REYNALDO
My lord, I did intend it.
POLONIUS
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
Than 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?
REYNALDO Ay, very well, my lord.
POLONIUS
‘And in part him, but’, you may say, ‘not well,
But if’t be he I mean, he’s very wild,
Addicted so and so’; and there put on him
What forgeries you please—marry, none so rank
As may dishonour him, take heed of that—
But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.
REYNALDO As gaming, my lord?
POLONIUS
Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing,
Quarrelling, drabbing—you may go so far.
REYNALDO
My lord, that would dishonour him.
POLONIUS
Faith, no, 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.
REYNALDO
But, my good lord—
POLONIUS
Wherefore should you do this?
REYNALDO
Ay, my lord.
I would know that.
POLONIUS
Marry, sir, here’s my drift,
And I believe it is a fetch of warrant:
You laying these slight sullies on my son,
As ‘twere a thing a little soiled i’th’ 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 and the addition
Of man and country.
REYNALDO
Very good, my lord.
POLONIUS
And then, sir, does a this—a does—
what was I about to say? By the mass, I was about to
say something. Where did I leave?
REYNALDO
At ‘closes in the consequence’, at ‘friend,
Or so’, and ‘gentleman’.
POLONIUS
At ‘closes in the consequence’—ay, marry,
He closes with you thus: ‘I know the gentleman,
I saw him yesterday’—or t‘other day,
Or then, or then—’with such and 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?
REYNALDO My lord, I have.
POLONIUS God b’wi’ ye. Fare ye well.
REYNALDO Good my lord.
POLONIUS
Observe his inclination in yourself.
REYNALDO I shall, my lord.
POLONIUS And let him ply his music.
REYNALDO Well, my lord.
Enter Ophelia
POLONIUS
Farewell.
Exit Reynaldo
How now, Ophelia, what’s the matter?
OPHELIA
Alas, my lord, I have been so affrighted.
POLONIUS With what, i’th’ name of God?
OPHELIA
My lord, as I was sewing in my chamber,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced,
No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled,
Ungartered, and down-gyvèd 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.
POLONIUS
Mad for thy love?
OPHELIA
My lord, I do not know,
But truly I do fear it.
POLONIUS
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 a 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
That 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 o’ doors he went without their help,
And to the last bended their light on me.
POLONIUS
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 passion 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.
POLONIUS
That hath made him mad.
I am sorry that with better speed and judgement
I had not quoted him. I feared he did but trifle
And meant to wreck 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. Exeunt
2.2 ⌈Flourish.⌉ Enter King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, with others
KING CLAUDIUS
Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Moreover that we much did long to see you,
The need we have to use you did provoke
Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
Of Hamlet’s transformation—so I call it,
Since not th‘exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was. What it should be,
More than his father’s death, that thus hath put him
So much from th’understanding of himself,
I cannot deem of. I entreat you both
That, being of so young days brought up with him,
And since so neighboured to
his youth and humour,
That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time, so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather,
So much as from occasions you may glean,
Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus
That, opened, lies within our remedy.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
Good gentlemen, he hath much talked of you,
And sure I am two men there is not living
To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
To show us so much gentry and good will
As to expend your time with us a while
For the supply and profit of our hope,
Your visitation shall receive such thanks
As fits a king’s remembrance.
ROSENCRANTZ
Both your majesties
Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,
Put your dread pleasures more into command
Than to entreaty.
GUILDENSTERN
But we both obey,
And here give up ourselves in the full bent
To lay our service freely at your feet
To be commanded.
KING CLAUDIUS
Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz.
And I beseech you instantly to visit
My too-much changed son.—Go, some of ye,
And bring the gentlemen where Hamlet is.
GUILDENSTERN
Heavens make our presence and our practices
Pleasant and helpful to him.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
Ay, amen!
Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ⌈with others⌉ Enter Polonius
POLONIUS
Th’ambassadors from Norway, my good lord,
Are joyfully returned.
KING CLAUDIUS
Thou still hast been the father of good news.
POLONIUS
Have I, my lord? Assure you, my good liege,
I hold my duty, as I hold my soul,
Both to my God and to my gracious King.
And I do think—or else this brain of mine
Hunts not the trail of policy so sure
As it hath used to do—that I have found
The very cause of Hamlet’s lunacy.
KING CLAUDIUS
O speak of that, that I do long to hear!
POLONIUS
Give first admittance to th’ambassadors.
My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
KING CLAUDIUS
Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in.
Exit Polonius
He tells me, my sweet queen, that he hath found
The head and source of all your son’s distemper.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
I doubt it is no other but the main—
His father’s death and our o’er-hasty marriage.
KING CLAUDIUS
Well, we shall sift him.Enter Polonius, Valtemand, and Cornelius Welcome, my good friends.
Say, Valtemand, what from our brother Norway?
VALTEMAND
Most fair return of greetings and desires.
Upon our first he sent out to suppress
His nephew’s levies, which to him appeared
To be a preparation ‘gainst the Polack;
But better looked into, he truly found
It was against your highness; whereat grieved
That so his sickness, age, and impotence
Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrests
On Fortinbras, which he, in brief, obeys,
Receives rebuke from Norway, and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle never more
To give th’essay of arms against your majesty;
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee
And his commission to employ those soldiers
So levied as before, against the Polack,
With an entreaty herein further shown,
He gives a letter to Claudius
That it might please you to give quiet pass
Through your dominions for his enterprise
On such regards of safety and allowance
As therein are set down.
KING CLAUDIUS
It likes us well,
And at our more considered time we’ll read,
Answer, and think upon this business.
Meantime we thank you for your well-took labour.
Go to your rest; at night we’ll feast together.
Most welcome home.
Exeunt Valtemand and Cornelius
POLONIUS
This business is very well ended.
My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad—
‘Mad’ call I it, for to define true madness,
What is’t but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go.
QUEEN GERTRUDE More matter with less art.
POLONIUS
Madam, I swear I use no art at all.
That he is mad, ‘tis true; ’tis true ‘tis pity,
And pity ’tis ‘tis true—a foolish figure,
But farewell it, for I will use no art.
Mad let us grant him, then; and now remains
That we find out the cause of this effect—
Or rather say ’the cause of this defect‘,
For this effect defective comes by cause.
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.
Perpend.
I have a daughter—have whilst she is mine—
Who in her duty and obedience, mark,
Hath given me this. Now gather and surmise.
He reads a letter
’To the celestial and my soul’s idol, the most beautified
Ophelia‘—that’s an ill phrase, a vile phrase, ‘beautified’
is a vile phrase. But you shall hear—‘these in her
excellent white bosom, these’.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Came this from Hamlet to her?
POLONIUS
Good madam, stay a while. I will be faithful.
‘Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.
O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. I have not
art to reckon my groans. But that I love thee best, O
most best, believe it. Adieu.
Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this
machine is to him,
Hamlet.’
This in obedience hath my daughter showed me,
And more above hath his solicitings,
As they fell out by time, by means, and place,
All given to mine ear.
KING CLAUDIUS
But how hath she
Received his love?
POLONIUS
What do you think of me?
KING CLAUDIUS
As of a man faithful and honourable.
POLONIUS
I would fain prove so. But what might you think,
When I had seen this hot love on the wing,
As I perceived it—I must tell you that—
Before my daughter told me, what might you,
Or my dear majesty your queen here, think,
If I had played the desk or table-book,
Or given my heart a winking mute and dumb,
Or looked upon this love with idle sight—
What might you think? No, I went round
to work,
And my young mistress thus I did bespeak:
‘Lord Hamlet is a prince out of thy star.
This must not be’. And then I precepts gave her,
That she should lock herself from his resort,
Admit no messengers, receive no tokens;
Which done, she took the fruits of my advice,
And he, repulsèd-a short tale to make—
Fell into a sadness, then into a fast,
Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness,
Thence to a lightness, and, by this declension,
Into the madness wherein now he raves,
And all we wail for.
KING CLAUDIUS (to Gertrude) Do you think ’tis this?
QUEEN GERTRUDE It may be; very likely.
POLONIUS
Hath there been such a time—I’d fain know that—
That I have positively said ‘ ’Tis so’
When it proved otherwise?
KING CLAUDIUS
Not that I know.
POLONIUS (touching his head, then his shoulder)
Take this from this if this be otherwise.
If circumstances lead me I will find
Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed
Within the centre.
KING CLAUDIUS
How may we try it further?
POLONIUS
You know sometimes he walks four hours together
Here in the lobby.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
So he does indeed.
POLONIUS
At such a time I’ll loose my daughter to him.
(To Claudius) Be you and I behind an arras then.
Mark the encounter. If he love her not,
And be not from his reason fall’n thereon,
Let me be no assistant for a state,
But keep a farm and carters.
KING CLAUDIUS
We will try it.
Enter Prince Hamlet, madly attired, reading on a book
QUEEN GERTRUDE
But look where sadly the poor wretch comes reading.
POLONIUS
Away, I do beseech you both, away.
I’ll board him presently. O give me leave.
Exeunt Claudius and Gertrude
How does my good Lord Hamlet?
HAMLET Well, God-‘a’-mercy.
POLONIUS Do you know me, my lord?
HAMLET Excellent, excellent well. You’re a fishmonger.
POLONIUS Not I, my lord.
HAMLET Then I would you were so honest a man.
POLONIUS Honest, my lord?
HAMLET Ay, sir. To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.
POLONIUS That’s very true, my lord.
HAMLET For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion—have you a daughter?
POLONIUS I have, my lord.
HAMLET Let her not walk i’th’ sun. Conception is a blessing, but not as your daughter may conceive. Friend, look to’t.
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works Page 226