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. the Tragical History of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(In the original language with modernized spelling)
- Scene 4 [~ Rotten in Denmark ~] (Act 1 Scene 4)
Setting: the guard post at the cannon platform near the Castle;- Late at night.
(Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus enter)
Hamlet: The air bites shroudly, it is very cold.- Horatio: It is nipping, and an eager air.
- Hamlet: What hour now?
- Hora: I think it lacks of twelve.
- Marcellus: No, it is struck.
- Hora: Indeed, I heard it not; it then draws near the season
- Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.
(drums are pounded, trumpets blare, and cannons fire)
(Horatio continues): What does this mean, my Lord?- Hamlet: The King doth wake tonight, and takes his rouse;
- Keeps wassail, and the swaggering upspring reels;
And as he drains his drafts of Rhenish down,
The kettle drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge.
- Hora: Is it a custom?
- Hamlet: Aye, marry, is't,
- But to my mind, though I am native here,
And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honored in the breach than the observance;
This heavy-headed revel, east and west,
Makes us traduced and taxed of other nations;
They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase
Soil our addition, and indeed, it takes
From our achievements; though performed at height:
The pith and marrow of our attribute;
So oft' it chances in particular men,
That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As in their birth wherein they are not guilty,
(Since nature cannot choose his origin,)
By their o'ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft' breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Or, by some habit, that too much o'erleavens
The form of plausive manners, that these men
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect
Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,
His virtues else be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo,
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault; the dram of evil
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt,
To his own scandal.
(the Ghost enters)
Horatio: Look, my Lord, it comes!- Hamlet: Angels and ministers of grace, defend us!
- Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damned?
Bring with thee airs from Heaven, or blasts from Hell?
Be thy intents wicked, or charitable?
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee; I'll call thee Hamlet,
King, father, royal Dane! Oh, answer me,
Let me not burst in ignorance, but tell
Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cerements? Why the sepulchre,
Wherein we saw thee quietly interred,
Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws
To cast thee up again? What may this mean
That thou dead corpse, again in complete steel,
Revisits thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous, and we fools of nature
So horridly to shake our disposition
With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls?
Say why is this, wherefore, what should we do?
(the Ghost beckons to Hamlet)
Horatio: It beckons you to go away with it,- As if it some impartment did desire
To you, alone.
- Marcellus: Look with what courteous action
- It waves you to a more removed ground;
But do not go with it!
- Horatio: No, by no means!
- Hamlet: It will not speak, then I will follow it.
- Hora: Do not, my Lord!
- Hamlet: Why, what should be the fear?
- I do not set my life at a pin's fee,
And for my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?
It waves me forth, again; I'll follow it.
- Hora: What if it tempt you toward the flood, my Lord,
- Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er his base into the sea,
And there assumes some other horrible form
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason
And draw you into madness? Think of it;
The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without any motive, into every brain
That looks so many fathoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath.
- Hamlet: It waves me, still;
- Go on, I'll follow thee.
- Marcellus: You shall not go, my Lord.
- Hamlet: Hold off your hands!
- Hora: Be ruled, you shall not go!
- Hamlet: My fate cries out,
- And makes each petty arture in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve;
Still am I called; unhand me, gentlemen;
By Heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me;
I say, away! Go on, I'll follow thee.
(the Ghost and Hamlet exit)
Horatio: He waxes desperate with imagion.- Marcellus: Let's follow, 'tis not fit thus to obey him.
- Hora: Have after; to what issue will this come?
- Marc: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
- Hora: Heaven will direct it.
- Marc: Nay, let's follow him.
(Horatio and Marcellus exit)
End of Scene 4
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. The Tragedy of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(In simplified modern English translation)
- Scene 4 [~ Rotten in Denmark ~] (Act 1 Scene 4)
Setting: the guard post at the cannon platform near the Castle.- Late at night.
(Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus enter)
Hamlet: The air grips me like a shroud of death, it's very cold.- Horatio: It's nippy, and the air is sharply cold.
- Hamlet: What time is it?
- Hora: I think it's not quite twelve o'clock.
- Marcellus: No, the midnight bell has struck.
- Hora: Oh, I didn't hear it. Then, it's close to the time
- When the ghost has kept its custom to walk.
(drums are pounded, trumpets blare, and cannons fire)
(Horatio continues): What does that noise mean, my Lord?- Hamlet: The King is awake tonight, and carousing.
- He toasts, and the overbearing upwell of noise is staggering.
And as he drinks his cups of wine down
The drums boom and the trumpets blare to announce
The public display of his toasts.
- Hora: Is that a custom here at the castle?
- Hamlet: Yes, goodness, it is.
- But in my opinion - although I was born here at the castle
And inherited the royal way of doing things - it's a custom
That brings more honor if it isn't done, than if it's observed.
This dull-witted revelry that's heard all around, east and west,
Defames us, and burdens us among other nations.
They call us drunkards, and call us pigs, which
Harms our status. And indeed, it detracts
From our achievements. But if done at the height of accomplishment,
Such celebration is basic and natural to our character.
It happens so often in certain men,
That due to some vicious flaw of personality in them,
As they may have from birth, so they're not personally at fault,
(Since a man can't choose the way he is born,)
They have some overwhelming tendency, which
Often breaks down the fences and strongholds of good sense -
Or, they have some personal habit, that goes beyond
The standards of praiseworthy behavior - that these men
Who carry, I say, the mark of that one defect,
(Whether the problem is their nature, or their luck,) but
With virtues otherwise as pure as grace, itself, and
As boundless as any man can have,
Will, in the eyes of others, be condemned
Because of that single fault. The tiny amount that's contemptible
Does raise suspicion of all a man's noble qualities, and
Subjects him to scandal.
(the Ghost enters)
Horatio: Look, my Lord, here it comes!- Hamlet: Angels, and ministers of God, defend us!
- Are you a wholesome spirit, or a damned goblin?
Do you bring sweet airs from Heaven, or foul blasts from Hell?
Is your intention wicked, or charitable?
You come in such a thought-provoking shape
That I will speak to you. I will call you Hamlet,
King, father, royal Dane. Oh, answer me,
Let me not burst with curiosity, but tell me
Why your blessed remains, that were carried off in death,
Have burst out of their burial clothes. Why has the sepulcher
Where we saw you quietly placed
Opened its huge marble stonework
To set you free again? What can this mean
That your dead body, again in a complete suit of armor,
Revisits the glimmering moonlight in such a way,
Making the night hideous, and causes us living fools
To tremble with horror in our minds
As our thoughts go beyond the reaches of our own spirits?
Tell us why this is, for what purpose, and what should we do?
(the Ghost beckons to Hamlet)
Hora: It beckons you to go away with it,- As if it had something it wanted to tell
To you alone.
- Marcellus: Look how politely
- It waves you toward a more distant area.
But don't go with it!
- Hora: No, by no means!
- Hamlet: It will not speak here, so I will follow it.
- Hora: Do not, my Lord!
- Hamlet: Why, what do I have to fear?
- I do not put the value of my life at the cost of a pin.
And as for my soul, what could it do to that,
Since my own soul is as immortal as it is?
It waves for me to follow, again. I'll follow it.
- Hora: What if it lures you toward the flooding tide, my Lord?
- Or to the fearfully high summit of the cliff
That extends out above the sea,
And there assumes some other horrible shape
Which could take away your rational control
And lead you into doing something mad? Think about it.
That place on the cliff top puts idle thoughts of jumping, even
Without any reason, into everyone
Who looks so far down to the ocean,
And hears the waves roaring below.
- Hamlet: It still waves to me.
- Go ahead, ghost, I'll follow you.
- Marcellus: You shall not go, my Lord.
- Hamlet: Remove your hands from me!
- Hora: Obey us, you shall not go!
- Hamlet: My fate cries out to me,
- And makes each little ligament in my body
As tough as the great Nemean lion's sinews.
It still beckons me. Unhand me, gentlemen!
By heaven, I'll make a ghost of you if you hinder me!
Get away from me, I say! Go on, ghost, I'll follow you.
(the Ghost and Hamlet exit)
Horatio: He's grown desperate because of the image of his father.- Marcellus: Let's follow, it isn't right to obey him.
- Hora: Yes, let's go after him. What will result from this?
- Mar: I smell death in the state of Denmark.
- Hora: Heaven will decide such things.
- Mar: No, let's follow him.
(Horatio and Marcellus exit)
End of Scene 4
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(Regained)