ACT 4
[Enter KING CLAUDIUS and LAERTES]
KING CLAUDIUS
Now must your conscience my acquaintance seal,
You must believe now I am innocent
And you must put me in your heart for friend,
And also realise that I’m your friend,
Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear,
For as you’ve heard, and now well understand,
That he which hath your noble father slain
The man who murdered your own noble father
Pursued my life.
Wanted to kill me.
LAERTES
It well appears: but tell me
That’s now clear. But tell me
Why you proceeded not against these feats,
Why you just let these actions go unchallenged,
So crimeful and so capital in nature,
So dreadful and unlawful in their nature,
As by your safety, wisdom, all things else,
Despite your safety and your better judgement
You mainly were stirred up.
Were stirring you to act.
KING CLAUDIUS
O, for two special reasons;
Oh, for two special reasons,
Which may to you, perhaps, seem much unsinewed,
Which may appear to you as lacking merit,
But yet to me they are strong. The queen his mother
But yet, to me, are key. The queen, his mother,
Lives almost by his looks; and for myself--
Remains besotted by him, and for me—
My virtue or my plague, be it either which--
Through strength or weakness, I’m not really sure—
She's so conjunctive to my life and soul,
She’s so wedded to me and to my soul
That, as the star moves not but in his sphere,
That, as the earth must circumvent the sun,
I could not but by her. The other motive,
I can’t do wrong by her. The other reason
Why to a public count I might not go,
I can’t hold him accountable in public
Is the great love the general gender bear him;
Is that the public absolutely love him,
Who, dipping all his faults in their affection,
And if I shared his faults with his admirers,
Would, like the spring that turneth wood to stone,
They’d—like spring water petrifies a log—
Convert his gyves to graces; so that my arrows,
Convert his faults to strengths, and then my arrows,
Too slightly timbered for so loud a wind,
Too weak to overcome such strong opinion,
Would have reverted to my bow again,
Would then return back to my bow, unfired,
And not where I had aimed them.
And not go where I’d aimed.
LAERTES
And so have I a noble father lost;
And so I’ve lost my noble father now;
A sister driven into desperate terms,
My sister has been driven into madness,
Whose worth, if praises may go back again,
And she was—if I may reflect on her—
Stood challenger on mount of all the age
Amongst the very finest people living,
For her perfections: but my revenge will come.
And almost perfect. But I’ll get revenge.
KING CLAUDIUS
Break not your sleeps for that: you must not think
Don’t rest until you have. You must not think
That we are made of stuff so flat and dull
That my persona’s laughably pathetic
That we can let our beard be shook with danger
And that I’d let somebody pluck my beard
And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more:
And call it fun. You’ll hear more on this soon.
I loved your father, and we love ourself;
I loved your father as I love myself,
And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine--
And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine…
[Enter a Messenger]
How now! What news?
Tell me, what’s news?
MESSENGER
Letters, my lord, from Hamlet:
Letters, my lord, from Hamlet.
This to your majesty; this to the queen.
This one’s for you, and this one’s for the queen.
KING CLAUDIUS
From Hamlet! Who brought them?
From Hamlet? Who brought them?
MESSENGER
Sailors, my lord, they say; I saw them not:
Sailors, my lord, I’m told; I didn’t see them.
They were given me by Claudio; he received them
Claudio gave them to me; he got them
Of him that brought them.
From those who brought them here.
KING CLAUDIUS
Laertes, you shall hear them. Leave us.
Laertes, you should hear these. Leave us.
[Exit Messenger]
[Reads]
'High and mighty, You shall know I am set naked on
“High and mighty, I’ve been brought back naked
your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see
to your country. I’ll ask to leave tomorrow
your kingly eyes: when I shall, first asking your
to look you in the eye, and with permission,
pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden
I’ll tell you how it suddenly came about
and more strange return. 'HAMLET.'
that I’ve strangely returned. Hamlet.”
What should this mean? Are all the rest come back?
What does this mean? Have all of them come back?
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?
Or is just a trick and isn’t true?
LAERTES
Know you the hand?
Recognise the writing?
KING CLAUDIUS
'Tis Hamlets character. 'Naked!
Hamlet’s hand. “Naked!”
And in a postscript here, he says 'alone'.
And as a supplement, he’s wrote “alone”.
Can you advise me?
Can you explain this?
LAERTES
I'm lost in it, my lord. But let him come;
It’s got me foxed, my lord. But let him come;
It warms the very sickness in my heart,
It is cold comfort for the pain I feel
That I shall live and tell him to his teeth,
That I will live and tell it to his face
'Thus didest thou.'
That “you did this.”
KING CLAUDIUS
If it be so, Laertes--
If that’s the case, Laertes—
As how should it be so? How otherwise?--
For how could it be any other thing?—
Will you be ruled by me?
Will you be ruled by me?
LAERTES
Ay, my lord;
Yes, my lord,
So you will not o'errule me to a peace.
So long as you don’t force me into peace.
KING CLAUDIUS
To thine own peace. If he be now returned,
You’ll get your peace. If he returns here now
As checking at his voyage, and that he means
To interrupt his trip without intention
No more to undertake it, I will work him
To carry on, I’ll have him undertake
To an exploit, now ripe in my device,
Some action, that I’m working in my mind,
Under the which he shall not choose but fall:
Whereby he has no option but to fail.
And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe,
And when he dies, no one will take the blame,
But even his mother shall uncharge the practise
And even his mother will believe what’s happened
And call it accident.
Was just an accident.
LAERTES
My lord, I will be ruled;
My lord, you make the call;
The rather, if you could devise it so
But preferably, if you could make it happen,
That I might be the organ.
I’d like to do the act.
KING CLAUDIUS
It falls right.
I’ll make that happen.
You have been talked of since your travel much,
We’ve talked about you often since you left,
And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality
And Hamlet overheard about a trait
Wherein, they say, you shine: your sum of parts
They say you shine at; and, of all your strengths,
Did not together pluck such envy from him
None made him more ferociously jealous
As did that one, and that, in my regard,
Than this one, that in my humble opinion,
Of the unworthiest siege.
Is your least worthy trait.
LAERTES
What part is that, my lord?
Which trait is that, my lord?
KING CLAUDIUS
A very riband in the cap of youth,
A lovely ribbon in your cap of youth
Yet needful too; for youth no less becomes
But also necessary, for young folk
The light and careless livery that it wears
Dress up in light and casual clothes, much like
Than settled age his sables and his weeds,
Old folk wear fur-lined robes and garments
Importing health and graveness. Two months since,
That show their dignity and health. Two months ago,
Here was a gentleman of Normandy:--
A gentleman from Normandy came here:
I've seen myself, and served against, the French,
I’ve met and fought against the French myself
And they can well on horseback: but this gallant
And they are master horsemen, but this man
Had witchcraft in't; he grew unto his seat;
Was magical at it; he rode as one,
And to such wondrous doing brought his horse,
And did such wonderous things upon his horse,
As he had been incorpsed and demi-natured
It seemed like he was somehow integrated
With the brave beast: so far he topped my thought,
With that brave beast; I found him so amazing
That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks,
That even if I mimicked what he did,
Come short of what he did.
I’d come up short.
LAERTES
A Norman was't?
You said he was a Norman?
KING CLAUDIUS
A Norman.
A Norman.
LAERTES
Upon my life, Lamond.
I bet it was Lamond!
KING CLAUDIUS
The very same.
Yes, it was him.
LAERTES
I know him well: he is the brooch indeed
I know him well; he is the shining star
And gem of all the nation.
And leading light of France.
KING CLAUDIUS
He made confession of you,
He told me something of you,
And gave you such a masterly report
And gave you such a glowing commendation
For art and exercise in your defence
For skill and expertise in self-defence,
And for your rapier most especially,
Especially with a fencing rapier,
That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed,
That he declared it would be quite a sight
If one could match you: the scrimers of their nation,
If anyone could beat you. French contenders,
He swore, had had neither motion, guard, nor eye,
He swore, would lack technique, defence and stance
If you opposed them. Sir, this report of his
If they were fighting you. And of this feedback,
Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy
Our Hamlet was enraged with jealousy,
That he could nothing do but wish and beg
So much so that he desperately wished
Your sudden coming o'er, to play with him.
You’d suddenly show up and he could fight you.
Now, out of this,--
Now, here’s the point…
LAERTES
What out of this, my lord?
What is the point, my lord?
KING CLAUDIUS
Laertes, was your father dear to you?
Laertes, did you really love your father?
Or are you like the painting of a sorrow,
Or are faking it, just like a painting
A face without a heart?
That’s just a heartless face?
LAERTES
Why ask you this?
Why do you ask this?
KING CLAUDIUS
Not that I think you did not love your father;
Not that I think you did not love your father;
But that I know love is begun by time;
But I know love always has a beginning
And that I see, in passages of proof,
And, through experiences, I’ve observed
Time qualifies the spark and fire of it.
Love changes over time, just like a candle.
There lives within the very flame of love
A fundamental part of burning love
A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it;
Is that it will—one day—burn itself out;
And nothing is at a like goodness still;
For nothing good will ever last forever,
For goodness, growing to a plurisy,
Because, if goodness then becomes excessive,
Dies in his own too much: that we would do
It dies by smothering. We have to act
We should do when we would; for this 'would' changes
When we have motivation, else our drive
And hath abatements and delays as many
Will change, reducing over passing time
As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents;
As people speak and act, and things occur;
And then this 'should' is like a spendthrift sigh,
And then our drive becomes a squandered sigh
That hurts by easing. But, to the quick o' the ulcer:--
That hurts without relief. But to my point:
Hamlet comes back: what would you undertake,
Hamlet is coming back. What will you do
To show yourself your father's son in deed
To demonstrate you are your father’s son,
More than in words?
With more than words?
LAERTES
To cut his throat i' the church.
I’ll kill him in the church.
KING CLAUDIUS
No place, indeed, should murder sanctuarize;
No, not in there, he mustn’t have their shelter;
Revenge should have no bounds. But, good Laertes,
Revenge should have no limits. But, Laertes,
Will you do this, keep close within your chamber.
Will you do this: just stay within your bedroom.
Hamlet returned shall know you are come home:
When Hamlet’s back, he’ll know that you are here.
We'll put on those shall praise your excellence
We’ll get some folk to talk about your prowess
And set a double varnish on the fame
And overemphasise the compliments
The Frenchman gave you, bring you in fine together
The Frenchman gave, and you can fight together
And wager on your heads: he, being remiss,
As we all bet on you. And, as he’s careless,
Most generous and free from all contriving,
And unaware of everything we’re plotting,
Will not peruse the foils; so that, with ease,
He will not check the foils; so, easily,
Or with a little shuffling, you may choose
Or maybe with a shuffle, you can choose
A sword unbated, and in a pass of practise
The sharpened sword, and with your expertise
Requite him for your father.
Revenge your father’s death.
LAERTES
I will do't:
I will do it.
And, for that purpose, I'll anoint my sword.
And, for revenge, I’ll consecrate my sword.
I bought an unction of a mountebank,
I bought a potion from a scallywag
So mortal that, but dip a knife in it,
That is so poisonous that, from a knife dip
Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare,
And cut that draws some blood, there is no cure,
Collected from all simples that have virtue
Not even from the finest plants collected
Under the moon, can save the thing from death
Around the world, can save a thing from dying
That is but scratched withal: I'll touch my point
If scratched by it. I’ll dip my pointed sword
With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly,
Within this poison; if I graze him slightly,
It may be death.
It’s going to kill him.
KING CLAUDIUS
Let's further think of this;
Let’s think more on this.
Weigh what convenience both of time and means
Let’s think about what time and place is best
May fit us to our shape: if this should fail,
To fit our plan; but if we were to fail,
And that our drift look through our bad performance,
And our intentions, seen through bad performance,
'Twere better not assayed: therefore this project
It would be better not to try. And therefore
Should have a back or second, that might hold,
We need a backup plan to help us out
If this should blast in proof. Soft! Let me see:
If our plan fails. Wait up! Now let me think.
We'll make a solemn wager on your cunnings: I ha't.
That’s it: we’ll bet upon abilities.
When in your motion you are hot and dry--
When you get hot and thirsty by your moves
As make your bouts more violent to that end--
As you increase the tempo of the fight,
And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepared him
He’ll ask to have a drink, and I’ll have made him
A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping,
A cup for the occasion, and on sipping,
If he by chance escape your venomed stuck,
If somehow he’s escaped your poisoned sword,
Our purpose may hold there.
The drink will do the trick.
[Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE]
How now, sweet queen!
Hello, sweet queen!
QUEEN GERTRUDE
One woe doth tread upon another's heel,
One tragedy is followed by another,
So fast they follow; your sister's drowned, Laertes.
So fast they come; your sister’s drowned, Laertes.
LAERTES
Drowned! O, where?
Drowned?! Oh. Where?
QUEEN GERTRUDE
There is a willow grows aslant a brook,
There is a leaning willow by a stream
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;
Whose greying leaves reflect within the water;
There with fantastic garlands did she come
She went there wearing lovely floral wreaths
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples
Made out of daisies, buttercups and orchids
That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,
That hedonistic shepherds call far worse,
But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them:
But our pure ladies call them ‘dead-men’s fingers’.
There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds
There, climbing on an overhanging branch
Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke;
To hang her wreaths, a weakened branch snapped off,
When down her weedy trophies and herself
And so, she and her floral ornaments
Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide;
Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes expanded,
And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up:
And, like a mermaid, held her up awhile,
Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes;
During which time she sang snippets of songs,
As one incapable of her own distress,
So unaware the danger she was in,
Or like a creature native and indued
Or like a native creature that’s at home
Unto that element: but long it could not be
In water; but it couldn’t last for long,
Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,
And soon her clothes were heavy by the water,
Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay
And pulled the poor girl, singing on her back,
To muddy death.
To die a muddy death.
LAERTES
Alas, then, she is drowned?
Oh no, she’s drowned?
QUEEN GERTRUDE
Drowned, drowned.
Drowned. Drowned.
LAERTES
Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,
Ophelia, you’ve had far too much water,
And therefore I forbid my tears: but yet
And therefore I forbid myself to cry.
It is our trick; nature her custom holds,
But it’s just human nature, so I’ll do it,
Let shame say what it will: when these are gone,
Even if I’m ashamed. But when I’m done,
The woman will be out. Adieu, my lord:
I won’t cry like a girl. Goodbye, my lord.
I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze,
I easily could give a fiery speech,
But that this folly douts it.
But tears extinguish it.
[Exit]
KING CLAUDIUS
Let's follow, Gertrude:
Let’s follow, Gertrude.
How much I had to do to calm his rage!
I had to do a lot to calm his anger!
Now fear I this will give it start again;
But now I fear this will start it again,
Therefore let's follow.
and so, let’s follow him.
[Exeunt]
