Repent what's past: avoid what is to come; Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg; Yea, curb' and woo, for leave to do him good. Queen. O Hamlet! thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Ham. O throw away the worser part of it, That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat [Pointing to POLONIUS. I do repent: But heaven hath pleas'd it so,— do not spread the compost, &c.] Do not, by any new indulgence, heighten your former offences. curb-] That is, bend and truck Fr. courber. 2 To punish me with this, and this with me,] To punish me by making me the instrument of this man's death, and to punish this man by my hand. I must be cruel, only to be kind : Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.- Queen. What shall I do? Ham. Not this, by no means, that I bid you do: Let the bloat king3 tempt you again to bed; 4 Pinch wanton on your cheek; call you, his mouse ;* And let him for a pair of reechy kisses,5 Or padling in your neck with his damn'd fingers, But mad in craft. "Twere good, you let him know: Unpeg the basket on the house's top, Let the birds fly; and like the famous ape, To try conclusions,' in the basket creep, And break your own neck down. Queen. Be thou assur'd, if words be made of breath, And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me. 8 Ham. I must to England; you know that? 3 Let the bloat king-] This again hints at his intemperance. He had already drank himself into a dropsy. BLACKSTONE. his mouse ;] Mouse was once a term of endearment. 4 5 reechy kisses,] Reechy is smoky. The author meant to convey a coarse idea, and was not very scrupulous in his choice of an epithet. 6 a gib,] Gib was a common name for a cat. To try conclusions,] i. e. experiments. I must to England;] Shakspeare does not inform us how Hamlet came to know that he was to be sent to England. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were made acquainted with the King's intentions for the first time in the very last scene; and they do not appear to have had any communication with the Prince since that time. Queen. Alack, I had forgot; 'tis so concluded on. Ham. There's letters seal'd: and my two school fellows, Whom I will trust, as I will adders fang'd,' They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way, I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room :- [Exeunt severally; HAMLET dragging in Po LONIUS. —adders fang'd,] That is, adders with their fangs or poisonous teeth, undrawn. Hoist, &c.] Hoist, for hoised; as past, for passed. " When in one line two crafts directly meet.] Still alluding to a countermine. 3 Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you :] Shakspeare has been unfortunate in his management of the story of this play, the most striking circumstances of which arise so early in its formation, as not to leave him room for a conclusion suitable to the importance of its beginning. After this last interview with the Ghost; the character of Hamlet has lost all its consequence. STEEVENS. ACT IV. SCENE I. The same. Enter King, Queen, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUIL DENSTERN. King. There's matter in these sighs; these profound heaves; You must translate: 'tis fit we understand them: Where is your son? Queen. Bestow this place on us a little while.— [To ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN, who go out. Ah, my good lord, what have I seen to-night! Which is the mightier: In his lawless fit, King. O heavy deed! It had been so with us, had we been there: His liberty is full of threats to all; To you yourself, to us, to every one. Alas! how shall this bloody deed be answer'd? 4 Act IV.] This play is printed in the old editions without any separation of the Acts. The division is modern and arbitrary; and is here not very happy, for the pause is made at a time when there is more continuity of action than in almost any other of the scenes. JOHNSON. Should have kept short, restrain'd, and out of haunt," Shows itself pure; he weeps for what is done. The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN. Friends both, go join you with some further aid: [Exeunt Ros. and GUIL. Transports his poison'd shot,-may miss our name, 5 out of haunt,] i. e. out of company. 6 Among a mineral] Minerals are mines. [Exeunt. 7 cannon to his blank,] The blank was the white mark at which shot or arrows were directed. |