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. the Tragical History of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(Notes)
Scene 13 [~ The Body ~] (Act 4 scene 2)
hw 2630- Setting: Inside the Castle;
A hallway;
The early morning hours.
(Hamlet enters;
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter, with guards and attendants)
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As will be mentioned by Hamlet in the next Scene, this Scene is set not far from the bottom of the stairs that go up to the Lobby. R & G have summoned a couple of guards, and a couple more servants. It's the wee hours of the morning.
hw 2631, to hw 2636- Hamlet: Safely stowed; but soft, what noise, who calls on Hamlet?
Oh, here they come.
Rosencrantz: What have you done, my Lord, with the dead body?
Hamlet: Compound it with dust whereto 'tis kin.
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Finding he could not take Polonius's body into Claudius's room, Hamlet has dragged it beyond the Royal Suite, and hidden it in an unused storage room under the stairs. There was nothing in the storage room but dust and cobwebs. The Latin root of compound means "put." Hamlet is telling the truth in saying he put the body with the dust - in the storage room. The "dust" concept of the human body is from the Bible.
hw 2637, to hw 2643- Ros: Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it thence,
And bear it to the chapel.
Hamlet: Do not believe it.
Ros: Believe what?
Hamlet: That I can keep your counsel, & not mine own; besides,
to be demanded of a sponge, what replication should be made by
the son of a king?
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We see, again, that the author knew of the fine chapel at Kronborg Castle.
Hamlet's Do not believe it has the distinct undertone that he doesn't believe it. He's puzzled by how they know of Polonius's death so quickly. He doesn't know Gertrude has revealed it in an attempt to help him. He thinks, from what he told her and she replied, that she's being silent and staying in her room this night.
Earlier in the play, in relation to Hamlet's plan to catch Claudius's conscience with the Mousetrap, Hamlet said that although murder has no tongue, it will miraculously speak. His killing of Polonius is not murder, by a legal definition, but here, for Hamlet, the miraculous tongue turns out to be Gertrude's, who was only trying to be helpful. Gertrude, his own "lawyer," tattled on him, by mistake.
The phrase about "keeping counsel" has some four undertones, or so. Hamlet first means, "take your advice," in reference to R demanding where Polonius's body is. Since he began working for Claudius, R has become bossy, like Polonius, but R is really in no position to be giving orders to the Prince of the nation. According to R's own status, advice is all R can give Hamlet.
Then, keep your counsel refers to keeping a secret, and goes back to when R & G first talked to Hamlet, when he said he'd help them so that their secret, about working for Claudius, would "molt no feather." Hamlet did keep confidence with R & G, in that way. He didn't make them reveal what they were doing, in detail.
Then, with mine own, in relation to "keeping his own counsel," Hamlet is facetiously referring to Polonius as the "counsel." Hamlet is joking that since he's the one who killed Polonius, he ought to be allowed to keep him, and it isn't fair for R & G to take him away. Polonius is Hamlet's "own counsel," whom Hamlet earned by killing him. If R & G want a counsel, they should go kill their own.
The Caspian tiger mention by Hamlet, at the Player's recital, is relevant. Hamlet is the "tiger" and Polonius is his "prey," even if accidentally so. And despite the special faculty of reason bestowed upon men, there is a way that a king of men is a king of beasts.
Further on Polonius being the counsel, since Polonius is Hamlet's "own counsel," and Polonius isn't telling where he is, then Hamlet isn't going to, either. Hamlet is "keeping counsel" with his "own counsel," in remaining silent.
There is even a further joke, and a warning to R, in deeper undertone. It's dangerous for R to try to be Hamlet's "counsel," since Hamlet has just killed his "own counsel." R doesn't understand.
The idea of a sycophant as a sponge goes back to ancient literature, and was fairly common in Elizabethan times.
Also, sponge follows from Hamlet's "sea of troubles" metaphor. In Hamlet's sea of troubles, R & G are merely sponges, not sharks.
Hamlet's demanded of is careful phrasing. R & G are virtually demanding that he do something about them. "Demand" is another "hand" word, on the concept of R & G acting as the "hands" of Claudius.
In undertone, replication means "duplication." If Hamlet were to duplicate his act of killing Polonius with R & G, he would kill them. Hamlet is warning R, as he tried to warn G earlier, when he used the recorder as an object lesson. It isn't any immediate threat from Hamlet to R, rather, it's a friendly warning, that R & G should get away from the situation, for their own safety. Hamlet does remember and honor the earlier friendship, even if they have now betrayed it. In plain reading, replication means "reply."
hw 2644, to hw 2650- Ros: Take you me for a sponge, my Lord?
Hamlet: Aye, sir, that soaks up the King's countenance, his rewards, his
authorities; but such officers do the King best service in the end; he
keeps them like an apple in the corner of his jaw, first mouthed to be
last swallowed; when he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing
you, and sponge, you shall be dry again.
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R is unfamiliar with the sponge metaphor, and asks about it, but he is focusing on the wrong idea. "Son of a king" is what R should be paying attention to.
Hamlet explains what a sponge is, as he means it. Countenance again has the undertone of "false face," this time in allusion to Claudius.
Apple is the correct word in the playtext. This is established in that there are two common kinds of apples which people know: red and yellow, with the latter often called "gold" or "golden." The apple is allusion to R & G, who are "red" and "gold." The word "ape" in the Folio is an editorial blunder.
In terms of length of service to the crown, Polonius was ahead of R & G; Polonius was "first mouthed." Polonius is now "last swallowed," meaning he's the latest one to die. Hamlet is trying to warn R & G that they could be next.
A dry sponge, is a dead sponge.
hw 2651, to hw 2660- Ros: I understand you not, my Lord.
Hamlet: I am glad of it; a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear.
Ros: My Lord, you must tell us where the body is, and go with us
to the King.
Hamlet: The body is with the King, but the King is not with the
body. The King is a thing . . .
Guil: A thing, my Lord?
Hamlet: Of nothing; bring me to him.
(all exit)
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Hamlet is sincere when he says he's glad R doesn't understand about knavish things. R is a sycophant, and a fool, but at least he's "innocent" about it. In plain reading, Hamlet is saying he's glad R doesn't understand anything to tell Claudius.
R is still impertinently insistent, and Hamlet diverts him again. R has not mentioned Polonius's name - the name is never mentioned in this Scene - so Hamlet plays with the ideas of different bodies, and different kings.
In his body - King lines, Hamlet means that Claudius's body is still with him, but Hamlet Sr is not with his body. Hamlet Sr is a thing . . . of nothing, i.e. a Ghost.
Hamlet's nothing goes back to the "nothing"/no "thing" wordplay at the Mousetrap play, in connection with Claudius being a "capon." With allusion to Claudius as the King, Hamlet insults Claudius as a thing of no "thing."
When G speaks, Hamlet immediately says to take him to Claudius. Hamlet has already tried to give G his "lesson," with the recorder, and sees no point in pursuing it with him. Hamlet will face Claudius directly on the subject of Polonius's death.
End of Scene 13
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