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. the Tragical History of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(In the original language with modernized spelling)
- Scene 15 [~ Fortinbrasse ~] (Act 4 scene 4)
Setting: Outside the Castle;- Near the town docks;
Shortly after sunrise.
Fortinbrasse enters, with his army)
Fortinbrasse: Go, Captain, from me greet the Danish King,- Tell him, that by his license, Fortinbrasse
Craves the conveyance of a promised march
Over his kingdom; you know the rendevous;
If that his Majesty would ought with us,
We shall express our duty in his eye,
And let him know so.
- Captain: I will do it, my Lord.
- Fort: Go softly on.
(Fortinbrasse exits)
(Hamlet enters;- followed by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern)
Hamlet: Good sir, whose powers are these?- Captain: They are of Norway, sir.
- Hamlet: How purposed, sir, I pray you?
- Capt: Against some part of Poland.
- Hamlet: Who commands them, sir?
- Capt: The nephew to old Norway, Fortenbrasse.
- Hamlet: Goes it against the main of Poland, sir,
- Or for some frontier?
- Capt: Truly to speak, and with no addition,
- We go to gain a little patch of ground
That hath in it no profit but the name;
To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it;
Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole
A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee.
- Hamlet: Why, then the Polack never will defend it.
- Capt: Yes, it is already garrisoned.
- Hamlet: Two thousand souls, & twenty thousand ducats
- Will not debate the question of this straw;
This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace,
That inward breaks, and shows no cause without
Why the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir.
- Capt: God buy you, sir.
(the Captain exits)
Rosencrantz: Will it please you go, my Lord?- Hamlet: I'll be with you straight, go a little before.
(Rosencrantz, Guildenstern walk ahead a distance)
(Hamlet continues):- How all occasions do inform against me,
And spur my dull reuenge. What is a man
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse
Looking before and after, gave us not
That capability and god-like reason
To fust in us unused; now whether it be
Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple
Of thinking too precisely on the event,
(A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom,
And ever three parts coward,) I do not know
Why yet I live to say "this thing's to do,"
Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means
To do it; examples gross as earth exhort me;
Witness this army of such mass and charge,
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Whose spirit, with divine ambition puffed,
Makes mouths at the invisible event,
Exposing what is mortal, and unsure,
To all that fortune, death, and danger dare;
Even for an eggshell. Rightly to be great,
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honor's at the stake; how stand I, then,
That have a father killed, a mother stained,
Excitements of my reason, and my blood,
And let all sleep, while to my shame I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
That for a fantasy and trick of fame
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain; O from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth.
(Hamlet exits)
End of Scene 15
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. The Tragedy of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(In simplified modern English translation)
- Scene 15 [~ Fortinbrasse ~] (Act 4 scene 4)
Setting: Outside the Castle;- Near the town docks;
Shortly after sunrise.
(Fortinbrasse enters, with his army)
Fortinbrasse: Go, captain, and greet the Danish King for me.- Tell him, that by his authorization, Fortinbrasse
Wishes his official pass for the promised march
Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous point.
If His Majesty would have any words with us,
We will express our duty to him personally,
And let him know that.
- Captain: I will do it, my Lord.
- Fort: Go quietly ahead.
(Fortinbrasse exits)
(Hamlet enters;- followed by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern)
Hamlet: Good sir, whose military forces are these?- Captain: They are of Norway, sir.
- Hamlet: What is their aim, sir, I ask you?
- Capt: Against a part of Poland.
- Hamlet: Who commands them, sir?
- Capt: The nephew of old Norway, Fortinbrasse.
- Hamlet: Do you attack the main body of Poland, sir,
- Or some frontier area?
- Capt: To speak truly, and with no exaggeration,
- We seek to gain a little patch of ground
That has no profit in it but the name.
I wouldn't pay five ducats, only five, to rent and try to farm it.
Nor would it yield to Norway, or to the Poles
A higher price, if it were sold outright.
- Hamlet: Why, then, the Polish army will never defend it.
- Capt: Yes, it is already fortified.
- Hamlet: So many men - and with so much expenditure -
- Will not just talk about this trifle, they're going to fight.
It eats at me like an abscess, caused by too much comfort and security,
That ruptures on the inside, and shows no external cause for
Why the victim dies. I humbly thank you, sir.
- Capt: Goodbye, sir.
(the Captain exits)
Rosencrantz: Will it please you to keep walking, my Lord?- Hamlet: I'll be with you quickly, walk a little ahead.
(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern walk ahead a distance)
(Hamlet continues):- How everything that happens shapes up against me,
And drives me away from my blunted revenge! What is a man
If his chief good and business during his time on earth
Is only to sleep and feed, like a beast, and no more than that?
Surely, he who made us with such great power of reason,
To predict what's ahead, and remember what's behind us, did not give us
That capability, and god-like mental capacity
To mold away in us, unused. Now, whether it may be
Bestial oblivion, or some cowardly scruple
That comes from thinking too explicitly on the chance of my death,
(A thought that if quartered shows only one part wisdom
And three parts coward,) I do not know
Why I still live, and still say my revenge is yet to do,
Because I do have cause, and desire, and strength, and a way
To do it. Examples as large as the earth, itself, encourage me.
See this army of such great size and power,
Led by a young prince who could be killed,
Whose spirit is swelled with divine ambitions,
And who sneers at the idea of his own death, that he can't foresee,
Exposing what is mortal and uncertain
To everything that luck, death and danger challenge him with,
Even to fight over an eggshell, a trivial thing. Rightly, to be "great,"
Does not mean being provoked only for some great reason,
But also to fight greatly over even a single burning straw
When honor is tied to the stake. How do I stand, then,
Who have a father killed, a mother disgraced, and with
Agitations of my mind, and of my emotions,
And yet I let things go dormant, while, to my shame, I see
The imminent deaths of so many men,
Who, for their dreams and the allure of fame,
Go to their graves as easily as going to bed, as they fight for a little ground
Which is not even big enough for the battle, and
Which is not even tomb enough or enough land area
To bury the dead. Oh, from this time forth,
My thoughts must be bloody, or be worth nothing.
(Hamlet exits)
End of Scene 15
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(Regained)