Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel; Bear it that the opposer may beware of thee. ment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy: And they in France, of the best rank and station, For loan oft loses both itself and friend; Thou canst not then be false to any man. HAMLET ON THE APPEARANCE OF HIS FATHER'S GHOST. Angels and ministers of grace defend us!Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd, Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell Be thy intents wicked or charitable, Thou com'st in such a questionable¶ shape, That I will speak to thee; I'll call thee Hamlet, King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me: Let me not burst in ignorance! but tell *Palm of the hand. + Opinion. ‡ Noble. || Economy. ¶ Conversable. So horribly to shake our disposition,* With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? THE MISCHIEFS IT MIGHT TEMPT HIM TO. What, if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, SCENE. A more remote part of the Platform. Ham. Whither wilt thou lead me? speak, I'll go no further. Alas, poor ghost! Must render up myself. Ham. Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing To what I shall unfold. Ham. Speak, I am bound to hear. Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt Ham. What? Ghost. I am thy father's spirit; Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night; And, for the day, confin'd to fast in fires, [hear. Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature, Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood; Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres; Thy knotted and combined locks to part, * Frame. + Hangs. + Whims. Like quills upon the fretful porcupine: To ears of flesh and blood:-List, list, O list!— Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural mur der. Ham. Murder! Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange, and unnatural. Ham. Haste me to know it; that I, with wings as swift As meditation, or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge. Ghost. I find thee apt; And duller should'st thou be than the fat weed That rots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, Would'st thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear 'Tis given out, that sleeping in my orchard,t A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abus'd: but know, thou noble youth, Ham. O, my prophetic soul! my uncle! Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, (O wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power So to seduce!) won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming virtuous queen: O, Hamlet, what a falling-off was there! From me whose love was of that dignity, That it went hand in hand even with the vow I made to her in marriage; and to decline Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor To those of mine! But virtue, as it never will be mov'd, Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven; * Display. † Garden. Will sate* itself in a celestial bed, And prey on garbage. But, soft! methinks, I scent the morning air; Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand, Adieu, adieu, adieu! remember me. * Satiate. § Leprous. † Henbane. [Exit + Scab, scurf. || Bereft. ¶ Without having received the Sacrament ** Unappointed, unprepared. tt Without extreme unction. Ham. O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else? And shall I couple hell?-O fie!-Hold, hold, my heart; And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, But bear me stiffly up!-Remember thee? Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a scat I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, All sawst of books, all forms, all pressures past, O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! [Writing. So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word: ACT II. OPHELIA'S DESCRIPTION OF HAMLET'S MAD My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, As if he had been loosed out of hell, To speak of horrors,--he comes before me. My lord, I do not know † Sayings, sentences. § Hanging down like fetters. |