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. the Tragical History of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(Notes)
- Scene 10 [~ Prayer Scene ~] (Act 3 Scene 3)
hw 2271- Setting: Inside the Castle;
The King's Room;
After midnight.
(Claudius enters;
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter)
(Hamlet lurks)
---
We know this is the King's Room, because G essentially said so while talking to Hamlet in the immediately-preceding Scene. G said Claudius was "in his retirement." The phrase refers to the area Claudius would ordinarily retire to, for the night, which is the Royal Suite. The Royal Suite includes both the King's Room and the Queen's Room. This can't be the Queen's Room since Gertrude isn't here, so it's the King's Room.
Hamlet is hiding in this room from the beginning of this Scene. We know that because Hamlet will later repeat what Claudius says in the fourth line of his first speech here. This is the only place in the play he could hear it to know it.
Hamlet is present without an "enter" in Q2 because of what an "enter" means in the original printing. An "enter" in Q2 does not mean physical presence onstage. It means an actor must go to his correct speaking position on stage, because he has lines, or needs to accompany an actor who has lines. Hamlet is hiding, and not in his speaking position on stage, and he has no lines at first, so he gets no "enter" at first. He'll get his entry later, when he has lines.
The Hamlet playscript is specifically for what the actors say, and the entries are coordinated with the actor's lines, not their locations onstage. The playscript is not the director's book.
Here's the sequence of events from the immediately-preceding Scene to this Scene.
* When R & G left the Banquet Hall, to tell Gertrude that Hamlet had agreed to talk to her, they cut across the courtyard of the Castle. That's the shortest, quickest way from the Banquet Hall to the Royal Suite.- * Polonius did not cut across the courtyard, because he's old and it's cold at night. Earlier, in concern for Hamlet's health, Polonius asked Hamlet if he wished to "walk out of the air." So, we know Polonius is aware of drafts and cold. Polonius took the long way around, through the hallways, to "walk out of the air," and he also moves slower than a younger person. As this Scene opens, Polonius is shuffling his way around through the hallways, on his way here. In the earlier "walk out of the air" exchange of remarks, Hamlet told us where Polonius is now going, as he walks the hallways, out of the cold night air.
- * Hamlet left a minute or so after R & G, and he also cut across the courtyard. That's why Hamlet is here before Polonius will arrive.
- * When Hamlet arrived here, R & G were in Gertrude's room, the Queen's Room, telling her that Hamlet had agreed to talk to her. Claudius was in Gertrude's room, also, waiting for R & G because he wanted to talk to them, as we see at the start of this Scene.
- * Hamlet slipped inside the King's Room, to wait for Claudius, and kill him when possible. Hamlet is hiding behind an arras - turnabout.
- * As this Scene begins, Claudius has brought R & G to the King's Room to talk to them, while Gertrude waits for Hamlet in the Queen's Room.
hw 2272, to hw 2278- Claudius: I like him not, nor stands it safe with us
To let his madness range; therefore, prepare you;
I your commission will forthwith dispatch,
And he to England shall along with you;
The terms of our estate may not endure
Hazard so near us as doth hourly grow
Out of his brows.
---
In his first line, Claudius is revealing his true feelings about Hamlet. Claudius hates and fears Hamlet. As R & G hear it, they think Claudius means only that he doesn't like Hamlet's behavior.
After Hamlet spoke of Gonzago, and bellowed "revenge" at the Mousetrap play, Claudius fears Hamlet might somehow know everything. He has to get Hamlet away quickly. He doesn't want Hamlet locked up at Elsinore, where Hamlet could still talk to visitors and guards. At this time, Claudius knows of no sure way of killing Hamlet at Elsinore and getting away with it. In that respect, Claudius has the same basic problem in killing Hamlet that Hamlet has in killing him: getting away with it.
Claudius continues to speak of Hamlet's "madness," in furtherance of his slander against Hamlet.
The commission is the official diplomatic instructions to England. Claudius has now decided what he wants the instructions to say, but hasn't written the commission yet. He's going to dispatch the commission quickly now, meaning to finish writing it promptly, while R & G are packing.
Claudius is sending R & G along so they'll have custody of the paperwork. Without R & G along, Hamlet would carry the paperwork, and Claudius doesn't want Hamlet to have a chance to read the commission, as we'll find out later. R & G's roles will be as diplomatic aides. Hamlet is the ambassador to England. Under this arrangement, for a normal mission, Hamlet, as the ambassador, would do the socializing with the English monarch and dignitaries, and R & G would handle the clerical work.
Terms of our estate means both the conditions of Claudius's reign, and the length of it. "Term" means both a length of time, and a condition or a provision. Claudius's estate is his kingdom, with some allusion to his life, as in the idea of man's estate on earth. Claudius is worried that Hamlet is an imminent threat both to his crown and his life.
With out of his brows Claudius refers both to Hamlet's effrontery and to his ideas.
As R & G hear it, Claudius is saying Hamlet is a hazard to the crown in a general way because he's mad: "turbulent and dangerous," as Claudius earlier expressed it to them. They don't know Claudius's specific worries about Gonzago, and what that implies for him.
hw 2279, to hw 2282- Guildenstern: We will ourselves provide;
Most holy and religious fear it is
To keep those many, many bodies safe
That live and feed upon your Majesty.
---
G is now outspoken in likening the monarch to God. G has become as sanctimonious as Polonius.
The many, many whom G has most in mind are two: R & G. The live and feed line anticipates Hamlet's later mention of "politic worms;" while speaking of maggots feeding on a dead body. It continues the characterization of G, the "gold" one, who is most concerned about the profit he can make working for the King. In plain reading, G means to make a good living and to feast well as a wealthy individual.
hw 2283, to hw 2296- Rosencrantz: The single and peculiar life is bound
With all the strength and armor of the mind
To keep itself from 'noyance; but much more
That spirit, upon whose weal depends and rests
The lives of many; the cess' of majesty
Dies not alone; but like a gulf, doth draw
What's near it, with it; or, it is a massy wheel
Fixed on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes, ten thousand lesser things
Are mortised and adjoined; which, when it falls,
Each small annexment, petty consequence,
Attends the boisterous rain; never alone
Did the King sigh, but a general groan.
---
In this speech, R "waves the flag" in favor of the King as the most important person of all, who must be protected for the sake of everyone.
There are many allusions in R's speech. Hamlet is single and peculiar. The first three lines, up to 'noyance, allude to Hamlet. The strength and armor of Hamlet's mind is his amazing ability to spin words and allusions at people so they can't penetrate his thoughts. R & G have had no luck at all in finding out what's on Hamlet's mind.
'Noyance, as R speaks it, means "annoyance" or "bother."
Spirit alludes to the Ghost. Weal means "welfare," the state of well-being.
The lines from spirit to Dies not alone are ominous.
The wheel idea goes back to the mention of Fortune's Wheel in the Player's recital, when the players first arrived, calling on the gods to break Fortune's Wheel.
In the phrase huge spokes, Q2 shows "hough" for huge. I am not able to find a meaning for "hough," so I accept the word huge from the Folio.
Rain puns with "reign," the reign of the King. The Folio word "ruin" is wrong. The Folio "with" in the last line is also editorial error.
R does not know Claudius is in physical danger. R makes his ridiculously high-flown speech from thinking only that Claudius is being bothered by Hamlet, annoyed by him, so that the King sighs. R likens the King being bothered to a total catastrophe. R has become a hopeless bureaucratic gasbag.
hw 2297, to hw 2300- Clau: Arm you, I pray you, to this speedy viage,
For, we will fetters put, about this fear,
Which now goes too free-footed.
Ros: We will haste us.
(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exit)
---
Claudius tells R & G to arm themselves, meaning to armor themselves. It's figurative language, meaning they should prepare in a serious way for the trip to England. The idea of armor suggests the Ghost, so when Claudius tells R & G to arm themselves, it implies them being like the Ghost. A ghost is a dead person, as we know.
Viage is the correct word in the playtext. It means "voyage." Viage is Middle English, however. It's a "foreign language" word for a modern English speaker. Good editorial practice will leave it as is, and gloss it, just as in handling a Latin or French word. Changing viage would be like changing Hamlet's "hic & ubique" in the Truepenny Passage to "here and everywhere," and presenting the change as though it were the original text - not good editorial practice. Foreign words must be checked for spelling, then left in place, and glossed. Viage is correctly spelled.
A fetter is a shackle for the feet. Hamlet will later speak of feeling like a mutineer in shackles, on the voyage to England; the word "bilbo," meaning shackles, will be used there. For a person, a fetter would usually be a chain or iron bar, but horses are fettered with leather strapping or rope, to keep them from running away. The horse idea is pertinent here, because we'll see later that Claudius fantasizes of being a great horseman. The "horse" idea goes back, in a perverse way, to Hamlet's "hobbyhorse" line spoken to Ophelia at the Mousetrap play, and also to Hamlet's mention of stallion, and his implicit reference to "steed."
Fear alludes to Hamlet being Claudius's fear, and also refers to his personal fear of Hamlet. Claudius is simultaneously speaking of Hamlet running wild, and his own fear running wild.
R & G leave to go to their room, to pack for the trip.
Hamlet heard everything that was said. Although R & G don't know what the commission will say, it all sounded to Hamlet like a conspiracy.
hw 2301, to hw 2310- (Polonius enters)
Polonius: My Lord, he's going to his mother's closet;
Behind the arras I'll convey myself
To hear the process; I'll warrant she'll tax him home;
And as you said, and wisely was it said,
'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother,
Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear
The speech of vantage; fare you well, my Liege,
I'll call upon you ere you go to bed.
And tell you what I know.
(Polonius exits)
---
Polonius was 64 lines of dialogue behind R & G earlier when he told Hamlet that his mother wanted to talk to him, in the preceding Scene. Here, he's only 28 lines behind R & G, but that's because R & G went to Gertrude's room, the Queen's Room, and were there for a time, before coming here with Claudius. So, Polonius is running about the same distance behind as we saw earlier. It implies about 40 or so lines of dialogue in Gertrude's room that we didn't see, as R & G delivered the message to Gertrude, they all talked for a bit, about Hamlet, and then Claudius told R & G to accompany him here.
Polonius says he's going to hide behind an arras again, in Gertrude's room. Hamlet hears it.
Convey, process, warrant, and tax are all bureaucratic, legalistic words from Polonius. It anticipates Hamlet's later comments in the Gravedigger Passage about the lawyer's "fine pate" being full of "fine dirt." Polonius is on his way to convey himself to a much smaller patch of real estate than he thought he owned.
And, Polonius is lying. It was his own idea, that he suggested earlier at the end of the Nunnery Scene, for him to hide in Gertrude's room, and he knows it. It was not Claudius's idea. Polonius is engaged in a bureaucratic stunt. In the Nunnery Scene, his idea of hiding behind the arras failed to get the result he hoped for. He's trying to cover the possibility of another failure in this case. Polonius is hoping Claudius won't remember whose idea it was. So, if Claudius thinks it was his own idea, and it fails, Claudius won't blame Polonius. Polonius may have gotten old and slow, but he's still pretty sharp at the bureaucrat game: always try to make it look like somebody else is to blame if something doesn't work. Here, he's trying that trick with the King.
Polonius doesn't know there was more audience than a mother for Hamlet's talk at Ophelia in the Nunnery Scene; he doesn't know Gertrude was there at all.
Liege can mean either a lord or a servant. Since Claudius goes along with whatever Polonius says, as though Polonius was the boss, the usage has an ironic ambiguity.
Hamlet hears the conversation. He doesn't know Polonius is lying in saying it was Claudius's idea for Polonius to hide behind an arras in Gertrude's room. It tends to confirm to Hamlet that it was Claudius's own idea to hide behind the arras in the Nunnery Scene, where Hamlet reached such a horribly mistaken conclusion.
hw 2311, to hw 2312- Claudius: Thanks . . . dear my Lord.
Oh, my offense is rank, it smells to Heaven!
---
As soon as Polonius leaves, Claudius makes an exclamation about smell. We can be confident Claudius did not want Polonius right beside him for two hours at the Mousetrap play. Claudius arranged for Polonius to be several feet away from him.
Even if Hamlet hadn't heard Polonius say he was going to hide in Gertrude's room, Polonius can't hide there from Hamlet very long if there's any air circulation.
Dear my Lord is ambiguous. I insert the ellipsis in the line to help indicate the allusion. It can be taken as a remark to Polonius as he leaves, or it can be taken as an oath about the smell.
Further, dear my Lord, can be taken as allusion to God, as Claudius's thoughts turn to prayer.
hw 2313, to hw 2323- It hath the primal, eldest curse upon it:
A brother's murder. Pray, can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will,
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,
And like a man to double business bound,
I stand in pause where I shall first begin,
And both neglect; what if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood?
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy,
But to confront the visage of offense?
---
Hamlet is hearing the confirmation of Claudius's guilt that Hamlet thinks the Mousetrap provided, but didn't. When Hamlet first thought of the idea of the play to catch the King's conscience, he was hoping for a confession. Here's the confession, and Hamlet is the only one who hears it.
Primal, eldest refers to Cain and Abel in the Bible. It also alludes to Hamlet Sr being the older son of the family, the first-born, and the eldest.
Sharp carries the "edge" idea used occasionally throughout the play. A sharp tool, with a good edge, cuts easier; reference is to making something easier to do.
Inclination means "tendency" or "wish." Will means "desire" with a capital "D." That is, it refers to the concept of desire as an absolute. The inclination - will line means: "Although my wish (to pray) is as strong as the concept of Desire, itself." Will could be capitalized since it refers to an absolute, but that might also be mistaken for a name, so I leave it in lower case. Inclination can also be taken as the angle of the edge of a cutting tool, which goes along with sharp. In "tool" metaphor, Claudius means his edge, to pray, is as sharp as he can make it.
However, his knowledge of his guilt is so strong, it's like a sharp axe hitting a rock, so to speak. For the moment, he's stopped from praying. What stops him is that he doesn't think it will do him any good to pray. He greatly wants to pray, but what's the use? He's doubtful he can save his soul.
Claudius is indeed bound on double business at the moment. He's thinking about praying for forgiveness of a past murder, while planning a future murder, that he'll then have to pray about. He doesn't think God will be very impressed by that. Go around murdering, and just pray after each murder, and it'll be alright? Not likely. His double business is asking forgiveness, while plotting murder. He's "bound," tied up in his thoughts in the middle of it, wondering what to do.
Both neglect means he's both neglecting to pray, and neglecting to write the commission for Hamlet's trip to England, while he stands there and thinks.
He could wash blood off his hands in the rain from the heavens, from the sky. Can a prayer for "rain" from Heaven to wash his soul, wash his sins away? Thicker means "darker," from the idea of "thick" dirty water being darker than pure water. Thicker than itself means "darker than it is."
Hamlet is hearing all this. Hamlet has a conscience and a soul, too, and is planning a murder, in this same room. It becomes more interesting that, at the Mousetrap play, Hamlet confused the murderous nephew with the murderous brother. Here, in this room, are the nephew, and the brother.
The mercy - offense line means that it's the whole point of mercy to deal with offense. If there were no offense, there would be no need for mercy. The reason why mercy exists, is to forgive offenses. Since God is merciful, that means God is expecting offenses to occur, and might forgive them, so maybe Claudius has a chance, he thinks.
hw 2324, to hw 2326- And what's in prayer but this two-fold force:
To be forestalled ere we come to fall,
Or pardon, being down? Then I'll look up.
---
Reference is apparently to a quote from The Lord's Prayer: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Prayer can serve two purposes, either to prevent sin - lead me not into temptation - or to forgive sin after it happens. Since the second possibility exists, Claudius becomes more optimistic about praying. Maybe he can be delivered from the evil that he, himself, has done.
Look up means "be optimistic." Anciently, birds were thought to be omens, so people would "look up," at birds, to tell the future. And likewise, for comets, meteors, and other phenomena above. Particularly, a dove in flight was considered a good omen; we'll see that later in Ophelia's "mad" speech to Laertes.
But, with respect to the second part of the Lord's Prayer, Claudius doesn't know of the "evil" that lurks behind him in the room with him, from which he would surely like to be delivered, if he knew of it.
And would Hamlet, as he hears Claudius speak, like to be delivered from evil? Murder is evil.
hw 2327, to hw 2332- My fault is past, but oh, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn, forgive me my foul murder?
That cannot be, since I am still possessed
Of those effects for which I did the murder:
My Crown, mine own ambition, and my Queen.
May one be pardoned and retain the offense?
---
Claudius wonders what kind of prayer he should try to say. He doesn't know any "murderer's prayer."
That, in the third line, means "forgiveness;" it refers back to forgive. Claudius doesn't think he can be forgiven while he keeps the gains he made from his crime.
The ambition he gained after his crime, is his ambition to remain King now. The ambition to remain King is essentially the same as the ambition to become King; both are ambition to "be" King. Claudius still has ambition to "be" King.
Effects means "trappings," as in the phrase "personal effects." Claudius gained personal possessions from the murder, so it's murder compounded by theft.
Offense means "gains" (from the crime,) which is a nice subtlety. The nature of an offense is in what's gained by it; the offense, and the gains, are inseparable. A thief gains loot. A murderer gains a world for himself that doesn't have the murdered person in it. It's a very selfish act to "change the whole word" by deciding who's allowed to live in the world, and who isn't; cold-blooded murder is the ultimate act of selfishness.
Claudius is wondering how he can be forgiven by God above, while keeping his world the way he's made it, not as God made it with his brother in it. Will God in Heaven forgive Claudius for playing god on earth?
hw 2333, to hw 2340- In the corrupted currents of this world,
Offense's gilded hand may show by justice,
And oft' 'tis seen, the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law. But 'tis not so above;
There, is no shuffling; there, the action lies
In his true nature, and we, ourselves, compelled
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults
To give in evidence; what then, what rests?
---
Claudius's thoughts turn to the earthly legal system, with its occasionally corrupt practices, where some officials can be bribed, and the bribe can even come from the proceeds of the crime.
There is a small suggestion that Claudius may have bribed the coroner who ruled on Hamlet Sr's death. Else, why would he think about that kind of thing?
Gilded alludes to both gold, and the red of blood. Gold, meaning money, is the "life's blood" of commerce. So, the color gold, and the red of blood, are figuratively likened, by comparing the human body to the body of commercial trade. This goes along with R & G, the "red" one and the "gold" one, being combined as though they're one thing.
People did not know exactly what gold was, until the modern idea of chemical elements was developed. Metals like copper were viewed as a sort of gold. Copper has a red tint. The red-as-gold idea developed through the use of copper as money, like gold, probably, and also the use of copper, or other red-tinted metal, for "gilding."
In the gilded hand line, Claudius means that an offender's bloody hand, although red with blood, can sometimes escape justice if the hand is filled with gold for a bribe.
Show is a legal term, as in the phrase "to show cause." The Folio word "shove" is wrong in the playtext; however it may reflect an intended pun in connection with "hand." The Folio may be revealing an intended pun, as occasionally occurs elsewhere; it would otherwise reflect the Folio editor's misapprehension of the meaning. Show essentially means to plead, such as in a pleading before a judge. It's a word on the Putting On A Show theme of the play. Claudius is thinking of pleading in his own defense, in a prayer to God, and wondering how good a show he can put on. How can he be a "good acter" as God sees him?
Shuffling has allusion to card playing, in support of the author having decks of tarot cards at hand. A "golden" hand can buy a new deal for itself, on earth, but when it comes to Heaven, God shuffles the cards, and you have to play what you're dealt. The idea, of playing what you're dealt, is on the Fortune theme.
In the Nunnery Scene, Hamlet lied about his true nature of loving Ophelia. In that allusion, action refers to acting, and the his means Hamlet.
Where the action lies, is a legal idea. There's further truth-lie wordplay in Claudius's lines, and other allusions can be found, to events in the play.
Claudius knows he can't fool God, that he has to "tesify against himself" and tell the whole truth. Teeth and forehead means "the hardest parts." In popular understanding, the teeth and forehead are the hardest parts of the human body. Claudius means he'll have to admit his sins that are hardest for him to confess, and that will go hardest against him. The phrase further means Claudius "facing up to" his sin.
Teeth and forehead anticipates the Gravedigger Passage, later, where Hamlet will contemplate the skull.
Claudius's evidence before God is himself, exactly as he is. He has no other character witness he can call upon to persuade God; he's his own character witness for himself.
Rests means "remains." Claudius is trying to formulate his "legal argument." What remains, for one thing, is for him to "tell it to the Judge," God on high. Rests further means "remains" in the sense of what factors remain to be considered in making his defense of himself before God, in his prayer. Claudius wants to do the best he can for himself before "the defense rests," and he awaits God's judgment.
hw 2341, to hw 2348- Try what repentance can, what can it not,
Yet what can it, when one cannot repent?
Oh wretched state; O, bosom black as death,
Oh limed soul, that struggling to be free,
Art more engaged; help, angels, make assay;
Bow stubborn knees, and heart with strings of steel,
Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe.
All may be well.
---
Claudius thinks of trying to tell God that he repents his murder, like a defendant on trial showing remorse for his crime. But Claudius doesn't repent; he doesn't regret the murder, or what he gained by it. So again, he wonders about the efficacy of prayer for himself, when he can't honestly say he regrets that he did the murder.
He is, however, repenting in a way, by facing up to his sin, and realizing that it was sin, and nothing to be pleased about. He's become worried and sorrowful about the murder now, instead of glad. That's a kind of repentance.
Limed refers to birdlime, a sticky substance put on twigs in trees to catch birds. A bird that lands on the sticky twig will get stuck, and the more it struggles to get free, the more it will spread the birdlime on itself, and make the problem worse. The idea is like the comedy scene in TV shows, where a person gets glue on his hands, and the more he tries to get it off, the more things get stuck to him.
Claudius means, the more he thinks about what to say in his defense in a prayer, the worse it looks for him. He can't see how to argue his way out, using any logic he can think of. He's too entangled in his worldly situation to turn pure thoughts heavenward.
Hamlet, who is hearing this, is a scholar who uses logic. He understands what Claudius is saying. In the Nunnery Scene, Claudius had no idea what Hamlet meant with his "logical argument" there, but Hamlet does understand Claudius's logic here, about finding no argument to talk his way out of murder.
Hamlet is looking at Claudius now, peeking from behind the arras, or out of the darkness in the corner, like John-a-dreams, while Claudius tries to hedge himself in divinity.
The angels - assay line is complicated. An "angel" was an old English coin. Claudius has the idea that maybe, just maybe, he can "bribe" God with a prayer, like buying earthly justice with "angels." This allusion reflects Claudius's corrupt nature.
Assay further means "charge," with first a legal implication of "charge," following from the legalistic language. Then, there's an insinuation of "charge" meaning an attack, as in storming the Kingdom of Heaven. In this undertone, Claudius asks the angels to help him attack Heaven; it suggests Lucifer, who led the rebellion against God, and thereby became the fallen angel.
Further, angels means the angels of God, like Saint Peter, who controls the Pearly Gates. Here, Claudius is asking the angels to help admit him, for trial before God, and help him present his "evidence." In this case, assay refers to an assay of ore to see if there's gold in it. Claudius wants to show God that there's some gold in him, and that he's not all base and worthless mettle.
So, with his prayer, Claudius thinks of trying to bribe God, or overpower God, or show God that he has some "true gold" in him, or whatever might work. After all his fine verbiage, his prayer will be sheer hypocrisy and selfishness, an effort purely on his own behalf. He can only have faith that merely getting on his knees to God, and saying something, will do him some good, somehow. In the end, in plain reading, he calls on the help of the angels, for however they might help, and he kneels to pray. He hopes for religious rebirth, to become a different kind of person, like an innocent, newborn babe.
hw 2349, to hw 2362- (Hamlet emerges, and quietly draws his sword)
Hamlet: Now might I do it, but now he is a-praying;
And now I'll do't, and so he goes to Heaven;
And so, am I Revenge? That would be scant.
A villain kills my father, and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To Heaven.
Why, this is base and silly, not revenge!
He took my father grossly full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May.
And how his audit stands, who knows save Heaven?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
'Tis heavy with him. And am I then revenged
To take him in the purging of his soul,
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?
No.
---
Hamlet "enters" now; the "enter" in the Q2 playscript means that he has lines to say. The Hamlet actor emerges from his hiding place, and moves into proper position to orate to the audience.
Reasonably, on the Elizabethan stage in daytime, Hamlet hid behind an arras. In modern production, if there's good control of lighting, it could be done differently. The room could be lit by candles or a lantern at the desk where Claudius does the paperwork, leaving the corners dark. Hamlet, in his black mourning clothes, could hide in a dark corner, unseen by the audience, camouflaged in the darkness, like a chameleon. There's some indication in the play that the author had that possibility in mind, and it might have been used in indoor theater. Hamlet would then step forward out of the darkness, behind Claudius, like the Ghost emerging from the darkness when the sentinels saw it. Really good lighting control could make Hamlet look translucent for a moment, as well.
The play can be performed on stage without Hamlet in hiding, as we know all too well. The Folio omits a later passage, near the end of the Closet Scene, where Hamlet reveals the detailed knowledge he obtained by hearing Claudius talk to R & G here. That accords with stage simplification in comparison with the closet drama of Q2. For the closet drama, however, the Folio change is an error.
Hamlet's first two lines have identical stress pattern, they're poetry. The Folio wording is editorial blunder; it ruins the author's verse.
Revenge is correct in the third line. Hamlet is asking whether, if he kills Claudius now, that makes him proper revenge for his father. Hamlet casts himself as "Revenge" with a capital "R."
Scant is correct; it means "slight" or "inadequate" (revenge.) A pun with "scanned" may be intended. Historical interpretation may have picked up the pun by mistake, over the correct reading. "Scan" is related to "scandal," which fits the Rumor/Slander theme. "Scanned" then suggests "scandalous," which has a religious connotation, and also connects back to Hamlet's speech about the "vicious mole of nature," earlier, which ended with the word "scandal." "Scanned" also has the easier definition of "studied," in accord with Hamlet being a scholar. Scant is correct in the playtext, for plain reading.
Sole puns with "soul." Hamlet is his father's only son, and the son of his father's soul. The pun implies a "spirit" idea, connecting to the Ghost.
Base and silly is correct in the Q2 text. I judge the Folio's "hire and salary" to be correct, also. Both phrases are sensible in the passage, and both are in the author's style. I take "hire and salary" to be an author's improvement that was missed in the printing of Q2, for some reason. "Hire and salary" alludes to Claudius hiring R & G away from Hamlet as his friends. However, base and silly is also a fair description of R & G, with G being "base" and R being "silly," or vice versa, as one pleases. It's a dilemma, to select which phrase is to be preferred. Pertinent meaning, and allusion, are present in both; both are credibly authorial.
Silly does offer an ironic root meaning of "innocent," as Hamlet contemplates murder, in agreement with the irony that permeates Hamlet. I find no other significant irony in root meanings for the four words.
"Hire and salary" has some irony via allusion, going back to Polonius's bluster to Claudius about becoming a farmer with carters. The irony is in a comparison of Hamlet to Polonius.
Incorporating the meanings of both phrases, Hamlet casts himself as being as foolish, and as mercenary, as R & G or Polonius. He likes it not.
The plain reading of "hire and salary" is less obvious, which tends to work in the phrase's favor. Hamlet means it's as though Claudius has hired Hamlet to send Claudius to Heaven, and that Hamlet is working for the wrong person, Claudius, not his father.
Against the acceptance of "hire and salary," is that "salary" is printed with a capital in the Folio, which tends to mark editorial substitution or insertion of a word, almost always in error, but Folio capitalization is eccentric, and does not appear reliable enough as a basis for judgment.
Since I believe both phrases to be authorial, I accomodate both by, first, leaving base and silly in the original playtext as in the Q2 printing. Base and silly is correct, as far as it goes. I substitute "hire and salary" in the "simplified modern English" (smE) translation I provide, to include it, as well. Also then, this note. That's the best I can do. I do not find a definitive choice between the phrases, either by plain meaning, root meaning, style, or allusion. If there is a mistake, however, it is in "salary," the word capitalized in the Folio.
Any fanciful attempt to analyze non-existent handwriting on a non-existent manuscript, as interpreted by a dead compositor, to decide the question, would be a base and silly waste of time, of course, unless one is paid a good "hire and salary" to pretend such an odd thing. It would be as peculiar as talking to ghosts.
Bread is common food; sin is common. Full of bread means full of common sin. This is irony in respect to Church sacrament, where the bread means freedom from sin.
In undertone, May alludes to Ophelia - O Rose of May! - whom Hamlet mistakenly believes to be sinful in behavior with Claudius. With flush as May Hamlet is thinking of Ophelia's blushing face. This exacerbates Hamlet's problem; he doesn't want to kill Claudius if Ophelia likes Claudius.
The his in his audit stands refers to Claudius, in plain reading. With modern punctuation there is a period after May. The phrase is significantly ambiguous in allusion, however.
Circumstance is ironic, in that the root meaning is "stand around." That's what Hamlet is doing as he talks, just "standing around." In plain reading, circumstance and course mean thoughts are going around and around in his head.
With am I then revenged Hamlet puts himself in the place of his father. It's literally his father who needs to be revenged, about the murder, not him. Hamlet is seeking personal vengeance, too, since Claudius's murder has hurt him, as well, and he wants personal revenge under his terribly mistaken idea about Ophelia.
Seasoned has a double meaning. It refers to both the right time for something, and also well seasoned food. Hamlet thinks Heaven might take Claudius as a tasty morsel at this time, that Heaven, itself, might gape for Claudius. Fit means like something being fit to eat, also like a key fitted to a lock, to open the Pearly Gates. Fit and seasoned have association back to "fit" and "time" in Lucianus's speech at the Mousetrap play.
Hamlet declines to admit that Claudius's "legal/logical argument" had its effect on him, leaving Hamlet in doubt whether he could talk his way out of a murder, before God. Hamlet will not admit that what Claudius said made sense to him; he gives Claudius no credit for anything. It's more than human to give one's enemies credit, and Hamlet is not more than human.
Hamlet compares Claudius at prayer to what the Ghost told him of Hamlet Sr's lack of opportunity for absolution. Hamlet dislikes the religious advantage it implies for Claudius. Hamlet believes his father to be in Purgatory, and refuses to possibly send Claudius, his father's murderer, straight to Heaven.
Claudius keeps the advantage over his brother, in terms of life on earth, as Hamlet allows him to live.
hw 2363, to hw 2371- Up sword, and know thou a more horrid hent,
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed,
At game a-swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in it;
Then trip him that his heels may kick at Heaven,
And that his soul may be as damned and black
As Hell, whereto it goes; my mother stays;
This physic but prolongs thy sickly days.
(Hamlet exits)
---
Hamlet puts his sword away, without accomplishing his purpose with it, just as he did in the "antic disposition" passage when he changed his mind about the oath.
Up is irony. Hamlet is not holding the sword up, he's "putting it down," so to speak, by putting it up in the scabbard. Up sword means the same as "down sword" would.
Hent means to grasp, either physically or mentally. Hamlet means he'll grasp his sword at a time when he can better grasp, intellectually, that Claudius will surely go to Hell. Hent has a root meaning of "hunt;" Hamlet, the "He-cat," has decided to hunt the "mouse" again, later.
Hamlet cannot see what a "bad actor" Claudius is being as he prays. Claudius's "performance" is turned away from his "audience." Hamlet has a bad viewing angle for Claudius's "show."
Rage means "madness," in both senses, lunacy and anger. It's a turnabout word usage, putting the "madness" on Claudius.
Hamlet is in a rage as he speaks, a rage of frustration.
Relish means "suggestion." Claudius's prayer suggests to Hamlet that Claudius could go to Heaven. There are further a "release" from life allusion, and a "flavor" allusion on the "feast" concept.
An act of cold-blooded murder by Hamlet would have no relish of salvation in it, and could leave his own soul as damned and black As Hell. Hamlet is talking not only about Claudius.
Hamlet has no real control of whether Claudius goes to Hell. He knows that, and it frustrates him. Much of what motivates Hamlet's remarks is sheer frustration.
In his quest for revenge of his father's death, Hamlet has reached the epic battle against the "dragon," so to speak. And Hamlet's dragon to slay, in his valiant struggle against evil, for justice, turns out to be a mouse . . . on its knees . . . with its back turned. This is glory? This is honor? His father slew Fortinbrasse Sr, a powerful warrior, in face-to-face personal combat, in defense of his realm and his people. Hamlet, here, finds himself in personal combat against a fat, fearful old man, who isn't even standing up and looking at him. This is no stuff of legend. The Wheel of Fortune spun sagas for his father, but for Hamlet, Fortune has spun him up a farce, and he can feel it, and he resents it. If it's come to this, Hamlet might as well kill Claudius When he is drunk asleep, instead. To kill Claudius here, Hamlet might as well be Claudius. Hamlet knows it.
Hamlet's threats against Claudius have undertone reflecting Polonius's suspicions of Laertes in Paris, when Reynaldo specifically mentioned "gaming," which corresponds to Hamlet's at game, here, and Hamlet will indeed end up directly fighting for his life against Laertes, not Claudius, in the Fencing Match Scene.
Hamlet, in general, states his intent to kill Claudius on an occasion that's bleaker for Claudius's soul. He does intend that, and will plan for it in the next Scene. But then, he had intended to kill Claudius here.
Stays means "awaits" (my arrival.) In standard punctuation there would be a period after stays.
Physic means "medical treatment," or "remedy." In that dialogue line, but means "only." Hamlet's "health remedy" for Claudius is to let him live. The sick "patient," Claudius, will live longer in sickness, is "Doctor Hamlet's" prescription. This connects back to Hamlet's remark about "doctor" and "purgation" when he talked to G after the Mousetrap play.
The phrasing is ambiguous, however. The mother - physic lines can also be read as, "my mother prevents this treatment (of giving Claudius his blood-letting.)" Hamlet knows he's keeping his mother waiting, and he's polite to her and defers to her, as we've seen. He decides he can't stay there, keeping his mother waiting, until Claudius finishes praying, and then perhaps an argument or fight would happen, when he could more comfortably kill Claudius. Also, it now bothers Hamlet that he has not talked to his mother yet, to try to achieve her emotional separation from Claudius. Hamlet does not want his mother hurt too badly by Claudius's death, if he can help it. Little does he know. But we'll find out about that.
In sum, with his rhetoric, Hamlet has ended up only telling Claudius to go to Hell, and has not even said it to Claudius's face, instead, only to himself. Hamlet put on quite a show - with himself as his only audience. This is on the Putting On A Show theme.
Hamlet had intended to catch Claudius's conscience, but here, Claudius has caught his, for the time being.
Hamlet leaves, on his way to the Queen's Room, to talk to Gertrude, as he said he would. He doesn't have the news to tell her that he thought he would have.
hw 2372, to hw 2373- Claudius: My words fly up; my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts never to Heaven go.
(Claudius exits)
---
Claudius feels that his prayer didn't work.
However, disregard the dialogue, and look at the action. When Claudius prayed, the following happened.
* Claudius's life was spared.- * Hamlet was prevented from committing murder.
The second point is the more crucial. In reply to Claudius's prayer, Hamlet did not commit a mortal sin. Claudius was trying to pray for himself, in particular, but it didn't quite turn out that way. His prayer did have a two-fold force: Hamlet was led away from his temptation to murder, for now, and Claudius was delivered from the evil of himself being murdered, for now.
But, what more could a person ask from one short prayer than to have his life spared? Claudius sure is hard to please. However, he doesn't know the facts of what happened. He thinks his prayer was useless.
The irony is sublime. A terrible sinner, a murderer, kneels to pray, and not only does it save his life, but it prevents a mortal sin by someone else, as well. Then the ignorant sinner stands, and says out loud that his prayer went unheard. There are none so blind.
It's a miracle, the Miracle of Prayer, that the author is showing us onstage. A short prayer, even by a horrible sinner, saves a life and prevents a murder - then, there's the exquisite irony of the sinner remaining cynical. Regardless of one's own religious beliefs, it's quite marvelously well done, by the wonderfully ingenious author. Unfortunately, readers usually get lost in the dialogue, and miss the action and what it means.
Claudius gives up on prayer, and his thoughts remain below, on writing the commission for Hamlet's trip to England. All the time he was praying, the commission for Hamlet was on his mind. Claudius sits at his desk and proceeds to write the commission.
As Claudius writes his fate, Hamlet enters the Queen's Room, next door, to talk to Gertrude.
End of Scene 10
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(Regained)