager [302] air.

Hamlet What hour now?

Horatio I think it lacks of [303] twelve.

Marcellus No, it is struck.

Horatio Indeed? I heard it not. It then draws near the season [304] 610 Wherein the spirit held his wont [305] to walk. A flourish of trumpets, and two pieces [306] goes off. What does this mean, my lord?

Hamlet The King doth wake [307] tonight and takes his rouse, [308] Keeps wassail, and the swagg’ring upspring reels; [309] And as he drains his drafts of Rhenish [310] down 615 The kettledrum and trumpet thus bray out The triumph of his pledge. [311]

Horatio Is it a custom?

Hamlet Ay, marry, [312] is’t, But to my mind, though I am native here 620 And to the manner born, [313] it is a custom More honored in the breach than the observance. [314] 621.1 This heavy-headed revel east and west Makes us traduced and taxed of other nations. [315] They clepe [316] us drunkards, and with swinish phrase Soil our addition, [317] and indeed it takes 621.5 From our achievements, though performed at height, [318] The pith and marrow of our attribute. [319] So, oft it chances in particular men, That, for some vicious mole of nature in them, [320] As in their birth, [321] wherein they are not guilty, 621.10 Since nature cannot choose his [322] origin, By the o’ergrowth of some complexion, [323] Oft breaking down the pales [324] and forts of reason, Or by some habit that too much o’erleavens The form of plausive manners, [325] that these men, 621.15 Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, Being Nature’s livery, or Fortune’s star, [326] His virtues else, [327] be they as pure as grace, As infinite as man may undergo, [328] Shall in the general censure take corruption [329] 621.20 From that particular fault. The dram of evil Doth all the noble substance often dout To his own scandal. [330] Enter Ghost.

Horatio Look, my lord, it comes!

Hamlet Angels and ministers of grace defend us! [331] 625 Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned, [332] Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts [333] from hell, Be thy intents [334] wicked or charitable, Thou com’st in such a questionable shape That I will speak to thee. I’ll call thee Hamlet, 630 King, father, royal Dane. Oh, answer me! Let me not burst in ignorance, but tell Why thy canonized [335] bones, hearsèd [336] in death, Have burst their cerements? [337] Why the sepulcher Wherein we saw thee quietly inurned [338] 635 Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws To cast thee up again? What may this mean That thou, dead corpse, again in complete steel [339] Revisits thus the glimpses of the moon, [340] Making night hideous, and we fools of nature [341] 640 So horridly to shake our disposition [342] With thoughts beyond the reaches [343] of our souls? Say, why is this? Wherefore? What should we do? [The] Ghost beckons Hamlet.

Horatio It beckons you to go away with it, 645 As if it some impartment did desire To you alone.

Marcellus Look with what courteous action It wafts you to a more removèd ground. But do not go with it.

650 Horatio No, by no means.

Hamlet It will not speak. Then I will follow it.

Horatio Do not, my lord.

Hamlet Why, what should be the fear? I do not set my life at a pin’s fee, [344] 655 And for [345] my soul, what can it do to that, Being a thing immortal as itself? [The Ghost beckons Hamlet.] It waves me forth again. I’ll follow it.

Horatio What if it tempt you toward the flood, [346] my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff 660 That beetles o’er his base [347] into the sea, And there assume some other horrible form Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason [348] And draw you into madness? Think of it: 663.1 The very place puts toys of desperation, [349] Without more motive, into every brain That looks so many fathoms [350] to the sea And hears it roar beneath. [The Ghost beckons Hamlet.]

Hamlet It wafts me still.–Go on, I’ll follow thee.

665 Marcellus You shall not go, my lord. [They attempt to restrain him.]

Hamlet Hold off your hands!

Horatio Be ruled. You shall not go.

Hamlet My fate cries out [351] And makes each petty [352] artery in this body 670 As hardy as the Nemean lion’s nerve. [353] [The Ghost beckons Hamlet.] Still am I called. Unhand me, gentlemen! By heav’n, I’ll make a ghost of him that lets me. I say, away!–Go on, I’ll follow thee. Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet.

675 Horatio He waxes desperate with imagination.

Marcellus Let’s follow. ‘Tis not fit thus to obey him.

Horatio Have after. [354] To what issue [355] will this come?

Marcellus Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Horatio Heaven will direct [356] it.

680 Marcellus Nay, let’s follow him. Exeunt.

Enter [357] Ghost and Hamlet.

Hamlet Whither wilt thou lead me? Speak. I’ll go no further.

Ghost Mark me.

Hamlet I will.

685 Ghost My hour is almost come When I to sulf’rous and tormenting flames Must render up myself.

Hamlet Alas, poor ghost!

Ghost Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing 690 To what I shall unfold.

Hamlet Speak. I am bound [358] to hear.

Ghost So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.

Hamlet What?

Ghost I am thy father’s spirit, 695 Doomed for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confined to fast [359] in fires, Till the foul crimes [360] done in my days of nature [361] Are burnt and purged [362] away. But that [363] I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison house, 700 I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up [364] thy soul, freeze thy young blood, Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres, [365] Thy knotted and combinèd locks [366] to part, And each particular hair to stand on end [367] 705 Like quills upon the fretful [368] porpentine. [369] But this eternal blazon [370] must not be To ears of flesh and blood. List, Hamlet, oh, list: [371] If thou didst ever thy dear father love–

Hamlet O God!

710 Ghost Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

Hamlet Murder?

Ghost Murder most foul, as in the best it is, [372] But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.

Hamlet 715 Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love May sweep to my revenge.

Ghost I find thee apt, And duller shouldst thou be than the fat [373] weed 720 That rots itself in ease on Lethe [374] wharf Wouldst thou [375] not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear: ‘Tis given out [376] that, sleeping in my orchard, [377] A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forgèd process [378] of my death 725 Rankly abused. [379] But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting [380] thy father’s life Now wears his crown.

Hamlet Oh, my prophetic soul! My uncle?

Ghost Ay, that incestuous, [381] that adulterate [382] beast, 730 With witchcraft of his wits, with traitorous gifts [383] — Oh, wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce!–won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming virtuous queen. Oh, Hamlet, what a falling off was there! 735 From me, whose love was of that dignity That it went hand in hand even with the vow [384] I made to her in marriage, and to decline Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor To [385] those of mine. But virtue, as it never will be moved, 740 Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven, So lust, though to a radiant angel linked, Will sate itself [386] in a celestial bed And prey on garbage. [387] But soft, [388] methinks I scent the morning’s air. [389] Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard, 745 My custom always of the afternoon, Upon my secure hour, [390] thy uncle stole With juice of cursèd hebona [391] in a vial, And in the porches of my ears [392] did pour The leperous distillment, [393] whose effect 750 Holds such an enmity with blood of man That swift as quicksilver [394] it courses through The natural gates and alleys of the body, And with a sudden vigor it doth posset And curd [395] like eager [396] droppings into milk 755 The thin and wholesome blood; so did it mine, And a most instant tetter [397] barked about, Most lazarlike [398] with vile and loathsome crust, [399] All my smooth body. Thus was I sleeping by a brother’s hand 760 Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched, [400] Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, [401] Unhousled, disappointed, unaneled, [402] No reck’ning [403] made, but sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head. 765 Oh, horrible, oh, horrible, most horrible! If thou hast nature [404] in thee, bear it not. Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury [405] and damnèd incest. [406] But howsomever thou pursues this act, 770 Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught; [407] leave her to heaven And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once. The glow-worm shows the matin [408] to be near 775 And ‘gins to pale his [409] uneffectual fire. Adieu, adieu, Hamlet! Remember me. Exit.

Hamlet O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else? And shall I couple [410] hell? Oh, fie! Hold, hold, [411] my heart, And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, 780 But bear me stiffly [412] up. Remember thee? Ay, thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat In this distracted globe. [413] Remember thee? Yea, from the table [414] of my memory I’ll wipe away all trivial fond [415] records, [416] 785 All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past [417] That youth and observation copied there, [418] And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume [419] of my brain, Unmixed with baser matter. Yes, yes, by heaven. 790 Oh, most pernicious woman! Oh, villain, villain, smiling damnèd villain! My tables, my tables–meet [420] it is I set it down [421] That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark. 795 So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word. [422] It is “Adieu, adieu, remember me.” I have sworn’t. Enter Horatio and Marcellus [calling first from within].

Horatio My lord, my lord!

Marcellus Lord Hamlet!

800 Horatio Heavens secure him! [423]

Hamlet So be it.

Marcellus Illo, ho, ho, my lord! [424]

Hamlet Hillo, ho, ho, boy, come, bird, come! [425]

Marcellus How is’t, my noble lord?

805 Horatio What news, my lord?

Hamlet Oh, wonderful!

Horatio Good my lord, tell it.

Hamlet No, you’ll reveal it.

Horatio Not I, my lord, by heaven.

810 Marcellus Nor I, my lord.

Hamlet How say you then, would heart of man once [426] think it– But you’ll be secret?

Both Ay, by heaven, my lord.

Hamlet There’s ne’er a villaindwelling in all Denmark 815 But he’s an arrant knave. [427]

Horatio There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave To tell us this.

Hamlet Why, right, you are i’th’ right. And so, without more circumstance [428] at all 820 I hold it fit that we shake hands and part: You as your business and desires shall point you (For every man hath business and desire, Such as it is), and for my own poor part, Look you, I’ll go pray.

825 Horatio These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.

Hamlet I am sorry they offend you–heartily, Yes, faith, heartily.

Horatio There’s no offense, my lord.

Hamlet Yes, by Saint Patrick, [429] but there is, Horatio, 830 And much offense [430] too. Touching [431] this vision here, It is an honest [432] ghost, that let me tell you. For [433] your desire to know what is between us, O’ermaster it as you may. And now, good friends, As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers, 835 Give me one poor request.

Horatio What is’t, my lord? We will.

Hamlet Never make known what you have seen tonight.

Both My lord, we will not.

Hamlet Nay, but swear’t.

840 Horatio In faith, my lord, not I. [434]

Marcellus Nor I, my lord, in faith.

Hamlet Upon my sword. [He holds out his sword.]

Marcellus We have sworn, my lord, already.

Hamlet Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. 845 Ghost cries under the stage.

Ghost Swear.

Hamlet Ha, ha, boy, say’st thou so? Art thou there, truepenny [435] ?– Come on, you hear this fellow in the cellarage. Consent to swear.

Horatio Propose the oath, my lord.

850 Hamlet Never to speak of this that you have seen. Swear by my sword.

Ghost Swear. [They swear.]

Hamlet Hic et ubique? [436] Then we’ll shift our ground. [437] [He moves them to another spot.] Come hither, gentlemen, 855 And lay your hands again upon my sword. Never to speak of this that you have heard Swear by my sword.

Ghost Swear by his sword. [They swear.]

Hamlet Well said, old mole. Canst work i’th’ earth so fast? 860 A worthy pioneer! [438] –Once more remove, [439] good friends. [They move once more.]

Horatio Oh, day and night, but this is wondrous strange.

Hamlet And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. [440] But come, 865 Here as before: never, so help you mercy, [441] How strange or odd some’er [442] I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on), [443] That you at such times seeing me never shall, 870 With arms encumbered [444] thus, or this headshake, [445] Or by pronouncing of some doubtful [446] phrase As, “Well, well, we know,” or “We could an if we would,” Or “If we list [447] to speak,” or “There be, an if they might,” [448] Or such ambiguous giving out, to note [449] 875 That you know aught [450] of me. This not to do, So grace and mercy at your most need help you, [451] Swear.

Hamlet Rest, rest, perturbèd spirit.–So, gentlemen, 880 With all my love I do commend me to you, [452] And what so poor a man as Hamlet is May do t’express his love and friending [453] to you, God willing, shall not lack. [454] Let us go in together, And still [455] your fingers on your lips, I pray. 885 The time is out of joint. [456] Oh, cursèd spite, That ever I was born to set it right! [They wait for him to leave first.] Nay, come, let’s go together. [457] Exeunt.

• Identify who you are. ↵
• Subjects of the Danish king. ↵
• Fantastic imaginings. ↵
• Regarding, concerning. ↵
• To come along with us. ↵
• To keep watch with us tonight. ↵
• Confirm, corroborate. ↵
• In the night just before the present one. ↵
• Probably Arcturus, a bright star just to the west of the Big Dipper and the pole star or Polaris that is directly north in the night sky. ↵
• To illuminate. ↵
• According to a widely held belief, ghosts could not speak until spoken to. ↵
• You who wrongfully assert your authority over. ↵
• The buried former King of Denmark, Hamlet's dead father. ↵
• Formerly. ↵
• Evident to the senses (especially sight). ↵
• Authority, confirmation. ↵
• King of Norway. ↵
• Parley, conference with the enemy. ↵
• Poles traveling on sleds. ↵
• Precisely. ↵
• To organize my thoughts. ↵
• In my opinion, as I consider the whole topic. ↵
• Foretells. ↵
• i.e., I implore you all. ↵
• Imposes toil on the subjects, the citizens. ↵
• Shopping abroad. ↵
• Impressment, conscription. ↵
• i.e., Requires them to work on Sunday just like every other day of the week. ↵
• About to happen. ↵
• i.e., Demands that work continue all twenty-four hours. ↵
• Old Fortinbras, King of Norway (with whom old Hamlet fought as described in lines 64-5 TLN 76-7) above; not young Fortinbras, nephew of this present king. ↵
• Competitive, rivalrous. ↵
• Challenged to fight, one on one. ↵
• i.e., all of Western Europe. ↵
• Confirmed by an official seal. ↵
• The laws and pageant customs of chivalry. ↵
• Possessed of. ↵
• In return for which a comparable portion of land was pledged by our King of Denmark. ↵
• Which was to have been assigned. ↵
• Contractual agreement. ↵
• And intent of the contact in question. ↵
• Old Fortinbras's lands would have been transferred to old Hamlet. ↵
• Full of untested fiery spirits. ↵
• Outskirts. ↵
• Rounded up a troop of restlessly ambitious younger sons and other gentry without landed title. ↵
• To feed and supply a bold enterprise demanding appetite and raw courage for such a venture. ↵
• The old King of Norway, now dead, brother of the present Fortinbras of Norway. ↵
• Motivation. ↵
• Frenetic activity and bustle. ↵
• That could well explain why. ↵
• Speck of dust. ↵
• Flourishing, prosperous. ↵
• Julius Caesar. Caesar's assassination in Rome on March 15, 44 BC, is dramatized in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar , where the event is heralded by many of the same prodigious omens cited in these lines. ↵
• Unoccupied. ↵
• Shrouded in grave-clothes. ↵
• Just as, like. ↵
• Comets and their trails drizzling blood. ↵
• Unfavorable astrological signs or aspects. ↵
• i.e., the moon, governess of tides. ↵
• The sea depends. Neptune is the Roman god of the sea. ↵
• The moon in eclipse was a foreboding sign of the day of Judgment and second coming of Christ predicted in Matthew 24.29 and Revelation 6.12. ↵
• And no less fearful predictions of frightening happenings, serving as prognosticators and prologues incessantly preceding the calamitous events that are fated to come, are the means by which heaven and earth together make manifest to our regions and peoples what they can expect. ↵
• i.e., gently, wait, hold on. ↵
• Stand in its way, confront it; also, hold up a Christian cross in front of it (as Horatio may do here). ↵
• Strike or wither me with a curse. ↵
• Are possessed with secret knowledge of. ↵
• Haply, perchance. ↵
• Long-handled, broad-bladed spear. ↵
• Moved suddenly and violently. ↵
• Trumpeter, herald. ↵
• Wandering, unrestrained. ↵
• Just before. ↵
• The rooster. ↵
• No planets exert their baleful influence. ↵
• Cast a spell, enchant. ↵
• Suffused with divine grace. ↵
• Reddish brown. ↵
• A trumpet fanfare announcing the arrival of royalty, etc. ↵
• The royal "we," seen also in lines 2, 3, 6, 7 (ourselves). ↵
• Joint possessor of the throne. ↵
• With one eye smiling and the other tear-stained and lowered in grief. ↵
• The sage advice of you elders and statesmen (like Polonius). ↵
• Have freely given consent to this marriage. ↵
• Totally disordered. ↵
• Combined with this illusory dream of his having us at a disadvantage. ↵
• Concerning, signifying. ↵
• Wasted by disease and confined to bed. ↵
• i.e., insisting that the Norwegian king put an end to Fortinbras's proceeding any further in this business, since the raising of troops and supplies is all made up out of the King of Norway's subjects (and are therefore at his disposal for military purposes, not young Fortinbras's). ("The lists" means "The roster of the troops levied.") ↵
• To serve as bearers. ↵
• Expanded, set out at length. ↵
• Let your swift carrying out of my command give testimony of your dutiful obedience. ↵
• Not in the slightest. ↵
• The Danish king. ↵
• Waste your speech. ↵
• i.e., That I will offer almost before you ask. ↵
• Closely related. ↵
• Useful in carrying out what is verbally commanded. ↵
• My awe-inspiring lord and master. ↵
• Gracious permission. ↵
• And submissively ask your gracious permission and forgiveness for my having asked such a favor. ↵
• I gave my reluctant consent, as though affixing a seal to a document of approval. ↵
• Seize your opportunity while there is still time, while you are young. ↵
• And may you spend your time guided by your best qualities and inclinations. ↵
• Anyone related by blood or kinship but not of the immediate family. ↵
• i.e., Involved in a family relationship that is at once too close and yet lacking in loving affection. "Kind" puns on the ideas of (1) blood relationship and (2) kindly feeling. ↵
• i.e., (1) too closely related as step-son to Claudius (2) too much in the sunshine of royal favor. ↵
• (1) dark mourning garments (2) melancholy. ↵
• The King of Denmark. ↵
• Lowered eyelids. ↵
• (1) a common occurrence (2) as Hamlet uses the term in line 74, "vulgar, disgusting." ↵
• Personal. ↵
• Abundance of tears. ↵
• Expression. ↵
• Outward manifestations of feeling. ↵
• Outward decorative signs. ↵
• That father who is now dead. ↵
• Appropriate to obsequies or funerals. ↵
• For since everything that happens to us must be as common as the most ordinary experience. ↵
• Continually, always. ↵
• The body of the first human ever to have died, Abel. The murder of Abel at the hands of his brother Cain, depicted in Genesis 4, is the first recorded death in the Bible after the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden for their having disobeyed God. ↵
• Profitless. ↵
• Next in succession. ↵
• The German city on the River Elbe, home to the famous university where in 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Schlosskirke, in what is conventionally regarded as the opening salvo of the Protestant Reformation. ↵
• Contrary. ↵
• Yield to our wishes. ↵
• Fail to achieve the thing she prays for. ↵
• To the best of my ability. Hamlet pointedly replies to his mother, not to the King. He uses the formal "you" rather than "thee," as was appropriate in addressing a parent. ↵
• Enjoy the privileges and status of royalty. (The plural "ourself" indicates the royal plural; it means "myself, I as king.") The King invites Hamlet to enjoy the same privileges as the King himself. ↵
• Cheerful, merry, joyful. ↵
• The King of Denmark, Claudius. Hamlet's disapproval of heavy drinking among the Danes as "a custom / More honored in the breach than the observance," in 1.4.15 ff., is directed particularly at Claudius, who uses any public ceremony as the opportunity to raise a toast. Drinking is emblematic of his worldly covetousness. ↵
• Sound, announce. The firing of artillery is to mark the occasion, as at 1.4.6 ff. ↵
• Bout of drinking, ceremonial toast. ↵
• Loudly echo. ↵
• Echoing our cannon. ↵
• Dissolve. ↵
• Divine law. ↵
• Offensively vigorous in growth and coarse in their very natures. ↵
• Completely. ↵
• Compared to Claudius. ↵
• Titan sun-god in Greek mythology. ↵
• Lecherous half-goat, half-human deity of classical mythology. ↵
• Would not allow. ↵
• As if her desire and love for her husband was augmented by the intense pleasure of that love. ↵
• Compare this interval of time with "But two months dead" at line 138 (TLN 322) above. ↵
• Even before. ↵
• When Niobe boasted that her fourteen children outnumbered those of Leto, Leto's children, Apollo and Artemis, slew all of Niobe's children as a punishment for their mother's hubris or pride. Turned by Zeus into a stone, Niobe never ceased her bitter tears, flowing as a spring from the rock. The story of Niobe and her children is told by (among others) Ovid in his Metamorphoses, 6.146-312. ↵
• Lacks the ability to reason. ↵
• Hero of classical mythology noted for his twelve "labors," deeds requiring "Herculean" strength. ↵
• Inflamed, irritated. ↵
• Judaeo-Christian tradition (see Leviticus 18.16 and 20.21), incorporated into the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, forbade a man to marry his brother's wife' as Claudius has done in this play, and, historically as Henry VIII had done by marrying his dead brother Arthur's wife, Katharine of Aragon. ↵
• i.e., I know you as well as I know myself. Hamlet, distracted and unhappy, does not recognize at first that Horatio is among those who have just entered and whom he initially greets with the conventional formula, "I am glad to see you well." Compare today's formulaic "How are you?" ↵
• Share and exchange mutually the name of "friend" with you, rather than having you address me as your master. If anything, I am your servant. ↵
• Are you going away from. ↵
• Hamlet, realizing that in his excitement at seeing Horatio he has not observed the social niceties of greeting the others who have just arrived, repairs that little slip by welcoming Marcellus by name and then Barnardo with "Good even, sir," before returning to his question to Horatio. ↵
• Nor will I trust my own ears if they tell me you are calling yourself a truant, a delinquent. ↵
• Quickly afterwards. ↵
• The food left uneaten from the funeral banquet, including meat pies and pastries, provided cold leftovers for the marriage festivities. A bitterly satiric exaggeration. ↵
• Direst, most hated, bitterest. ↵
• Last night. ↵
• Moderate your astonishment. ↵
• Attentive. ↵
• Lifeless desolation. Perhaps with a pun in "waste" on "waist, middle." ↵
• Provided with weapons in every detail. ↵
• From head to foot. From old French. ↵
• Eyes that show sudden surprise and fear. ↵
• A truncheon is a military officer's baton or staff, a sign of his office. ↵
• Full of dread, dread-inspired. ↵
• These two hands of mine are not more like each other than this apparition was like your father. ↵
• Battlements of the castle. ↵
• Its head. ↵
• Moved in such a way as to suggest that it was about to speak. ↵
• Prescribed in the duty we owe you. ↵
• i.e., Marcellus, Barnardo, and Horatio. ↵
• Visor on the helmet. ↵
• Did it appear that he was frowning? ↵
• Very likely. ↵
• i.e., Marcellus and Barnardo. ↵
• Grey or mingled with grey, was it not? ↵
• silvered Black sprinkled with silver-grey. The sable, prized then and now for its fur, is a carnivorous weasel-like mammal. ↵
• Stand watch. ↵
• Guarantee. ↵
• Be silent. ↵
• Able to be held. ↵
• i.e., I accept your "duty" as love, and I pledge my love to you in that same sense. ↵
• Location: Polonius's apartment in the castle, or some place nearby. ↵
• Loaded on board a sailing vessel. ↵
• Whenever. ↵
• And as means of transportation are available, do ↵
• Without letting ↵
• As for Hamlet and the attentions he pays you, which must be regarded as trifling. ↵
• A passing fancy prompted by sexual attraction. ↵
• i.e., Natural impulses in the springtime of their vigor. ↵
• Insistent, eagerly pulsating, early-blooming and soon to fade. ↵
• Something sweet to supply the pleasures of a moment. ↵
• The body, temple of the soul. ↵
• For all living creatures (especially humans), as they mature, grow not in physical strength alone, but as the body ages the inner qualities of mind and soul develop also. ("Thews" are sinews. "Inward service" is the inner life.) Laertes seems to be warning Ophelia that as Hamlet grows older, his interests may change. ↵
• Stain or deceit. ↵
• The sincerity of his desires and intentions. ↵
• When his royal rank is taken into consideration. ↵
• Persons of ordinary social standing. ↵
• Help himself to the choicest morsel of the roast; i.e., choose for himself. ↵
• Expressed opinion and consent. ↵
• The body politic, the state. ↵
• In the particular circumstances to which he is restricted by his high station. ↵
• Than general opinion in Denmark will go along with. ↵
• Credulous, trusting. ↵
• Listen to. ↵
• Uncontrolled urgency of desire. ↵
• i.e., Don't let your passionate feelings lead you where you will be vulnerable to his amorous assaults. ↵
• Most modest. ↵
• Is taking enough of a risk if she merely expose herself to the chaste moon. The moon (Diana, Artemis, Phoebe), as a symbol of chaste affection, was widely associated with Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabethan ladies were careful to mask themselves from the sun; Ophelia is being urged to be even more cautious than that. ↵
• Slanderous. ↵
• The cankerworm injures the budding flowers of springtime. ↵
• Before their buds are open. ↵
• In the early time of life, a time that has the freshness and innocence of the dew-sprinkled dawn. ↵
• Blightings. ↵
• Youth yields to the rebellion of the flesh without any outside promptings. ↵
• Guardian over my affections. ↵
• Ungodly, lacking in spiritual grace. ↵
• Bloated or swollen (presumably with the arrogance of youth). ↵
• Pays no heed to his own best advice. ↵
• Don't worry about me. ↵
• The goddess Occasion or Opportunity has smiled upon me by provided me the chance to say goodbye to my father a second time and thereby receive from him a second blessing. In some modern productions, Laertes (and his sister too) are both rather put off by their father's tedious moralizing. If so, Laertes's speech here is tinged with irony; he thinks he's already been through the business of saying goodbye to his father. ↵
• i.e., You have a following wind now, so don't delay. ↵
• You are being waited for on board. There now, take my blessing. ↵
• See to it that you inscribe. ↵
• And do not act upon any thought that is inadequately thought through or miscalculated. ↵
• Be sociable but not indiscriminate in your social dealings. ↵
• Metal hoops such as would be used to hold together the sides of a barrel. ↵
• i.e., shake hands so often as to make the gesture essentially meaningless. ↵
• Greeting with a handshake. ↵
• Newly hatched in the nest and still unable to fly. ↵
• Manage the business so that your adversary. ↵
• Opinion, judgment. ↵
• Do not abandon your own opinion of what is said. ↵
• Clothing, dress. ↵
• Extravagant fashion. ↵
• We are what we wear. ↵
• Are of all people the most refined in manners and in choosing what to wear. ↵
• May my blessing enable my advice to mature and ripen in your mind. ↵
• Attend, are waiting. ↵
• Concerning. ↵
• i.e., By the Virgin Mary. (A mild oath.) ↵
• Appropriately thought of; I'm glad you mentioned that. ↵
• Hearing, attention. ↵
• Presented or suggested to me. ↵
• Appreciate your situation. ↵
• Reputation. ↵
• Inexperienced. ↵
• Lawful currency. ↵
• (1) Take better care of yourself; (2) Hold out for a better bargain, i.e., marriage. ↵
• i.e., if I may use a metaphor from horsemanship, at the risk of running it so hard that it is broken-winded. ↵
• (1) make me look foolish, and yourself as well; (2) present me with a grandchild. (The word "fool" could be applied to babies, often endearingly.) ↵
• Mere form, conventional flattery. (Playing on Ophelia's "fashion" in the previous line in the more usual sense of "manner.") ↵
• i.e., What nonsense. (An expression of impatient dismissal). ↵
• Traps to catch proverbially gullible birds. ↵
• When passionate desire rages, how prodigally the soul prompts the tongue to promise anything to the desired person. ↵
• Lacking any real feeling or warmth of affection from the very first moment of the promise-making. ↵
• Somewhat. ↵
• Do not offer to surrender your chastity simply because he has requested a meeting to discuss terms. ↵
• This much concerning him. ↵
• In brief. ↵
• Go-betweens, solicitors. ↵
• Not truly of the color that their garments seem to show. (The vows are not what they seem.) ↵
• Speaking. ↵
• This is once for all; I don't want to have to say it again. ↵
• Abuse any moment's leisure (or any occasion). ↵
• Come along. ↵
• Location: The battlements or rampart walls of the castle. ↵
• Keenly, sharply. ↵
• Biting, keen, sharp. From French "aigre," sour. ↵
• Is just short of. ↵
• Was accustomed. ↵
• i.e., of cannon, ordnance. ↵
• Revels into the night. ↵
• Carouses. ↵
• Drinks many toasts and drunkenly reels his way through a lively German dance called the "upspring." ↵
• Rhine wine. ↵
• Raucously celebrate his draining the cup in his many celebratory toasts. ↵
• i.e., by the Virgin Mary. (A mild oath.) ↵
• Having a lifelong familiarity with this custom. ↵
• Better neglected than followed. ↵
• This drunken reveling causes us to be defamed and censored everywhere (east and west) by all other nations. ↵
• And tarnish our reputation by calling us swine. ↵
• No matter how outstandingly performed. ↵
• The very essence of the reputation we should enjoy. ↵
• Because of some inborn vicious inclination in them. ↵
• The qualities bestowed on them by their parents and ancestors. ↵
• i.e., By one element of our constitution gaining undue dominance over the others. ↵
• Palisades, barrier fences, serving as a fortification. ↵
• i.e., prompts excessive behavior, thereby corrupting what would otherwise be acceptable and pleasing manners (much as too much yeast causes excessive swelling in the dough). ↵
• Being the result of an inborn condition or a gift of Fortune, goddess of chance. Whether Nature and Fortune exerted the larger influence on human life was a favorite debating topic in the Renaissance. ↵
• Such a person's virtues in other respects. ↵
• Shall in the court of public opinion acquire a misconstrued reputation. ↵
• i.e., The tiny amount (literally, one eighth of an ounce) of evil qualities often blots or brings disrepute upon the noble substance of the whole. (To "dout" is to extinguish, blot out.) ↵
• May angels who minister grace defend us! ↵
• Whether you are a good angel or a demon. ↵
• Whether you bring gentle breezes from heaven or pestilent gusts. ↵
• Whether your intentions are. ↵
• Consecrated. Pronounced with the stress on the second of three syllables. ↵
• Laid in a coffin. ↵
• Grave clothes. ↵
• Entombed, placed in an urn for ashes of the dead. ↵
• Full armor. ↵
• The sublunary world, all that is fitfully lit by pale moonlight. ↵
• We mere mortals, limited to natural knowledge and subject to nature. ↵
• To unsettle our mental composure so horrendously. ↵
• The capacities. ↵
• The value of a pin. ↵
• Threateningly overhangs its base like bushy eyebrows. ↵
• Take away from you the supremacy of reason over passion. "Your sovereignty" also hints at the fact that Hamlet is Prince of Denmark and heir to the throne. ↵
• Imaginings of desperate acts, such as suicide. ↵
• Units of depth measurement at sea of about six feet. ↵
• My destiny summons me. ↵
• Even the most insignificant. ↵
• A sinew of the huge lion (from Nemea, near Corinth in Greece) slain by Hercules in the first of his twelve labors. ↵
• Let's go after him. ↵
• i.e., the "issue" or outcome. ↵
• Location: The battlements of the castle, as before. The scene is virtually continuous, though the stage is momentarily bare and we are to understand that the Ghost and Hamlet have moved to a new location on the battlements. ↵
• (1) destined, ready; (2) obligated, duty-bound. The Ghost replies to the second of these meanings. ↵
• Do penance by fasting. A conventional punishment in Purgatory. ↵
• My days on earth as a mortal. ↵
• In Roman Catholic doctrine, Purgatory (not actually mentioned by name in this play) is an intermediate state after death for the purging of sins. If an individual has died in God's grace but has committed sins not yet pardoned (owing, as in this present instance, to a sudden death leaving no time for confessing those sins to a priest), the soul can make satisfaction in Purgatory for those sins and thus become fit for heaven. ↵
• Were it not that. ↵
• Lacerate, tear up, uproot. ↵
• Eye-sockets, compared here to the crystalline spheres or orbits in which, according to Ptolemaic astronomy, the heavenly bodies moved around the earth. ↵
• Hair neatly combed and arranged in its proper place. ↵
• The eighteenth-century actor-manager, David Garrick, wore a trick wig that would stand its hairs on end as a sign of fright. See 3.4.124-5 below, where the Queen sees Hamlet's hair standing on end; the effect is caused there by the appearance of the Ghost, though the Queen in unable to see that. ↵
• Shakespeare's usual spelling of "porcupine." ↵
• Revelation of the secrets of the supernatural world. ↵
• Murder is foul even under the best of circumstances. ↵
• Torpid, lethargic, gross, bloated. ↵
• The river of forgetfulness in Hades. ↵
• If you would not. ↵
• The official story goes. ↵
• My garden. ↵
• Fabricated account. ↵
• Grossly deceived. ↵
• Elizabethans generally believed that poisonous snakes attacked their victims with their tongues rather than their fangs. ↵
• See 1.2.157 (TLN 341) and note above. ↵
• Adulterous. Whether the Ghost suspects or knows that his brother had been involved with Queen Gertrude in an adulterous affair before the murder is not clear, though the Ghost's insistence later in this speech that the Queen is to be spared and left to the workings of her conscience (lines 84-8 below, TLN 769-73) tends to suggest that he does not regard her as guilty to such a heinous degree. ↵
• (1) with perfidious natural gifts; (2) with seductive presents. ↵
• With the very vow. ↵
• Compared with. ↵
• Satisfy its craving. ↵
• But just as true virtue will remain steadfast even when tempted by unchaste desire disguising itself as an angel, lust conversely will attempt to glut its insatiable appetite even in a heavenly bed, and then, unsatisfied with that, turn to prey on filth. ↵
• Wait a minute, hold on. ↵
• he Ghost here confirms the tradition that Horatio has reported at 1.1.148 ff. (TLN 155 ff.): ghosts who visit the world of the living at night are supposed to return to their confines by dawn. ↵
• A time free from worries, and a safe time when one can relax one's guard. ↵
• A poison. The name of this unidentified poison may be related to henbane, of the nightshade family. ↵
• i.e., the entranceways to my head. ↵
• A distillation causing a leprosy-like disfigurement. ↵
• Thicken and curdle (causing the blood to clot like sour cream). ↵
• Sour, acid. ↵
• Eruption of scabs or blisters. ↵
• Leper-like. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the man had died of a grievous sickness and had lain in the earth four days, so that his body was loathsome (John 11). Traditionally, his putrid condition came to be associated with leprosy. ↵
• Enveloped with a loathsome scaly crust, like the bark of a tree-trunk. ↵
• Deprived. ↵
• When my sins were at their height. ↵
• Without having partaken of the sacrament of the Mass, unprepared because of not having made deathbed confession and not having received absolution, and not anointed with the holy oil of Extreme Unction. These are specific terms from Roman Catholic practice. "Housel" signifies the host, the bread and wine that are consecrated in the Mass as the body and blood of Christ. ↵
• Settling of spiritual accounts, making restitution for sins. ↵
• i.e., the natural feelings of a son for his father. ↵
• See notes at 1.2.157 (TLN 341) and 1.5.43 (TLN 729) above. ↵
• Anything, any punishment. ↵
• Begins . . . its. ↵
• Hold fast; do not panic; do not waver. ↵
• Strongly, vigorously. ↵
• As long as memory continues to function in my distracted head. ↵
• Wax writing tablet. Compare the use of the plural in "My tables, my tables" in line 107 below. ↵
• Stressed on the second syllable. ↵
• All wise sayings copied from books, all shapes or images drawn on the tablet of my memory, all past impressions. ↵
• That I observed and noted down when I was young. ↵
• Voluminous book. ↵
• Hamlet may actually have a wax tablet on which he proceeds to note his observation, or he may be speaking metaphorically. ↵
• Now to the business of fulfilling what I have promised. ↵
• May heaven keep him safe! Horatio and Marcellus have worried, at 1.4.71 (TLN 658), ff., that the Ghost might tempt Hamlet toward the sea or cliff and there deprive him into madness. ↵
• Marcellus is hallooing to Hamlet, seeking still to find him. Hamlet has not yet spoken to them to assure them he is safe. ↵
• Hamlet halloos in reply, as though he were calling out to a hawk or falcon, commanding it to return to its master. Hamlet may be mocking their halloos, or this may be part of the "wild and whirling words" or "antic disposition" that he begins to adopt. ↵
• Hamlet seems about ready to tell them what he has learned from the Ghost, but then jestingly turns the matter aside with a self-evident truism: there's no villain in Denmark who is not a thoroughgoing villain. ↵
• Elaboration. ↵
• The keeper of Purgatory, according to tradition. ↵
• See also TLN 830. Horatio in line 140 means "There was no offense in what you just said; no need to apologize." Hamlet, in line 142, changes the meaning of the word to apply to Claudius's crime: "There certainly IS a great offense' against all human decency and law." ↵
• Concerning, regarding. ↵
• Genuine and truthful. ↵
• As for, regarding. ↵
• Horatio insists that he will not tell anyone what they have seen this night. In the next speech, Marcellus vows also to keep the secret. They are not refusing to swear; in fact, they both seemingly take the view that they have sworn already by what they just said "in faith." But Hamlet insists that they now swear by his sword, an especially solemn oath since the sword hilt can be held so as to form a crucifix. Hamlet may hold it that way. Mel Gibson, in Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 film Hamlet, holds his sword in such a way that the hilt forms a crucifix to ward off the potential evil of a supernatural visitation. ↵
• Honest fellow, as trustworthy as the penny. Compare "sterling," thoroughly excellent, conforming to the highest standard. ↵
• Here and everywhere? (Latin). Traditionally, the devil was able to be everywhere at once. ↵
• Change where we are standing for another spot. ↵
• The small tiny-eyed burrowing mole is here compared to the "pioneer," a foot soldier who dug tunnels and trenches used in warfare. ↵
• This "natural philosophy" (i.e..,science) that people talk about. The "your" is probably impersonal, though Hamlet's jibe does apply to Horatio particularly; the two of them love to argue over issues of natural history and skepticism vs. providential readings of human life on earth. ↵
• As you hope for God's mercy. ↵
• However strangely or oddly. ↵
• To assume the wild and erratic behavior of a madman. ↵
• Folded. The folded arms and headshake are intended to suggest that the person has knowledge but dares not speak. Folded arms in particular could suggest love melancholy. ↵
• Shaking my head thus. ↵
• Ambiguous. ↵
• Wished, chose. ↵
• There are those (namely, ourselves) who could talk if they so chose. ↵
• Indicate. ↵
• Anything. ↵
• As you hope for God's grace and mercy at your hour of greatest spiritual need. ↵
• I give you my best wishes. ↵
• Friendliness, friendship. ↵
• Be lacking, be left undone. ↵
• Always, continually. ↵
• Disjointed, lacking coherence. The metaphor is derived from the medical procedure of setting bones that have been broken or separated at the joint. ↵
• When Horatio and Marcellus politely defer to Hamlet as of senior rank and thus entitled to go first, he insists on equalizing this business among friends. ↵

Hamlet: Act 1 Copyright © 2019 by William Shakespeare is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Hamlet - Act 1, scene 2

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Act 1, scene 2.

In an audience chamber in Elsinore, Claudius, the new king of Denmark, holds court. After thanking his courtiers for their recent support, he dispatches ambassadors to Norway to halt a threatened attack from Fortinbras. He gives Laertes permission to return to France but denies Hamlet’s request to return to the university in Wittenberg. Hamlet, mourning for his father’s death, is left alone to vent his despair at what he regards as his mother’s all too hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. The audience learns that the marriage took place “within a month” of the former king’s death.

Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus arrive and tell Hamlet about the Ghost. Hamlet makes plans to join them that night.

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Great Examples of Hamlet Thesis Statements

Do you need to write a paper on Hamlet? Are you confused and don’t know how to come up with a thesis statement? Read this article and get some more insight into the ways how to write a successful thesis on this popular piece of art!

Hamlet is one of the most famous tragedies created by William Shakespeare. This classic play is extremely important for the English literature. Most students have written an essay on this tragedy at least once during their studies. It is an essential part of their requirements to complete a degree. If you do a profound research, your thesis on Hamlet can break some new grounds and exert an impact on your readers.

One can find a number of topics covered in Hamlet. The most important ones are duality, revenge, and confusion. Meanwhile, the central theme of the tragedy is mourning. All of the themes are eternal: people faced these issues in the times of Shakespeare and we still encounter them in the present days. Therefore, it is not as hard as it may seem to choose a thesis on Hamlet. If you are creative enough, you can come up with an original and interesting thesis statement. All you need to do is to study the tragedy thoroughly to get your opinion regarding it.

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Your Hamlet thesis statement can be related to any of the major topics of the play, including mourning, duality, revenge, and others. Further in this article, you will find several good examples of thesis statements on Hamlet. You can use them as a guide to understand the point and create your own thesis statement.

Thesis Statement Samples

• Example 1:The Theme of Revenge in Hamlet “Hamlet is a sorrowful hero who is madly looking for vengeance for his beloved father’s demise, murders everyone who stands on his way, and eventually manages to take revenge by killing King Claudius, the man who murdered his father.”
• Example 2:The Theme of Tragedy in Hamlet

“Hamlet’s melancholy, blemish, bogus madness and inability to take action on his desire to seek vengeance for his father’s killing – it all result into his unavoidable but tragic collapse.”

• Example 3:The Theme of Hunger for Power in Hamlet

“William Shakespeare, in his famous tragedy Hamlet, tells about Claudius – an antagonist and an egocentric man who is seeking power by all means. He murders his brother and marries Queen Gertrude, his brother’s widow to attain the power he desires so much.”

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What do you think about these thesis statements? Hopefully, they will help you understand how a good thesis on Hamlet should look like and come up with your own excellent statement! If you are creative and original, you will succeed with your paper.

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Antithesis is one of Shakespeare’s favourite dramatic devices. It refers to the use of words or phrases that are the opposite of each other. Antithesis is the key to understanding Hamlet and his struggle in this play.

Shakespeare presents opposites or contradictions by balancing opposing words and statements in a sentence, by building strongly contrasting images in the audience’s mind, and by establishing characters and situations that directly oppose each other.

Consider the following:

• Fortinbras’ and Laertes’ actions of revenge are the antithesis of Hamlet’s inaction.
• Old King Hamlet in contrast to Claudius.
• The honesty of Hamlet’s grief over his father’s death contrasts with the fake grief of the court.
• Death for Hamlet is both "a consummation devoutly to be wish’d" (Act 3, Scene 1)and a place of "dread".
• His distrust of women produces an antithetical argument, that "beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd, than honesty can transform beauty into his likeness." (Act 3, Scene 1)
• His mother’s marriage vows are "false as dicer’s oaths" (Act 3, Scene 4)

Antithesis is the device in the play to create conflict and drive the action of the plot. Elsinore should be a civil world, but it is filled with horror. It is little wonder that Hamlet’s fundamental question – To be or not to be – is one of antithesis and that the only solution he can find is also one of antithesis – I must be cruel only to be kind .

Read through the following passages:

• Act 1, Scene 2 – Claudius’ speech to court (1-16) and his speech to Hamlet (87-117)
• Hamlet’s first soliloquy (Act 1. Scene 2: 129-158)
• Polonius can barely speak without revelling in antithesis, a clue to us that he sees the world in black and white, rather than in complex, human terms. Examine his scene with the King and Queen (Act 2. Scene 2: 85-165)
• Ophelia’s speech (Act 3. Scene 1: 144-155)

In each excerpt highlight the words and phrases used to create antithesis.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY:

What would be the effect if you re-wrote these words or phrases using the opposite first. For example: I must be kind to be cruel .

Related resources

William Shakespeare

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When the sentinel Marcellus speaks the line “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” after seeing the ghost of the former King Hamlet, he is speaking to a broadly-held societal superstition. In medieval times and the Middle Ages—the era in which Hamlet is set—the majority of people believed that the health of a nation was connected to the legitimacy of its king.  As Hamlet endeavors to discover—and root out—the “rotten” core of Denmark, he grows increasingly disgusted and perturbed by literal manifestations of death as well as “deaths” of other kinds: those of honor, decency, and indeed the state of Denmark as he once knew it. Ultimately, Shakespeare suggests a connection between external rot and internal, systemic rot, arguing that physical corruption portends and even predicts the poisoning of spiritual, political, and social affairs.

An atmosphere of poison, corruption, and death lingers over Hamlet from the play’s very first moments. The citizens of Denmark—both within the castle of Elsinore and beyond its walls—know that there is something “rotten” in their state. Marcellus, Barnardo , and Francisco —three watchmen at Elsinore—greet one another as they arrive for their nightly watch with hesitation, suspicion, and even skittishness, and soon the source of their anxiety becomes clear: an apparition of the recently-deceased King Hamlet has appeared on the castle walls several times in the last week. The ghost can hardly portend anything good, and as Hamlet and Horatio decide to investigate the apparition and its purpose, they learn that there is indeed a deep corruption at the heart of Denmark’s throne: Claudius , King Hamlet’s brother, murdered him and took his throne. The political corruption which has overtaken Denmark so disturbs Hamlet that he develops, as the play goes on, an obsession with physical corruption—with rot, decay, and the disgusting nature of death.

Throughout the play, Hamlet’s fixation with rot and corruption—both of the body and of the soul—reflects his (and his society’s) conflation of the spoilage of the outside with the deterioration of the inside. In Act 2, Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he sees the beauty of the world around him as nothing but a “foul and pestilent congregation of vapors,” demonstrating his inability to look past the nasty, foul truths which have recently been exposed to him. Thinking so much about his father’s death has given Hamlet’s thoughts an existential bent, but there is a deeper, darker pessimism that has overtaken his mind, as well—one which manifests as a preoccupation with disease and foulness. When confronting his mother Gertrude about her marriage to Claudius, his father’s murderer, he calls Claudius a “mildewed” man and refers to the “rank sweat” of their “enseamèd [marriage] bed.” Pestilence, rot, mold, and decay are never far from Hamlet’s mind—and this obsession reflects his larger anxieties about the deteriorating health not just of himself or his family, but of their very nation. After killing Polonius , Hamlet hides the man’s body in a place where, he warns Claudius, it will soon become food for the worms and begin to stink up the castle. Hamlet knows that just as bodies putrefy and grow rancid, so too does subterfuge and foul play. His obsession with rotting things shows that he truly believes Claudius’s “foul deeds” will soon reveal themselves—with or without Hamlet’s own help.

When Hamlet finds the skull of Yorick , a former court jester, while paying a visit to the graveyard just beyond the walls of Elsinore, he is flung into an existential despair—and one of the play’s most profound moments of reckoning with the finality (and the foulness) of death and decay unfolds. As Hamlet laments that all the parts of Yorick he knew in life—the man’s “infinite jest,” warmth, and geniality, but also his physical attributes, such as his tongue and his flesh—are gone forever, he realizes that all men, be they formidable leaders like Alexander the Great or a lowly fool, return to “dust.” Hamlet is both disturbed and soothed by the specifics of the body’s process of decay, and even asks the gravediggers working in the yard for detailed descriptions of how long, exactly, it takes for flesh to rot off of human bones. Hamlet’s continued fixation on the undignified but inescapable process of dying and decay shows that he feels incapable of stopping whatever is festering at the heart of Denmark—and indeed, in the end, a foreign leader named Fortinbras is the only one left to take over the Danish throne after Hamlet, Claudius, Laertes , and Gertrude all perish. Denmark had to rot in order to flourish—just as human flesh decays and fertilizes the ground beneath which it lies.

Shakespeare creates a gloomy, poisonous atmosphere throughout Hamlet in order to argue that there is a profound connection between internal rot and external decay. As the state of Denmark suffers political corruption, Shakespeare invokes another kind of corruption—rotting, fouling, and putrefying—to suggest that a corrupt state is just as odious as a decaying corpse.

Poison, Corruption, Death ThemeTracker

Poison, Corruption, Death Quotes in Hamlet

O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.

Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

O, villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form, in moving how express and admirable; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

To be or not to be—that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And, by opposing, end them.

Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me…

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

CLAUDIUS: What dost thou mean by this?

HAMLET: Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio—a fellow of infinite jest… Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar?

We defy augury. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.