CHARECTERS

Hamlet
The prince of Denmark, and a student at the University of Wittenberg. At the beginning of the play,
Hamlets father, King Hamlet, has recently died, and his mother, Queen Gertrude, has married the
new king, Hamlets uncle Claudius. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his
uncle and disgust at his mother for marrying him. When the ghost of Hamlets father appears and
claims to have been murdered by Claudius, Hamlet becomes obsessed with avenging his fathers
death but keeps thinking of reasons why he should wait before killing Claudiusthen chastizes
himself for failing to act boldly. Hamlet is a character of contradictions. He admires characters like
Fortinbras and the Player King, who behave passionately and even violently for no good reason, but
is himself thoughtful, reflective, and philosophical. At times Hamlet is indecisive and hesitant, but at
other times he is prone to rash and impulsive acts of violence.
Claudius
The king of Denmark, Hamlets uncle. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating, ambitious
politician, adept at manipulating others for his own ends and willing to execute, assassinate, or
murder to stay in power. He doesnt understand Hamlet or Hamlets motives, but he is quick to
perceive Hamlet as a threat and take decisive action against him. Claudius does occasionally show
signs of remorse and human feelinghis affection for Gertrude, for instance, seems sincere.
Gertrude
The queen of Denmark, Hamlets mother, recently married to Claudius. We never get to observe
Gertrude on her own, so we know much more about how Hamlet feels about her than about how she
sees herself. She seems clearly to love Hamlet, but Hamlet sees her as a weak, even depraved,
woman motivated wholly by lust. Hamlet has such strong feelings about her sex life that he becomes
momentarily distracted from his revenge quest, urging her toward a life of chastity.
Polonius
The Lord Chamberlain of Claudiuss court, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Polonius has good
intentions, but he tends to be somewhat conniving and underhanded. He frequently leaps to the
wrong conclusions, and his speeches are comically pompous and long-winded. He is completely
incapable of figuring out what Hamlet is up to.
Horatio
Hamlets close friend, who studied with the prince at the University of Wittenberg. Hamlet trusts

Horatio above any of the other characters, valuing him for his even temper and equanimity
qualities that Hamlet seems to despise in himself. Horatio is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout
the play. After Hamlets death, Horatio remains alive to tell Hamlets story.
Ophelia
Poloniuss daughter, a beautiful young woman with whom Hamlet has been in love. A sweet and
innocent young girl, Ophelia dutifully strives to obey her father and her brother, Laertes, allowing
Polonius to use her in his scheme to spy on Hamlet. When her father dies, her sanity unravels, and
in her madness she paints a scathing picture of young men as sexually exploitative and unfaithful,
and her mad speeches about flowers conceal implied condemnations of Claudius and Gertrude.
Laertes
Poloniuss son and Ophelias brother, a young man who spends much of the play in France.
Passionate and quick to action, Laertes is a foil for the reflective and agonized Hamlet.
Fortinbras
The young prince of Norway, whose father the king (also named Fortinbras) was killed by Hamlets
father (also named Hamlet). Now Fortinbras wishes to attack Denmark to avenge his fathers honor,
making him another foil for Prince Hamlet. Hamlet admires Fortinbras for his willingness to fight for
no good reason.
The Ghost
The specter of Hamlets recently deceased father. The ghost, who claims to have been murdered by
Claudius, calls upon Hamlet to avenge him. However, it is not entirely certain whether the ghost is
what it appears to be. Hamlet speculates that the ghost might be a devil sent to deceive him and
tempt him into murder, and the question of what the ghost is or where it comes from is never
definitively resolved.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Two slightly bumbling courtiers, former friends of Hamlet from Wittenberg, who are summoned by
Claudius and Gertrude to discover the cause of Hamlets strange behavior.
Osric
The foolish courtier who summons Hamlet to his duel with Laertes. His speeches are pretentious
and difficult to understand.

Voltimand and Cornelius

Courtiers whom Claudius sends to Norway to persuade the king to prevent Fortinbras from
attacking.
Marcellus and Barnardo
The officers who first see the ghost walking the ramparts of Elsinore and who summon Horatio to
witness it. Marcellus is present when Hamlet first encounters the ghost.
Francisco
A soldier and guardsman at Elsinore.
Reynaldo
Poloniuss servant, sent to France by Polonius to check up on and spy on Laertes.

ACT 1 SCENE 1
Enter BARNARDO and FRANCISCO, two sentinels

BARNARDO and FRANCISCO, two

watchmen, enter.

BARNARDO
Whos there?

BARNARDO
Whos there?

FRANCISCO
Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.

FRANCISCO
No, who are you? Stop and identify yourself.

BARNARDO
Long live the king!

BARNARDO
Long live the king!

FRANCISCO
Barnardo?

FRANCISCO
Is that Barnardo?

BARNARDO
He.

BARNARDO
Yes, its me.

FRANCISCO
You come most carefully upon your hour.

FRANCISCO
Youve come right on time.

BARNARDO
'Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to bed, Francisco.

BARNARDO
The clocks just striking twelve. Go home to
bed, Francisco.

FRANCISCO
For this relief much thanks. 'Tis bitter cold,
And I am sick at heart.

FRANCISCO
Thanks for letting me go. Its bitterly cold out,
and Im depressed.

BARNARDO
Have you had quiet guard?

BARNARDO
Has it been a quiet night?

FRANCISCO
Not a mouse stirring.

FRANCISCO
I havent even heard a mouse squeak.

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BARNARDO
Well, good night.
If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus,
The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.

BARNARDO
Well, good night. If you happen to see Horatio
and Marcellus, who are supposed to stand
guard with me tonight, tell them to hurry.

FRANCISCO
I think I hear them.Stand, ho! Whos there?

FRANCISCO
I think I hear them. Stop! Whos there?

Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS

MARCELLUS and HORATIO enter.

HORATIO
Friends to this ground.

HORATIO
Friends of this country.

MARCELLUS
And liegemen to the Dane.

MARCELLUS
And servants of the Danish king.

FRANCISCO
Give you good night.

FRANCISCO
Good night to you both.

MARCELLUS
O, farewell, honest soldier. Who hath relieved you?

MARCELLUS
Good-bye. Whos taken over the watch for you?

FRANCISCO
Barnardo has my place. Give you good night.

FRANCISCO
Barnardos taken my place. Good night.

Exit FRANCISCO
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FRANCISCO exits.

MARCELLUS
Holla, Barnardo.

MARCELLUS
Hello, Barnardo.

BARNARDO
Say what, is Horatio there?

BARNARDO
Hello. Is Horatio here too?

HORATIO
A piece of him.

HORATIO
More or less.

BARNARDO
Welcome, Horatio.Welcome, good Marcellus.

BARNARDO
Welcome, Horatio. Welcome, Marcellus.

MARCELLUS
What, has this thing appeared again tonight?

MARCELLUS
So, tell us, did you see that thing again tonight?

BARNARDO
I have seen nothing.

BARNARDO
I havent seen anything.

MARCELLUS
Horatio says tis but our fantasy
And will not let belief take hold of him
Touching this dreaded sight twice seen of us.
Therefore I have entreated him along
With us to watch the minutes of this night,
That if again this apparition come
He may approve our eyes and speak to it.

MARCELLUS
Horatio says were imagining it, and wont let
himself believe anything about this horrible thing
that weve seen twice now. Thats why Ive
begged him to come on our shift tonight, so that
if the ghost appears he can see what we see
and speak to it.

HORATIO
Tush, tush, twill not appear.

HORATIO
Oh, nonsense. Its not going to appear.

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BARNARDO
Sit down a while
And let us once again assail your ears,
That are so fortified against our story,
What we have two nights seen.

BARNARDO
Sit down for a while, and well tell you again the
story you dont want to believe, about what
weve seen two nights now.

HORATIO
Well, sit we down,
And let us hear Barnardo speak of this.

HORATIO
Well, lets sit down and listen to Barnardo tell us.

BARNARDO
Last night of all,
When yond same star thats westward from the pole
Had made his course t' illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
The bell then beating one

BARNARDO
Last night, when that star to the west of the
North Star had traveled across the night sky to
that point where its shining now, at one o'clock,
Marcellus and I

Enter GHOST

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The GHOST enters.

MARCELLUS
Peace, break thee off. Look where it comes again!

MARCELLUS
Quiet, shut up! Its come again.

BARNARDO
In the same figure like the king thats dead.

BARNARDO
Looking just like the dead king.

MARCELLUS
(to HORATIO) Thou art a scholar. Speak to it, Horatio.

MARCELLUS
(to HORATIO) Youre well-educated, Horatio.
Say something to it.

BARNARDO
Looks it not like the king? Mark it, Horatio.

BARNARDO
Doesnt he look like the king, Horatio?

HORATIO
Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.

HORATIO
Very much so. Its terrifying.

BARNARDO
It would be spoke to.

BARNARDO
It wants us to speak to it.

MARCELLUS
Question it, Horatio.

MARCELLUS
Ask it something, Horatio.

HORATIO
What art thou that usurpst this time of night
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried Denmark
Did sometimes march? By heaven, I charge thee,
speak.

HORATIO
What are you, that you walk out so late at night,
looking like the dead king of Denmark when he
dressed for battle? By God, I order you to speak.

MARCELLUS
It is offended.

MARCELLUS
It looks like youve offended it.

BARNARDO
See, it stalks away.

BARNARDO
Look, its going away.

HORATIO

HORATIO

Stay! Speak, speak! I charge thee, speak!

Stay! Speak! Speak! I order you, speak!

Exit GHOST
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The GHOST exits.

MARCELLUS
'Tis gone and will not answer.

MARCELLUS
Its gone. It wont answer now.

BARNARDO
How now, Horatio? You tremble and look pale.
Is not this something more than fantasy?
What think you on t?

BARNARDO
Whats going on, Horatio? Youre pale and
trembling. You agree now that were not
imagining this, dont you? What do you think
about it?

HORATIO
Before my God, I might not this believe
Without the sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes.

HORATIO
I swear to God, if I hadnt seen this with my own
eyes Id never believe it.

MARCELLUS
Is it not like the king?

MARCELLUS
Doesnt it look like the king?

HORATIO
As thou art to thyself.
Such was the very armour he had on
When he the ambitious Norway combated.
So frowned he once when, in an angry parle,
He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.
'Tis strange.

HORATIO
Yes, as much as you look like yourself. The king
was wearing exactly this armor when he fought
the king of Norway. And the ghost frowned just
like the king did once when he attacked the
Poles, traveling on the ice in sleds. Its weird.

MARCELLUS
Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour,
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.

MARCELLUS
Its happened like this twice before, always at
this exact time. He stalks by us at our post like a
warrior.

HORATIO
In what particular thought to work I know not,
But in the gross and scope of mine opinion
This bodes some strange eruption to our state.

HORATIO
I dont know exactly how to explain this, but I
have a general feeling this means bad news for
our country.

MARCELLUS
Good now, sit down and tell me, he that knows,
Why this same strict and most observant watch
So nightly toils the subject of the land,
And why such daily cast of brazen cannon
And foreign mart for implements of war,
Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task
Does not divide the Sunday from the week.
What might be toward, that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint laborer with the day?
Who is t that can inform me?

MARCELLUS
All right, lets sit down and discuss that
question. Somebody tell me why this strict
schedule of guards has been imposed, and
why so many bronze cannons are being
manufactured in Denmark, and so many
weapons bought from abroad, and why the
shipbuilders are so busy they dont even rest
on Sunday. Is something about to happen that
warrants working this night and day? Who can
explain this to me?

HORATIO
That can I.
At least, the whisper goes so: our last king,

HORATIO
I can. Or at least I can describe the rumors. As
you know, our late king, whom we just now saw

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Whose image even but now appeared to us,

Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
Thereto pricked on by a most emulate pride,
Dared to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet
(For so this side of our known world esteemed him)
Did slay this Fortinbras, who by a sealed compact
Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands
Which he stood seized of to the conqueror,
Against the which a moiety competent
Was gagd by our king, which had returned
To the inheritance of Fortinbras
Had he been vanquisher, as, by the same covenant
And carriage of the article designed,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Of unimprovd mettle hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there
Sharked up a list of lawless resolutes,
For food and diet, to some enterprise
That hath a stomach in t, which is no other
As it doth well appear unto our state
But to recover of us, by strong hand

as a ghost, was the great rival of Fortinbras,

king of Norway. Fortinbras dared him to battle.
In that fight, our courageous Hamlet (or at least
thats how we thought of him) killed old King
Fortinbras, whoon the basis of a valid legal
documentsurrendered all his territories,
along with his life, to his conqueror. If our king
had lost, he would have had to do the same.
But now old Fortinbrass young son, also called
Fortinbrashe is bold, but unprovenhas
gathered a bunch of thugs from the lawless
outskirts of the country. For some food, theyre
eager to take on the tough enterprise of
securing the lands the elder F

And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands

So by his father lost. And this, I take it,
Is the main motive of our preparations,
The source of this our watch, and the chief head
Of this posthaste and rummage in the land.

As far as I understand, thats why were

posted here tonight and why theres
such a commotion in Denmark lately.

BARNARDO
I think it be no other but e'en so.
Well may it sort that this portentous figure
Comes armd through our watch so like the king
That was and is the question of these wars.

BARNARDO
I think thats exactly rightthat
explains why the ghost of the late king
would haunt us now, since he caused
these wars.

HORATIO
A mote it is to trouble the minds eye.
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,
The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets
As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood,
Disasters in the sun, and the moist star
Upon whose influence Neptunes empire stands
Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse.
And even the like precurse of feared events,
As harbingers preceding still the fates
And prologue to the omen coming on,

HORATIO
The ghost is definitely something to
worry about. In the high and mighty
Roman Empire, just before the emperor
Julius Caesar was assassinated, corpses
rose out of their graves and ran through
the streets of Rome speaking gibberish.
There were shooting stars, and blood
mixed in with the morning dew, and
threatening signs on the face of the sun.
The moon, which controls the tides of
the sea, was so eclipsed it almost went
completely out. And weve had similar

Have heaven and earth together demonstrated

Unto our climatures and countrymen.

omens of terrible things to come, as if

heaven and earth have joined together
to warn us whats going to happen.

Enter GHOST
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But soft, behold! Lo, where it comes again.

Ill cross it though it blast me.Stay, illusion!
GHOST spreads his arms

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135

The GHOST enters.

Wait, look! It has come again. Ill meet
it if its the last thing I do. Stay here,
you hallucination!
The GHOST spreads his arms.

If thou hast any sound or use of voice,

Speak to me.

If you have a voice or can make

sounds, speak to me.

If there be any good thing to be done

That may to thee do ease and grace to me,
Speak to me.
If thou art privy to thy countrys fate,
Which happily foreknowing may avoid,
Oh, speak!
Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Extorted treasure in the womb of earth,
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death,
Speak of it. Stay and speak!

If theres any good deed I can do that will

bring you peace and me honor, speak to
me. If you have some secret knowledge
of your countrys sad fatewhich might
be avoided if we knew about itthen,
please, speak. Or if youve got some
buried treasure somewhere, which they
say often makes ghosts restless, then
tell us about it. Stay and speak!

The cock crows

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Stop it, Marcellus.

Keep it from leaving, Marcellus.

MARCELLUS
Shall I strike at it with my partisan?

MARCELLUS
Should I strike it with my spear?

HORATIO
Do, if it will not stand.

HORATIO
Yes, if it doesnt stand still.

BARNARDO
'Tis here.

BARNARDO
Its over here.

HORATIO
'Tis here.

HORATIO
There it is.
Exit GHOST

145

ORIG

A rooster crows.

The GHOST exits.

MARCELLUS
'Tis gone.
We do it wrong, being so majestical,
To offer it the show of violence,
For it is, as the air, invulnerable,
And our vain blows malicious mockery.

MARCELLUS
Its gone. We were wrong to threaten it
with violence, since it looks so much like
a king. Besides, we cant hurt it anymore
than we can hurt the air. Our attack was
stupid, futile, and wicked.

BARNARDO
It was about to speak when the cock crew.

BARNARDO
It was about to say something when the
rooster crowed.

MODERN TEXT

INAL
TEXT

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170

HORATIO
And then it started like a guilty thing
Upon a fearful summons. I have heard
The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn,
Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding
throat
Awake the god of day, and, at his
warning,
Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air,
Th' extravagant and erring spirit hies
To his confine, and of the truth herein
This present object made probation.

HORATIO
And then it acted startled, like a guilty person caught by the
law. Ive heard that the rooster awakens the god of day with
its trumpetlike crowing, and makes all wandering ghosts,
wherever they are, hurry back to their hiding places. Weve
just seen proof of that.

MARCELLUS
It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever 'gainst that season
comes
Wherein our Saviours birth is
celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night
long.
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir
abroad.
The nights are wholesome. Then no
planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to
charm,
So hallowed and so gracious is that time.

MARCELLUS
Yes, it faded away when the rooster crowed. Some people
say that just before Christmas the rooster crows all night
long, so that no ghost dares go wandering, and the night is
safe. The planets have no sway over us, fairies' spells dont
work, and witches cant bewitch us. Thats how holy that
night is.

HORATIO
So have I heard and do in part believe it.
But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad,
Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward
hill.
Break we our watch up, and by my
advice,
Let us impart what we have seen tonight
Unto young Hamlet, for, upon my life,
This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.
Do you consent we shall acquaint him
with it,
As needful in our loves, fitting our duty?

HORATIO
Yes, Ive heard the same thing and sort of believe it. But
look, morning is breaking beyond that hill in the east, turning
the sky red. Lets interrupt our watch and go tell young
Hamlet what weve seen tonight. Im sure this ghost thats
so silent with us will speak to him. Dont you agree that we
owe it to him to tell him about this, out of duty and love?

MARCELLUS
Lets do t, I pray, and I this morning
know
Where we shall find him most
conveniently.

MARCELLUS
Lets do it. I know where well find him this morning.

Exeunt

They exit.

ORIG
INAL
TEXT

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MODERN TEXT

Enter CLAUDIUS, king of Denmark; GERTRUDE the

queen; HAMLET; POLONIUS; his son LAERTES; and his
daughter OPHELIA; LORDS attendant

CLAUDIUS, the king of Denmark, enters,

along withGERTRUDE the
queen, HAMLET, POLONIUS,POLONIUS
s son LAERTES and daughter OPHELIA,
and LORDS who wait on the king.

CLAUDIUS
Though yet of Hamlet our dear brothers death
The memory be green, and that it us befitted
To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom
To be contracted in one brow of woe,
Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature
That we with wisest sorrow think on him
Together with remembrance of ourselves.
Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen,
Th' imperial jointress to this warlike state,
Have weas twere with a defeated joy,
With an auspicious and a dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole
Taken to wife. Nor have we herein barred
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone
With this affair along. For all, our thanks.
Now follows that you know. Young Fortinbras,
Holding a weak supposal of our worth
Or thinking by our late dear brothers death
Our state to be disjoint and out of frame,
Colleagud with the dream of his advantage,
He hath not failed to pester us with message
Importing the surrender of those lands
Lost by his father, with all bonds of law,
To our most valiant brother. So much for him.

CLAUDIUS
Although I still have fresh memories of my
brother the elder Hamlets death, and
though it was proper to mourn him
throughout our kingdom, life still goes on
I think its wise to mourn him while also
thinking about my own well being.
Therefore, Ive married my former sisterin-law, the queen, with mixed feelings of
happiness and sadness. I know that in
marrying Gertrude Im only doing what all
of you have wisely advised all alongfor
which I thank you. Now, down to business.
You all know whats happening. Young
Fortinbras, underestimating my strength or
imagining that the death of the king has
thrown my country into turmoil, dreams of
getting the better of me, and never stops
pestering me with demands that I
surrender the territory his father lost to the
elder Hamlet, my dead brother-in-law. So
much for Fortinbras.

Enter VOLTEMAND and CORNELIUS

Now for ourself and for this time of meeting
ORIGIN
AL
TEXT

30

VOLTEMAND and CORNELIUS enter.

Now, heres what needs to be done.

MODERN TEXT

Thus much the business is: we have here writ

To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras
Who, impotent and bedrid, scarcely hears
Of this his nephews purposeto suppress
His further gait herein, in that the levies,
The lists, and full proportions are all made
Out of his subject; and we here dispatch
You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltemand,

Ive written to Fortinbrass uncle, the

present head of Norway, an old
bedridden man who knows next to
nothing about his nephews plans.
Ive told the uncle to stop those plans,
which he has the power to do, since
all the troops assembled by young
Fortinbras are Norwegian, and thus

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For bearers of this greeting to old Norway,

Giving to you no further personal power
To business with the king more than the scope
Of these dilated articles allow. (gives them a paper)
Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty.

under the uncles control. Im giving

the job of delivering this letter to you,
good Cornelius, and you, Voltemand.
Your business in Norway will be
limited to this task. (he gives them a
paper) Now good-bye. Show your
loyalty by leaving quickly, rather than
with elaborate speeches.

CORNELIUS, VOLTEMAND
In that and all things will we show our duty.

CORNELIUS, VOLTEMAND
Well do our duty to you in that and
everything else.

CLAUDIUS
We doubt it nothing. Heartily farewell.

CLAUDIUS
I have no doubt you will. Good-bye.

Exeunt VOLTEMAND and CORNELIUS

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ORIGIN
AL
TEXT

60

CORNELIUS and VOLTEMAND exit.

And now, Laertes, whats the news with you?

You told us of some suit. What is t, Laertes?
You cannot speak of reason to the Dane
And lose your voice. What wouldst thou beg, Laertes,
That shall not be my offer, not thy asking?
The head is not more native to the heart,
The hand more instrumental to the mouth,
Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father.
What wouldst thou have, Laertes?

And now, Laertes, what do you have

to tell me? You have a favor you to
ask of me. What is it, Laertes? Youll
never waste your words when talking
to the king of Denmark. What could
you ever ask for that I wouldnt give
you? Your father and the Danish
throne are as close as the mind and
the heart, or the hand and the mouth.
What would you like, Laertes?

LAERTES
My dread lord,
Your leave and favor to return to France,
From whence though willingly I came to Denmark
To show my duty in your coronation,
Yet now, I must confess, that duty done,
My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France
And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon.

LAERTES
My lord, I want your permission to go
back to France, which I left to come
to Denmark for your coronation. I
confess, my thoughts are on France,
now that my duty is done. Please, let
me go.

MODERN TEXT

CLAUDIUS
Have you your fathers leave? What says
Polonius?

CLAUDIUS
Do you have your fathers permission? What does
Polonius say?

POLONIUS
He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave
By laborsome petition, and at last
Upon his will I sealed my hard consent.
I do beseech you, give him leave to go.

POLONIUS
My son has worn me down by asking me so many
times. In the end I grudgingly consented. I beg
you, let him go.

CLAUDIUS
Take thy fair hour, Laertes. Time be thine,
And thy best graces spend it at thy will.

CLAUDIUS
In that case, leave when you like, Laertes, and
spend your time however you wish. I hereby grant

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But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son

your request, and hope you have a good time. And

now, Hamlet, my nephew and my son

HAMLET
(aside) A little more than kin and less than kind.

HAMLET
(speaking so no one else can hear) Too many
family ties there for me.

CLAUDIUS
How is it that the clouds still hang on you?

CLAUDIUS
Why are you still so gloomy, with a cloud hanging
over you?

HAMLET
Not so, my lord. I am too much i' the sun.

HAMLET
Its not true, sir. Your son is out in the sun.

GERTRUDE
Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not forever with thy vaild lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.
Thou knowst tis common. All that lives must
die,
Passing through nature to eternity.

GERTRUDE
My dear Hamlet, stop wearing these black clothes,
and be friendly to the king. You cant spend your
whole life with your eyes to the ground
remembering your noble father. It happens all the
time, what lives must die eventually, passing to
eternity.

HAMLET
Ay, madam, it is common.

HAMLET
Yes, mother, it happens all the time.

GERTRUDE
If it be,
Why seems it so particular with thee?

GERTRUDE
So why does it seem so particular to you?

MODERN TEXT

HAMLET
Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not seems.
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play.
But I have that within which passeth show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.

HAMLET
Seem, mother? No, it is. I dont know what
you mean by seem. Neither my black clothes,
my dear mother, nor my heavy sighs, nor my
weeping, nor my downcast eyes, nor any other
display of grief can show what I really feel. Its
true that all these things seem like grief, since
a person could use them to fake grief if he
wanted to. But Ive got more real grief inside
me that you could ever see on the surface.
These clothes are just a hint of it.

CLAUDIUS
'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature,
Hamlet,
To give these mourning duties to your father.

CLAUDIUS
Hamlet, you are so sweet and such a good son
to mourn your father like this. But you have to
remember, that your father lost his father, who

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ORIGI
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TEXT

But you must know your father lost a father,

That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound
In filial obligation for some term
To do obsequious sorrow. But to persever
In obstinate condolement is a course
Of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief.
It shows a will most incorrect to heaven,
A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,
An understanding simple and unschooled.
For what we know must be and is as common
As any the most vulgar thing to sense,
Why should we in our peevish opposition
Take it to heart? Fie! 'Tis a fault to heaven,
A fault against the dead, a fault to nature,
To reason most absurd, whose common theme
Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried,
From the first corse till he that died today,
This must be so. We pray you, throw to earth
This unprevailing woe, and think of us
As of a father. For let the world take note,
You are the most immediate to our throne,
MODERN TEXT

lost his father before him, and every time, each

son has had to mourn his father for a certain
period. But overdoing it is just stubborn. Its
not manly. Its not what God wants, and it
betrays a vulnerable heart and an ignorant and
weak mind. Since we know that everyone must
die sooner or later, why should we take it to
heart? Youre committing a crime against
heaven, against the dead, and against nature.
And its irration-al, since the truth is that all
fathers must die. Please give up this useless
mourning of yours and start thinking of me as
your new father.