WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S

The Tragedy of

Hamlet
PRINCE OF DENMARK
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 Characters in the Play

HAMLET The Prince of Denmark and

the Protagonist of the Play .

GHOST OF HAMLET'S FATHER

A spirit resembling Hamlet's recently
deceased father, former King Hamlet.

CLAUDIUS, KING OF DENMARK

The Present King of Denmark, brother to
the late King Hamlet, and Hamlet's uncle.

GERTRUDE, QUEEN OF DENMARK

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The Queen of Denmark, widow of
recently deceased King Hamlet, Hamlet's
mother, and a present wife of Claudius.

POLONIUS Chief Counsellor of King

Claudius.

OPHELIA Polonius's daughter, in love

with Hamlet.

LAERTES Polonius's son, and Ophelia's

brother.

HORATIO Hamlet's closest friend from

the University of Wittenberg.

ROSENCRANTZ Hamlet's childhood

friend at school.
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GUILDENSTERN Hamlet's another
childhood friend and Rosencrantz's
companion.

FORTINBRAS The young Prince of

Norway.

The Players: The Players are a

company of English actors who arrive at
Elsinore Castle in Denmark. At Elsinore,
they are asked to perform an adaptation
of "The Murder of Gonzago"

● PLAYER PROLOGUE He gives a

very brief plot (argument) at the
beginning of the play.

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● FIRST PLAYER (PLAYER KING)
He plays the King in that performance.

● PLAYER QUEEN She takes the

part of a queen in the play who has
become a widow after her husband's
death by another player.

● PLAYER LUCIANUS He plays the

role of murderer.

Courtiers at Claudius's Court:

● VOLTIMAND
● CORNELIUS
● OSRIC
● LORD

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 ● MESSENGER A member of
Claudius's Swiss Guard.

● REYNALDO Polonius's servant.

Guards at Elsinore castle:

● MARCELLUS
● BARNARDO
● FRANCISCO

NORWEGIAN CAPTAIN He is a
commander in Fortinbras' invading army.

LAERTES'S FOLLOWERS A mob

raised by Laertes against the King.

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FIRST SAILOR A member of the pirate
crew.

GENTLEMAN

Ophelia's Gravediggers:

FIRST CLOWN (GRAVEDIGGER)

SECOND CLOWN (GRAVEDIGGER)

DOCTOR OF DIVINITY A Priest at

Ophelia's funeral.

OPHELIA'S PALLBEARERS
Ophelia's Pallbearers carry her coffin to
the grave site.

FIRST AMBASSADOR
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 The Storyline

ACT I

The Exposition: The protagonist of

Hamlet is Prince Hamlet of Denmark, son
of the recently deceased King Hamlet,
and nephew of King Claudius, his father's
brother and successor. Claudius hastily
married King Hamlet's widow, Gertrude,
Hamlet's mother, and took the throne for
himself.

Fortinbras subplot: Denmark has a

long-standing feud with neighbouring
Norway, in which King Hamlet slew King
Fortinbras of Norway in a battle some
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years ago. Although Denmark defeated
Norway and the Norwegian throne fell to
King Fortinbras's infirm brother,
Denmark fears that an invasion led by the
dead Norwegian king's son, Prince
Fortinbras, is imminent.

Appearance of a ghost: On a cold

night on the ramparts of Elsinore, the
Danish royal castle, the sentries Bernardo
and Marcellus discuss a ghost resembling
the late King Hamlet which they have
recently seen, and bring Prince Hamlet's
friend Horatio as a witness. After the
ghost appears again, the three vow to tell
Prince Hamlet what they have witnessed.

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Gertrude Remarriage: As the court
gathers the next day, while King Claudius
and Queen Gertrude discuss affairs of
state with their elderly adviser Polonius,
Hamlet looks on glumly. During the
court, Claudius grants permission for
Polonius's son Laertes to return to school
in France and sends envoys to inform the
King of Norway about Fortinbras.
Claudius also scolds Hamlet for
continuing to grieve over his father and
forbids him to return to his schooling in
Wittenberg.

Hamlet's Predicament: After the

court exits, Hamlet despairs of his
father's death and his mother's hasty

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remarriage. Learning of the ghost from
Horatio, Hamlet resolves to see it himself.

Ophelia is Warned: As Polonius's son

Laertes prepares to depart for a visit to
France, Polonius offers him advice that
culminates in the maxim "to thine own
self be true." Polonius's daughter,
Ophelia, admits her interest in Hamlet,
but Laertes warns her against seeking the
prince's attention, and Polonius orders
her to reject his advances.

Truth of King Hamlet's death: That

night on the rampart, the ghost appears
to Hamlet, telling the prince that he was
murdered by Claudius and demanding
that Hamlet avenge him. Hamlet agrees,
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and the ghost vanishes. The prince
confides to Horatio and the sentries that
from now on he plans to "put an antic
disposition on", or act as though he has
gone mad, and forces them to swear to
keep his plans for revenge secret;
however, he remains uncertain of the
ghost's reliability.

ACT II

Hamlet's madness and his inner

conflict: Soon thereafter, Ophelia rushes
to her father, telling him that Hamlet
arrived at her door the prior night
half-undressed and behaving erratically.
Polonius blames love for Hamlet's
madness and resolves to inform Claudius
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and Gertrude. As he enters to do so, the
king and queen finish welcoming
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two
student acquaintances of Hamlet, to
Elsinore. The royal couple has requested
that the students investigate the cause of
Hamlet's mood and behaviour. Additional
news requires that Polonius wait to be
heard: messengers from Norway inform
Claudius that the King of Norway has
rebuked Prince Fortinbras for attempting
to re-fight his father's battles. The forces
that Fortinbras had conscripted to march
against Denmark will instead be sent
against Poland, though they will pass
through Danish territory to get there.

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Spies in form of childhood friends:
Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude his
theory regarding Hamlet's behaviour and
speaks to Hamlet in a hall of the castle to
try to uncover more information. Hamlet
feigns madness and subtly insults
Polonius all the while. When Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern arrive, Hamlet greets
his "friends" warmly but quickly discerns
that they are spies. Hamlet admits that he
is upset at his situation but refuses to give
the true reason, instead commenting on
"What a piece of work is a man".
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell
Hamlet that they have brought along a
troupe of actors that they met while
traveling to Elsinore. Hamlet, after
welcoming the actors and dismissing his
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friends-turned-spies, asks them to deliver
a soliloquy about the death of King Priam
and Queen Hecuba at the climax of the
Trojan War. Impressed by their delivery
of the speech, he plots to stage The
Murder of Gonzago, a play featuring a
death in the style of his father's murder
and to determine the truth of the ghost's
story, as well as Claudius's guilt or
innocence, by studying Claudius's
reaction.

ACT III

Contemplating life and death and

bait of true love: Polonius forces
Ophelia to return Hamlet's love letters
and tokens of affection to the prince while
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he and Claudius watch from afar to
evaluate Hamlet's reaction. Hamlet is
walking alone in the hall as the King and
Polonius await Ophelia's entrance,
musing whether "to be or not to be".
When Ophelia enters and tries to return
Hamlet's things, Hamlet accuses her of
immodesty and cries "get thee to a
nunnery", though it is unclear whether
this, too, is a show of madness or genuine
distress. His reaction convinces Claudius
that Hamlet is not mad for love.

Rising Action (Organisation of Play

to trap Claudius's guilt): Shortly
thereafter, the court assembles to watch
the play Hamlet has commissioned. After
seeing the Player King murdered by his
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rival pouring poison in his ear, Claudius
abruptly rises and runs from the room;
for Hamlet, this is proof positive of his
uncle's guilt.

Climax: Gertrude summons Hamlet to

her chamber to demand an explanation.
Meanwhile, Claudius talks to himself
about the impossibility of repenting, since
he still has possession of his ill-gotten
goods: his brother's crown and wife. He
sinks to his knees. Hamlet, on his way to
visit his mother, sneaks up behind him
but does not kill him, reasoning that
killing Claudius while he is praying will
send him straight to heaven while his
father's ghost is stuck in purgatory.

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Falling Action: In the queen's
bedchamber, Hamlet and Gertrude fight
bitterly. Polonius, spying on the
conversation from behind a tapestry, calls
for help as Gertrude, believing Hamlet
wants to kill her, calls out for help herself.

Polonius's death: Hamlet, believing it

is Claudius, stabs wildly, killing Polonius,
but he pulls aside the curtain and sees his
mistake. In a rage, Hamlet brutally
insults his mother for her apparent
ignorance of Claudius's villainy, but the
ghost enters and reprimands Hamlet for
his inaction and harsh words. Unable to
see or hear the ghost herself, Gertrude
takes Hamlet's conversation with it as
further evidence of madness. After
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begging the queen to stop sleeping with
Claudius, Hamlet leaves, dragging
Polonius's corpse away.

ACT IV

Falling Action

Exile to England: Hamlet jokes with

Claudius about where he has hidden
Polonius's body, and the king, fearing for
his life, sends Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern to accompany Hamlet to
England with a sealed letter to the
English king requesting that Hamlet be
executed immediately.

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Ophelia's madness and Laertes's
rage: Unhinged by grief at Polonius's
death, Ophelia wanders Elsinore. Laertes
arrives back from France, enraged by his
father's death and his sister's madness.
Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is
solely responsible, but a letter soon
arrives indicating that Hamlet has
returned to Denmark, foiling Claudius's
plan.

Plot to kill Hamlet and news of

Ophelia's death: Claudius switches
tactics, proposing a fencing match
between Laertes and Hamlet to settle
their differences. Laertes will be given a
poison-tipped foil, and, if that fails,
Claudius will offer Hamlet poisoned wine
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as a congratulation. Gertrude interrupts
to report that Ophelia has drowned,
though it is unclear whether it was
suicide or an accident caused by her
madness.

ACT V

Resolution

Horatio has received a letter from

Hamlet, explaining that the prince
escaped by negotiating with pirates who
attempted to attack his England-bound
ship, and the friends reunite offstage.

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Late Confession of love: Two
gravediggers discuss Ophelia's apparent
suicide while digging her grave. Hamlet
arrives with Horatio and banters with one
of the gravediggers, who unearths the
skull of a jester from Hamlet's childhood,
Yorick. Hamlet picks up the skull, saying
"alas, poor Yorick" as he contemplates
mortality. Ophelia's funeral procession
approaches, led by Laertes. Hamlet and
Horatio initially hide, but when Hamlet
realizes that Ophelia is the one being
buried, he reveals himself, proclaiming
his love for her. Laertes and Hamlet fight
by Ophelia's graveside, but the brawl is
broken up.

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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
dead: Back at Elsinore, Hamlet explains
to Horatio that he had discovered
Claudius's letter with Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern's belongings and replaced it
with a forged copy indicating that his
former friends should be killed instead.

A Fencing match, treachery of

swords and a series of bloodbath A
foppish courtier, Osric, interrupts the
conversation to deliver the fencing
challenge to Hamlet. Hamlet, despite
Horatio's pleas, accepts it. Hamlet does
well at first, leading the match by two hits
to none, and Gertrude raises a toast to
him using the poisoned glass of wine
Claudius had set aside for Hamlet.
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Claudius tries to stop her but is too late:
she drinks, and Laertes realizes the plot
will be revealed. Laertes slashes Hamlet
with his poisoned blade. In the ensuing
scuffle, they switch weapons, and Hamlet
wounds Laertes with his own poisoned
sword. Gertrude collapses and, claiming
she has been poisoned, dies. In his dying
moments, Laertes reconciles with Hamlet
and reveals Claudius's plan. Hamlet
rushes at Claudius and kills him. As the
poison takes effect, Hamlet, hearing that
Fortinbras is marching through the area,
names the Norwegian prince as his
successor. Horatio, distraught at the
thought of being the last survivor and
living whilst Hamlet does not, says he will
commit suicide by drinking the dregs of
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Gertrude's poisoned wine, but Hamlet
begs him to live on and tell his story.
Hamlet dies in Horatio's arms,
proclaiming "the rest is silence".
Fortinbras, who was ostensibly marching
towards Poland with his army, arrives at
the palace, along with an English
ambassador bringing news of
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths.
Horatio promises to recount the full story
of what happened, and Fortinbras, seeing
the entire Danish royal family dead, takes
the crown for himself and orders a
military funeral to honour Hamlet.

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 ACT I : SCENE I
____________________
For two nights, Barnardo and Marcellus have
seen a ghost in the form of the late king appear
on the battlements. They have called on the
scholar Horatio to join them on the third night
in the hopes he will know what to do. Horatio is
skeptical, as he does not believe in ghosts, so he
is shaken when the ghost appears as predicted
and vanishes. They discuss preparations for war
occupying the Danish court and Horatio explains
that young Fortinbras of Norway is threatening
to take back the lands his father lost to former
King Hamlet, the dead king whose ghost they
have seen. The ghost reappears and Horatio tries
to get it to speak, suggesting every explanation of
its appearance that he can think of, but the ghost
remains silent and vanishes as the morning
rises.

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The three agree to tell young Hamlet, the dead
king's son, about the event.

____________________

Scene I. Elsinore. A platform

before the castle.

Enter BARNARDO and

FRANCISCO, two sentinels,
meeting.

BARNARDO
Who's there?

Barnardo. Who’s there?

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FRANCISCO
Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold
yourself.

Francisco. No, you answer me.

Stop and reveal (identify)
yourself.

BARNARDO
Long live the king!

Barnardo. Long live the King!

FRANCISCO
Barnardo?

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Francisco. Barnardo, is that
you?

BARNARDO
He.

Barnardo. Yes, it's me.

FRANCISCO
You come most carefully upon your
hour.

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Francisco. You arrived right on
schedule. You have come with
exact punctuality to your time.

BARNARDO
'Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to
bed, Francisco.

Barnardo. The clock just struck

twelve. Go to bed for some
rest, Francisco.

FRANCISCO

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

Francisco. Thanks for relieving

me. It's bitterly cold out, and I
feel less energetic.

BARNARDO
Have you had a quite guard?

Barnardo. Has your guard duty

been quiet?

FRANCISCO
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 Not a mouse stirring.

Francisco. I have not even

heard a mouse squeak.

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

Barnardo. Well, good night

then. If you see Horatio and
Marcellus ---- the partners
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(companions) of my guard duty
---- tell them to hurry up.

Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS.

FRANCISCO
I think I hear them. Stand ho! Who
is there?

Francisco. I think I can hear

them now. Stop! Who's there?

HORATIO
Friends to this ground.

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Horatio. Friends of this
country.

MARCELLUS
And liegemen to the Dane.

Marcellus. And loyal servants

(subjects) of the Danish King.

FRANCISCO
Give you good night.

Francisco. (May God) give you

a good night.

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

Marcellus. Oh, goodbye,

honourable soldier. Who has
relieved you?

FRANCISCO
Barnardo hath my place.
Give you good night.

Francisco. Barnardo has taken

my place. God give you good
night.
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 Exit FRANCISCO.

MARCELLUS
Holla, Barnardo!

Marcellus. Ho, hello, Barnardo!

BARNARDO
Say—
What, is Horatio there?

Barnardo. So say, is Horatio

here too with you?

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HORATIO
A piece of him.

Horatio. Yes, a portion of his

mind and body have come here
on this cold night.

BARNARDO
Welcome, Horatio, welcome, good
Marcellus.

Barnardo. Welcome Horatio.

And welcome good Marcellus.

MARCELLUS
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What, has this thing appeared again
tonight?

Marcellus. So, has that thing

appeared again tonight?

BARNARDO
I have seen nothing.

Barnardo. I have not seen

anything.

MARCELLUS
Horatio says ’tis but our fantasy,

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And will not let belief take hold of
him
Touching this dreaded sight twice
seen of us;
Therefore I have entreated him
along,
With us to watch the minutes of this
night,
That if again this apparition come,
He may approve our eyes and speak
to it.

Marcellus. Horatio says that

this dreaded thing is only our
imagination, and he won’t let
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himself believe in this awful
and fearsome thing we have
now seen twice. That's why I
begged him to come along with
us in our guard duty to observe
the minutes of tonight, so that
if this ghost appears again he
can confirm with his own eyes
that what we have seen is
correct and will agree that it's
real and speak to it.

HORATIO
Tush, tush, ’twill not appear.
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Horatio. Oh, come now. Stop
talking nonsense. It's not going
to appear.

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

Barnardo. Sit down for a while,

and let us once again attack
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your ears which are so biased
towards our story ---- you
refuse to believe, about what
we have seen the last two
nights.

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

Horatio. Sure, let’s sit down

anyway and listen to Barnardo
tell us about it.

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BARNARDO
Last night of all,
When yond same star that’s
westward from the pole
Had made his course t'illume that
part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and
myself,
The bell then beating one—

Barnardo. Last night, when

that star to the west of the
Northern (Pole) Star had moved
across the heavens to brighten
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and illuminate that spot in the
sky where it’s shining now, at
precisely one o’clock, Marcellus
and I were sitting here when—

Enter GHOST.

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

Marcellus. Quiet, stop talking!

Look, it has come again!

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

Barnardo. Looking exactly in

the form of a dead king.

MARCELLUS
Thou art a scholar, speak to it,
Horatio.

Marcellus. You are

well-educated and a scholar,
Horatio. Speak to it.

BARNARDO
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Looks ’a not like the King? Mark it,
Horatio.

Barnardo. Doesn't he look like

the dead king? Observe it
closely, Horatio.

HORATIO
Most like; it harrows me with fear
and wonder.

Horatio. Exactly like him. It

fills me with fear and wonder.

BARNARDO
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It would be spoke to.

Barnardo. It wants us to speak

to it.

MARCELLUS
Question it, Horatio.

Marcellus. Ask it something,

Horatio.

HORATIO
What art thou that usurp’st this time
of night,

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Together with that fair and warlike
form
In which the majesty of buried
Denmark
Did sometimes march? By heaven I
charge thee speak!

Horatio. What are you, who

wrongfully takes and disturbes
this time of nightly guard,
appearing just like the
greatness of dead King of
Denmark, dressed in that fair
battle armour and march like

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him when he was alive? By God,
I order you to speak.

MARCELLUS
It is offended.

Marcellus. It seems like you

have offended it.

BARNARDO
See, it stalks away!

Barnardo. Look, it moves away

with stately steps!

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HORATIO
Stay! Speak, speak, I charge thee
speak!

Horatio. Stay! Speak! Speak! I

order you, speak!

Exit GHOST.

MARCELLUS
’Tis gone, and will not answer.

Marcellus. It is gone, and won't

answer now.
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BARNARDO
How now, Horatio? You tremble
and look pale.
Is not this something more than
fantasy?
What think you on’t?

Barnardo. How are you,

Horatio? You are looking pale
and trembling. Is not this
something more than just our
imagination? What do you think
about it?

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HORATIO
Before my God, I might not this
believe
Without the sensible and true
avouch
Of mine own eyes.

Horatio. I swear before my

God, I could not bring myself to
believe this without the sensory
and true warrant (verification
or proof) of my own eyes.

MARCELLUS
Is it not like the King?
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Marcellus. Doesn't it look like
the former king?

HORATIO
As thou art to thyself.
Such was the very armor he had on
When he the ambitious Norway
combated.
So frowned he once when in an
angry parle
He smote the sledded Polacks on the
ice.
’Tis strange.

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Horatio. As much as you look
like yourself. That was the
same suit of armour the king
wore when he fought the
ambitious King of Norway. And
the ghost frowned just like the
King did once in an angry
conference with Norwegians,
which became heated and this
led to a fighting against the
Poles, where he beat the Poles
who traveled on the ice in
sleds. It is quite strange.

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MARCELLUS
Thus twice before, and jump at this
dead hour,
With martial stalk hath he gone by
our watch.

Marcellus. It has happened like

this twice before, and always
at this time of night. Dressed
like a warrior, the ghost makes
a proud military walk by us at
our guard post.

HORATIO

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In what particular thought to work I
know not,
But in the gross and scope of mine
opinion,
This bodes some strange eruption to
our state.

Horatio. I don't know in which

particular area to concentrate
my thoughts in order to explain
this. But taking a wide view, as
far as I can think, my general
impression is that ---- this
signify some bad fortune for us.
It means that something awful
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or weird upheaval is about to
happen to our country.

MARCELLUS
Good now, sit down, and tell me, he
that knows,
Why this same strict and most
observant watch
So nightly toils the subject of the
land,
And why such daily cast of brazen
cannon,
And foreign mart for implements of
war,

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Why such impress of shipwrights,
whose sore task
Does not divide the Sunday from the
week,
What might be toward, that this
sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint-labourer
with the day:
Who is’t that can inform me?

Marcellus. Well, speaking of

that, let’s sit down so that,
whoever knows about it, can
tell me why Denmark has
imposed such a strict and most
59
observant schedule of nightly
watches which makes the
people of the country work
every night in this way. And
why we have been casting so
many brass cannons daily, and
why we are buying (marketing)
so many weapons of war from
other foreign countries. And
why there is so much forced
labour of shipbuilders, and why
they are kept so busy whose
heavy duty doesn't distinguish
the Sunday from the whole
60
week (they don’t even rest on
Sunday). What’s coming that
this sweaty haste forces us to
make the night a worker
together with the day (to work
day and night in this way)? Who
can inform me?

HORATIO
That can I,
At least the whisper goes so: our last
king,
Whose image even but now
appeared to us,

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Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of
Norway,
Thereto pricked on by a most
emulate pride,
Dared to the combat; in which our
valiant Hamlet
For so this side of our known world
esteemed him
Did slay this Fortinbras, who, by a
sealed compact
Well ratified by law and heraldy,
Did forfeit (with his life) all those his
lands
Which he stood seized of, to the
conqueror;

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Against the which a moiety
competent
Was gaged by our king, which had
returned
To the inheritance of Fortinbras,
Had he been vanquisher; as by the
same comart
And carriage of the article design,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young
Fortinbras,
Of unimproved mettle hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway here
and there
Sharked up a list of landless
resolutes
For food and diet to some enterprise
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That hath a stomach in’t, which is
no other,
As it doth well appear unto our
state,
But to recover of us, by strong hand
And terms compulsatory, those
foresaid lands
So by his father lost; and this, I take
it,
Is the main motive of our
preparations,
The source of this our watch, and
the chief head
Of this post-haste and romage in the
land.

64
Horatio. I can do that. At least,
I can tell you the rumors: the
greatness of our former
king—whose ghost just now
appeared to us—inspired the
competitive pride of King
Fortinbras of Norway.
Fortinbras challenged him to
hand-to-hand combat. During
that fight, our courageous
Hamlet (as we Danes thought of
him) killed old King Fortinbras,
who—on the basis of a signed
and sealed agreement and in
65
full accordance with the law
and rules of
combat—surrendered, along
with his life, all the lands he
possessed to his conqueror. By
that same agreement, our king
bet lands of equal value that he
would have had to give up had
he been defeated. Now,
Fortinbras’ son, young
Fortinbras, who is daring but
has yet to prove himself, has
hastily gathered a group of
landless brutes. For no pay
66
other than food on the outskirts
of Norway. They are willing to
give their courage to the effort
of forcefully regaining the lands
the elder Fortinbras lost. I
believe this is the reason that
we have been sent on guard
duty, and the primary source of
all the recent hustle and bustle
in Denmark.

BARNARDO
I think it be no other but e’en so.

67
Well may it sort that this portentous
figure
Comes armed through our watch so
like the King
That was and is the question of
these wars.

Barnardo. I think that’s right.

It makes sense that this ghost
of the late king would haunt
our guard duty now, since he
was such an important part of
these wars.

HORATIO
68
A mote it is to trouble the mind’s
eye.
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.
As stars with trains of fire, and dews
of blood,
Disasters in the sun; and the moist
star
Upon whose influence Neptune’s
empire stands

69
Was sick almost to doomsday with
eclipse.
And even the like precurse of feared
events,
As harbingers preceding still the
fates
And prologue to the omen coming
on,
Have heaven and earth together
demonstrated
Unto our climatures and
countrymen.

Horatio. The ghost is definitely

something to worry about, like

70
a speck of dust bothering your
eye. In the powerful Roman
Empire, just before the mighty
emperor Julius Caesar was
assassinated, the graves stood
empty while the ghostly dead
ran through the streets of
Rome, squeaking and delirious.
Shooting stars streaked across
the sky, blood fell along with
the morning dew, and omens of
disaster appeared on the sun.
The moon, which controls the
tides of the sea, was so
71
eclipsed that it almost
disappeared completely. We
have had similar signs of
disaster, as if heaven and earth
have joined together to warn us
of what is to come.

Enter GHOST.

But soft, behold! Lo where it comes

again!

Wait, look! It has returned

again.

72
 [The GHOST spreads his arms]

I’ll cross it though it blast me. Stay,

illusion!
If thou hast any sound or use of
voice,
Speak to me.
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 thy country’s
fate,
Which happily foreknowing may
avoid,
73
O speak!
Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Extorted treasure in the womb of
earth,
For which, they say, your spirits oft
walk in death,
Speak of it, stay and speak!

I will face it if it is the last

thing I do. Stop, you illusion! If
you have a voice or can make
sounds, speak to me. If there is
anything that I can do that
might bring peace to you and
honour to me, speak to me. If
74
you know something about your
country’s fate—which we could
avoid if we knew about
it—then, oh, speak! Or if you
have a treasure buried
somewhere in the earth—which
they say often makes ghosts
restless—then speak of it. Stay
and speak!

[The morning cock crows]

Stop it, Marcellus.

75
Don’t let it leave, Marcellus.

MARCELLUS
Shall I strike at it with my partisan?

Marcellus. Should I hit it with

my spear?

HORATIO
Do, if it will not stand.

Horatio. Yes, if it doesn't stand

still.

BARNARDO
76
 ’Tis here!

Barnardo. It is here.

HORATIO
’Tis here!

Horatio. It is here.

MARCELLUS
’Tis gone!

Marcellus. It is gone.

Exit GHOST.
77
We do it wrong, being so majestical,
To offer it the show of violence,
For it is as the air, invulnerable,
And our vain blows malicious
mockery.

We were wrong to threaten it

with violence, since it looked
so kingly. And, like the air, we
couldn't hurt it. Our useless
blows amounted to cruel
taunts.

BARNARDO
78
It was about to speak when the cock
crew.

Barnardo. It was about to say

something when the rooster
crowed.

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

Horatio. And then it looked

startled, like a guilty person
summoned to appear in court. I
have heard that the
rooster—which calls to signal
80
the coming morning—awakens
the god of day, and makes all
wandering ghosts—wherever
they are—hurry back to their
hiding places. What we have
just seen is proof of that.

MARCELLUS
It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever ’gainst that
season comes
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is
celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all
night long,
81
And then they say no spirit dare stir
abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no
planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power
to charm,
So hallowed, and so gracious, is that
time.

Marcellus. It faded away when

the rooster crowed. Some
people say that just before
Christmas the rooster crows all
night long, so that no ghost
dares go wandering, and the
82
night is safe for all. Then, on
that night, no dark fates
control us, no fairy can cast a
spell on us, and witches cannot
hurt us with their charms.
That’s how holy and blessed
Christmas is.

HORATIO
So have I heard and do in part
believe it.
But look, the morn in russet mantle
clad

83
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,
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?

84
Horatio. I have heard the same
thing, and partially believe it.
But look, the red glow of
morning is breaking beyond
that hill in the east. Let’s end
our watch guard, and go tell
young Hamlet what we have
seen tonight. I would bet my
life that this ghost, which will
not speak to us, will speak to
him. Do you agree that we
should tell Hamlet that we owe
it to him out of our duty and
our love?
85
MARCELLUS
Let’s do’t, I pray, and I this morning
know
Where we shall find him most
conveniently.

Marcellus. Let’s do it. Please.

And I know where we can find
him very easily this morning.

Exeunt.

Exit.

86
 ACT I : SCENE II
____________________
King Claudius explains that he has married his
brother's widow. He then moves on to matters of
state and sends Voltimand and Cornelius to
Fortinbras's uncle, King of Norway, detailing the
young man's movements and warning Norway to
restrain him. Claudius then gives Laertes
permission to return to France since Polonius
has agreed. Claudius then steps to his stepson
Hamlet's endless mourning for his father.
Gertrude attempts to persuade her son to cheer
up, but he is unresponsive. At Claudius and
Gertrude's urging, he accepts not to return to the
university in Wittenberg. Left alone, Hamlet
laments his mother's remarriage, especially as it
came three months after his father's death, and
he is disgusted that she married her
brother-in-law. Horatio and the guards appear
to tell him their story; he is disbelieving and
87
 tests them, but agrees to watch with them that
night.

____________________

Scene II. Elsinore. A room of state

in the castle.

Flourish. Enter KING CLAUDIUS,

QUEEN GERTRUDE, HAMLET,
POLONIUS, LAERTES, OPHELIA,
VOLTEMAND and CORNELIUS,
Councillors, Lords, and Attendants.

CLAUDIUS, KING OF
DENMARK

88
Though yet of Hamlet our dear
brother’s death
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
Together with remembrance of
ourselves.
Therefore our sometime sister, now
our queen,
89
Th’ imperial jointress to this warlike
state,
Have we, as ’twere with a defeated
joy,
With one auspicious, and one
dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral, and with
dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and
dole,
Taken to wife; nor have we herein
barred
Your better wisdoms, which have
freely gone
With this affair along. For all, our
thanks.
90
Now follows that you know young
Fortinbras,
Holding a weak supposal of our
worth,
Or thinking by our late dear
brother’s death
Our state to be disjoint and out of
frame,
Colleagued with this dream of his
advantage,
He hath not failed to pester us with
message
Importing the surrender of those
lands
Lost by his father, with all bands of
law,
91
To our most valiant brother. So
much for him.
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 bedrid, scarcely
hears
Of this his nephew’s purpose—to
suppress
His further gait herein, in that the
levies,
The lists, and full proportions are all
made
92
Out of his subject; and we here
dispatch
You, good Cornelius, and you,
Voltemand,
For bearers of this greeting to old
Norway,
Giving to you no further personal
power
To business with the King, more
than the scope
Of these dilated articles allow.

[Giving a paper]

Farewell, and let your haste

commend your duty.
93
Claudius, King of Denmark.
Though my memories of my
brother Hamlet are still
fresh—and though it was proper
for me and our entire kingdom
to grieve for him—life doesn’t
stop. And so while we must
remember to mourn for him, it
is also wise to remember our
own happiness. Therefore—with
a sad joy; with one eye merry
and the other crying; with
laughter at a funeral and
94
grieving at a wedding; with
equal measures of happiness
and sadness—I have married my
former sister-in-law and made
her my queen. In this marriage,
I know I have done exactly
what all of you have been
advising me to do all along. To
all of you, my thanks. Now,
let’s move on to news that you
all know: young Fortinbras,
dreaming of glory and thinking
that I am weak—or perhaps that
the death of my brother has
95
thrown our country into
chaos—continues to bother me
with demands that I surrender
the lands that his father lost to
my brother when he was alive.
That’s the news on Fortinbras.
As for me and this meeting,
here’s the story: [He holds up
a letter] I have written to the
King of Norway—Fortinbras’
uncle—a weak and bedridden
old man who has barely heard a
thing about his nephew’s aims.
I have told the Norwegian King
96
to put a halt to Fortinbras’
plans, since all of Fortinbras’
troops are Norwegian.

[To CORNELIUS and

VOLTEMAND] You, good
Cornelius, and you, Voltemand,
we send you to carry this letter
to the old King of Norway, but
give you no more power to
negotiate with the Norwegian
King beyond what is outlined in
this letter.

97
 [He gives them a letter]

Goodbye, and may you show

your loyalty through the speed
with which you bring this letter
to Norway.

BOTH CORNELIUS AND

VOLTEMAND
In that, and all things, will we show
our duty.

Both Cornelius and

Voltemand. We’ll show our

98
loyalty to you in that and all
other ways.

CLAUDIUS, KING OF
DENMARK
We doubt it nothing; heartily
farewell.

Exeunt VOLTIMAND and

CORNELIUS.

And now, Laertes, what’s the news

with you?
You told us of some suit, what is’t,
Laertes?

99
You cannot speak of reason to the
Dane
And lose your voice. What wouldst
thou beg, Laertes,
That shall not be my offer, not thy
asking?
The head is not more native to the
heart,
The hand more instrumental to the
mouth,
Than is the throne of Denmark to
thy father.
What wouldst thou have, Laertes?

100
Claudius, King of Denmark. I
do not doubt it. A fond goodbye
to you.

VOLTIMAND and CORNELIUS

exit.

And now, Laertes, what’s your

news? You mentioned that you
have a favor to ask of me. What
is it, Laertes? You will never be
wasting your words by making a
reasonable request of the King
of Denmark. What could you
101
possibly ask for that I would not
give you? Your father is as vital
to the Danish throne as the
head is to the heart, or the
hand to the mouth. What do
you want, Laertes?

LAERTES
My dread lord,
Your leave and favor to return to
France,
From whence though willingly I
came to Denmark
To show my duty in your
coronation,
102
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.

Laertes. My powerful lord, I

would like your permission to
go back to France. Though I
came willingly to Denmark to
show my loyalty at your
coronation, now that my duty is
done, I must admit that my
thoughts are once more
103
directed toward France. I hope
you will give me your
permission to go.

CLAUDIUS, KING OF
DENMARK
Have you your father’s leave? What
says Polonius?

Claudius, King of Denmark. Do

you have your father's
permission? What does Polonius
say?

104
POLONIUS
He hath, my lord, wrung from me
my slow leave
By laborsome petition, and at last
Upon his will I sealed my hard
consent.
I do beseech you give him leave to
go.

Polonius. My lord, he has won

my permission by asking me
over and over again so that,
finally, I reluctantly gave my
approval. I ask you to please
give him permission to go.
105
CLAUDIUS, KING OF
DENMARK
Take thy fair hour, Laertes, time be
thine,
And thy best graces spend it at thy
will!
But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my
son—

Claudius, King of Denmark.

Leave when you like, Laertes.
Your time is your own, to be
spent however you want. And

106
now, Hamlet, my nephew and
my son—

HAMLET
[Aside]

A little more than kin, and less than

kind.

Hamlet.
[To himself]

To call me 'son' is more than our

actual kinship warrants; and

107
there is less than the natural
feelings of such a relationship
between us. I am more closely
related to you than I used to
be, but without any feelings of
affection.

CLAUDIUS, KING OF
DENMARK
How is it that the clouds still hang
on you?

Claudius, King of Denmark.

Why are you so gloomy that it

108
seems like you are covered by
clouds?

HAMLET
Not so, my lord, I am too much i'th
sun.

Hamlet. Not at all, my lord.

The problem is that I am
covered in the sun.

GERTRUDE, QUEEN OF
DENMARK
Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color
off,
109
And let thine eye look like a friend
on Denmark.
Do not forever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.
Thou know’st ’tis common, all that
lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.

Gertrude, Queen of Denmark.

Dearest Hamlet, stop wearing
these black clothes, and look
upon the King of Denmark as a
friend. You cannot spend your
whole life with your eyes aimed
down at the ground, looking for
110
your noble father in the dust.
You know it is common.
Everything that lives must die,
passing from nature to heaven.

HAMLET
Ay, madam, it is common.

Hamlet. Yes, madam, it is

common.

GERTRUDE, QUEEN OF
DENMARK
If it be,

111
Why seems it so particular with
thee?

Gertrude, Queen of Denmark.

If that’s so, why does it seem
like such an issue to you?

HAMLET
Seems, madam? Nay, it is, I know
not “seems.”
’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good
mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn
black,

112
Nor windy suspiration of forced
breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected havior of the
visage,
Together with all forms, moods,
shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These
indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man
might play,
But I have that within which passes
show,
These but the trappings and the
suits of woe.

113
Hamlet. “Seem,” mother? No,
it is. I don’t know the meaning
of “seems.” Good mother, the
black clothes I wear each day,
my heavy sighs, the tears from
my eyes, the sadness visible in
my face, or any other show of
grief cannot capture what I
actually feel. All these things
“seem” like grief, since they
are just what a person would
do to act like they were
grieving in a play. But inside of
me I have real grief, of which
114
these clothes and displays of
grief are just an outward
representation.

CLAUDIUS, KING OF
DENMARK
’Tis sweet and commendable in your
nature, Hamlet,
To give these mourning duties to
your father.
But you must know your father lost
a father,
That father lost, lost his, and the
survivor bound
In filial obligation for some term
115
To do obsequious sorrow. But to
persever
In obstinate condolement is a course
Of impious stubbornness, ’tis
unmanly grief,
It shows a will most incorrect to
heaven,
A heart unfortified, or mind
impatient,
An understanding simple and
unschooled:
For what we know must be, and is as
common
As any the most vulgar thing to
sense,

116
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,
To reason most absurd, whose
common theme
Is death of fathers, and who still
hath cried,
From the first corse till he that died
today,
“This must be so.” We pray you
throw to earth
This unprevailing woe, and think of
us
117
As of a father, for let the world take
note
You are the most immediate to our
throne,
And with no less nobility of love
Than that which dearest father bears
his son
Do I impart toward you. For your
intent
In going back to school in
Wittenberg,
It is most retrograde to our desire,
And we beseech you bend you to
remain
Here in the cheer and comfort of our
eye,
118
Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and
our son.

Claudius, King of Denmark.

Hamlet, it is sweet and good
that you mourn like this for
your father. But you must also
remember that your father lost
his father, who in turn lost his
father, and each time the son
had a duty to mourn for his
father for a certain time. But
to continue to mourn out of
sheer stubbornness is
119
blasphemous. It is not manly. It
does not fit with God’s desires,
and it indicates a too-soft
heart, an undisciplined mind,
and a general lack of
knowledge. When we know that
something must eventually
happen—and that it happens to
everyone—why should we get it
into our heads to oppose it?
Indeed! Acting this way is a
crime against heaven, a crime
against the dead, a crime
against nature. To a reasonable
120
mind, it is absurd, since the
death of fathers—from the first
corpse until the most recent—is
an inescapable theme of life. I
ask you, give up your ceaseless
mourning, and think of me as
your new father. Let the world
understand: you are the next in
line of heirs for the throne, and
I feel as much love for you as
any father feels for his son. As
for your desire to return to
Wittenberg, it is not what I
would want. So I beg you,
121
please give in to my request
and remain here, where you
can bring joy and comfort—as
the highest-ranking member of
my court, my nephew, and now
my son.

GERTRUDE, QUEEN OF
DENMARK
Let not thy mother lose her prayers,
Hamlet,
I pray thee stay with us, go not to
Wittenberg.

122
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark.
Please don’t let my prayers be
in vain, Hamlet. I beg you, stay
with us. Don’t return to
Wittenberg.

HAMLET
I shall in all my best obey you,
madam.

Hamlet. I will obey you as best

I can, madam.

123
CLAUDIUS, KING OF
DENMARK
Why, ’tis a loving and a fair reply.
Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam,
come.
This gentle and unforced accord of
Hamlet
Sits smiling to my heart, in grace
whereof,
No jocund health that Denmark
drinks today,
But the great cannon to the clouds
shall tell,
And the King’s rouse the heaven
shall bruit again,

124
Respeaking earthly thunder. Come
away.

Claudius, King of Denmark.

That loving response is what I
hoped for: stay with us in
Denmark.

[To GERTRUDE] My dear wife,

come. Hamlet’s easy
willingness to stay has made
me glad, and in honor of it,
every happy toast I will drink
today will sound like cannons
125
up to the clouds above. My
drinking will echo against the
heavens like thunder. Come on.

Flourish. Exeunt all but HAMLET.

Trumpets play. Everyone exits

except HAMLET.

HAMLET
O that this too too solid flesh would
melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed

126
His canon ’gainst self-slaughter! O
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
That grows to seed, things rank and
gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should
come to this!
But two months dead, nay, not so
much, not two.
So excellent a king, that was to this

127
Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my
mother
That he might not beteem the winds
of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven
and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she should
hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on, and yet, within a
month—
Let me not think on’t! Frailty, thy
name is woman!—
A little month, or ere those shoes
were old

128
With which she followed my poor
father’s body,
Like Niobe, all tears—why, she, even
she—
O God, a beast that wants discourse
of reason
Would have mourned
longer—married with my uncle,
My father’s brother, but no more
like my father
Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous
tears
Had left the flushing in her galled
eyes,

129
She married—O most wicked speed:
to post
With such dexterity to incestuous
sheets,
It is not, nor it cannot come to good,
But break my heart, for I must hold
my tongue.

Hamlet. Oh, if only my dirty

flesh would melt and then
evaporate into a dew, or that
God had not outlawed suicide.
Oh God, God! How tired, stale,
dull, and worthless all of life
seems to me. Curse it! Yes,
130
curse it! It is like an untended
garden, growing wild. Nasty,
gross weeds cover it
completely. That it has come to
this point. My father, dead for
just two months—no, not even
that much, not two. A king so
excellent, in comparison to
Claudius he was like a god
compared to a goat. My father
was so loving toward my
mother that he would not let
the wind blow too hard on her
face. Heaven above, must I
131
remember? She would hang on
his arm, as if the more time she
spent with him, the more she
wanted to be with him. And
yet, within a month of my
father’s death—no, don’t think
about it. Women, curse your
weakness!—in just a month,
before she had even broken in
the shoes she wore to his
funeral, weeping endlessly—oh,
God, a wild beast would have
mourned longer than she
did!—she married my uncle, my
132
father’s brother, who is no
more like my father than I am
like Hercules. Within a month
of my father’s death—before
the salt from her crocodile
tears had washed out of her red
eyes—she remarried. Oh, what
wicked speed! To jump so
quickly into a bed of incest! It
is not good, and will not lead to
any good either. But my heart
must break in silence, because
I must remain quiet.

133
Enter HORATIO, MARCELLUS and
BARNARDO.

HORATIO
Hail to your lordship!

Horatio. Hello, my lord.

HAMLET
I am glad to see you well.
Horatio—or I do forget myself.

Hamlet. I am pleased to see

you doing well. You are

134
Horatio, right? Or am I
mistaken?

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

Horatio. I am Horatio, my lord,

your loyal servant forever.

HAMLET
Sir, my good friend—I’ll change that
name with you.
And what make you from
Wittenberg, Horatio?
135
Marcellus.

Hamlet. Sir, my good friend,

not my servant. Why are you
not at Wittenberg, Horatio?

[To MARCELLUS] Oh,

Marcellus!

MARCELLUS
My good lord.

Marcellus. My good lord.

HAMLET
136
I am very glad to see you.

[To BARNARDO]

Good even, sir.—

[To HORATIO]

But what, in faith, make you from

Wittenberg?

Hamlet. [To MARCELLUS] So

nice to see you.

[To BARNARDO] Hello, sir.

137
[To HORATIO] But what are
you doing away from
Wittenberg, Horatio?

HORATIO
A truant disposition, good my lord.

Horatio. I have the heart of a

dropout, my good lord.

HAMLET
I would not hear your enemy say so,
Nor shall you do my ear that
violence

138
To make it truster of your own
report
Against yourself. I know you are no
truant.
But what is your affair in Elsinore?
We’ll teach you to drink deep ere
you depart.

Hamlet. I wouldn’t let your

enemies say that about you, so
I won’t let you say it—or
believe you if you did. I know
you would never drop out. So
why are you here at Elsinore? I

139
will teach you to drink deeply
before you leave.

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

Horatio. My lord, I came to

attend your father’s funeral.

HAMLET
I prithee do not mock me, fellow
student,
I think it was to see my mother’s
wedding.
140
Hamlet. Please, don’t make
fun of me, my fellow student. I
think you came to see my
mother’s wedding.

HORATIO
Indeed, my lord, it followed hard
upon.

Horatio. Well, my lord, it is

true the wedding came soon
after the funeral.

HAMLET

141
Thrift, thrift, Horatio, the funeral
baked-meats
Did coldly furnish forth the
marriage tables.
Would I had met my dearest foe in
heaven
Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio!
My father—methinks I see my
father.

Hamlet. It is called being

frugal, Horatio. The leftovers
from the funeral dinner made a
great cold lunch for the
wedding. Horatio, I would
142
rather have met my worst
enemy in heaven than have
lived to see that awful day! My
father—I think I see my father.

HORATIO
Where, my lord?

Horatio. Where, sir?

HAMLET
In my mind’s eye, Horatio.

143
Hamlet. In my imagination,
Horatio.

HORATIO
I saw him once, ’a was a goodly king.

Horatio. I saw him once. He

was an impressive king.

HAMLET
’A was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.

144
Hamlet. He was a great man,
perfect in all things. I will
never see his equal again.

HORATIO
My lord, I think I saw him
yesternight.

Horatio. My lord, I think I saw

him last night.

HAMLET
Saw, who?

Hamlet. Saw who?

145
HORATIO
My lord, the King your father.

Horatio. The king your father,

my lord.

HAMLET
The King my father?

Hamlet. The king my father?

HORATIO
Season your admiration for a while
With an attent ear, till I may deliver,
146
Upon the witness of these
gentlemen,
This marvel to you.

Horatio. Hold back your

excitement for a while, and
listen while I tell you about this
astonishing thing, with these
two gentlemen as my
witnesses.

HAMLET
For God’s love let me hear!

147
Hamlet. For God’s sake, let me
hear it!

HORATIO
Two nights together had these
gentlemen,
Marcellus and Barnardo, on their
watch,
In the dead waste and middle of the
night,
Been thus encountered: a figure like
your father,
Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe,
Appears before them, and with
solemn march

148
Goes slow and stately by them;
thrice he walked
By their oppressed and
fear-surprised eyes
Within his truncheon’s length,
whilst they, distilled
Almost to jelly with the act of fear,
Stand dumb and speak not to him.
This to me
In dreadful secrecy impart they did,
And I with them the third night kept
the watch,
Where, as they had delivered, both
in time,
Form of the thing, each word made
true and good,
149
The apparition comes. I knew your
father,
These hands are not more like.

Horatio. For the last two

nights, these two
guardsmen—Marcellus and
Barnardo—during their watch in
the middle of the night,
encountered a figure that
looked very much like your
father, dressed in full armor
from head to toe. It appeared
in front of them and marched
150
by them, slowly and with
dignity, at no greater distance
than the length of his staff. He
walked by them three times as
they stood shaking in fear like
jelly, too shocked to speak.
They told me all about what
they had seen, swearing me to
secrecy. On the third night, I
stood guard with them, and the
ghost appeared, just when they
said it would and looking just
as they had described. I knew
your father. The ghost looked
151
as much like him as my hands
look like each other.

HAMLET
But where was this?

Hamlet. Where did this

happen?

MARCELLUS
My lord, upon the platform where
we watch.

Marcellus. On the platform

where we stand guard, my lord.
152
HAMLET
Did you not speak to it?

Hamlet. Didn’t you talk to it?

HORATIO
My lord, I did,
But answer made it none. Yet once
methought
It lifted up its head and did address
Itself to motion like as it would
speak;
But even then the morning cock
crew loud,

153
And at the sound it shrunk in haste
away
And vanished from our sight.

Horatio. I did, my lord. But it

didn’t answer. Though once I
thought that it raised its head
as if it were about to speak,
but just then the rooster began
to crow, and at the sound the
ghost flinched and then
vanished from our sight.

HAMLET

154
’Tis very strange.

Hamlet. That’s very strange.

HORATIO
As I do live, my honoured lord, ’tis
true,
And we did think it writ down in our
duty
To let you know of it.

Horatio. I swear on my life that

it is true, my lord. We thought
that it was our duty to tell you
about it.
155
HAMLET
Indeed, indeed, sirs. But this
troubles me.
Hold you the watch tonight?

Hamlet. Yes, you are right. but

I am disturbed by this story. Do
you have guard duty again
tonight?

BOTH BARNARDO AND

MARCELLUS
We do, my lord.

156
Both Barnardo and Marcellus.
We do, my lord.

HAMLET
Armed, say you?

Hamlet. The ghost was armed,

you say?

BOTH BARNARDO AND

MARCELLUS
Armed, my lord.

Both Barnardo and Marcellus.

Armed, my lord.
157
HAMLET
From top to toe?

Hamlet. From head to toe?

BOTH BARNARDO AND

MARCELLUS
My lord, from head to foot.

Both Barnardo and Marcellus.

From head to toe, my lord.

HAMLET
Then saw you not his face.
158
Hamlet. Then you didn’t see
his face?

HORATIO
O yes, my lord, he wore his beaver
up.

Horatio. Oh, yes, we could, my

lord. He had his helmet visor
up.

HAMLET
What, looked he frowningly?

159
Hamlet. Did he look angry?

HORATIO
A countenance more
In sorrow than in anger.

Horatio. His expression looked

more sad than angry.

HAMLET
Pale, or red?

Hamlet. Was he pale or

flushed?

160
HORATIO
Nay, very pale.

Horatio. No, very pale.

HAMLET
And fixed his eyes upon you?

Hamlet. Did he look straight at

you?

HORATIO
Most constantly.

Horatio. The entire time.

161
HAMLET
I would I had been there.

Hamlet. I wish I had been

there.

HORATIO
It would have much amazed you.

Horatio. You would have been

shocked and amazed.

HAMLET
Very like, very like. Stayed it long?
162
Hamlet. I am sure I would
have. Did it stay for a long
time?

HORATIO
While one with moderate haste
might tell a hundred.

Horatio. As long as it would

take a person to count to one
hundred at a moderate speed.

BOTH BARNARDO AND

MARCELLUS
163
Longer, longer.

Both Barnardo and Marcellus.

No, it stays longer.

HORATIO
Not when I saw’t.

Horatio. Not the time I saw it.

HAMLET
His beard was grizzled, no?

Hamlet. His beard was gray,

right?
164
HORATIO
It was, as I have seen it in his life,
A sable silvered.

Horatio. It was, just as it

looked when I saw it when he
was alive: dark brown with
silver streaks.

HAMLET
I will watch tonight,
Perchance ’twill walk again.

165
Hamlet. I will join you for
guard duty tonight. Perhaps the
ghost will appear again.

HORATIO
I warrant it will.

Horatio. I bet it will.

HAMLET
If it assume my noble father’s
person,
I’ll speak to it though hell itself
should gape

166
And bid me hold my peace. I pray
you all,
If you have hitherto concealed this
sight,
Let it be tenable in your silence still,
And whatsoever else shall hap
tonight,
Give it an understanding but no
tongue.
I will requite your loves. So fare you
well.
Upon the platform ’twixt eleven and
twelve
I’ll visit you.

167
Hamlet. If it looks like my
noble father, I will speak to it,
even if Hell itself opens up and
tells me to be quiet. I beg all of
you, if you have kept this a
secret so far, continue to be
silent. And whatever happens
tonight, think about it, but
don’t discuss it with anyone. I
will do the same. So goodbye. I
will come see you on the
guards’ platform between
eleven and twelve.

168
HORATIO, MARCELLUS, AND
BARNARDO
Our duty to your honour.

Horatio, Marcellus, and

Barnardo. We will do our duty
to your Honour.

HAMLET
Your loves, as mine to you; farewell.

Hamlet. Instead give me your

friendship, just as I give mine
to you. Goodbye.

169
 Exeunt all but HAMLET.

Everyone exits except HAMLET.

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.

My father’s ghost, wearing

armour. This is not good. I
170
suspect some foul play. I wish it
were night already! Until then,
I must stay calm. Bad deeds
will always be revealed, no
matter how deeply they have
been buried.

Exit.

171