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Speeches (Lines) for Horatio
in "Hamlet"

Total: 109

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# Act, Scene, Line
(Click to see in context)
Speech text

1

I,1,18

Francisco. I think I hear them. Stand, ho! Who is there?

Horatio. Friends to this ground.


2

I,1,28

Bernardo. Say-
What, is Horatio there ?

Horatio. A piece of him.


3

I,1,39

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.

Horatio. Tush, tush, 'twill not appear.


4

I,1,44

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

Horatio. Well, sit we down,
And let us hear Bernardo speak of this.


5

I,1,56

Bernardo. Looks it not like the King? Mark it, Horatio.

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


6

I,1,59

Marcellus. Question it, Horatio.

Horatio. What art thou that usurp'st 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!


7

I,1,65

Bernardo. See, it stalks away!

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


8

I,1,71

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

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


9

I,1,75

Marcellus. Is it not like the King?

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


10

I,1,83

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

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


11

I,1,96

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-labourer with the day?
Who is't that can inform me?

Horatio. That can I.
At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king,
Whose image even but now appear'd to us,
Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride,
Dar'd to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet
(For so this side of our known world esteem'd him)
Did slay this Fortinbras; who, by a seal'd compact,
Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands
Which he stood seiz'd of, to the conqueror;
Against the which a moiety competent
Was gaged by our king; which had return'd
To the inheritance of Fortinbras,
Had he been vanquisher, as, by the same cov'nant
And carriage of the article design'd,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Of unimproved mettle hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway, here and there,
Shark'd 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
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 post-haste and romage in the land.


12

I,1,129

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

Horatio. A mote it is to trouble the mind's 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 Neptune's empire stands
Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse.
And even the like precurse of fierce events,
As harbingers preceding still the fates
And prologue to the omen coming on,
Have heaven and earth together demonstrated
Unto our climature and countrymen.
[Enter Ghost again.]
But soft! behold! Lo, where it comes again!
I'll cross it, though it blast me.- Stay illusion!
[Spreads his arms.]
If thou hast any sound, or use of voice,
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 country's fate,
Which happily foreknowing may avoid,
O, 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),
[The cock crows.]
Speak of it! Stay, and speak!- Stop it, Marcellus!


13

I,1,161

Marcellus. Shall I strike at it with my partisan?

Horatio. Do, if it will not stand.


14

I,1,163

Bernardo. 'Tis here!

Horatio. 'Tis here!


15

I,1,171

Bernardo. It was about to speak, when the cock crew.

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.


16

I,1,188

Marcellus. It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever, 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's 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 hallow'd and so gracious is the time.

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 to-night
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?
Let's do't, I pray; and I this morning know
Where we shall find him most conveniently.


17

I,2,365

(stage directions). Enter Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo.

Horatio. Hail to your lordship!


18

I,2,368

Hamlet. I am glad to see you well.
Horatio!- or I do forget myself.

Horatio. The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.


19

I,2,375

Hamlet. I am very glad to see you.- [To Bernardo] Good even, sir.-
But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?

Horatio. A truant disposition, good my lord.


20

I,2,382

Hamlet. I would not hear your enemy say so,
Nor shall you do my ear that violence
To make it truster of your own report
Against yourself. I know you are no truant.
But what is your affair in Elsinore?
We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart.

Horatio. My lord, I came to see your father's funeral.


21

I,2,385

Hamlet. I prithee do not mock me, fellow student.
I think it was to see my mother's wedding.

Horatio. Indeed, my lord, it followed hard upon.


22

I,2,391

Hamlet. Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral bak'd meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.
Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio!
My father- methinks I see my father.

Horatio. O, where, my lord?


23

I,2,393

Hamlet. In my mind's eye, Horatio.

Horatio. I saw him once. He was a goodly king.


24

I,2,396

Hamlet. He was a man, take him for all in all.
I shall not look upon his like again.

Horatio. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight.


25

I,2,398

Hamlet. Saw? who?

Horatio. My lord, the King your father.


26

I,2,400

Hamlet. The King my father?

Horatio. Season your admiration for a while
With an attent ear, till I may deliver
Upon the witness of these gentlemen,
This marvel to you.


27

I,2,405

Hamlet. For God's love let me hear!

Horatio. Two nights together had these gentlemen
(Marcellus and Bernardo) on their watch
In the dead vast and middle of the night
Been thus encount'red. A figure like your father,
Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe,
Appears before them and with solemn march
Goes slow and stately by them. Thrice he walk'd
By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes,
Within his truncheon's length; whilst they distill'd
Almost to jelly with the act of fear,
Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me
In dreadful secrecy impart they did,
And I with them the third night kept the watch;
Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time,
Form of the thing, each word made true and good,
The apparition comes. I knew your father.
These hands are not more like.


28

I,2,425

Hamlet. Did you not speak to it?

Horatio. My lord, I did;
But answer made it none. Yet once methought
It lifted up it head and did address
Itself to motion, like as it would speak;
But even then the morning cock crew loud,
And at the sound it shrunk in haste away
And vanish'd from our sight.


29

I,2,433

Hamlet. 'Tis very strange.

Horatio. As I do live, my honour'd lord, 'tis true;
And we did think it writ down in our duty
To let you know of it.


30

I,2,444

Hamlet. Then saw you not his face?

Horatio. O, yes, my lord! He wore his beaver up.


31

I,2,446

Hamlet. What, look'd he frowningly.

Horatio. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.


32

I,2,448

Hamlet. Pale or red?

Horatio. Nay, very pale.


33

I,2,450

Hamlet. And fix'd his eyes upon you?

Horatio. Most constantly.


34

I,2,452

Hamlet. I would I had been there.

Horatio. It would have much amaz'd you.


35

I,2,454

Hamlet. Very like, very like. Stay'd it long?

Horatio. While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred.


36

I,2,456

Marcellus. [with Bernardo] Longer, longer.

Horatio. Not when I saw't.


37

I,2,458

Hamlet. His beard was grizzled- no?

Horatio. It was, as I have seen it in his life,
A sable silver'd.


38

I,2,462

Hamlet. I will watch to-night.
Perchance 'twill walk again.

Horatio. I warr'nt it will.


39

I,4,627

Hamlet. The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold.

Horatio. It is a nipping and an eager air.


40

I,4,629

Hamlet. What hour now?

Horatio. I think it lacks of twelve.


41

I,4,631

Marcellus. No, it is struck.

Horatio. Indeed? I heard it not. It then draws near the season
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.
[A flourish of trumpets, and two pieces go off.]
What does this mean, my lord?


42

I,4,640

Hamlet. The King doth wake to-night and takes his rouse,
Keeps wassail, and the swagg'ring upspring reels,
And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down,
The kettledrum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge.

Horatio. Is it a custom?


43

I,4,667

(stage directions). Enter Ghost.

Horatio. Look, my lord, it comes!


44

I,4,688

(stage directions). Ghost beckons Hamlet.

Horatio. It beckons you to go away with it,
As if it some impartment did desire
To you alone.


45

I,4,694

Marcellus. Look with what courteous action
It waves you to a more removed ground.
But do not go with it!

Horatio. No, by no means!


46

I,4,696

Hamlet. It will not speak. Then will I follow it.

Horatio. Do not, my lord!


47

I,4,702

Hamlet. Why, what should be the fear?
I do not set my life at a pin's fee;
And for my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?
It waves me forth again. I'll follow it.

Horatio. What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord,
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er his base into the sea,
And there assume some other, horrible form
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason
And draw you into madness? Think of it.
The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without more motive, into every brain
That looks so many fadoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath.


48

I,4,716

Hamlet. Hold off your hands!

Horatio. Be rul'd. You shall not go.


49

I,4,725

(stage directions). Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet.

Horatio. He waxes desperate with imagination.


50

I,4,727

Marcellus. Let's follow. 'Tis not fit thus to obey him.

Horatio. Have after. To what issue will this come?


51

I,4,729

Marcellus. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Horatio. Heaven will direct it.


52

I,5,851

Hamlet. O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell? 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 seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter. Yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables! Meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark. [Writes.]
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:
It is 'Adieu, adieu! Remember me.'
I have sworn't.

Horatio. [within] My lord, my lord!


53

I,5,854

Marcellus. Lord Hamlet!

Horatio. Heaven secure him!


54

I,5,859

Marcellus. How is't, my noble lord?

Horatio. What news, my lord?


55

I,5,861

Marcellus. O, wonderful!

Horatio. Good my lord, tell it.


56

I,5,863

Hamlet. No, you will reveal it.

Horatio. Not I, my lord, by heaven!


57

I,5,870

Hamlet. There's neer a villain dwelling in all Denmark
But he's an arrant knave.

Horatio. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave
To tell us this.


58

I,5,879

Hamlet. Why, right! You are in the right!
And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit that we shake hands and part;
You, as your business and desires shall point you,
For every man hath business and desire,
Such as it is; and for my own poor part,
Look you, I'll go pray.

Horatio. These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.


59

I,5,882

Hamlet. I am sorry they offend you, heartily;
Yes, faith, heartily.

Horatio. There's no offence, my lord.


60

I,5,890

Hamlet. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you.
For your desire to know what is between us,
O'ermaster't as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,
Give me one poor request.

Horatio. What is't, my lord? We will.


61

I,5,894

Hamlet. Nay, but swear't.

Horatio. In faith,
My lord, not I.


62

I,5,905

Hamlet. Aha boy, say'st thou so? Art thou there, truepenny?
Come on! You hear this fellow in the cellarage.
Consent to swear.

Horatio. Propose the oath, my lord.


63

I,5,917

Hamlet. Well said, old mole! Canst work i' th' earth so fast?
A worthy pioner! Once more remove, good friends."

Horatio. O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!


64

III,2,1931

(stage directions). Enter Horatio.

Horatio. Here, sweet lord, at your service.


65

III,2,1934

Hamlet. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man
As e'er my conversation cop'd withal.

Horatio. O, my dear lord!


66

III,2,1967

Hamlet. Nay, do not think I flatter;
For what advancement may I hope from thee,
That no revenue hast but thy good spirits
To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flatter'd?
No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp,
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear?
Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice
And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal'd thee for herself. For thou hast been
As one, in suff'ring all, that suffers nothing;
A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards
Hast ta'en with equal thanks; and blest are those
Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled
That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,
As I do thee. Something too much of this I
There is a play to-night before the King.
One scene of it comes near the circumstance,
Which I have told thee, of my father's death.
I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
Even with the very comment of thy soul
Observe my uncle. If his occulted guilt
Do not itself unkennel in one speech,
It is a damned ghost that we have seen,
And my imaginations are as foul
As Vulcan's stithy. Give him heedful note;
For I mine eyes will rivet to his face,
And after we will both our judgments join
In censure of his seeming.

Horatio. Well, my lord.
If he steal aught the whilst this play is playing,
And scape detecting, I will pay the theft.
Sound a flourish. [Enter Trumpets and Kettledrums. Danish
march. [Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern,
and other Lords attendant, with the Guard carrying torches.]


67

III,2,2166

Hamlet. Why, let the strucken deer go weep,
The hart ungalled play;
For some must watch, while some must sleep:
Thus runs the world away.
Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers- if the rest of my
fortunes turn Turk with me-with two Provincial roses on my raz'd
shoes, get me a fellowship in a cry of players, sir?

Horatio. Half a share.


68

III,2,2172

Hamlet. A whole one I!
For thou dost know, O Damon dear,
This realm dismantled was
Of Jove himself; and now reigns here
A very, very- pajock.

Horatio. You might have rhym'd.


69

III,2,2175

Hamlet. O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a thousand
pound! Didst perceive?

Horatio. Very well, my lord.


70

III,2,2177

Hamlet. Upon the talk of the poisoning?

Horatio. I did very well note him.


71

IV,5,2871

Gentleman. She speaks much of her father; says she hears
There's tricks i' th' world, and hems, and beats her heart;
Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt,
That carry but half sense. Her speech is nothing,
Yet the unshaped use of it doth move
The hearers to collection; they aim at it,
And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts;
Which, as her winks and nods and gestures yield them,
Indeed would make one think there might be thought,
Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily.

Horatio. 'Twere good she were spoken with; for she may strew
Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds.


72

IV,6,3100

(stage directions). Enter Horatio with an Attendant.

Horatio. What are they that would speak with me?


73

IV,6,3102

Servant. Seafaring men, sir. They say they have letters for you.

Horatio. Let them come in.
[Exit Attendant.]
I do not know from what part of the world
I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet.


74

IV,6,3108

Sailor. God bless you, sir.

Horatio. Let him bless thee too.


75

IV,6,3112

Sailor. 'A shall, sir, an't please him. There's a letter for you,
sir,- it comes from th' ambassador that was bound for England- if
your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is.

Horatio. [reads the letter] 'Horatio, when thou shalt have overlook'd
this, give these fellows some means to the King. They have
letters for him. Ere we were two days old at sea, a pirate of
very warlike appointment gave us chase. Finding ourselves too
slow of sail, we put on a compelled valour, and in the grapple I
boarded them. On the instant they got clear of our ship; so I
alone became their prisoner. They have dealt with me like thieves
of mercy; but they knew what they did: I am to do a good turn for
them. Let the King have the letters I have sent, and repair thou
to me with as much speed as thou wouldst fly death. I have words
to speak in thine ear will make thee dumb; yet are they much too
light for the bore of the matter. These good fellows will bring
thee where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hold their course
for England. Of them I have much to tell thee. Farewell.
'He that thou knowest thine, HAMLET.'
Come, I will give you way for these your letters,
And do't the speedier that you may direct me
To him from whom you brought them. Exeunt.


76

V,1,3409

Hamlet. Has this fellow no feeling of his business, that he sings at
grave-making?

Horatio. Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.


77

V,1,3423

Hamlet. That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once. How the
knave jowls it to the ground,as if 'twere Cain's jawbone, that
did the first murther! This might be the pate of a Politician,
which this ass now o'erreaches; one that would circumvent God,
might it not?

Horatio. It might, my lord.


78

V,1,3428

Hamlet. Or of a courtier, which could say 'Good morrow, sweet lord!
How dost thou, good lord?' This might be my Lord Such-a-one, that
prais'd my Lord Such-a-one's horse when he meant to beg it- might
it not?

Horatio. Ay, my lord.


79

V,1,3453

Hamlet. There's another. Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer?
Where be his quiddits now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures,
and his tricks? Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock
him about the sconce with a dirty shovel, and will not tell him
of his action of battery? Hum! This fellow might be in's time a
great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances, his
fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries. Is this the fine of
his fines, and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine
pate full of fine dirt? Will his vouchers vouch him no more of
his purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth
of a pair of indentures? The very conveyances of his lands will
scarcely lie in this box; and must th' inheritor himself have no
more, ha?

Horatio. Not a jot more, my lord.


80

V,1,3455

Hamlet. Is not parchment made of sheepskins?

Horatio. Ay, my lord, And of calveskins too.


81

V,1,3526

Hamlet. Let me see. [Takes the skull.] Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him,
Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He
hath borne me on his back a thousand times. And now how abhorred
in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those
lips that I have kiss'd I know not how oft. Where be your gibes
now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that
were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your
own grinning? Quite chap- fall'n? Now get you to my lady's
chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this
favour she must come. Make her laugh at that. Prithee, Horatio,
tell me one thing.

Horatio. What's that, my lord?


82

V,1,3528

Hamlet. Dost thou think Alexander look'd o' this fashion i' th' earth?

Horatio. E'en so.


83

V,1,3531

(stage directions). [Puts down the skull.]

Horatio. E'en so, my lord.


84

V,1,3535

Hamlet. To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not
imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it
stopping a bunghole?

Horatio. 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.


85

V,1,3608

All. Gentlemen!

Horatio. Good my lord, be quiet.


86

V,2,3652

Hamlet. So much for this, sir; now shall you see the other.
You do remember all the circumstance?

Horatio. Remember it, my lord!


87

V,2,3661

Hamlet. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting
That would not let me sleep. Methought I lay
Worse than the mutinies in the bilboes. Rashly-
And prais'd be rashness for it; let us know,
Our indiscretion sometime serves us well
When our deep plots do pall; and that should learn us
There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will-

Horatio. That is most certain.


88

V,2,3676

Hamlet. Up from my cabin,
My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark
Grop'd I to find out them; had my desire,
Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew
To mine own room again; making so bold
(My fears forgetting manners) to unseal
Their grand commission; where I found, Horatio
(O royal knavery!), an exact command,
Larded with many several sorts of reasons,
Importing Denmark's health, and England's too,
With, hoo! such bugs and goblins in my life-
That, on the supervise, no leisure bated,
No, not to stay the finding of the axe,
My head should be struck off.

Horatio. Is't possible?


89

V,2,3679

Hamlet. Here's the commission; read it at more leisure.
But wilt thou bear me how I did proceed?

Horatio. I beseech you.


90

V,2,3689

Hamlet. Being thus benetted round with villanies,
Or I could make a prologue to my brains,
They had begun the play. I sat me down;
Devis'd a new commission; wrote it fair.
I once did hold it, as our statists do,
A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much
How to forget that learning; but, sir, now
It did me yeoman's service. Wilt thou know
Th' effect of what I wrote?

Horatio. Ay, good my lord.


91

V,2,3700

Hamlet. An earnest conjuration from the King,
As England was his faithful tributary,
As love between them like the palm might flourish,
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear
And stand a comma 'tween their amities,
And many such-like as's of great charge,
That, on the view and knowing of these contents,
Without debatement further, more or less,
He should the bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving time allow'd.

Horatio. How was this seal'd?


92

V,2,3709

Hamlet. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant.
I had my father's signet in my purse,
Which was the model of that Danish seal;
Folded the writ up in the form of th' other,
Subscrib'd it, gave't th' impression, plac'd it safely,
The changeling never known. Now, the next day
Was our sea-fight; and what to this was sequent
Thou know'st already.

Horatio. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't.


93

V,2,3716

Hamlet. Why, man, they did make love to this employment!
They are not near my conscience; their defeat
Does by their own insinuation grow.
'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes
Between the pass and fell incensed points
Of mighty opposites.

Horatio. Why, what a king is this!


94

V,2,3725

Hamlet. Does it not, thinks't thee, stand me now upon-
He that hath kill'd my king, and whor'd my mother;
Popp'd in between th' election and my hopes;
Thrown out his angle for my proper life,
And with such coz'nage- is't not perfect conscience
To quit him with this arm? And is't not to be damn'd
To let this canker of our nature come
In further evil?

Horatio. It must be shortly known to him from England
What is the issue of the business there.


95

V,2,3735

Hamlet. It will be short; the interim is mine,
And a man's life is no more than to say 'one.'
But I am very sorry, good Horatio,
That to Laertes I forgot myself,
For by the image of my cause I see
The portraiture of his. I'll court his favours.
But sure the bravery of his grief did put me
Into a tow'ring passion.

Horatio. Peace! Who comes here?


96

V,2,3740

Hamlet. I humbly thank you, sir. [Aside to Horatio] Dost know this
waterfly?

Horatio. [aside to Hamlet] No, my good lord.


97

V,2,3774

Osric. Sir?

Horatio. [aside to Hamlet] Is't not possible to understand in another
tongue? You will do't, sir, really.


98

V,2,3778

Osric. Of Laertes?

Horatio. [aside] His purse is empty already. All's golden words are
spent.


99

V,2,3799

Hamlet. What call you the carriages?

Horatio. [aside to Hamlet] I knew you must be edified by the margent
ere you had done.


100

V,2,3823

Hamlet. Yours, yours. [Exit Osric.] He does well to commend it
himself; there are no tongues else for's turn.

Horatio. This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.


101

V,2,3844

(stage directions). [Exit Lord.]

Horatio. You will lose this wager, my lord.


102

V,2,3848

Hamlet. I do not think so. Since he went into France I have been in
continual practice. I shall win at the odds. But thou wouldst not
think how ill all's here about my heart. But it is no matter.

Horatio. Nay, good my lord—


103

V,2,3851

Hamlet. It is but foolery; but it is such a kind of gaingiving as
would perhaps trouble a woman.

Horatio. If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their
repair hither and say you are not fit.


104

V,2,3960

Osric. Look to the Queen there, ho!

Horatio. They bleed on both sides. How is it, my lord?


105

V,2,3999

Hamlet. Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee.
I am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen, adieu!
You that look pale and tremble at this chance,
That are but mutes or audience to this act,
Had I but time (as this fell sergeant, Death,
Is strict in his arrest) O, I could tell you-
But let it be. Horatio, I am dead;
Thou liv'st; report me and my cause aright
To the unsatisfied.

Horatio. Never believe it.
I am more an antique Roman than a Dane.
Here's yet some liquor left.


106

V,2,4021

Hamlet. O, I die, Horatio!
The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit.
I cannot live to hear the news from England,
But I do prophesy th' election lights
On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice.
So tell him, with th' occurrents, more and less,
Which have solicited- the rest is silence. Dies.

Horatio. Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!
[March within.]
Why does the drum come hither?
Enter Fortinbras and English Ambassadors, with Drum, Colours, and Attendants.


107

V,2,4027

Fortinbras. Where is this sight?

Horatio. What is it you will see?
If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.


108

V,2,4039

Ambassador. The sight is dismal;
And our affairs from England come too late.
The ears are senseless that should give us hearing
To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd
That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.
Where should we have our thanks?

Horatio. Not from his mouth,
Had it th' ability of life to thank you.
He never gave commandment for their death.
But since, so jump upon this bloody question,
You from the Polack wars, and you from England,
Are here arriv'd, give order that these bodies
High on a stage be placed to the view;
And let me speak to the yet unknowing world
How these things came about. So shall you hear
Of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts;
Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters;
Of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause;
And, in this upshot, purposes mistook
Fall'n on th' inventors' heads. All this can I
Truly deliver.


109

V,2,4059

Fortinbras. Let us haste to hear it,
And call the noblest to the audience.
For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune.
I have some rights of memory in this kingdom
Which now, to claim my vantage doth invite me.

Horatio. Of that I shall have also cause to speak,
And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more.
But let this same be presently perform'd,
Even while men's minds are wild, lest more mischance
On plots and errors happen.


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