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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 6 [~ Madness of Love ~] (Act 2 Scene 1)
Setting: Inside the Castle;- In Polonius's room of his family's suite;
Daytime, mid-morning.
(Polonius and Reynaldo enter)
Polonius: Give him this money, and these notes, Reynaldo.- Reynaldo: I will, my Lord.
- Pol: You shall do marvelous wisely, good Reynaldo,
- Before you visit him, to make inquire
Of his behavior.
- Rey: My Lord, I did intend it.
- Pol: Marry, well said, very well said; look you, sir
- Enquire me first what Danskers are in Paris,
And how, and who, what means, and where they keep,
What company, at what expense, and finding
By this encompassment, and drift of question,
That they do know my son, come you more nearer,
Then, your particular demands will touch it;
Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him,
As thus: "I know his father, and his friends,
And in part, him;" do you mark this, Reynaldo?
- Rey: Aye, very well, my Lord.
- Pol: "And in part, him;" but you may say, "not well,
- But if't be he I mean, he's very wild,
Addicted to so and so," and there put on him
What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank
As may dishonor him, take heed of that,
But sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.
- Rey: As gaming, my Lord?
- Pol: Aye, or drinking, fencing, swearing,
- Quarreling, drabbing; you may go so far.
- Rey: My Lord, that would dishonor him.
- Pol: Faith, as you may, season it in the charge;
- You must not put another scandal on him,
That he is open to incontinency,
That's not my meaning, but breathe his faults so quaintly
That they may seem the taints of liberty,
The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind,
A savageness in unreclaimed blood,
Of general assault.
- Rey: But, good my Lord . . .
- Pol: Wherefore should you do this?
- Rey: Aye, my Lord, I would know that.
- Pol: Marry, sir, here's my drift,
- And I believe it is a fetch of wit:
You laying these slight sallies on my son,
As 'twere a thing a little soiled with working,
Mark you, your party in converse, him you would sound,
Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes
The youth you breathe of guilty, be assured
He closes with you in this consequence:
"Good sir," (or so,) or "friend," or "gentleman,"
According to the phrase, or the addition
Of man and country . . .
- Rey: Very good, my Lord.
- Pol: And then, sir, does he this, he does, what was I about to say?
- By the mass, I was about to say something;
Where did I leave?
- Rey: At "closes in the consequence."
- Pol: At "closes in the consequence," aye, marry,
- He closes thus: "I know the gentleman,
I saw him yesterday," or "th'other day,"
Or then, or then, with such or such, "and as you say,
There was 'a gaming," "there, o'ertook in's rouse,"
"There falling out at tennis," or perchance,
"I saw him enter such a house of sale,"
Videlicet, a brothel, or so forth; see you now?
Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth;
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,
With windlasses and with assays of bias,
By indirections, find directions out;
So, by my former lecture and advice,
Shall you, my son; you have me, have you not?
- Rey: My Lord, I have.
- Pol: God buy ye, fare ye well.
- Rey: Good my Lord.
- Pol: Observe his inclination in yourself.
- Rey: I shall, my Lord.
- Pol: And let him ply his music.
- Rey: Well, my Lord.
(Reynaldo exits)
(Ophelia enters)
Polonius: Farewell. How now, Ophelia, what's the matter?- Ophelia: Oh, my Lord, my Lord, I have been so affrighted.
- Pol: With what, i'the name of God?
- Ophelia: My Lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
- Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced,
No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled,
Ungartered, and down-gyved to his ankle,
Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other,
And with a look so piteous in purport
As if he had been loosed out of Hell
To speak of horrors, he comes before me.
- Pol: Mad for thy love?
- Ophelia: My Lord, I do not know,
- But truly, I do fear it.
- Pol: What said he?
- Ophelia: He took me by the wrist, and held me hard;
- Then goes he to the length of all his arm,
And with his other hand thus o'er his brow,
He falls to such perusal of my face,
As he would draw it; long stayed he so;
At last, a little shaking of mine arm,
And thrice his head thus waving up and down,
He raised a sigh so piteous and profound
As it did seem to shatter all his bulk
And end his being; that done, he lets me go,
And with his head over his shoulder turned,
He seemed to find his way without his eyes,
For out of doors he went without their help,
And to the last bended their light on me.
- Pol: Come, go with me! I will go seek the King;
- This is the very ecstasy of love,
Whose violent property fordoes itself,
And leads the will to desperate undertakings
As oft' as any passions under heaven
That does afflict our natures; I am sorry . . .
What, have you given him any hard words of late?
- Ophelia: No, my good Lord, but as you did command,
- I did repel his letters, and denied
His access to me.
- Pol: That hath made him mad;
- I am sorry, that with better heed and judgment,
I had not coted him; I feared he did but trifle,
And meant to wrack thee; but beshrew my jealousy;
By heaven, it is as proper to our age
To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions,
As it is common for the younger sort
To lack discretion; come, go we to the King;
This must be known, which being kept close, might move
More grief to hide, than 'hate' to utter love;
Come.
(they exit)
End of Scene 6
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. The Tragedy of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(In simplified modern English translation)
- Scene 6 [~ Madness of Love ~] (Act 2 Scene 1)
Setting: Inside the Castle;- In Polonius's room of his family's suite;
Daytime, mid-morning.
(Polonius and Reynaldo enter)
Polonius: Give him this cash, and these notes of credit, Reynaldo.- Reynaldo: I will, my Lord.
- Pol: You will do marvelously wisely, Reynaldo,
- Before you visit Laertes, if you make inquiries
About his behavior.
- Rey: Yes, my Lord, I did intend to do that.
- Pol: Goodness, well said, very well said. Now then, sir,
- First find out for me what Danish people are in Paris,
And why; who they are, their means, and where they live,
How they socialize, and what it costs - and when you find
Through this roundabout, general kind of questioning,
The people who know my son, approach the subject closer
Then, so your specific questions will touch upon him.
Pretend, as it were, that he's your distant acquaintance,
Such as by saying, "I know his father and his friends,
And I know him a little." Do you follow this, Reynaldo?
- Rey: Yes, very well, my Lord.
- Pol: "And you know him a little." But then you may add, "not well,
- But if he's the one I'm thinking of, he's very wild, and
Addicted to this or that." And there put upon Laertes
Whatever lies you please - goodness, no lies so bad
That they could dishonor him. Take heed of that.
But sir, mention only those playful, wild, and common mistakes
As are well known, and best known, that go along
With youth and lack of supervision.
- Rey: Such as gambling, my Lord?
- Pol: Yes, or drinking, fencing, swearing,
- Fighting, whoring - you may go as far as that.
- Rey: My Lord, I think that would dishonor him.
- Pol: Goodness, as best you can, temper the accusation.
- You must not put another scandal on him,
That he can't restrain himself sexually.
I don't mean that. But speak of his faults so cleverly,
That they seem nothing more than a bad part of his freedom,
The brief fire and outbreak of an overheated mind,
A primitiveness in his unreformed passion, caused
By general temptation into vice.
- Rey: But, my good Lord . . .
- Pol: You're asking why you should do this?
- Rey: Yes, my Lord, I would like to know that.
- Pol: Goodness, sir, here's what I'm getting at,
- And I believe it's a good idea fetched up by my intelligence. When
You present these slight attacks on my son's character,
As if he were a little dirty from his activities,
Pay attention to the one you're talking to, to sound him out. If he
Has ever seen any of the aforementioned misbehavior
Of which my young man is guilty, be assured
He will agree, and the person will speak to you in this way:
"Good sir," (or whatever,) or "friend," or "gentleman,"
According to whatever phrase or title
The man uses, or is used in that country . . .
- Rey: Very good, my Lord.
- Pol: . . . And then, sir, he does this, he does . . . what was I about to say?
- By God, I was about to say something.
Where did I leave off?
- Rey: At "agrees and says to me."
- Pol: At "agrees and says to you," yes, gracious.
- He'll agree with you, thusly: "I know the gentleman, and
I saw him yesterday," or "the other day,"
Or then, or another time, with such or such person, "and as you say,
He was gambling there," or "there, he was drunk," or
"There, he quarreled at a tennis game," or perhaps he'll say,
"I saw him enter a house of ill repute,"
That is, a brothel, and so forth. Do you see now?
You use a bait of lies to catch a fish of truth.
And this is how wise persons like me, who have intellect,
Can twist the truth out of people. With a biased approach
We use indirection to find out true direction.
So, by following this lecture and my advice
You'll find out the truth about my son. You follow me, don't you?
- Rey: My Lord, I do understand you.
- Pol: Goodbye, then, farewell.
- Rey: Goodbye, my Lord.
- Pol: Watch yourself not to misbehave like he is.
- Rey: I shall, my Lord.
- Pol: And let him have his fun.
- Rey: Farewell, my Lord.
(Reynaldo exits)
(Ophelia enters)
Polonius: Farewell. How now, Ophelia, what's the matter?
- Ophelia: Oh, my Lord, my Lord, I have been so frightened!
- Pol: By what, in the name of God?
- Ophe: My Lord, as I was sewing in my room,
- Lord Hamlet, with his vest all unfastened,
No hat on his head, his stockings rumpled and twisted,
Ungartered, and fallen down around his ankles, his face as
Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking together,
And with a look on his face so piteous to behold,
As if he had just come straight from Hell
To speak of horrors, he rushed into the room in front of me.
- Pol: Mad for your love?
- Ophe: My Lord, I don't know,
- But I'm truly afraid of that.
- Pol: What did he say?
- Ophe: He took me by the wrist, and held it hard,
- Then he held me at arm's length
And with his other hand on his forehead
He studied my face so much,
As if he intended to sketch it. He stayed that way a long time.
Then finally, he shook my arm a little,
And nodded his head three times, while
He sighed so pitifully and deeply
It seemed to shatter his entire body
And destroy him. After that, he let go of me,
And with his head turned to look over his shoulder
He seemed to find his way without using his eyes,
For, he went out through the door without looking,
And as he disappeared from view he still had his eyes on me.
- Pol: Come, go with me! I will go find the King.
- This is the very madness of love,
Whose violent emotion destroys itself,
And leads a person's desires into desperate action
As frequently as any passions under Heaven
That do afflict our human natures. I am sorry . . .
Tell me what, have you spoken any hard words to him lately?
- Ophe: No, my good Lord, but I have done as you commanded.
- I refused his letters, and did not allow
Him to visit me.
- Pol: That has driven him mad.
- I am sorry, that with better attention and judgment
I did not get ahead of him. I was afraid he only trifled with you
And meant to ruin you. But curse my suspicion.
By heavens, it is as proper for older persons
To consult beyond ourselves in making judgments,
As it is typical for younger people
To lack good judgment. Come, we'll go to the King.
This must be made known - if kept secret, it might cause
More grief by hiding it, than make 'hate' to utter love.
Come with me.
(they exit)
End of Scene 6
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(Regained)