H A M L E T (Regained) - Original Language version

Back to the
Hamlet (Regained) HOME page

H A M L E T (Regained)

Back to the LIST of
Original Language Scenes

. the Tragical History of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .

(Notes)

Scene 20 [~ Fencing Match ~] (Act 5 scene 2)
hw 3499: Setting: Inside the Castle;
The Banquet Hall;
Afternoon.
(Hamlet and Horatio enter); The setting is the Banquet Hall, where Hamlet staged the earlier Mousetrap play. This time, the "show" will be staged by Claudius, who is intending not to catch Hamlet's conscience, but his life.
hw 3500, to hw 3510: Hamlet: So much for this, sir, now shall you see the other;
You do remember all the circumstance?
Horatio: Remember it, my Lord?
Hamlet: Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting
That would not let me sleep; my thought: I lay
Worse then the mutines in the bilbo. Rashly,
(And praised be rashness for it) - let us know,
Our indiscretion sometime serves us well
When our deep plots do fall, & that should learn us
There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough hew them how we will . . .; Hamlet's this in his first line is not expressly accounted for, as to what he's been discussing with Horatio when they enter. Most likely, he has been explaining to Horatio how he killed Polonius accidentally, and the events that consequently followed, leading to him being on the ship for England, and he now turns to what he did on the ship.; Horatio doesn't know whether he remembers the pertinent circumstance, because Hamlet hasn't mentioned the exact topic yet. Hamlet proceeds to elucidate.; The fighting in Hamlet's heart was caused by his uneasiness about still being sent to England, by Claudius, after killing Polonius. Claudius could have had him locked up. It's the death of Polonius that will also lead to the fighting at the fencing match later in this Scene.; Mutines are mutineers, and the bilbo is the iron bar and shackle that are used to bind a prisoner's feet. Bilbo goes back to Claudius mentioning putting fetters on his fear.; Hamlet praises rashness, but it was his rashness in jabbing at Polonius with his sword that put his life in such imminent peril.; Hamlet remarks on a divinity that decides the ultimate fates of persons, no matter how the persons plan their own actions.
hw 3511, to hw 3525: Horatio: That is most certain.
Hamlet: Up from my cabin,
My seagown scarfed about me in the dark,
Groped I to find out them, had my desire,
Fingered their packet, and in fine, withdrew
To mine own room again, making so bold,
(My fears forgetting manners,) to unfold
Their grand commission, where I found, Horatio,
A royal knavery: an exact command
Larded with many several sorts of reasons,
Importing Denmark's health, and England's too,
(With ho! - such bugs and goblins, in my life,)
That on the supervise, no leisure bated,
No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,
My head should be struck off.; Horatio agrees about divinity controlling destiny.; Scarfed means Hamlet didn't take time to don the gown properly, but tied the sleeves around his neck, like a scarf, and wore the gown like a cape. A seagown is a large overshirt, somewhat like a smock.; Hamlet's theft of the official packet from R & G goes back to his exclamation to Gertrude in the Closet Scene, about being "a cutpurse of the empire and the rule." So he became, out of necessity, in stealing the King's commission, like a common thief or pickpocket. The word packet is ironic in that undertone, since it can also refer to a bundle of money. The description is phrased as if describing a burglary.; Hamlet's phrase making so bold, My fears forgetting manners, relates back to G's line after the Mousetrap play, when G said that if his duty was too bold, his love was too unmannerly, and Hamlet replied that he didn't understand that. Hamlet's boldness, in taking the packet, arose from neither duty nor love, but from suspicion.; Fears forgetting manners is notable as an instance of the author's style. He casts the emotion as the active entity, instead of the person. It's a kind of synecdoche, very poetic. Hamlet didn't forget his manners, his fear "forgot" them.; To unfold means "to reveal," or "to make known," and connects back to the first Scene when Francisco told Barnardo to "unfold" himself, when Francisco, on duty, was concerned about Barnardo possibly being a stranger, not a known person.; Exact means "explicit." Claudius's order was clear, and expressly stated.; Bugs means "bugbears." Hamlet says he's never, in his life, seen such "bugbears and goblins" as he read in the evil nonsense he saw in Claudius's order to England. Hamlet has, however, seen a "goblin" in his life, in the image of his father, but he doesn't know that.; On the supervise means "upon reading and comprehending (the commission.)"; No leisure bated is wordplay in anticipation of the fencing match. A fencing match would normally be a leisure activity, using bated foils, but this one will be different. The plain meaning is that the English must not let any time go by to "blunt" the intent of the order.; In to stay the grinding of the axe, the word stay means "wait for." The "edge" idea is mentioned here and there in the play, as when Claudius told R & G to give Hamlet "a further edge." In Claudius's order, however, he decided that whatever edge the axe is England had, would be good enough.
hw 3526, to hw 3539: Horatio: Is it possible?
Hamlet: Here's the commission; read it at more leisure;
But wilt thou hear now how I did proceed?
Horatio: I beseech you.
Hamlet: Being thus benetted round with villains,
Or I could make a prologue to my brains,
They had begun the play; I sat me down,
Devised a new commission, wrote it fair -
I once did hold it as our statists do:
A baseness to write fair, and labored much
How to forget that learning, but sir, now
It did me yeoman's service. Wilt thou know
The effect of what I wrote?
Horatio: Aye, good my Lord.; Hamlet gives the commission to Horatio, to hold. Horatio now has tangible evidence of Claudius's villainy.; Benetted goes back to Hamlet's question to Guildenstern, after the Mousetrap play, when he asked why R & G went around him as if to drive him "into a toil."; Or has the archaic meaning of "ere" or "before." The author apparently chose it to get the sound he wanted in one syllable. Prologue and play relate back to the Mousetrap play performance. Hamlet casts the working of his brains as a "play." He means that even before he could think about and plan what to do, he had already decided, and went ahead.; The prologue - play lines carry the additional meaning that, before Hamlet had even said the "prologue" of his greetings to people in England, Claudius had already started the "play" for his execution. As with so much else in Hamlet, there's a double meaning.; Hamlet Devised a new commission. The character's "devises" in the play are continually overthrown, and here Hamlet overthrew Claudius's "devise" to kill him, by forging a different commission.; Statists means "politicians," in the pejorative sense. The reason statists deprecated good handwriting is because of being proud that they had enough status to employ secretaries and clerks to do their writing for them. Hamlet, the Prince, says he used to believe the same as the statists, about not needing good handwriting, but seeing what he could accomplish with his own writing, he's changed his mind.; Hamlet says the word baseness in connection with the good writing of the commission, which has the undertone of allusion to Claudius, whom Hamlet views as a "base" individual. Claudius apparently wrote the original commission quite neatly. Hamlet refuses to compliment Claudius about that, but instead mentions the subject in general terms. Hamlet will not give Claudius credit for anything, not even for having good "schoolboy" handwriting, and there's no reason Hamlet should.; Throughout the passage, Hamlet talks and Horatio listens, with Hamlet occasionally asking a question to be sure he has Horatio's full attention. This is not anything against Horatio. Hamlet is, very seriously, trying to communicate as much factual information to Horatio as he can. Hamlet is planning for Horatio to be his witness when push comes to shove, against Claudius, and Horatio understands that.
hw 3540, to hw 3549: Hamlet: An earnest conjuration from the King,
As England was his faithful tributary,
As love between them, like the palm, might flourish,
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear,
And stand a comma 'tween their amities,
And many such like, "as," sir, of great charge,
That on the view, and knowing of these contents,
Without debatement further, more or less,
He should those bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving time allowed.; In plain reading, conjuration means "entreaty," but the undertone is of Claudius "conjuring up" Hamlet's ghost by having him killed.; Tributary is on the "river of time" concept of the play, going back to the mention of "rivals" in the first Scene. In plain reading, it means England being subordinate to Denmark, and then also has allusion to the tribute which England owes Denmark.; The palm - flourish line reflects the Psalms in the Bible, Psalm 92, paragraph 12. Psalm 92 is "a Psalm for the Sabbath day," and the Sabbath, in conventional Christian timekeeping, is Sunday. The Sabbath being "Sunday" gives another implicit sun/son pun, with the "son" being Hamlet. Hamlet changed the commission to make it his "son day," to rise again, like the sun, from among those Claudius wanted dead. Hamlet's reference to a Psalm for the Sabbath is thus aptly chosen.; The wheaten garland is a traditional symbol of peace and prosperity, from wheat being used to make bread.; A comma is a mark used to separate phrases spoken by the same voice. With comma, then, Hamlet means Denmark and England "speaking with the same voice," even though different countries. The concept is of the difference between Denmark and England being only a "comma," and not a "period," which would symbolize a complete separation into two different voices.; Hamlet uses "as" in a sarcastic way, with "as" pronounced like "ass," to mean that what he wrote, with all his "as" statements, was essentially the same kind of nonsense that Claudius wrote. There's an undertone of Hamlet calling Claudius an ass. Charge means "importance," or "bearing" in the sense of bearing an important meaning. The metaphor, with the "ass" undertone, is of a mule carrying a heavy burden.; Not shriving time means without religious confession and absolution. This goes back to the Ghost complaint, in speaking to Hamlet, about Hamlet Sr being killed with no opportunity for religious services to cleanse his soul. Hamlet decided to subject R & G to the same treatment.
hw 3550, to hw 3558: Horatio: How was this sealed?
Hamlet: Why, even in that was Heaven ordinant;
I had my father's signet in my purse,
Which was the model of that Danish seal;
Folded the writ up in the form of the other,
Subcribed it, gave it the impression, placed it safely,
The changeling never known. Now, the next day
Was our sea fight, and what to this was sequent
Thou knowest already.; As fate had it, Hamlet was able to use his father's ring to make the seal, and so produce a perfect forgery.; A changeling is a baby put in place of one that's stolen. The idea comes from the folklore of fairies stealing babies.
hw 3559, to hw 3565: Horatio: So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to it.
Hamlet: They are not near my conscience; their defeat
Does by their own insinuation grow;
'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes
Between the pass and fell incensed points
Of mighty opposites.; Horatio's remark about R & G is more amusement than shock.; Pass and fell incensed points anticipates the fencing match.; Hamlet did not change the order to England, to make R & G the victims, out of spite. He had the honorable intent of sending murderous conspirators to their just reward.; Hamlet was present from the beginning of the Prayer Scene, and he heard R & G pledge their loyalty to Claudius. It sounded, to Hamlet, as if they were conspiring with Claudius. After Hamlet killed Polonius, and dragged Polonius's body near to Claudius's room, R & G were there again, to get the paperwork for the trip. Then, on the ship, when Hamlet found out what the commission said, that made things, as he saw it, a murderous conspiracy against him, with R & G being knowledgeable of the plot to kill him.; Further, the papers were in R & G's packet. They were going along as the clerical aides on the trip, to handle the paperwork details. That was their job. To be able to do that job, they would have to know what the paperwork said. They couldn't do the writing of the agreements, in England, without knowing their own paperwork, from Denmark. They wouldn't know what to write without knowing what the King's commission authorized them to write.; Nobody could possibly be so stupid as to go along, as a clerical aide, on an important diplomatic mission, involving good international relations and a large amount of money, without even knowing what their own paperwork said. Could they? You'd never think it could happen. A clerical aide could not possibly do his job without knowing his own paperwork, and you'd think anybody would realize that.; Between those two facts, of what Hamlet heard in the Prayer Scene, and that the commission was part of R & G's own paperwork, which Hamlet thought they must know, he naturally concluded that R & G were knowing conspirators in Claudius's plot against him. Hamlet then changed the paperwork to give R & G what he thought they deserved. But it's a mistake.; In the Prayer Scene, R & G pledged their loyalty to Claudius in high-flown, unreserved terms, without even knowing what was going on. Then, they really did go along as the clerical aides without knowing their own paperwork. They didn't know anything.; So, when Hamlet changed the commission, he wasn't sending murderous conspirators to justice as he thought. What he did was, in modern terms, he accidentally gave R & G a "Darwin Award." He thought they must know, and were participants in the scheme to kill him. But they didn't know. Oops. Oh, well. These things happen. But R & G really ought to have known better.; The author did not send R & G to their deaths, by mistake, only for morbid amusement. It illustrates the danger of kingly power, even in well-meaning hands. There are few kings in the world today, but there are many other kinds of leaders with similar powers, and the lesson remains apt.
hw 3566, to hw 3574: Hora: Why, what a King is this!
Hamlet: Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon?
He that hath killed my king, and whored my mother,
Popped in between the election and my hopes,
Thrown out his angle for my proper life -
And with such cozenage - is it not perfect conscience
To quit him with this arm? And is it not to be damned,
To let this canker of our nature come
In further evil?; Horatio's exclamation applies to Claudius, as he speaks it, but there's an undertone from the author about what Hamlet did, in sending R & G to their deaths under a misapprehension.; Stand me now upon means to be incumbent upon Hamlet to do something, about Claudius. It could be phrased as Hamlet now standing on solid ground, to take action against Claudius, going back to the "ground" idea.; An angle is a fishing hook. Proper life means "normal life," with Hamlet normally being his father's heir, including heir to the crown.; Canker continues both the "plant" and "disease" motifs of the play.
hw 3575, to hw 3585: Horatio: It must be shortly known to him from England,
What is the issue of the business there.
Hamlet: It will be short,
The interim's mine, and a mans life's no more
Than to say "one." But I am very sorry, good Horatio,
That to Laertes I forgot myself,
For, by the image of my cause, I see
The portraiture of his. I'll count his favors.
But sure, the bravery of his grief did put me
Into a towering passion.
Horatio: Peace, who comes here?; Hamlet says the interim is his. Interim contains the word "inter," which means to bury a dead body; there's a hint of Hamlet's death in his remark.; "One" ironically anticipates the word "one" being used later in the fencing match when a hit is scored. Such a hit, with the poisoned foil, will make two men's lives no more.; Hamlet now has sympathy with Laertes about the death of his father. Count means "to take account of," and is the correct word in the playtext (not the "court" that the Folio shows,) as verified by the encounter with the Courtier, soon to follow, where Hamlet will indeed tally Laertes's good qualities, albeit facetiously.; Image is on the Mirror theme of the play. Portraiture relates back to the Closet Scene, where Hamlet stabbed Polonius behind the picture, on the arras, of Claudius. The portraiture of Laertes's cause was indeed by - beside - the image of Hamlet's cause there, in the Closet Scene. The picture of Hamlet Sr (Hamlet's "cause,") and the picture of Claudius (Laertes's indirect "cause," via Polonius,) were each by the other there, side by side. Hamlet's figurative language about the image and the portraiture has a literal counterpart in the arrangement of the pictures in the Closet Scene.; Bravery means "boldness," or "outspokenness." Towering means "great," in plain reading, but has facetious allusion to the towers of earth that both Laertes and Hamlet exclaimed about, with their ideas of Mounts Pelion, Ossa, and Olympus.
hw 3586, to hw 3594: (a Courtier enters)
Courtier: Your Lordship is right welcome back to Denmark.
Hamlet: I humble thank you, sir.
(to Horatio):
Dost know this water fly?
Horatio: No, my good Lord.
Hamlet: Thy state is the more gracious, for 'tis a vice to know him;
He hath much land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts, and his
crib shall stand at the King's mess; 'tis a chough, but as I say, spacious in the
possession of dirt.; This Courtier is not called "Ostrick" yet, for a reason, that being that he acquires a different cognomen shortly. He's only called a "Courtier" at this point in Q2, which is fully intentional by the author. We'll see why.; Hamlet's humble means his "thanks" is humble, that is, very little. Hamlet is "humble-thanking" the Courtier, rather than giving him any generous, sincere thanks. It's idiotic of the Courtier to speak as if he's Denmark's "official greeter," especially in talking to the Prince of the nation.; A water fly is a creature that skims about erratically on the surface. The term continues the "river of time" and "angling" concepts.; Hamlet says that merely knowing the Courtier is a vice. The characterization implies that the Courtier has an aura of corruption about him. A crib is a feeding trough for a farm animal, and the word also implies thievery or cheating. Hamlet says that if people were only beasts, the Courtier would be the beastly king.; Chough casts the Courtier as a "bird," and also puns with "chuff," meaning a boorish fool. A chough is a bird in the crow family, darkly unattractive and noisy. Hamlet says, or strongly implies, that the Courtier gained his position through land ownership.
hw 3595, to hw 3604: Courtier: Sweet Lord, if your Lordship were at leisure, I should
impart a thing to you from his Majesty.
Hamlet: I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit; your bonnet
to his right use, 'tis for the head.
Courtier: I thank your Lordship, it is very hot.
Hamlet: No, believe me, 'tis very cold, the wind is northerly.
(the Courtier dons his hat,
and becomes . . .)
Hat on: It is indifferent cold, my Lord, indeed.
Hamlet: But yet, methinks it is very sultry and hot, or my
complexion.; The Courtier calls Hamlet "Sweet Lord," the same term Hamlet used at the Graveyard when speculating about the skulls of deceased courtiers, when he then went on to talk about the skull of somebody who once owned a lot of land.; A spirit is a ghost, somebody who isn't really there. When Hamlet says he'll listen with diligence of spirit he means he wishes he weren't really there, and didn't have to.; Hamlet says the Courtier should have his hat on, and the Courtier thanks him for mentioning it. The Courtier remarks that the weather is hot.; Hamlet replies that, no, "it" is very cold.; The Courtier puts his hat on, and agrees, somewhat, about the cold.; Hamlet responds that, no, "it" is now very hot. Or my complexion means, in modern terms, "or is it just me?" In modern parlance, Hamlet would be saying, "it's very sultry and hot - or is it just me?"; Hot & cold. Hamlet is playing the old children's game of "hot and cold" with the Courtier about where his hat is. The Courtier can't figure it out.; We all know the game, it's very simple. Hot means "right," and cold means "wrong." When the Courtier puts his hat on, Hamlet tells him "it's hot," which means "that's right." In plain reading, Hamlet is telling the Courtier that "it's right" for him to wear his hat.; In one undertone, there are various places that are hot, most particularly Hell. When Hamlet implies to the Courtier that "hot is right" for him, he is implying that the Courtier ought to go to Hell.; The major reason the "hot & cold" game is in the play, is to tell us the name of the person being satirized. Look at where the hat is when it's hot, when it's right. The hat is on. The person's name is "hat on." That's hot, that's right. The author has told us the person's name in language even a child could understand.; (Albeit, hardly any English "scholar" could, sadly enough, even with the words hot and cold in clear print right in front of his "educated" face. It's an embarrassment to Shakespeare studies that this passage has remained unfathomed for four centuries, and the historical sourcing of a children's "hot and cold" game in Hamlet to an obscure passage in Juvenal has to be one of the most idiotic things in the entire realm of English literature. Guys, it's a "hot and cold" game, for pete's sake. Geez.); The Courtier is not called "Ostrick" yet in Q2 because he has a different name here, for satirical reasons. Here, he is "Hat on."; It's Sir Christopher Hatton. Hatton was a significant courtier for Queen Elizabeth for many years, and he rose to high position in the government. He was apparently a mean man, and he did, indeed, own a lot of land, although he ended up deeply in debt. The satire of him, here, is probably not entirely fair, but satire never is. (There is a surviving portrait of Hatton, that can be found with an image search on the World Wide Web, and that shows him wearing a hat with a large feather prominently displayed on the front of it.)
hw 3605, to hw 3609: Hat on: Exceedingly, my Lord, it is very sultry, as t'were; I cannot
tell how. My Lord, his Majesty bade me signify to you, that he
has laid a great wager on your head; sir, this is the matter . . .
Hamlet: I beseech you, remember!; In Q2, the word sultry is spelled "soultry," which contains the word "soul." The suggestion is, in sultry spelled as "soultry," of souls getting hotter, as from getting closer to Purgatory, or to Hell.; "Hat on" calls Hamlet Lord and sir indiscrimately, which is a sign of his lack of education in proper forms, and also a mark of his personal foolishness, that he can't remember how to address Hamlet from one sentence to the next.; Earlier, when Claudius was talking to Laertes in Scene 18, he mentioned having somebody talk to Hamlet about Laertes's excellence as a swordsman, and tell Hamlet about the wager and the fencing match. "Hat on" is the one Claudius has chosen to do that.; When the Courtier mentions the matter, and pauses to decide how to proceed, Hamlet plays it that the Courtier can't remember what he's supposed to say. Hamlet facetiously begs the Courtier to remember, as though he's overwhelmingly eager to know what the Courtier is supposed to tell him. Hamlet is also "begging" the Courtier to try to remember to call him "Lord" in accordance with proper manners, but "Hat on" misses that, and keeps calling him "Lord" and "sir" alternately.
hw 3610, to hw 3610+12: Hat on: Nay, good my Lord, for my ease, in good faith; sir, here is newly
come to court, Laertes; believe me, an absolute gentlemen, full of most
excellent differences, of very soft society, and great showing. Indeed
to speak fellingly of him, he is the card or calendar of gentry;
for, you shall find in him the continent of what part a gentleman
would see.
Hamlet: Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you, though I
know to divide him inventorially, would dazzie the arithmetic of
memory, and yet but raw neither, in respect of his quick sail, but
in the verity of extolment, I take him to be a soul of great article,
& his infusion of such dearth and rareness, as to make true diction
of him, his semblable is his mirror, & who else would trace him, his
umbrage, nothing more.; The Courtier is taken aback by Hamlet's put-on insistence, and asks Hamlet to take it easy. He has undoubtedly been told, or has heard, that Hamlet is "mad," and he's intimidated, but presses ahead. He then begins talking about Laertes. The only way the Courtier can figure out how to approach the subject, is to speak as if Hamlet has never met Laertes, which is ludicrous. Laertes is not newly come to court, he grew up there, as the son of the crown's top aide, recently deceased. It's apparently the Courtier who is newly arrived, and who knows little of the personalities at court.; Fellingly is the correct word in the playtext, as Q2 shows. It carries a death undertone, from the archaic meaning of "fell:" to cause death. In plain reading, the Courtier is using a form of "fall," and he means "to bring down" the truth about Laertes, as in "bringing down" a target by striking it. Both the death undertone, and the idea of "felling" or "bringing down" a target, are advance allusion to the fencing match.; Card or calendar of means "written description, or full account, of."; A continent is a major land area of the world. The Courtier's last line means that each part of Laertes is a "continent" in the "world" of his being a gentleman. The Courtier casts Laertes as the "world" of being a gentleman, so, when a person looks at a part of Laertes he would be looking at a "continent," like a part of the world being a "continent." The word continent goes back, ironically, to when Polonius was talking to Reynaldo, and expressed concern about Laertes being "incontinent" in his sexual behavior in Paris.; Hamlet takes the Courtier's preposterously high-flown praise of Laertes, and runs with it. Perdition relates to damnation of the soul. If Laertes suffers perdition, it won't be because of what the Courtier said, but because of his own actions. In plain reading, Hamlet is facetiously saying that the Courtier's ridiculous praise of Laertes is not enough, by itself, to damn him.; Inventorially and arithmetic are on the "account" idea, from the word calendar.; Raw is correct in the playtext, meaning "crude" or "unfinished." Quick sail means that Laertes moves and improves quickly. The overall idea is that any attempt to praise Laertes will always be raw, unfinished, because he keeps getting better so fast, every day. There is a facetious undertone in the phrase quick sail from the author; the author is saying that he has sent Laertes to Paris, and brought him back, faster than is humanly possible: the author gave Laertes a quick sail, indeed.; His semblable is his mirror means that the only thing that resembles Laertes is his own image in the mirror. This is on the Mirror theme.; Who else would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more means that the only thing which can imitate Laertes is his own shadow, not any other person. With his mirror and umbrage line, Hamlet is facetiously saying that only Laertes's own image or shadow could be like him, not any other person, because he's so outstanding. In undertone, a shadow is a ghost, and to trace means to follow. At the fencing match, Laertes, the living person, will be followed by his ghost.
hw 3610+13, to hw 3610+18: Hat on: Your Lordship speaks most infallibly of him.
Hamlet: The concernancy, sir; why do we wrap the gentleman in
our more rawer breath?
Hat on: Sir?
Horatio: Is it not possible to understand in another tongue? You will
do it, sir, really.; Hamlet wants to know why the Courtier is praising Laertes. The Courtier hasn't explained that yet. But the Courtier is baffled by Hamlet's question.; Horatio's line is spoken to the Courtier. Horatio is using another tongue to mean English, sarcastically casting English as a foreign language for the Courtier, that the Courtier can't understand. What Horatio means is: "don't you understand English?"; The historical failure of scholars to interpret Horatio's line is as odd, and unfortunate, as them missing the "hot & cold" game. For centuries, English scholars, and English professors, have puzzled over a line in Hamlet that basically means, in plain reading:; "Don't you understand English?"; Not all the ironies of Hamlet are within the play.; There is also a second meaning - what else, in Hamlet? - of Horatio asking the Courtier if he doesn't understand the same sort of jargon, that he uses, being used back at him by a different speaker. The English scholars have gotten that one. Credit where credit is due.; You will do it means "keep trying, you can do it."
hw 3610+19, to hw 3612+2: Hamlet: What imports the nomination of this gentleman?
Hat on: Of Laertes?
Horatio: His purse is empty already, all his golden words are spent.
Hamlet: Of him, sir.
Hat on: I know you are not ignorant.
Hamlet: I would you did, sir, yet in faith if you did, it would not
much approve me. Well, sir?
Hat on: You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is.
Hamlet: I dare not confess that, lest I should compare with
him in excellence; but, to know a man well, were to know himself.; Hamlet again tries to find out why the Courtier has mentioned Laertes, and the Courtier is still baffled by the question. This goes back to Hamlet's interjection to the Courtier to "remember!" The Courtier was instructed by Claudius to praise Laertes, and then tell Hamlet about the fencing match. The Courtier has praised Laertes, as instructed, but he has, indeed, momentarily forgotten the second part. He can't remember what else he's supposed to say, to tell Hamlet about the fencing match.; With his phrase, golden words, Horatio means the Courtier has been so extravagant with his speech that he now has no words left at all, to answer Hamlet's question. It's sarcasm. Horatio is sarcastically saying that the Courtier would like to answer the question, but he can't, because he doesn't have any words left, he's spent all the words he had. Golden words has an undertone going back to the Prayer Scene, when Claudius spoke of "offense's gilded hand." The Courtier is acting as Claudius's "hand" here, trying to "bribe" Hamlet to participate in the match, which Claudius has planned as a murderous offense against Hamlet. The Courtier is unaware of the plot, and is only trying to do what he was told, conveying "golden words" from Claudius as best he can.; The Courtier has lost himself in his own words, however, and he doesn't realize what the problem is. The Courtier says he knows Hamlet is not ignorant, but in fact, Hamlet is ignorant of why the Courtier spoke of Laertes, for the basic reason that the Courtier hasn't told him. Hamlet doesn't yet know why the Courtier mentioned Laertes.; Hamlet says he wishes the Courtier did know he wasn't ignorant - of why the Courtier mentioned Laertes. The way the Courtier could know Hamlet wasn't ignorant, of why Laertes was mentioned, would be to reveal why Laertes was mentioned, which the Courtier hasn't done yet.; Hamlet's not much approve line means that if the Courtier did know Hamlet well enough to judge how ignorant he was, of this or that, it would not approve Hamlet for his choice of friends.; The Courtier restates what excellence Laertes is, confident that he's done that part of his task. He still hasn't remembered the second part.; There is an old saying, that to know someone else well, is to know oneself. Hamlet denies that it's possible for him to know how excellent Laertes is, because, based on the Courtier's preposterous praise of Laertes, he's incomparable, so nobody else could really know him.
hw 3612+3, to hw 3612+4: Hat on: I mean, sir, for his weapon; but, in the imputation laid on
him, by them in his meed, he's unfellowed.
---; Ah, the Courtier has finally remembered the second part, about Laertes's skill with a sword, and the fencing match.; Imputation implies an accusation, as of a person doing something wrong, which anticipates the fencing match. In theological terms, "to impute" is to ascribe someone's guilt as being from somebody else; this is undertone to the relation between Claudius and Laertes at the match.; In his meed means "in his service." It's a reference to Laertes's family servants. Meed more strictly refers to pay, so the phrase means those who are in the pay of Laertes, which amounts to his servants.; Claudius has told the Courtier not to reveal that it was Claudius, himself, who told the Courtier what to say to Hamlet, about Laertes. So, the Courtier has come up with the idea of claiming that he heard about Laertes's skill with a sword from Laertes's servants, which is absurd. The Courtier is quite pompous, and would not spend time gabbing with servants; he'd think it was beneath him.; We only know of one servant of Laertes's family, and that's Reynaldo. Polonius sent Reynaldo to Paris to check on Laertes. With Polonius dead, Reynaldo would now be Laertes's servant, so he'd fit the description of what the Courtier said.; The author has had the Courtier say that, according to those in service to Laertes, he has no equal with a sword. And the only such person we know of, is Reynaldo. Hm.; Where's Reynaldo?; With Polonius dead, and Laertes returned, Reynaldo should have returned, too, but he isn't seen. A person who doesn't think about it, might suppose the author forgot his Reynaldo character. Not so.; Polonius sent Reynaldo to Paris, with a "mad" plan to check on Laertes, by slandering him, as Reynaldo talked to people who knew Laertes. As an intelligence plan, it was hopeless, predictably so, in advance. Reynaldo would end up reporting back the gossip he, himself, started, with local detail filled in by local people, as the word went around. But there was another problem with it, much more serious from Reynaldo's point of view.; At the beginning of the play, Laertes seemed to be only a carefree youth, a fairly typical young man. We have now learned much more about him. One thing we've learned is that he has a remarkable skill with a sword. Another thing we know about him now, is that he tends to act impulsively, and he has a hot temper. So, Reynaldo went to Paris, under Polonius's orders, to go around slandering the best swordsman in France, who has a hot temper. Is this really a good idea?; Laertes was in Paris earlier, and has friends there. Also, Reynaldo was particularly told to seek out people who knew Laertes. It took only a short time until Laertes was told, by his friends, that there was a fellow going around saying scandalous things about him. When Laertes asked who it was, they quickly pointed him out. Laertes immediately recognized Reynaldo, the trusted family servant who brought him the money from his father.; To Laertes, Reynaldo suddenly looked like the most worthless, disgraceful, disloyal, intolerable excuse for a family servant that he had ever seen, or heard of. Imagine, a trusted family servant, who goes all around town slandering the oldest son of the family that employs him and relies on him. It's shocking. It's unforgiveable.; When Laertes approached Reynaldo, and angrily demanded an explanation, Reynaldo told him that Laertes's own father ordered him to slander Laertes to people in Paris. Laertes did not believe it for a moment. His own father, send a family servant to Paris, to slander him? Utter nonsense. His father would never do such a thing. To Laertes, it sounded as if Reynaldo was slandering his father, too, in trying to claim his father would do that. After slandering Laertes, Reynaldo was trying to hide behind slander of his father, as well, as Laertes saw it. Reynaldo's explanation made it even worse - for Reynaldo, that is.; Gertrude was not there in Paris, to protect Reynaldo, the way she stood between Claudius and Laertes. So, now we know why we don't see Reynaldo again in the play.; Reynaldo is dead.; The cause of death was a deep puncture wound from a sword. Laertes killed him. Reynaldo is buried in a Paris cemetery.; Polonius's "fetch of wit" was so brilliant, that not only did he give Reynaldo a hopeless assignment, but he left Reynaldo with no way to get out of the assignment alive.; Laertes returned to Denmark so quickly because he was already on his way back from Paris. There was a small difficulty involving the death of a fellow, and he had to leave town. Also, Laertes was intending to tell Polonius about the shocking, unforgiveable behavior of Reynaldo in Paris, and to caution his father to be more careful about the kind of people he hired as servants.; This is why we don't see Reynaldo again in the play. And of course, the author knew he wouldn't be having to write any more lines for Reynaldo. Reynaldo has joined the majority.; The "Hat on" Courtier finally manages to mention weapon, which leads to him telling Hamlet about the fencing match.
hw 3613, to hw 3621: Hamlet: What's his weapon?
Hat on: Rapier and dagger.
Hamlet: That's two of his weapons, but well.
Hat on: The King, sir, hath wagered with him, six Barbary horses,
against the which, he has impawned, as I take it, six French rapiers
and poniards, with their assigns: as girdle, hanger and so. Three
of the carriages, in faith, are very dear to fancy, very responsive to
the hilts, most delicate carriages, and of very liberal conceit.; A Barbary horse is an Arabian horse. Impawned is a high-flown word for "bet." Poniards are daggers, and the assigns are the accessories. Impawned, containing the word "pawn," implies Laertes being a pawn of Claudius in the "game" against Hamlet.; In the original printing of Hamlet, the word poniards is spelled "Poynards," which is probably supposed to be "Ponyards," to show "pony" in the word, and to give wordplay of a bet of "horse" versus "pony."; Liberal conceit = indecorous ideas = nude women. Laertes has brought back, from France, some swords and accessories that have designs of nude women on them, and the Courtier is deeply impressed. "Carriage" has connotation of the posture and form of the human body, thus the use of that word by the Courtier. The ladies' carriages are most delicate, he says.
hw 3622, to hw 3629: Hamlet: What call you the carriages?
Horatio: I knew you must be edified by the margin ere you had
done.
Hat on: The carriages, sir, are the hangers.
Hamlet: The phrase would be more germane to the matter if we
could carry a cannon by our sides; I would it might be "hangers" till
then; but on: six Barbary horses against six French swords, their assigns,
and three liberal conceited carriages - that's the French
bet against the Danish. Why is this all you call it?; Some books of Elizabethan times had explanations of words and phrases printed in the margin of the page. Horatio is jokingly commenting on Hamlet asking the Courtier to "define his terms."; The Courtier has settled on "sir" as his way of addressing Hamlet, the Prince of the nation. It's the only term of address with which he's very familiar.; Hamlet's last sentence means, "Why is this all (that) you've called it?" In other words, "why are you telling me?"
hw 3630, to hw 3635: Hat on: The King, sir, hath laid, sir, that in a dozen passes between
yourself and him, he shall not exceed you three hits; he hath
laid on twelve for nine, and it would come to immediate trial, if
your Lordship would vouchsafe the answer.
Hamlet: How if I answer, "no?"; The Courtier's word him is ambiguous, making it sound as if Claudius intends to fence Hamlet. Despite the Courtier's difficulty in communicating, Hamlet has deduced that it's Laertes he's supposed to fence. The ambiguity gives a nice undertone that it's really Claudius whom Hamlet is combating.; For the match there will be 12 passes. A "pass" is like a hole in golf, or a serve in tennis; it's a round in the competition. The winner, in each pass, is the one who scores the first hit. To do better than Hamlet by 3 hits, Laertes will have to win 8 passes, for a score of 8 to 4, an advantage of 4. If Hamlet wins 5 passes, he'll win the match, at 5 - 7 against him, an advantage of only 2 for Laertes.; According to the stated bet, if Hamlet wins, Claudius gets the fancy French girly swords, and if Laertes wins he gets the horses. The private agreement between Claudius and Laertes will be different; it isn't a real bet between them.; The twelve for nine that the Courtier states, is not correct. A winning margin would be either 8-4 for Laertes to win, or 5-7, for Hamlet, to win with his handicap. The author of the play knew that, and has made the Courtier misstate the situation, as part of characterizing the courtier as a dunce. The silly Courtier doesn't know how to do a proper calculation for the match, and he has simply subtracted 3 from 12, to get 9, which has nothing to do with anything.; In the historical commentary about Hamlet, the Courtier's twelve for nine has caused much puzzlement, as to how it can possibly be right. But the answer is, that it is not right. The phrase is not any factual statement about the match, it is part of the Courtier's characterization, as a dunce. The phrase is intended, by the author, to be something to provide a chuckle for those who know better.; It is important to note that, despite the very expensive bet, or at least the mention of the very expensive things supposedly being bet, the Courtier hasn't mentioned anything being offered to Hamlet, for his participation. Hamlet notices that, and it leads to his question, How if I answer, "no?" Hamlet is asking what inducement he'll be giving up by not participating.
hw 3636, to hw 3645: Hat on: I mean, my Lord, the opposition of your person in trial.
Hamlet: Sir, I will walk here in the hall, if it please his Majesty; it
is the breathing time of day with me; let the foils be brought, the
gentleman willing, and the King hold his purpose; I will win
for him and I can; if not, I will gain nothing but my shame, and
the odd hits.
Hat on: Shall I deliver you so?
Hamlet: To this effect, sir, after what flourish your nature will.; The Courtier doesn't understand the reason for Hamlet's question, so he merely tries to clarify that he's talking about Hamlet participating in the match. He wasn't told of anything to offer Hamlet for his participation. Claudius didn't think of offering Hamlet anything, because he doesn't expect Hamlet to survive to collect anything offered him. This lack of consideration for him is part of what makes Hamlet uneasy, as he'll tell Horatio further on.; The author was mischievously ironic with breathing time of day. This is Hamlet's "breathing" time; later in the day will not be. In and I can, the and means "if." The author, and the Elizabethans in general, sometimes used "and" as a conditional.; Hamlet says the Courtier can report to Claudius using whatever flourish he wishes. It's facetious; Hamlet is amused by the thought that the Courtier will probably try to talk to Claudius in the same way he talked to Hamlet, and will leave Claudius baffled.
hw 3646, to hw 3657: Hat on: I commend my duty to your Lordship.
Hamlet: Yours.
("Hat on" exits, with his hat on)
(Hamlet continues):
He does well to commend it himself, there are no
tongues else for his turn.
Horatio: This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.
Hamlet: He did so, sir, with his dug before he sucked it; thus has he and
many more of the same breed, that I know the drossy age dotes on,
only got the tune of the time, and out of an habit of encounter, a
kind of histy collection, which carries them through, and through
the most profane and renowned opinions; and do but blow
them to their trial, the bubbles are out.; Lapwing chicks are active as soon as they hatch, and will sometimes run with a piece of eggshell on their heads. Horatio is using that metaphor to observe, facetiously, that the Courtier didn't take his hat off to Hamlet when he left. It's sarcasm, following from the bit with the hat, earlier.; For Hamlet's reply, the Q2 wording is correct, to an absolute certainty, and must be observed. The joke is lost without that exact wording. Hamlet's so means "thusly," and is emphasized when spoken; it refers to the Courtier wearing his hat. Dug means "breast." Hamlet's reply means: "he didn't take his hat off to his own mother when he suckled."; The Folio editor didn't understand, changed the wording, and lost the joke. It's a joke about the Courtier's bad manners. The historical commentators on Hamlet have paid too much attention to the Folio wording, and have missed the joke, themselves. Too bad for them, but now you know.; Drossy means "scummy." In modern vernacular, Hamlet says he lives in an age when "the scum rises to the top." Beyond the Courtier, there is allusion to Claudius, of course.; Tune of the time means the Courtier only has a little of the latest fashion, no depth. It means the Courtier is superficial.; Histy is the correct word in the playtext. It means "webby," and is from the Greek prefix hist-/histo-, as used in words like "histogram." Hamlet means the Courtier, and people like him, have never had any proper education in manners, but they've only managed to "catch" a few manners, here and there, like a spider collecting a few bugs in a web, by chance. The "web" or "net" idea relates back to Hamlet asking G why R & G were trying to drive him "into a toil," and also to Hamlet's remark to Horatio near the start of this Scene, about Hamlet being "benetted" by villains.; The second word through means "gets them by." Profane means "popular," in the pejorative sense. Hamlet uses renowned as a high-flown word for "rumored." Renowned is the correct word in the text, but misprinted in Q2. Hamlet's word usage means, facetiously, that the Courtier's "renown" is only a rumor. Trial means "test."; With his last few lines, Hamlet means that the Courtier, and others like him, have never had any good education in proper conduct, but have only managed to "catch" a little proper behavior, that gets them by the most "popular" and "rumored" ideas about them, from people who haven't met them. However, if you put them to the test, in a personal encounter, their reputations pop like bubbles.
hw 3657+1, to hw 3657+13: (a Lord enters)
Lord: My Lord, his Majesty, commended him to you by young
Ostrick - who brings back to him that you attend him in the hall -
he sends to know if your pleasure hold to play with Laertes, or that
you will take longer time?
Hamlet: I am constant to my purposes, they follow the King's
pleasure; if his fitness speaks, mine is ready; now or whensoever,
provided I be so able as now.
Lord: The King, and Queen, and all are coming down.
Hamlet: In happy time.
Lord: The Queen desires you to use some gentle entertainment
to Laertes, before you fall to play.
Hamlet: She well instructs me.
(the Lord exits); Claudius was not able to understand what the Courtier tried to tell him, so Claudius has sent another courtier to check. As this Lord says, all that Claudius could discern out of the "Hat on" Courtier's attempt to converse is that Hamlet was in the hall. Also, Claudius is eager for the match, as soon as possible, to be rid of Hamlet, so he impatiently sends this other courtier, as well.; The "Hat on" Courtier now acquires the name, Ostrick. The name relates both to his hat, and to his role at the fencing match to follow.; At the fencing match, Ostrick will supervise the swords and equipment. In other words, he's the Valet of Swords at the match. See the Valet of Swords card in the Visconti-Sforza tarot deck, to which a link should be available from the Home page of this Hamlet (Regained) website. Particularly, on that card, observe the hat, which appears to consist almost entirely of plumes. Also, the Valet is a young fellow. As always with the tarot cards, the Valet of Swords card should not be taken as showing Ostrick exactly, but is suggestive of how he would look.; In stage performance, Ostrick should be costumed with a hat that has several ridiculously large ostrich plumes on it. The author changed the word "ostrich" to make a Danish name, simply by changing the end sound to "ick" as in the name "Roric."; Hamlet's word fitness relates back to him speaking of Claudius being "fit and seasoned" for his passage, in the Prayer Scene, when Hamlet refrained from killing Claudius while he was praying. There's the undertone of Claudius now being "fit," not for passage to Heaven, but in the other direction. Hamlet also refers to his own fitness, which in the "fit and seasoned" allusion carries a death undertone for him.; Gentle entertainment means Gertrude wants Hamlet to greet Laertes like a gentleman. She's concerned after the Graveyard encounter, and doesn't want Hamlet to repeat such behavior.
hw 3658, to hw 3673+1: Horatio: You will lose, my Lord.
Hamlet: I do not think so; since he went into France, I have been
in continual practice; I shall win at the odds. Thou wouldst not
think how ill all's here about my heart, but it is no matter.
Horatio: Nay, good my Lord?
Hamlet: It is but foolery, but it is such a kind of gamegiving, as
would perhaps trouble a woman.
Horatio: If your mind dislike any thing, obey it. I will forestall their
repair hither, and say you are not fit.
Hamlet: Not a whit, we defy augury; there is special providence in
the fall of a sparrow; if it be, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come,
it will be now; if it be not now, yet it well come; the readiness is all,
since no man, of ought he leaves, knows what is it to leave betimes;
let be.; Horatio is aware that Laertes is an outstanding swordsman, although he wouldn't be relying entirely on what the "Hat on" Courtier said, so he must have heard it elsewhere, as well. Hamlet thinks that with the odds, meaning the handicap, that he can win, however.; Hamlet says he feels sick at heart, which means he has a sense of foreboding. But, he says it doesn't matter. The idea of being sick at heart goes back to what Francisco said in Scene 1 as he went off sentinel duty.; Hamlet's "ill at heart" line also alludes to his heartbreak over Ophelia's death, after which, things don't matter so much to him, now.; Gamegiving is what Q2 shows, and is typically changed to the "gaingiving" of the Folio, in most Hamlet texts. However, the "game-" in the word is intentional by the author, in allusion to Claudius's "game" at the fencing match. The gamegiving will indeed trouble a woman, that being Gertrude, who will experience the last trouble of her life, as a result of Claudius's "game." Gamegiving means "game playing," or "gamesmanship," and with the intent to suggest "gaingiving" through the similarity of words.; Augury is nearly synonymous with "auspice," which originally referred to trying to forecast the future by watching the flight of birds. Thus, augury leads to the mention of the sparrow.; Hamlet's sparrow line is allusion to a passage in the Bible, Matthew 10:29, which says, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father?" The word "Father" is reference to the Ghost, in the image of Hamlet's father, but actually the "Devil's hand," who was the root cause of Ophelia's death. Ophelia did not literally fall to the ground, but she figuratively fell into her grave, in the ground, when she fell from the tree.; Also, in the surviving writings of Sappho, the chariot of Aphrodite is described as being pulled by sparrows. The fall of such a sparrow would mean the fall of love. So, Hamlet's sparrow line refers to Ophelia, and he's saying, that with Ophelia dead, he's in readiness to die, himself, if that's what Claudius has in mind at the match.; Betimes means "early," in the sense, here, of "too soon." Ought means "nothing," best read here as "the nothingness." With Ophelia dead, Hamlet means he'll be leaving nothing if he dies. He's saying that he's in readiness to die, and can't say it's too soon if he does, since there's nothing for him in life now. He phrases it in general terms, that no man can say he dies too soon, considering the nothingness of life. Hamlet is bitter and cynical now.
hw 3674, to hw 3676: (servants enter, and prepare a table for the King and Queen;
musicians enter with kettle drums and trumpets;
Claudius and Gertrude enter, and Laertes enters; followed by
all the courtiers and the top military officers;
Ostrick enters with the foils and fencing equipment); Preparations begin for the match. Claudius is sure he's arranged things so he can get away with his crime, so he wants everyone he can get as witnesses, and he's summoned all the top people at the Castle to be there, as spectators and judges for the match.
hw 3677: (Claudius stands beside Laertes, takes Laertes's arm,
and holds Laertes's hand out for Hamlet)
Claudius: Come Hamlet, come and take this hand from me.; Claudius pretends to be a peacemaker, and insists on a friendly greeting between Hamlet and Laertes. The gesture further symbolizes Laertes being "the hand of Claudius" at the match.
hw 3678, to hw 3696: Hamlet (shakes hands with Laertes):
Give me your pardon, sir, I have done you wrong;
But pardon it, as you are a gentleman. This presence knows,
And you must needs have heard, how I am punished
With a sore distraction; what I have done
That might your nature, honor, and exception
Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness,
Was it Hamlet, wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet.
If Hamlet from himself be taken away,
And when he's not himself, does wrong Laertes,
Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it;
Who does it, then? His madness. If it be so,
Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged;
His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy;
Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil,
Free me so far in your most generous thoughts:
That I have shot my arrow o'er the house
And hurt my brother.; Hamlet is telling the truth, about it being an irrational, or "mad," action by him when he stabbed Polonius. There was no good reason whatsoever for him to draw his sword just to expel old Polonius from the room. He could have done that with nothing more than a harsh word and a firm push. He drew his sword because it was still on his mind after the Prayer Scene. Hamlet was distracted, and angry, and not thinking clearly, when he jabbed at Polonius.; Hamlet does not tell the whole truth, however, that being, that he did intend to kill Polonius at some point, (over his tragically mistaken idea about Ophelia and Claudius,) but only after killing Claudius. Hamlet is entitled to keep some things to himself, and it really wouldn't be appropriate for him to go into all that here with Laertes while he's trying to be friendly, and still keep it secret about his intent for revenge against Claudius.; Hamlet's remarks are also a retort to Claudius. Claudius has been slandering Hamlet as mad, and here Hamlet uses that same slander in his defense, which is fair enough.
hw 3697, to hw 3705: Laertes: I am satisfied in nature,
Whose motive in this case should stir me most
To my revenge, but in my terms of honor
I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement,
Till, by some elder masters of known honor,
I have a voice and president of peace
To my name, ungored. But all that time,
I do receive your offered love, like love,
And will not wrong it.; Laertes accepts Hamlet's apology and explanation graciously. He follows the formal tradition of insisting on a judgment about honor, however, from the elders who act as masters of such things. President is the correct word in the playtext. A president is a leader, and the phrase president of peace relates back to Claudius saying, in Scene 18, that he would "rule Laertes to his own peace," with the undertone of "rest in peace." By pun, president is intended to suggest "precedent," meaning an official ruling.; Whether Laertes's name will be ungored, his body will not be so lucky.
hw 3706, to hw 3714: Hamlet: I embrace it freely, and will this brother's wager
frankly play.
Give us the foils.
Laertes: Come, one for me.
Hamlet: I'll be your foil Laertes; in mine ignorance
Your skill shall, like a star in the darkest night,
Stick fiery off, indeed.
Laertes: You mock me, sir?
Hamlet: No, by this hand.; Hamlet now casts Laertes as his brother, which is most friendly, and carries the undertone that he did think Laertes would someday be his brother-in-law.; Hamlet's I'll be your foil... line is not understood by Laertes, who questions whether Hamlet is mocking him. Hamlet still has the problem that the kind of wordplay he likes is difficult for other people to follow.; In Scene 1, Barnardo's mention of the star in the dark night led promptly to the Ghost making his appearance in that Scene. Here, after Hamlet's mention of the star, it won't be long until all their ghosts appear, figuratively speaking.
hw 3715, to hw 3721: Claudius: Give them the foils, young Ostrick; cousin Hamlet,
You know the wager?
Hamlet: Very well, my Lord;
Your Grace has laid the odds on the weaker side.
Claudius: I do not fear it, I have seen you both,
But since he is better, we have therefore odds.; Hamlet says that, even with the handicap, Claudius is betting on the weaker side by betting on him against Laertes. In undertone, in a comparison of good versus evil, of Heaven versus Hell, Hell is the weaker side, so the implication is that Claudius is betting on the "weaker side" in betting that his evil scheme will triumph. Claudius is "betting on Hell," with his sinful, criminal behavior.
hw 3722, to hw 3726: Laertes: This is too heavy; let me see another.
Hamlet: This likes me well; these foils have all a length?
Ostrick: Aye, my good Lord.; Laertes pretends to look through the foils, and he takes the one he's prearranged to be unbated. It would probably still be bated here, with a protective button on the tip, but Laertes will have made it so that the button will come off easily, most likely. He would probably hide the poison in his hand, in a cloth, and then both remove the button, and poison the tip, under the pretense of merely wiping the blade with the cloth. That would be one way to do it.; Foils are bated by putting a button securely on the tip, to make the point blunt. The button concept goes back to when R & G first arrived, and were talking to Hamlet. Fortune was mentioned, and R & G said they were not the very button, meaning the very least thing to Fortune, the most trivial thing. However, there are times a button is not at all a trivial thing, such as when a button makes the difference in whether a foil is a deadly weapon.; Likes me well means "suits me well;" the word likes used in that way is merely a manner of speaking. All a length means "all one length;" Hamlet is asking if the foils are all the same length.
hw 3727, to hw 3735: Claudius: Set me the stoups of wine upon that table;
If Hamlet give the first or second hit,
Or quit in answer of the third exchange,
Let all the battlements their ordnance fire!
The King shall drink to Hamlet's better breath,
And in the cup an onyx shall he throw,
Richer than that which four successive kings
In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups.
(Claudius drops something into Hamlet's wine); The stoups are the drinking cups, including the one Claudius has reserved for Hamlet.; Claudius then announces procedures and rules for the match. He says that if Hamlet gets the first or second hit in the match, all the cannons will fire, because he'll take it as a good sign for his wager. It will only be Putting On A Show, however, since his real "bet" is against Hamlet.; Fortinbrasse will enter the Scene soon, just after the fencing match, so he must be very close to Elsinore Castle now. He doesn't know about the fencing match. What's he going to think, when all the cannons at the Castle suddenly fire? He's going to think they're shooting at him, to try to kill him and disperse his army. He will order his army to charge, when that happens. He'll attack the Castle.; About the third exchange, Claudius means, if Hamlet sees, during the first two passes, that he's too overmatched against Laertes, he is to withdraw from the match at the third pass, as a good sportsmanship gesture. The cannons would then be fired to celebrate Laertes's victory, when Hamlet concedes. Considering what Claudius is up to, it's colossal nerve for him to be stating a sportsmanship rule for Hamlet. It would not be a problem for Claudius, in his scheme, if Hamlet quits at the third pass, because Claudius would insist on everyone drinking a toast to Laertes, which Hamlet could hardly refuse, so Hamlet would drink the poisoned wine at that time.; Better breath has the undertone that Claudius thinks it's better if Hamlet is not breathing.; The onyx is the poison pill, which Claudius has made to look like an onyx, for a reason that will become clear later.; Claudius is very sly. Who would ever suspect that he would publicly announce it, and let everybody watch, as he poisons Hamlet's wine? People would never imagine that's what he's doing.
hw 3736, to hw 3740: (Claudius continues):
And let the kettle to the trumpet speak,
The trumpet to the cannoneer without,
The cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth,
Now the King drinks to Hamlet!
(the drums are pounded, the trumpets blare, and the cannons fire;
the trumpets continue, as the match begins)
(Claudius continues):
Come, begin.
And you, the judges, bear a wary eye.; Claudius drinks to Hamlet, at the start of the match. Since this is a king's "rouse," the drum and trumpet sound, and the cannons are fired, as with the king's rouse on the night Hamlet saw the Ghost.; Outside, when the cannons all fire, Fortinbrasse thinks they're shooting at him, and he charges the Castle with his army. Claudius, who fires the cannons just because he likes the noise, and likes the feeling of power it gives him, has started a battle, by accident - with his own Danish troops unprepared, still bruised and tired from fighting Laertes's mob, and with the Castle doors not fixed yet, and also with all the top Danish leadership at the fencing match instead of on duty. Oops.; Going back to Hamlet's comments in Scene 4, just before he saw the Ghost, the "swaggering upspring" of Claudius's rouse with the cannons, in this case, is the loss of Elsinore Castle to Fortinbrasse, and the people at the fencing match don't even know it. Yet.; Claudius tells the judges to watch carefully, but he has made sure the judges are sitting far enough from the action so that they probably won't notice whether a foil has the button in place. Also, Laertes can hide the fact of the foil tip being sharp simply by keeping the foil moving, while in action, so that the tip is blurry.
hw 3741, to hw 3746: Hamlet: Come on, sir.
Laertes: Come, my Lord.
Hamlet: One!
Laertes: No.
Hamlet: Judgment?
Ostrick: A hit, a very palpable hit.
(The drums, trumpets and cannons fire, again,
as Claudius ordered if Hamlet got the first or second hit); Hamlet scores the first hit, at which he announces, One! Going back to Hamlet's line a little earlier, if it were Hamlet's foil that was poisoned, Laertes's life would be no more than it takes to say "one."; It's palpable outside, also, when the cannons all fire again, right in front of Fortinbrasse's army as they charge. The Norwegian army charges with renewed vigor, and Fortinbrasse is now certain there's no mistake that they're shooting at him. However, the cannons are firing blanks since it's only a salute for the fencing match. They're loaded with powder and wadding, but no shot. Fortinbrasse will get to the Castle without losing a single man, and when he gets there, he'll find: open doorways. "The doors are broke," as Claudius mentioned when Laertes stormed the Castle. Fortinbrasse can charge right in.
hw 3747, to hw 3751: Laertes: Well, again.
Claudius: Stay, give me drink; Hamlet, this pearl is thine.
Here's to thy health!
(Claudius drops a pearl,
and also something unseen that he had palmed,
into Hamlet's wine)
(Claudius continues):
Give him the cup.; Claudius's wish for Hamlet's health is not for good health, but the opposite.; Claudius knows that the poison-pill "onyx" has dissolved. But since he said he put an onyx into the cup, he has to have an onyx found there, or its absence will cause suspicion. The King does not clean up the cups and plates, the servants do, and the servants, and everybody else, will be expecting to find an onyx in the cup, because Claudius said he put one there.; When Claudius says pearl, he holds up a pearl, held between his forefinger and thumb. His other three fingers are curled against his palm. He has an onyx palmed, hidden under the other three fingers. When he drops the pearl into the cup, he opens his hand and drops the onyx in, too. Now, both gems are in the cup, exactly as he said.; The point is, Claudius would have gotten away with murdering Hamlet, if Hamlet had drunk the wine as Claudius intended.; Claudius can now point to the fact that both gems are there. In response to any suspicion or inquiry, he can argue, with the physical evidence on his side, that all he did to the wine was what he said he did: put the two gems in. The gems are, indeed, now in the cup, to provide hard evidence in his favor.; This palming maneuver, which Claudius planned carefully in advance, is the reason he said "onyx" in the first place, and made the poison pill to look like an onyx. The word "onyx" comes from a root meaning of "nail," referring to the human fingernail. The gem got the name because it's about the same color as the human fingernail. This makes an onyx an excellent gem to palm. If it shows a little, it won't be noticed, because people will think they're only seeing fingernail. Claudius, with his "wicked wits," came up with this clever sleight-of-hand move, using an onyx, to get the hard evidence in his favor, insuring both gems will be in the cup, so he can get away with the poisoning.; By the way, the "onyx" is one thing that establishes the Q2 version of Hamlet as a closet drama, written especially as literature, not for the stage. The author intentionally included something invisible, and did so for the very reason that it's invisible. It's impossible to appreciate the "onyx" in stage performance, because nobody will see it, which, for purposes of the plot, is the whole point of it. For an audience, the effect of the "onyx" can only be achieved in printed words, from the meanings of the words as seen on the page. The "onyx" is found only in Q2. Q2 was never intended to be performed on stage as written; it was written as a manuscript to be circulated among the author's friends who enjoyed good literature, and then, it's this closet drama form of Hamlet that was later printed - as literature - as the "true and perfect copy" for Q2. Q2 was never intended as a stage playscript, exactly as written. For stage performance, reflected in the Folio, the word was changed to "union" to get a spoken effect the audience could hear.
hw 3752, to hw 3754: Hamlet: I'll play this bout first, set it by a while.
Come . . . another hit. What say you?
Laertes: I do confess it.; Laertes's word confess relates back to what Claudius said about Lamord "making confession" of Laertes's skill with a sword, and continues the concept of the fencing match scheme being something sinful, that needs confession. In anticipation, Laertes will soon confess much more.
hw 3755, to hw 3756: Claudius: Our son shall win.
Gertrude: He's fat and scant of breath.; Claudius says Our son. In his expectation that Hamlet will die soon, Claudius has "adopted" him again. Claudius sees it as no problem if Hamlet does happen to win, and Laertes doesn't poison him with the sword. If Hamlet wins, Claudius will insist that they drink a toast to his victory, so Hamlet will drink the poisoned wine then, instead of during the match. Claudius thinks he has all the possibilities covered.; Gertrude's expressed concern about Hamlet being fat and scant of breath is her same worry about Hamlet trying to fight Fortinbrasse, in response to the challenge to single combat that she had so feared, and which was the basic reason she married Claudius, and made him King.
hw 3757, to hw 3766: Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows;
The Queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.
Hamlet: Good Madam.
Claudius: Gertrude, do not drink.
Gertrude: I will, my Lord, I pray you pardon me.
Claudius (aside): It is the poisoned cup; it is too late!
Hamlet: I dare not drink yet, Madam.
By and by.
Gertrude: Come, let me wipe thy face.; Gertrude is becoming enthused as she sees Hamlet doing better than expected. She starts acting as his trainer.; Gertrude sips from the cup to symbolize that she's on Hamlet's side, and is cheering for him.; By and by is easy to say, as Hamlet commented after the Mousetrap play. But he will not drink "by and by," or ever again.
hw 3767, to hw 3769: Laertes: My Lord, I'll hit him now.
Claudius: I do not think it.
Laertes: And yet, it is almost against my conscience.; Laertes says he'll jab Hamlet with the poison. He's been holding back, partly to make the match look more competitive, and also because he hasn't been able to bring himself to stab Hamlet.; Claudius has noticed Laertes's reluctance and restraint, and also that Hamlet is a better fencer than he thought. He now doubts that Laertes will stab Hamlet. Claudius's line also reflects that he doesn't know what to think about Gertrude sipping the poisoned wine. That possibility never occurred to him.; The scheme is catching Laertes's conscience. Left alone, he probably wouldn't stab Hamlet.
hw 3770, to hw 3777: Hamlet: Come for the third, Laertes, you do but dally.
I pray you, pass with your best violence;
I am sure you make a wanton of me.
Laertes: Say you so? Come on.
Ostrick: Nothing, neither way.
Laertes: Have at you, now.
(The match continues;
Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned foil;
They grapple, and trap each other's foils;
To free himself, Laertes initiates a quick foil switch;
Hamlet then wounds Laertes with the poisoned foil.); Hamlet is doing better than he expected, also, and from pride he gets mouthy to Laertes. Wanton means "toy" or "plaything." Hamlet chides Laertes about only playing with him. As we know, Laertes has a temper, and he, too, has pride in his fencing skill - and he really is a much better fencer than Hamlet. It is not wise for Hamlet to be talking so.; On the next pass, Hamlet manages to avoid Laertes, and no hit is scored.; Then, on the next pass, Laertes does wound Hamlet with the poisoned foil. It's only a scratch on the arm, but is enough.; There's a known fencing maneuver, recorded in the literature from Elizabethan times, that shows an attempt to disarm an opponent. The attacker steps forward against the defender, knocks down his foil to a low position, and grabs it. The counter move is for the defender to grab the attacker's foil to try to disarm him, instead. Each man may then let go his own foil, and take away the other's. The one who is quicker to take the other's foil, and step away, gains the advantage of better position, and has an excellent chance to score a hit.; When Hamlet feels the sting on his arm, it annoys him, and he steps forward against Laertes and tries the disarming move. Laertes knows the move well, and handles it easily. He traps Hamlet's foil, and grabs it, in return. They struggle briefly, and Laertes, from his hours of intense training, automatically initiates the foil switch, as a trained reflex, without even thinking about it. Laertes snatches away Hamlet's foil, and steps back, simply letting Hamlet have his. In normal fencing, Laertes would now have the advantage, in much better position, and could easily score a hit against Hamlet. But, Laertes has given Hamlet the poisoned foil, thoughtlessly. Hamlet realizes he's in bad position, and he sweeps across with the foil, defensively and wildly, and he scratches Laertes on the arm with it. It's only a small scratch, but enough.; Laertes's own skill as a fencer has done him in. He initiated the switch as a trained reflex, from his many hours of practice. In normal fencing he would have gained the advantage and scored a sure hit, but here, it kills him.; I have put the stage direction all together, but it is properly spread out in coordination with the dialogue. Claudius's following Part them... line occurs as Hamlet and Laertes grapple, grabbing each other's foils. Then, Hamlet's come again line, below, occurs just after they have parted, and he has scratched Laertes.; (The exact way the foil exchange is intended to occur, as envisioned by the author, is not given in any version of Hamlet, and is unknown. My description is necessarily interpretive. However, I firmly contend that my description is true to the irony which permeates Hamlet, and is compatible with the play. The irony, of Laertes being undone by his own skill, could not have escaped Shakespeare, I believe. He would have thought of it, and would have had it happen in some way as Laertes's own mistake. At least, I'm confident he would.)
hw 3778, to hw 3785: Claudius: Part them, they are incensed.
Hamlet: Nay, come again.
Ostrick: Look to the Queen there, ho!
Horatio: They bleed on both sides! How is it, my Lord?
Ostrick: How is it, Laertes?
Laertes: Why, as a woodcock to mine own spring, Ostrick;
I am justly killed with mine own treachery.; Claudius's word incensed relates back to Hamlet speaking of the danger when the "baser nature" comes between the "incensed points of mighty opposites." The "baser nature" of Claudius now begins to unfold in a fatally tragic way, and he, himself, is the "base nature" who is about to find himself caught between the points, fatally.; Spring means "trap." Woodcocks can be tamed and trained to stay near a trap, to lure other birds to the trap, when they think it's a safe area. Occasionally, however, the woodcock, itself, will wander into the trap. There is irony that Laertes uses a "bird" metaphor to Ostrick.
hw 3786, to hw 3792: Hamlet: How does the Queen?
Claudius: She sounds to see them bleed.
Gertrude: No, no, the drink, the drink! O my dear Hamlet . . .
The drink, the drink . . . I am poisoned!
(Gertrude dies)
Hamlet: Oh villainy, ho! Let the door be locked!
Treachery, seek it out.; Sounds means "makes sounds." Gertrude is gasping for breath. Also, "to sound" means to go down, below the surface, albeit usually the surface of water; the "water" here, is the "river of time" at Elsinore. Claudius also means that Gertrude is fainting. Sounds then implies Gertrude going below the surface, of the earth, that is, being buried. Further, "to sound" is a term used when a whale submerges. In this "undertone" (beg pardon) the author is using Claudius to tell a "fat joke" about the Queen while she's dying, describing her in terms of a whale sinking. That's rather tasteless, to make a fat joke about the Queen as she dies, but the author could be a bit irreverent at times.; Hamlet's order, that the door be locked, is impossible to do. The doors are broken, as Claudius mentioned when Laertes took the Castle with his mob. Hamlet was away when Laertes's mob broke the doors, so he doesn't immediately realize that his order can't be obeyed.
hw 3793, to hw 3806: Laertes: It is here, Hamlet, thou art slain;
No medicine in the world can do thee good;
In thee there is not half an hour's life;
The treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
Unbated and envenomed; the foul practice
Hath turned itself on me; lo, here I lie
Never to rise again; thy mother's poisoned;
I can no more; the King, the King's to blame!
Hamlet: The point envenomed too? Then venom, to thy work!
(Hamlet stabs Claudius)
(The spectators cry out): Treason, treason!
(Claudius's bodyguards try to attack Hamlet;
Horatio quickly kills them both, then turns with a weapon taken
from one of them, and faces down the approaching spectators, who
stop and retreat
Claudius: Oh, yet defend me, friends, I am but hurt.; Laertes confesses the entire plot, and reveals that it's Claudius's scheme.; Hamlet, outraged, jabs Claudius with the poisoned foil. When the spectators see that, they cry treason.; Claudius has two bodyguards, his "Swissers," who are positioned behind him, one to either side. When they see Hamlet stab Claudius, they rush forward to attack Hamlet. Horatio hits one guard from the side, takes away his weapon, and knocks him down. Horatio kills the other guard with the weapon, then turns and kills the guard who's trying to get up. Horatio then quickly steps forward, and faces down the advancing spectators, who stop and scramble to get away. It's when Claudius sees the spectators backing away that he says, Oh, yet defend me...; (Horatio's action to deal with the guards is not given in any version of Hamlet, and is interpretive. However, it's quite reasonable that Claudius will have bodyguards present, whenever Hamlet is nearby, and especially after Hamlet killed Polonius. It's explicit in the play that Claudius has his "Swissers." Claudius will be as careful of Hamlet as he can. That means having the guards present, and they will react when Hamlet stabs Claudius, so something has to be done about them. It's obviously Horatio's job. So, Horatio disposes of the bodyguards in a very quick, violent flurry of action. I contend that the interpretation I offer is reasonable, and compatible with the known facts of the play.); Claudius's statement, I am but hurt, is very important, morally. It proves that Hamlet has not killed Claudius with the sword wound, itself. If he had, the poison would be irrelevant. Claudius is not intending to absolve Hamlet, rather, he's calling for retaliation against Hamlet. But Claudius is, unintentionally, saying that Hamlet is not personally guilty in his death. It proves that Claudius will die from the poison that's part of his own scheme.
hw 3807, to hw 3810: (Ostrick exits to get help)
Hamlet: Hear, thou incestuous, damned Dane!
Drink of this potion! Is the "onyx" here?
Follow my mother.
(Hamlet tilts the cup to Claudius's mouth;
Claudius swallows some: he can't resist wine)
(Claudius dies); Ostrick sees that Horatio is too much for anybody there to handle, and he runs out to get help, and also to get the doctor.; Hamlet's question about the onyx is his correct conclusion about how the wine was poisoned; he is not sticking his fingers in the cup. If he did, he would be surprised that an onyx is really there. He wouldn't think it would be. Neither he, nor anybody else, noticed Claudius's sleight of hand.; Hamlet holds the cup to Claudius's mouth, and tilts it. Claudius tries not to drink, but he swallows some. It's Claudius's own character flaw, his "vicious mole of nature," (relating back to Hamlet's comments in Scene 4, just before Hamlet saw the Ghost,) that Claudius can't help drinking when he tastes wine on his tongue. He can't resist wine. Claudius's own "dram of evil," the poison he, himself, added to the wine, now douts ("snuffs") all his "noble substance."
hw 3811, to hw 3815: Laertes: He is justly served, it is a poison tempered by himself;
Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet;
Mine and my father's death come not upon thee,
Nor thine on me.
(Laertes dies); Tempered means "mixed," in the sense of "formulated." The word relates to the mentions of Hamlet's "distemper," and the concept of tempering of the four humors.; Laertes forgives Hamlet, and requests forgiveness in return. Laertes asserts, optimistically, that Hamlet's death is not on him, but he doesn't yet know how the Higher Power will view that. Laertes did poison his foil, and he did stab Hamlet with it to kill him, just as he had planned to do. It may not be as easy as merely asserting that Hamlet's death is not against him, in moral or religious terms.
hw 3816, to hw 3831: Hamlet: Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee;
I am dead, Horatio; wretched Queen, adieu.
You that look pale, and tremble at this chance,
That are but mutes, or audience to this act,
Had I but time - as this fell sergeant, death
Is strict in his arrest - O I could tell you . . .
But let it be; Horatio, I am dead;
Thou livest: report me and my cause aright
To the unsatisfied.
Horatio: Never believe it;
I am more an antique Roman than a Dane,
Here's yet some liquor left.
Hamlet: As thou art a man,
Give me the cup! Let go! By Heaven I'll ha'te!
Oh, God, Horatio, what a wounded name,
Things standing thus unknown, shall I leave behind me?; Hamlet holds no grudge against Laertes, and does pray that Heaven will absolve Laertes.; Hamlet's adieu to Gertrude relates to the "dew" idea, of dew rising, as Gertrude's soul rises to Heaven.; Chance has more the meaning of "mischance," and refers to a bad turn of the Wheel of Fortune.; Hamlet then addresses the spectators and judges at the fencing match, saying that he could tell them all about it, if he had time.; Fell has its archaic meaning of "deadly," and also alludes back to Hamlet's mention of the fall of a sparrow. Hamlet is now the fallen sparrow.; A sergeant was originally a servant, who attended his master during battle. The figure of speech is that death is the servant of Fate, who has sent his sergeant to "arrest" Hamlet.; Hamlet instructs Horatio to tell people the truth about what he was trying to do. In Roman tradition, the Roman soldiers would commit suicide rather than accept defeat; that's what Horatio means. Hamlet forbids Horatio to drink what's left of the poisoned wine.; Hamlet's word ha'te has the dual meaning that it always has in the play. The original Q2 spelling is "hate," and I insert the apostrophe in an attempt to indicate the additional meaning. Hamlet means both, "I'll have it!" in reference to the cup, and also "I'll hate it, if you kill yourself."
hw 3832, to hw 3840: If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,
Absent thee from felicity awhile,
And, in this harsh world, draw thy breath in pain
To tell my story.
(a martial march is heard, approaching;
cannons fire)
(Hamlet continues):
What warlike noise is this?
(Ostrick enters)
Ostrick: Young Fortinbrasse, with conquest come from Poland,
To the ambassadors of England gives this warlike volley.; Hamlet calls on Horatio to ensure his name doesn't go down in history as one who was only a traitorous assassin, who wanted the throne. People might easily think that, if all they know is from rumor, and the mere fact that Hamlet stabbed Claudius.; Felicity means "faithfulness," of Horatio to his ideals of friendship.; Drums are heard, at a distance, beating a military march, and cannons fire. Ostrick enters, and announces that Fortinbrasse is there, also, that Fortinbrasse is firing a salute to English ambassadors who have arrived.; The cannon fire stage direction is not included in Q2, but is so clearly implied by Ostrick's word volley that I add it.; Fortinbrasse hasn't been to Poland, however. He is precisely where he always intended to be, in victorious control of Elsinore Castle. He has taken the Castle during the fencing match, while those at the match were unaware of the battle. Seeing their situation so hopeless, when Fortinbrasse attacked, the Danish troops quickly surrendered, and the Danes at the fencing match, isolated inside the "nutshell" of Elsinore, don't even know that. The cannons being fired to salute the ambassadors are not some cannons of Fortinbrasse out in the field, they are a couple of the cannons at Elsinore, that Fortinbrasse now controls.
hw 3841, to hw 3847: Hamlet: Oh, I die, Horatio,
The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit;
I cannot live to hear the news from England;
But I do prophecy the election lights
On Fortinbrasse; he has my dying voice;
So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less
Which have solicited . . . the rest is silence.
(Hamlet dies); Hamlet's spirit is his ghost, and the word o'er-crows is quite important. The image is of a rooster crowing. The "crowing" idea goes back to Scene 1, when Barnardo observed that the Ghost faded at the cock's crow, and also Marcellus spoke of the cock crowing at sunrise. The "crowing" tells us two things here. As in Scene 1, the Ghost is driven away by the "crowing," so we don't see the Ghost at the end of the play (which we probably wouldn't, anyway, since it's daytime.) Then, the son/sun pun comes in again, and it's "son rise" as Hamlet's soul begins its rise to Heaven. The author sends his hero to Heaven on the wings of a pun.; Hamlet speaks in favor of Fortinbrasse. It's a brotherly gesture, of moral support, like the brotherly gesture he made to Laertes.; Hamlet speaks of an election, but there won't be one, or if there is, it will be only a formality. Fortinbrasse now owns Elsinore Castle.; Occurrents means "occurrences," with allusion to the currents in the river of time. Solicited means "tempted," or "lured." Hamlet's last line means, "Which have tempted... (me to this tragic fate.)"
hw 3848, to hw 3853: Horatio: Now cracks a noble heart! Good night sweet Prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Why does the drum come hither?
(Fortinbrasse enters, with some of his men;
the English Ambassadors enter); Horatio's heart line means primarily that Hamlet's heart has stopped, and with allusion to his own heart breaking. The angels who will sing to Hamlet now include Ophelia.; Hamlet said when he found that Horatio was at Elsinore, in Scene 2, that they'd teach Horatio to drink before he left. Horatio has indeed learned about the drinking at Elsinore, as he's seen Claudius drink from his own poison in the cup, and witnessed Hamlet drinking too deep of the Wormwood in the river of time.
hw 3854, to hw 3860: Fortinbrasse: Where is this sight?
Horatio: What is it you would see?
If ought of woe, or wonder, cease your search.
Fortinbrasse: This quarry cries on "havoc!" O proud death,
What feast is toward in thine eternal cell,
That thou, so many princes at a shot,
So bloodily hast struck?; Fortinbrasse has been told of deaths at a fencing match, and has come to see it.; Quarry refers to game animals taken by a hunter. To "cry havoc" was originally an order to a victorious army to pillage a town, and pile up the loot to be divided. The figure of speech is that death has conquered, and has piled up the bodies as his "loot."; Cell implies "cellar:" the graves, below ground, and relates back to Hamlet's phrase about the Ghost in the "cellarage." The word "prince" was used for persons of the noble class in general. Toward carries the question, "toward what end," or "toward what goal?" Fortinbrasse is wondering what death's goal is, in killing so many of the nobility all at once.
hw 3861, to hw 3866: Ambassador: The sight is dismal,
And our affairs from England come too late,
The ears are senseless that should give us hearing,
To tell him his commandment is fulfilled,
That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.
Where should we have our thanks?; The ambassador's word senseless relates back to the Closet Scene, when Hamlet tried to lecture Gertrude on the Aristotlian concept of sense and motion, in addition to the more obvious implication of senseless slaughter.; For once, a "devise" in the play was not overthrown, and Hamlet's forged commission to England was carried out, to the misfortune of R & G.
hw 3867, to hw 3881: Horatio: Not from his mouth,
Had it the ability of life to thank you;
He never gave commandment for their death;
But since, so jump upon this bloody question,
You from the Polack wars, and you from England,
Are here arrived, give order that these bodies
High on a stage be placed to the view,
And let me speak, to yet unknowing world
How these things came about; so shall you hear
Of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts,
Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters,
Of deaths put on by cunning, and for no cause,
And in this upshot, purposes mistook,
Fallen on the inventors' heads; all this, can I
Truly deliver.; Horatio reveals that Claudius did not give the order for R & G's deaths.; Jump means "promptly," and the bloody question is the question Fortinbrasse just asked, about so much death.; Even Horatio thinks Fortinbrasse has been to Poland. He, like the others, has been wrapped up in the nutshell of Elsinore, and doesn't know what's been happening outside, except what he's heard. Even the most honest and true person only knows what he's heard, or read.; Stage is on the Putting On A Show theme. Horatio is calling for a proper show, or display, of the bodies, as part of informing people what has happened.; For no cause is the correct phrasing in the playtext, as Q2 shows. It refers to the accidental or mistaken deaths, which were most of them. The Fortune theme is prominent.; The accidental or mistaken deaths included Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, and Reynaldo: Polonius's entire family, including his only servant named in the play, all died either by accident or mistake.; Upshot is wordplay, back to Fortinbrasse's phrase "at a shot."; Purposes mistook means the goals, or intentions, that miscarried, in particular the intentions of Claudius and Laertes, the inventors of the poisoning plot, that killed themselves.; Horatio doesn't know the whole story, to tell people. For one significant example, he doesn't know why Gertrude married Claudius. But Horatio knows enough that he can defend Hamlet's good name, and can assure people that Hamlet was trying to act nobly, and was not just some crazy assassin. Also, he has tangible proof of Claudius's evil, murderous nature, since he has the commission Claudius wrote to England ordering that Hamlet be killed.
hw 3882, to hw 3887: Fortinbrasse: Let us haste to hear it,
And call the noblest to the audience;
For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune;
I have some rights of memory in this kingdom,
Which now to claim, my vantage doth invite me.; The rights of memory to which Fortinbrasse refers, are from the memory of the time when his father ruled at Elsinore. Fortinbrasse is reclaiming what would normally have been his own inheritance, if his father had not so rashly challenged Hamlet Sr.; Laertes's vengeance was a Pyrrhic victory. He did kill Hamlet, but he died in the process, and while Laertes was scheming with Claudius, he failed to take proper care of his sister in her distracted condition, and she died.; Hamlet's vengeance was a Pyrrhic victory. He did kill Claudius, but he died, and so did his mother and his sweetheart.; Fortinbrasse has achieved his vengeance by default. There's no Danish leadership left for him to fight. He's eager to hear what on earth happened.; Vantage means both the advantage Fortinbrasse now has, and also the sight he sees from his vantage point, as he observes the carnage.
hw 3888, to hw 3890: Horatio: Of that I shall have also cause to speak,
And from his mouth, whose voice will draw no more;; Draw no more means Hamlet's voice will draw no more breath, to speak. Q2 is right; the Folio wording is a misprint. Draw is also on the Image theme, that Hamlet will draw no more images in words, with his splendid allusions and wordplay.
hw 3891, to hw 3894: But let this same be presently performed,
Even while men's minds are wild, lest more mischance
On plots and errors happen.; Presently means "immediately," or "right away." Wild means "unsettled," with the implication of wild rumors circulating. Horatio wants to have the truth known before people settle on a false conclusion, based on rumors they've heard.
hw 3895, to hw 3901: Fortinbrasse: Let four captains
Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage,
For he was likely, had he been put on,
To have proved most royal; and for his passage,
The soldier's music and the rite of war
Speak loudly for him;; Put on means put on the throne, made King. Hamlet is the person Fortinbrasse thought would become King, and the person he thought he was challenging to single combat, (when he "pestered" Denmark with his message of challenge, as Claudius mentioned in Scene 2.) Hamlet was Fortinbrasse's expected opponent, in his hope of avenging his father's death and reclaiming his inheritance. So, Fortinbrasse has no real interest in Claudius; it's Hamlet, the son of the man who killed his father, who gets his attention. If Claudius had still been alive when Fortinbrasse arrived, Fortinbrasse would have killed him to get him out of the way, but without any interest in him, personally.; Fortinbrasse had his "warrior fantasy," in which he would fight Hamlet in a fierce battle, that people would talk about for years - the same way they talk about Hamlet Sr defeating his father. He would, in his daydream, through his own determination and the grace of God, manage to defeat Hamlet, taking back his inheritance, and avenging his father, in an epic victory. It would have been a great show. He honors Hamlet as his mighty opponent, ideally, although in reality it's no such thing, and he can simply walk in.; Gertrude's plan came so amazingly close to working. Look at the timing. If the fencing match had been delayed by perhaps half an hour, or Fortinbrasse had arrived half an hour earlier, it would have gone exactly as she expected. Fortinbrasse would have killed Claudius, reclaimed Elsinore and the land, and sent her and Hamlet away. Hamlet would then have been King in Copenhagen. These things never work out. And Hamlet's heart wouldn't have been in it, with Ophelia dead. But Gertrude's idea did come remarkably close to working. There are so many people who think that Gertrude is only the silly "little woman" in the play. Ha!
hw 3902, to hw 3904: Take up the bodies, such a sight as this
Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss;
Go, bid the soldiers shoot.
(all exit); Fortinbrasse mentions the field, the field of battle. He's still the old fashioned warrior king, certainly not a scholar king, as Hamlet Sr and Gertrude hoped for Hamlet to become.; After only a relatively small amount of serious training, Hamlet battled Laertes, a great swordsman, to a tragic draw. That's not too bad a performance, as a demonstration of Hamlet's potential skill in battle. One can't help but wonder, if Hamlet had spent some reasonable time getting himself into shape, and in proper training, if he might have beaten Fortinbrasse, and proven Gertrude's fear unfounded.; Perhaps Fortinbrasse is right that Hamlet could have been a mighty opponent for him. Or, perhaps not. We'll never know.
hw 3805, to hw 3907: (the salute is heard, as . . .)
(the final curtain falls.); The rest is silence.

T h e E n d

Back to Scene 19:

Both Text and Notes, in Frames

Scene 19 Text, only

Scene 19 Notes, only

Back to the
Hamlet (Regained) HOME page

H A M L E T (Regained)

Back to the LIST of
Original Language Scenes

Updated 07-22-2006